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Mind mapping program review: desktop or online?

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I’ve been trying out a couple of mind mapping programs: MindManager Pro and Thinkature.

MindManager Pro is paid software ($349) from Mindjet, and in my opinion is the Cadillac of mind mapping programs. It’s fast, has an easy to use interface, and is very intuitive with an interface very similar to Microsoft Word. I love how easy it was to start using straight out of the box, and also how quickly ideas can be mapped with keyboard shortcuts.

mindjet mindmanager

Thinkature is a free, online version with collaborative features. While not nearly as fast and with a clunkier interface, Thinkature still edges MindManager Pro (in my humble opinion) because a) it’s free and b) you can collaborate in real-time! Isn’t that cool? You can draw, rearrange, insert photos, etc. from the online interface fairly easily. (Personally, I’d love to see this kind of feature used in Basecamp someday. While I’m dreaming, I’ve always wanted a pony too.)

If you know me, you may already have figured out that I tend to gravitate towards online apps, so maybe Thinkature has a somewhat unfair advantage to this review. But I just love the fact that

  • there are no updates to download
  • they are 100% portable
  • they’re usually free

The only drawback to online apps: you don’t have as much control over the data. Who knows where it’s going to end up? With desktop programs, at least you have total control of the data. Just something to keep in mind.

So what do you guys think? Online or offline?

[If you've got a hankerin' to learn more about the mind mapping process, check out this video interview with mind mapping originator, Tony Buzan (via SlackerManager).]

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  • Bruce

    I have tried Mind Manager too, but in the end went for NovaMind – it produces much nicer Mind Maps, is easy to use, very powerful, and costs less than a third of the price of MM Pro. It doesn’t give you the online collaboration you seem to want, but as a Mind Mapping application, NovaMind is excellent.

  • Morgan

    I’ve used several mind mapping programs over the years – including Mindmanager on the PC, Freemind, and Novamind (on the Mac). novamind is my current mapper of choice, but I do look for other visual programs.

    Thinkature looks very interesting, but I would argue that its interface is “clunkier” as it isn’t a pure mind mapper– it seems more of a diagramming program.

    For diagramming, I’m using Omnigraffle Pro, which has a great interface. Thanks to a little open source tool – linkback – I can embed and later edit diagrams from Omnigraffle into Novamind (and maps from novamind into omnigraffle documents).

    Given my workflow – often in meetings without connectivity – the online only option is not feasible.

    Free mind has some publishing / sharing abilities:
    http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

  • http://thinkature.com/ Jon Chambers

    Hi there!

    I work for Thinkature and just wanted to let you know that we’re all about giving people control over their data. We’re working on providing useful ways to export workspaces for local storage and for use in other applications. We also never, ever look at the contents of our users’ workspaces.

    Also, Morgan is quite right that Thinkature isn’t strictly a mind-mapping application (although we’re not strictly a diagramming application, either), so we hope you’ll forgive any domain-specific shortcomings in the interface. Of course, if you have any suggestions, we’d be happy to hear about them.

    Thanks very much! We’re thrilled that you enjoy Thinkature!

  • http://behindtheglasses.com/2007/01/21/an-online-collaboration-tool/ Behind the glasses » Blog Archive » An online collaboration tool

    [...] There are dozens of different mindmapping software applications, yet only a few of them are online apps. One of applications which can be used in a Web browser is Thinkature, which I found today thanks to this post on LifeDev blog. [...]

  • glen

    Wow, great suggestions guys.

    Freemind is pretty slick, and very free. I may have to check out Novamind someday.

    Thanks for the heads up Jon. I’m really excited to see the updates in the near future.

  • http://www.edragonu.ro Dragos Roua

    I definately go for MindManager. Online apps are cool, but we do need to have a more organized and secured culture to overcome all those fears about data usage and so on. When the total amount of online generated data will become impossibly to be managed by any imaginable machine, (making though your data pretty secure) then I might switch to it.

    There is also the road to your application: in desktop you just have your mouse, in online, you have the mouse + internet provider + app server, which can be a headache sometimes…

    Just my 2 cents…

  • Stephen

    I have been using Freemind for years, for my money, it is the best and its FREE!

    All the best

    Steve

  • http://www.mindmeister.com Till Vollmer

    Try http://www.mindmeister.com. We are in private beta, but you might get a code by writing an email to privatebeta@mindmeister.com