samedi 6 décembre 2008

MindMapping tools

I have been using Mind Mapping tools for a while.
I think I went through many of the tools identified in Wikipedia and others sources.
I've not been tempted so far by on-line solutions (even if I guess I will consider them in the future - I started this way with my TiddlyWiki : first, off-line then on-line at TiddlySpot).
I used FreeMind for a while : OpenSource, efficient even if the GUI is a little "rustic".
And now, because I moved to a new position where I was provided with the leader tool, I feel very happy using MindManager.
I even installed MindManager Pro 8 (thanks to a free licence I grabbed at a Microsoft event: thank you very much MindJet!) : nice integration with Office 2007, nice GUI with the ribbon bar, ...
And then, last week, I discovered XMind (thanks to OutilsFroids, a very interesting site).
It is OpenSource, it works on Mac and PC, it is fast, reads MindManager maps, does not grab all my memory and have a nice GUI.
I don't know yet if I will drop MindManager but definitely I will use it both at work on my PC and at home on my Mac.
And because they have an online solution, there is a path for an evolution towards being more web-centric.

jeudi 4 décembre 2008

Google Chrome

Obviously I'm using Google Chrome from its inception (in fact I started by reading the cartoon).
Obviously I'm looking for the Mac release (coming soon?)
Obviously I'm waiting for plugins.
That's why I googled a little to grab some information about that.
And I found that there already is a site dedicated to Chrome Pluggins, before they even exist!
As a side effect, one of there blog post was showing the following image which I found amusing enough to create this post!