Review: MindView 5 makes mind maps first-class citizens in the Office ecosystem

Some alternate realities are exciting to imagine: What would have Apple looked like had Steve Jobs never made it back? And what sort of world would we live in had the Internet remained strictly for academia and the military? Others are less so: What if Microsoft built a mind-mapping tool into Office? Still, that's one I think I can answer: It would look just like Matchware's MindView 5 ($279, 30-day free trial).

MindView makes it simple to attach a note to any node in your mind map.

Just like recent versions of Office, MindView 5 has a Ribbon instead of a traditional menu. The Ribbon is styled just like the one in Office 2013, but clicking File still pops open a menu rather than taking you to the clunky new Backstage view. Other than the Ribbon, MindView feels like an ordinary mind-mapping utility, with a core that's not much different from free ones such as Blumind. You create nodes and sub-nodes, drag them around to rearrange and nest them, and can add notes or linked information to each node.

One interesting MindView feature is that you can have more than one root node in your mind map. That's something even sophisticated tools like TheBrain don't let you do: Every node usually has to be the child of another node. Using multiple root nodes effectively does take a bit of getting used to.

Just like SimpleMind, MindView lets you easily theme your mind map with several ready-made styles. I didn't find the prepackaged styles to be visually impressive, mainly because the background stays white by default. But changing colors isn't the only way to restyle your mind map: MindView lets you quickly switch between three different layout styles and present your information as a traditional mind map, a top-down hierarchy, or a left-right structure.

For hierarchical information, MindView's top-down view works well.

Once you're done crafting your mind map, it's often time to present it to others. MindView has a Presentation Mode that removes the Ribbon, leaving your mind map in center-stage. It comes with large, easy-to-click buttons for moving through the nodes, making it easy to jump from node to node in a logical sequence.

Creating a mind map can also be a good way to brainstorm a writing outline, and MindView lets you export a mind map directly into Microsoft Word. The resulting file is well-structured, with an automatically generated table of contents based on your mind map. The hierarchy of the mind map is preserved, and you get sections and subsections according to the structure of the map. MindView also has an import feature, but it failed to interpret the simple outline I tried importing.

One area in which MindView is notably lacking is collaboration. Where online tools like MindMeister shine with concurrent editing and sophisticated History features, MindView feels more like a single-user tool–a bit like the difference between Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

MindView comes with several simple themes, all based on a white background.

In general, I wouldn't say MindView 5 is a very exciting tool, mainly because of the price tag. Before you spend $279 on a desktop mind-mapping utility, you would do well to try out the free options out there, and the subscription-based online products, too.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
More by Erez Zukerman

From PC World. Shop computer and accessories from Amazon here

Review: MindView 5 makes mind maps first-class citizens in the Office ecosystem

Some alternate realities are exciting to imagine: What would have Apple looked like had Steve Jobs never made it back? And what sort of world would we live in had the Internet remained strictly for academia and the military? Others are less so: What if Microsoft built a mind-mapping tool into Office? Still, that's one I think I can answer: It would look just like Matchware's MindView 5 ($279, 30-day free trial).

MindView makes it simple to attach a note to any node in your mind map.

Just like recent versions of Office, MindView 5 has a Ribbon instead of a traditional menu. The Ribbon is styled just like the one in Office 2013, but clicking File still pops open a menu rather than taking you to the clunky new Backstage view. Other than the Ribbon, MindView feels like an ordinary mind-mapping utility, with a core that's not much different from free ones such as Blumind. You create nodes and sub-nodes, drag them around to rearrange and nest them, and can add notes or linked information to each node.

One interesting MindView feature is that you can have more than one root node in your mind map. That's something even sophisticated tools like TheBrain don't let you do: Every node usually has to be the child of another node. Using multiple root nodes effectively does take a bit of getting used to.

Just like SimpleMind, MindView lets you easily theme your mind map with several ready-made styles. I didn't find the prepackaged styles to be visually impressive, mainly because the background stays white by default. But changing colors isn't the only way to restyle your mind map: MindView lets you quickly switch between three different layout styles and present your information as a traditional mind map, a top-down hierarchy, or a left-right structure.

For hierarchical information, MindView's top-down view works well.

Once you're done crafting your mind map, it's often time to present it to others. MindView has a Presentation Mode that removes the Ribbon, leaving your mind map in center-stage. It comes with large, easy-to-click buttons for moving through the nodes, making it easy to jump from node to node in a logical sequence.

Creating a mind map can also be a good way to brainstorm a writing outline, and MindView lets you export a mind map directly into Microsoft Word. The resulting file is well-structured, with an automatically generated table of contents based on your mind map. The hierarchy of the mind map is preserved, and you get sections and subsections according to the structure of the map. MindView also has an import feature, but it failed to interpret the simple outline I tried importing.

One area in which MindView is notably lacking is collaboration. Where online tools like MindMeister shine with concurrent editing and sophisticated History features, MindView feels more like a single-user tool–a bit like the difference between Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

MindView comes with several simple themes, all based on a white background.

In general, I wouldn't say MindView 5 is a very exciting tool, mainly because of the price tag. Before you spend $279 on a desktop mind-mapping utility, you would do well to try out the free options out there, and the subscription-based online products, too.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
More by Erez Zukerman

From PC World. Shop computer and accessories from Amazon here

Review: MindView 5 makes mind maps first-class citizens in the Office ecosystem

Some alternate realities are exciting to imagine: What would have Apple looked like had Steve Jobs never made it back? And what sort of world would we live in had the Internet remained strictly for academia and the military? Others are less so: What if Microsoft built a mind-mapping tool into Office? Still, that's one I think I can answer: It would look just like Matchware's MindView 5 ($279, 30-day free trial).

MindView makes it simple to attach a note to any node in your mind map.

Just like recent versions of Office, MindView 5 has a Ribbon instead of a traditional menu. The Ribbon is styled just like the one in Office 2013, but clicking File still pops open a menu rather than taking you to the clunky new Backstage view. Other than the Ribbon, MindView feels like an ordinary mind-mapping utility, with a core that's not much different from free ones such as Blumind. You create nodes and sub-nodes, drag them around to rearrange and nest them, and can add notes or linked information to each node.

One interesting MindView feature is that you can have more than one root node in your mind map. That's something even sophisticated tools like TheBrain don't let you do: Every node usually has to be the child of another node. Using multiple root nodes effectively does take a bit of getting used to.

Just like SimpleMind, MindView lets you easily theme your mind map with several ready-made styles. I didn't find the prepackaged styles to be visually impressive, mainly because the background stays white by default. But changing colors isn't the only way to restyle your mind map: MindView lets you quickly switch between three different layout styles and present your information as a traditional mind map, a top-down hierarchy, or a left-right structure.

For hierarchical information, MindView's top-down view works well.

Once you're done crafting your mind map, it's often time to present it to others. MindView has a Presentation Mode that removes the Ribbon, leaving your mind map in center-stage. It comes with large, easy-to-click buttons for moving through the nodes, making it easy to jump from node to node in a logical sequence.

Creating a mind map can also be a good way to brainstorm a writing outline, and MindView lets you export a mind map directly into Microsoft Word. The resulting file is well-structured, with an automatically generated table of contents based on your mind map. The hierarchy of the mind map is preserved, and you get sections and subsections according to the structure of the map. MindView also has an import feature, but it failed to interpret the simple outline I tried importing.

One area in which MindView is notably lacking is collaboration. Where online tools like MindMeister shine with concurrent editing and sophisticated History features, MindView feels more like a single-user tool–a bit like the difference between Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

MindView comes with several simple themes, all based on a white background.

In general, I wouldn't say MindView 5 is a very exciting tool, mainly because of the price tag. Before you spend $279 on a desktop mind-mapping utility, you would do well to try out the free options out there, and the subscription-based online products, too.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
More by Erez Zukerman

From PCWorld. Visit Amazon Computer and Notebook Center here

Worries Spread that Twitter Changes May Hurt Ecosystem

Twitter has sparked controversy with the announcement of upcoming changes to their API, which may restrict 3rd-party applications such as Hootsuite, Twitterific and Tweetbot. In addition to mandating how tweets must be displayed, Twitter is also cutting off anonymous calls to their API and limiting user authentication tokens.

Currently, certain Twitter API calls don’t require applications to authenticate before accessing certain API endpoints. Originally, this freedom was essential for Twitter’s rapid growth, allowing developers to innovate and create a plethora of applications, many of which Twitter would have never thought of themselves, but has since cause a burden of spam and scraper bots. Forcing developers to register with Twitter would allow these types of abuse to stop.

Additionally, Twitter will be limiting the user authentication tokens for apps, which will limit the number of users an application can support. This means that many new Twitter applications will be unable to support more than 100,000 users, severely capping growth potential. Applications that already have over 100,000 users will only be able to grow by 200% of their current number, then they’ll be cut-off as well.

This new version of the API will be released in the upcoming weeks, and developers must make the switch by March of 2013. Anyone who does not upgrade from the current version 1.0 to the new 1.1 by that date will be blocked from accessing Twitter’s information.

Twitter is making an effort to limit traditional Twitter clients, favoring social analytics and business functionality apps. Twitter says that applications who want to go over their limit can ask for “permission,” but it remains to be seen how strict Twitter will be with their new rules. Developers worry that these new restrictions will stifle innovation and hurt the twitter ecosystem.

From Laptopmagazine. Visit Amazon Computer and Notebook Center Here