Month: August 2010

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Top Picks (formerly Vic’s Picks) is here!

[Updated: September 1 2013 when Roy Grubb took over this site from Vic Gee]

Mind-Mapping.Org is the unchallenged leader in completeness of information on software for mind mapping, visual information management and other forms of mapping on the Web.

But the amount of information there may be overwhelming: 97 pages of current products, 3 per page, and 29 pages of historical ones.

So in August 2010, Mind-Mapping.Org introduced a major enhancement: Vic’s Picks.  When Roy Grubb took over mind-mapping.org, he renamed it: Top Picks. To avoid breaking any links, bookmarks, favorites or shortcuts that users may have saved, the web address http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/VicsPicks/ has been preserved.

Top Picks is really two things: A place for readers to quickly find what’s significant, and a place for crowdsourcing: Here you can mark your favourite software and comment about your own experience of it in use.

You can browse the screenshots, click the red tab (top right) to see the name and beginning of the description, or click a button to read the remainder.

Rate the software with stars, and make comments about your personal experience with the various applications.

To see the list filtered down to show only one of the broad categories, choose from the red menu bar.

For more detail, pick from the categories drop-down on the right hand side.  They are organized like this:


There’s an added category, Faves, which tells you what Vic uses and likes most.

Please join in, Speak out! and rate your favourite software. Check out Top Picks now.

Vic (updated by Roy)

Have you checked Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.

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Cayra

Cayra is a neat little concept and mind mapper and in my view is greatly undervalued, probably because Cayra.net is now an advertising site, and the software is no longer supported. But copies can be downloaded from Cnet and other download sites and it is very usable.

It has some of the qualities of mind mapping software: Organic lines and colour; but at the same time, the connections it can make allow it to be used to make concept maps with cross links and linking phrases.  It even lets you have multiple maps on the same page, and has a good ergonomic design to handle this, providing for ‘parking’ separate maps at the foot of the screen.  Nodes can have pictures and hyperlinks, links to files, and dates/times for project management tasks.

Be prepared to spend a few minutes understanding how it works, because it is not quite like other mappers, but it is well worth the time, because it has a flexibility that other mappers do not.

Its most unexpected feature is that it uses the self-centering mechanism like Topicscape or Brain.  Click a node and that moves to the centre and its branches expand.  This can be switched off, and if you then save the file, it will operate in ‘Fixed mode’ from then on.

It comes with a help map, but also has comprehensive built-in help.

Price: Free

More about Cayra on Mind-mapping.org

Vic

Have you checked Our Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.

I did see a comment on Twitter that Cayra doesn’t work in Windows 7.  I haven’t tried it on that, but it works on Vista.   Cayra has an update function built in, and the place it checks for updates no longer exists, so I wonder if that gives the impression of Cayra not working.  I just set my firewall not to give Cayra Internet access.  Vic.

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Master List updates

Some recent changes in The Master List at Mind-Mapping.Org

I’ve added or updated images on entries for the mind mapping and diagramming software here:

Aibase

ClaroIdeas

Gliffy

Mindgenius
MindMapper

MindView

Touchgraph

Other changes . . . several programs that have sunk into oblivion (no response from their URL) now show up as “historical (defunct)”, and some still on line, but obviously dormant, have been marked “historical”.

This means that you won’t see them when searching The Master List unless you select the “Historical software” checkbox before searching (go to the Refine Software List tab at the top right), or unless you search for the name of piece of software or publisher explicitly.

Vic

Have you checked Our Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.

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Mind-Map Search Update

MindMapSearch was founded in 2007 and is a sister site of Mind-Mapping.Org. I update it from time to time, but now it has just had a soup-to-nuts review and update.

This, if you haven’t come across it yet, is a categorized source of all the authority mind mapping sites together with a focused mind mapping search engine.

There are so many worthless web pages that claim to deal with mind mapping but have obviously been thrown together to attract clicks to the adverts on the page. They are recognizable, apart from the awful content, because they don’t even include a mind map!

I got fed up with this and set up MindMapSearch to provide search results only from the sites that I know that deal with mind mapping well.  These sites don’t have to be dedicated to mind mapping – some sites have just one page on mind mapping, but if it’s good material, I link to that page, and ensure that Google indexes only that page for results from MindMapSearch.

Sites or pages in MindMapSearch often appear in more than one category . . .

The individual entries in categories are like this . . .

… where the bold-lettered heading links to the main page of the site it refers to. That’s followed by a brief description of the site. Then there is another link – or sometimes several links – in light green. If the site is all about mind mapping, both the heading and the subsidiary links will point to the front page. If the site covers other topics, the second link will point to the pages about mindmapping.

All of these sites are also selected for use in the Google co-op search engine that’s accessed from the search box at the top of every page of the site:

Please make sure your mapping friends know about MindMapSearch.

And if you know of any high quality mind mapping sites that are not included there, do please let me know – see CONTACT on the right.

Vic

Have you checked Our Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.

This was reposted after a problem with images.

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“Learning is what matters, not studying”

Author Prof. Toni Krasnic today published a book about learning with mind maps called “Concise Learning“.

“Teachers alone cannot ‘produce’ learning and success in students. Students need to accept that, ultimately, they are responsible for their own learning and success” says Prof. Krasmic and sets out in this well-reviewed book how this should be done.

The book has a dedicated web site about learning through mind maps and Prof. Krasnic’s methods for effective learning.

If you know anyone who’s starting at University next month, you should point them at this book, and the website.  It could make all the difference.

Vic

Have you checked Our Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.

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Southbeach Modeller . . . and TRIZ

If you have spent a few minutes at Mind-Mapping.Org or on this blog, you will know that I like and use mind maps and concept maps.  You may not know I also use more formal visual models like data models, object-role modelling, and process simulation models.  I find these immensely useful in understanding the way businesses work, improving businesses and finding ways to solve problems.

One modelling tool I learned about last year, Southbeach Notation, has grabbed more of my attention.  Someone emailed me and asked why Southbeach Modeller was not in the Master List, and I slapped my forehead and asked myself the same question, because I had known about it for around a year.

This may not have the whizz-bang visual effects of some tools covered here, but it is practical, and produces a visual result that gives a good overview, and guides where effort should be focused as a problem-solving project proceeds.

Southbeach Modeller is a free tool which, by itself, is a powerhouse.  That’s it above.  There is another tool, MyCreativity, which extends the capabilities of Modeller and is not free.

Southbeach Notation does not solve problems for you, but it does make it much easier to apply your thinking to the things that matter, methodically and effectively.  The SouthBeachInc site says “Southbeach extends typical problem solving, innovation and TRIZ notations yet remains simple enough to be able to be drawn by hand. The notation is often drawn on flip charts, paper notebooks and on table napkins.  … [and, the story goes, with a stick in the sand on South Beach itself]

Many users start with just red and green boxes – ‘useful’ and ‘harmful’ – and only two effects – ‘produces’ and ‘counteracts’. This is not just for management consultants, analysts and methodologists. Children can, and do, use Southbeach.”

TRIZ is a problem-solving and product improvement method that originated in the Soviet Union in the 1940s and has been widely adopted since.

Vic

Have you checked Our Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.


There is a quick summary –  a visual summary, naturally – of the notation here:
http://www.southbeachinc.com/quickguide.html

Or you can click the image in the left to see the full-size version of the summary image.

There is extensive information on the web about the notation, but a blog with example diagrams would be a good starting point.

My thanks to Mark Burnett for permission to use the images here.  Mark was one of the founders of Southbeach Notation and is the Head of IT Strategy & Transformation at BearingPoint in the UK.

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The latest on Edraw

For three months, I had a post on this blog’s front page: “Questions about Edraw”.  Now, I’m really pleased to say that the questions have been resolved and I am able to remove that post.  The background to that post is at the end of this, if you’re interested.

The publishers have released Edraw Max V5.3 and Edraw Mind Map V4.6 and the warning messages I reported before no longer appear.

Edraw Mind Map is a very capable, professional-looking application and is free.  It makes more than just mind maps.  With it, you can produce glossy-looking bubble charts, block 2D diagrams, 3D diagrams and use its smart-looking collection of clipart.  There is dynamic help on the right-hand side of the main window, which is a nice touch, but anyone familiar with Visio will rarely need that.

(you can click on this to see a larger image)

This is not a dedicated mind map application.  It is more of a general purpose diagrammer, but does include tools that are mind map specific.

I would use it if I wanted a mind map or other diagram with strong visual impact without too much work.

To download a copy, go to this page.  When you get there, don’t click the big Download button unless you want Edraw Max, which is not free.  Instead click on the link “Edraw Mind Map English Version (freeware)” which is a few lines below the download button.

Have an Edraw product already?  Check your version

If you are already using one of these packages, it would be a really good idea to make sure you have the latest version.  You can check as follows:

For Edraw Max:

  1. Go to C:\Program Files\Edraw Max
  2. Right-click on Edraw.exe and select Properties
  3. Select to Version tab and ensure the File version at the top is 5.2.0.1249 or greater

For Edraw Mind Map:

  1. Go to C:\Program Files\Edraw Mind Map
  2. Right-click on Edraw.exe and select Properties
  3. Select to Version tab and ensure the File version at the top is 4.6.0.1135 or greater

Edraw Mind Map is worth a look, and as it’s free, it’s a good idea to have it available on your PC (there’s no Mac version).  Edraw have a range of visual tools, for making flowcharts, UML diagrams, network diagrams and others.

Vic

Have you checked Our Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.

The detailed background to the earlier question, if you want it:

A component of earlier versions of both Edraw Max and Edraw MindMap called ssloader.e32 was consistently flagged by five different A-V engines as having a Trojan/Keylogger embedded. Ssloaders.e32 was a 3rd-party library used in Edraw for the slide show function.

When the new versions were released I verified that ssloader.e32 was no longer included, and checked all components of Edraw MindMap at VirusTotal.com.  The 42 A-V programs used there found no issue with any component.

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Cytoscape network visualisation

Cytoscape is a free, open source Java program, originally designed for highly specialised use in bioinformatics.  But if you’re glazing over, stick with me here: Through all the versions leading up to 2.7, its present release, it has developed into a general purpose analysis and visualisation tool for complex networks.  It has just been added to Mind-Mapping.Org.

The core distribution provides a basic set of features for data integration and visualization.  Plugins are available, most of them free, to extend the functionality to network and molecular profiling analyses, new layouts, additional file format support, scripting, and connection with databases.  Anyone can develop plugins using the Cytoscape open API.

Quite an eye-full, huh?

Vic

Have you checked Our Faves yet?
Subscribe to the RSS feed for news of regular
posts & follow me on Twitter for in-between
items about visual tools you never knew existed.

If you’re on Twitter and tweet about mapping topics,
tweet me — I’d love to know and follow you.

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