The Mind Mapping Software Weblog

Mindjet to Deliver MindManager on WebEx Connect

Mindjet announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with web conferencing and applications sharing giant WebEx to make MindManager Pro 6 available via its new WebEx Connect service. WebEx Connect is a collaborate online workspace that will enable users, even if they don't own a software program, to use it as an on-demand service and to share maps created within the service with others. This will effectively make MindManager available to millions of WebEx users around the world - pretty cool!

Review: Macworld impressed with MindManager 6 for Mac

Macworld magazine just published a review of MindManager 6 for Mac OS X, which calls the program "a strong addition to the existing slate of Mac brainstorming apps." The reviewer really likes the way that Mindjet followed Apple's strict guidelines when creating this clean-slate application (not a port of the Windows version), which resulted in a program that "feel(s) as familiar as Apple’s Pages and Keynote."

On the negative side, the writer points out that this initial version of MindManager for the Mac doesn't contain all of the features of the Windows version. In particular, the Windows version currently offers a higher level of Microsoft Office integration. But this will probaby be corrected in future releases.

The bottom line? Macworld gives MindManager 6 for Mac 4 out of 5 "mice" (sorta like stars).

Mind mapping survey results now available

During the month of August, I conducted a survey of business users of mind mapping software. My goals were to learn what executives are doing with mind mapping software, how it benefits them and what's keeping it from being more widely used in business. The results were outstanding: over 500 people filled out the survey. According to Nick Duffill from Gyronix, this makes it the largest research project ever conducted within the genre of mind mapping software.

Here is the URL where you can view the survey results:

     http://www.innovationtools.com/survey/index.asp

Thanks to everyone who either filled out the survey or helped to promote it!

New book: Idea Mapping

Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More and Achieve Success in Business is a new book by Jamie Nast, which was just published by John Wiley & Sons. It teaches the basics of how to capture your ideas using “idea maps” – basically, mind maps that are focused on recording your ideas.  While it tends to focus on hand-drawn maps, the principles and outlines are valuable for anyone doing software-produced maps, as well.  The book does contain a chapter on mind mapping software, including tips on how to select it, benefits of using it and some examples of business applications of software-drawn idea maps. It also comes with a trial version of MindManager tucked into the back cover, which will provide an easy way for many readers to get their first exposure to mind mapping on a computer.

In addition to teaching readers how to create idea maps, the book also covers topics such as applications of idea maps and how to use them in a team setting, and it also includes a number of maps produced by real-world business people.

If you are a beginning to intermediate user of mind maps, you should find much to like in this new book. For more information on Idea Mapping, visit the book’s promotional website. Jamie also authors a blog about idea mapping.

NovaMind v3.1 for Mac available, Windows v3.0 now in full release

According to the latest newsletter from NovaMind Software, the developer has released NovaMind version 3.1 for Mac OS X, with over 50 new features. Among the most notable:

• A new user interface, which features a multi-tabbed toolbar, to keep interface clutter to a minimum,
• The ability to work with multiple maps within a single document,
• Support for background images on your maps
• Metadata about your maps can now be stored in the document (creator, last updated, etc.)
• Multiple hyperlinks on one topic
• Full-screen editing, with "slide-away" toolbars

This sounds like a major step forward for NovaMind on the elegant Mac OS X operating system.

NovaMind 3.0 for Windows has moved out of "early adopters" stage and is now a full release. The last change to be made prior to full release was the addition of a customized color picker, which is an improvement over the less-than-elegant Windows color picker that users had to work with before.

NovaMind Software also reports that version 3.1 for Windows is under development. The company has hired a Windows interface designer, and work is underway to make it an even better user experience. The screenshot (above right) shows the direction that the developer is headed with this release.

Finally, NovaMind software has announced that you can now buy NovaMind for Mac OS X in Apple Computer stores throughout the U.S. This should be a major step forward for acceptance of this accomplished program, which is arguably the best mind mapping software available for the Mac platform.

Update: mind mapping software survey

My mind mapping software survey is now officially closed; over 500 people responded. A big thank you to all of you who filled out the survey, and to those bloggers who promoted this research to their readers!

I'm now in the process of writing a report that details the survey results, which I hope to have finished in the next week or two. If you'd like to receive a copy of this report, please send me an e-mail at mindmap (at) innovationtools (dot) com.

Mindjet develops powerful integration with MS Word 2007

Microsoft Word 2007, beneath the hood, incorporates some powerful XML, .Net and VBA tools that enable it to integrate with other applications. Mindjet Labs has been working on ways to leverage these capabilities, and has just announced that it has developed a way to edit MindManager maps from within Word 2007. This will enable MindManager users to send a map to colleagues who don't have the program, and they will still be able to review it and modify it.

Microsoft's new "Open Packaging Convention" will also enable toolbar data to be embedded in Word files. That means when a user opens the embedded map, MindManager-specific toolbar buttons will also be loaded into the Word interface. Pretty cool!

This capability isn't available just yet for mere mortals, however: Some of the underlying .Net technology won't be available until Microsoft's new Vista operating system and the new version of Microsoft Office launch later this year (or early next year?). In addition, it will take some time before organizations begin to adopt Vista and Office 2007. Still, these capabilities are quite compelling, and will eventually open up MindManager to a world of new users.

VTS to launch MindManager plug-in for Prince2 project management methodology

Visual Technology Solutions, a UK company that develops solutions for use with MindManager, has announced that it plans to offer special version of its Visual Projects Maps Pro plug-in that will be focused on the Prince2 project management methodology. Prince2 stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments, and is the de facto standard for project management in the UK, according to Wikipedia.

According to an e-mail from VTS, this new project management application for MindManager will include the following capabilities:

• Manage Prince2 projects within a unique intuitive interface
• Access content from the "Managing Successful Projects with Prince2" manual
• Interface helps users to assimilate the Prince2 methodology
• Create and manage all Prince2 documentation with ease
• Visual representation aids in teaching non-Prince2 trained project team members
• Manage project files from creation and execution to closing and archiving

The firm's web page says that its release date will be September 21, 2006.

CS Odessa opens U.S. office

News from CS Odessa, the developer of ConceptDraw MINDMAP:

"With the increased popularity of CS Odessa’s ConceptDraw products, combined with our wish to get closer to our customer base in the Americas, we are opening an office in San Jose, California. Currently we are busy setting up the infrastructure that will make it easier for companies and people to gain access to our products and services. The decision to establish a presence in the Americas will help us better service and support our loyal and growing customer base."

In my opinion, this was a decision that CS Odessa needed to make, if it's serious about doing business here in the States. The developer has a very good product in ConceptDraw MINDMAP; the problem is that not enough people know about it. Hopefully this new office will help the company to remedy that!

Latest updates to i2Brain

A new version of i2Brain is now available. The latest update adds the capability to create hyperlinks to documents, websites, email addresses or even phone connections. These links appear as icons to the right of an item in your visual maps. This new version also includes improvements to i2Brain's handling of columnar data, saving to the web, and more.

If you're looking for more information about i2Brain's capabilities and what makes it unique as a visual mapping tool, why not take a look at my June 12th post. For a complete list of recent improvements to i2Brain, visit this page on the developer's website.