Mind Manager 3.5.5
Mind Manager 3.5.5
| by Dale Farris, President, Golden Triangle PC Club May 2000 MindManager 3.5.5 is an organizational tool that helps users organize thoughts, projects and presentations. It uses visuals and text not only to speed the writing process, but also to help folks work on and retain a large quantity of information in a short time frame. This is an interesting program that corresponds to the current interest in business and organizations in finding ways to maximize the creativity and innovation of members of the company. MindManager is also based on the many solid published works of creativity gurus Tony Buzan, including "The BrainSmart Leader," "The Mind Map Book," "Make the Most of Your Mind," and "Use Both Sides of Your Brain," and Rita Carter and Christopher Frith's "Mapping The Mind" and "Mind Mapping." With this software program, computer owners can now implement on their computer the exciting ideas in these excellent creativity books, and in the process, directly link these innovative tool books in any business or organization. MindManager is really quite simple and easy to use and is an excellent example of how computer software can be designed to allow anyone to personally activate cutting edge research and training, in this case, the field of mind research many think was originated by Mr. Buzan. Across the country, this conceptualization of ideas into diagrams and symbols has been successfully integrated in business, non profit organizations, and especially schools. There is now an entire genre of book publishing specializing in creativity and innovation tools designed for use by teachers in all levels of education. The basic idea is to help users achieve their potential by allowing them to display their ideas and concepts in a graphical pattern that both sides of the brain can quickly grasp. This is based on the work of researchers working in this field, finding out how different parts of the brain are responsible for different thought and other functions of the body. The left side, responsible for logical thought, and the right side, used for visual and creative thought, work together while using this program to increase memory retention and productivity. In the past, trying to implement these findings meant dependence on pen or multi-colored markers and paper, and the ability of folks to draw diagrams and shapes to represent their ideas and concepts. With the advent of such software as MindManager 3.5.5, now you can draw upon the power of this program to vastly improve this process, and the results are greatly enhanced. Typical Uses of MindManager Prepare for speeches and presentations Plan and track complex tasks and projects Share project information with others Supports Internet conferencing Create Java-enhanced web sites and site maps Track progress on projects visually Organize multiple projects Take and easily reorganize notes Link shapes or symbols in MindManager to web sites or other files Multiple print output capabilities Basic Operation A mind map starts with an empty shape in the middle of the screen, in which you enter text that indicates the central concept of the drawing. You move the mouse outside this central shape and add other ideas by tapping the Insert key on the keyboard and entering text for this supplemental idea. MindManager will automatically draw links to connect the central shape with these other supplemental ideas and any additional ones you wish to add. Using the included symbol library, you can easily select other graphics files that might represent the intent of the concept and then add text to the idea, color-code the shapes, as well as add dates to them. When finished, you can save the file in a proprietary file format, convert it to an HTML file, share it with others with the conferencing feature, as well as use the file as an actual web site that includes active links to other files or other web sites. You can also print the file onto a standard size piece of paper, and explode the file into "tiles" that can be taped together on a flip chart. You can also convert mind maps and print them as traditional outlines. As with most software today, MindManager's help files are accessible online, and there is no supplemental guidebook. However, the tutorials and the help files are well prepared and do provide all the help new users of this software will need to quickly get up and running with MindManager. Comparable Products MindManager 3.5.5 is but one of many such tools now on the market designed around the concept of mind mapping, and allowing collaboration using Java-based clients linked via TCP/IP. Such programs include Smart Technologies, Inc.'s SmartIdeas (www.smarttech.com) and Inspiration Software's Inspiration 6 (www.inspiration.com). MindManager is one of the less complex of these applications and also more aggressively priced for a greater use in a broader scheme of different types of businesses and organizations. Recommendation MindManager is easily one of the most interesting, creative software programs now on the market, and with its very aggressive price point, most all businesses and organizations should give this program serious consideration for use by their teams. With companies involved in serious competition or heavily committed to an aggressive marketing investment, this program will prove a valuable investment in assisting their employees in stimulating their creativity and productivity. Setup and Install The install process worked smoothly on my machine. Default files that must be loaded include the main program files, the symbol editor files, the symbol gallery, and the American/British dictionary. Optional files include the Import/Export filter, the activity map import filter, the task timer export filter, and the dictionaries for other languages. The user can opt to use the software for 21 days during the trial period, after which the program will no longer run until the user enters the included registration key information. With the new Internet functionality, MindManager is now designed to be worked on by a conference of users, and to allow for linking web sites or other files to a MindManager file. In this case, for stand-alone, dial-up machines, this feature should work fine, but in the case of networked machines, there are server issues that will have to be addressed in order for these features to work on such a machine. In these networked situations, users are strongly advised to closely work with their respective IS team to activate these neat new features. Future Integration Into Operating Systems This dynamic, symbolic representation of ideas and concepts not only has been incorporated into neat workstation programs like MindManger, but is also being worked on by other vendors to change the present concept of how a computer user interface operates and appears to the user. Inspired by the fundamental hyperlink design and concept of the World Wide Web, companies such as CoCo Systems (www.coco.co.uk), Natrificial (www.natrificial.com), and MindJet are developing products like MindManager that organize information graphically and in more intuitive ways. In the next decade, look for this mind map concept to be integrated within an operating system. Price $139 Retail Price Multiple, student, teacher and school discounts are available System Configuration Requirements Pentium 100 MHz or higher Win 95/98/NT 16MB RAM or higher 12MB hard drive space, plus 20MB for included symbols Video Card 256 colors Recommended for optimal use: Internet browser/access 1024 x 768 resolution Color printer 17" monitor Contact Bettina Jetter, Vice-President MindJET 1505 Bridgeway, Suite 201 Sausalito, California 94965 415-332-6808 877-646-3538 FAX 415-680-1677 bettina@mindjet.com www.mindjet.com info@mindjet.com
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