Software Review: MindNode Pro - Map Your Mind!

I am a huge fan of mind maps. They're useful for any kind of planning and brainstorming and are a great inspirational tool. Unfortunately, drawing them by hand quickly becomes unmanageable for larger sessions and is impossible to re-organize once drawn. I've looked high and low for a mind-mapping application that was as easy to use as a notepad and pen but with the power of a computer to organize and scale with ease.

A mind map is defined by Wikipedia as:

A diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

They can be incredibly useful and I have used them to jumpstart my creativity on many a project or task. I've tried several programs both free and paid apps. A great many of them were wonderful pieces of software with oodles of features and lots of extra functionality. Which was my biggest problem with them. Mind mapping software needs to be fast, easy to use and simple.

This is where MindNode Pro shines. This application provides an ephemeral mix of simplicity with intuition and allows you a seamless pathway from your brain to map. The app is available in a free (props to the developers for providing a powerful free version) and a pro version ($19.95). While the free version is powerful and very capable the value that comes with the pro version far outweighs the coinage you'll lay out to get it. A glance at this feature comparison chart should convince you.

My favorite thing about this app is the way the keyboard is used to navigate, create / edit, and move nodes on your map. Upon creating a new file, an initial node is created. Type the name of the idea / project you're mapping and you're ready to go. Hit Tab to create a new node and type away. Hitting enter commits your changes and a combination of enter or tab will allow you to create children or sibling nodes with ease and grace.

The pro version also allows you the ability to close and open any node on your map. This lets you create huge, highly detailed maps and keep everything organized and easy to follow. There are keyboard shortcuts to make showing and hiding these nodes a breeze.

Fullscreen mode is another huge bonus when working with large maps. I love the ability to hold space and drag the map to navigate to sections that are off-screen. You can also zoom in and out of your map to inspect branches anywhere at anytime.

With a ton of export formats (PNG, TIFF, PDF, HTML, RTF, OPML, FreeMind) you can share your mind maps with anyone easily. Since the free version can also open pro versions (with limitation) your friends and colleagues can even open your maps, edit or add to them, and collaborate on ideas with you. I like to use the Dropbox service to work on project plans with employees no matter where they are.

If you want a simple yet effective way to plan your ideas MindNode Pro is a piece of software you shouldn't be without. I use it during all of my company's planning / creative sessions and even use it to plan vacations with my girlfriend! Try it now and see for yourself.

Application Review: Punakea

Punakea: A tagging app for OS X.

Punakea is a little app trying to help you cope with the day-to-day struggle of managing your files. Designed to complement Spotlight, it allows you to tag your files and bookmarks, freeing you of the strict hierarchy of the Finder's folder structure.

I've tried a few different tagging apps for OS X. Tags was kind of a disappointment because, at the time, I was looking for an app that would allow me to tag my emails as well and Tags just didn't work right. I've tried out Tagbot but they seriously restrict the number of tags you can use in the demo so it wasn't really good for a full-review. I've seen a number of Automator / Applescript solutions using Spotlight comments but this was a bit too manual for me and didn't do anything for emails and URLs.

Punakea looks like a great application. I'll be using it throughout the day to see how effective it is but it might solve two problems with one stone (so to speak). I've also been searching for a way to tag my Safari bookmarks and Punakea allows you to tag both emails and bookmarks. You still have to use its interface but I'm siked to start using it.

After a few days of using Punakea I'm not sure how I went this long without it. I've been using it mainly for research coordination on a recent endeavor into Facebook platform programming. It has helped me keep downloaded files, emails, and related URLs organized and centralized. I don't have to know where my computer stored it as long as I know what tag I filed it under. The tagging system is flexible and easy to use. I've tagged emails, URLs, PDFs, folders, files. I'm starting to use it for jQuery development and to even track the various social media I utilize on the web. The drop panel is a great time saver. I only wish there were more keyboard shortcuts to use for tagging stuff.

Either way, this software is incredible and I strongly recommend using it. If they started charging for this app I'd almost need to buy since I've started to integrate it into my workflow so tightly. Trust me, try it and you'll see what I mean.

Anyone else use this software (or any other tagging apps / solutions)? What are your thoughts on tagging in general?

Application Review: Webbla

I've been on a quest lately to integrate tagging into my workflow. There are many options for tagging files, iPhoto (which I don't have) images, and iTunes tracks from home-grown to paid software. My two biggest gripes are not being able to tag bookmarks in Safari or emails in Mail.

I recently switched from Firefox to Safari due to Firefox's inability to use OS X services. I really enjoy using Safari 4 (BETA) and I've never been a fan of Safari until now. One of the features I really miss was the ability to tag my bookmarks therefore enabling the use of smart folders to organize my bookmarks. To my surprise, there wasn't much to be found in terms of a solution. Enter Webbla.

Webbla is a great app if you save a lot of links. It allows you to tag each URL, view detailed statistics of when the linked site changed. You can create collections, folders, and smart folders to group your bookmarks. It even has cover flow which shows a preview of the URL in question.

This application is great and I would highly recommend it. Unfortunately, I won't be buying since I've started using Punakea for my tagging needs but it's worth every penny.

Software Review - Blogging Tools

This post is the first of many reviewing software. I thought it would be appropriate to review blogging applications since I'm getting back into blogging again.

I want an application that allows me to easily and quickly post to my blog without having to use my blog provider's WYSIWYG posting mechanism. Here are the points I used as a basis for my review:

• Ease of setup and installation
• Quality User Interface
• Ability to easily add media to posts
• Local draft saving
• Ability to edit saved drafts
  

The tools I'm going to review are either Mac OSX applications or browser based applications. I don't use a PC so I don't have the ability nor the desire to review any Microsoft applications. This post is being published through the blogger online post editor initially. Each of the bullet points below will be edited by the software in question. Here goes:

1. Mars Edit - 30 day trial - $29.95 to purchase - This is a good looking piece of software. It was a breeze to setup and super easy to download my posts and access my blog. I had some problems initially when I attempted to edit this post but after restarting the app I was able to edit without a problem. Unfortunately, there isn't a WYSIWIG editor so if you're not comfortable editing HTML this isn't the app for you. If you're the type that maintains multiple blogs Mars Edit makes it a snap. There is a sidebar that contains all of your blogs so editing and posting to several different blogs can be achieved from one unified interface.
2. Ecto - $17.95 - Again, a great piece of software. This application seems to have it all. The post editor is where this blogging tool really shines. You get both HTML and WYSIWIG editing modes, a media import tool, trackback integration and word counting functionality. It imported the tags into a nice sidebar with the ability to add/remove tags as you go. I really like Ecto as I'm using it more and, for the price, it is impressive. Multiple blogs are also supported with setup being a minimalistic process.
3. Qmana - Freeware - The interface is a bit clunky on this app but it is the first freeware blogging tool in this review. You get multiple blog support, sweet editing with dual views. Tag inserting is supported as well. Nothing to complain of here and, since I'm a big fan of open source software, it is slowly inching up the list despite some of its shortcomings.
4. Scribefire - Firefox extension - This is the first of the browser based blogging tools to be reviewed. This extension is what the performancing extension has grown into. For a browser based solution (free, portable, cross-platform) Scribefire rules. Depending on your window size the interface can seem a little cluttered but that's because of how many options you have. Multiple blog support. Dual view. Most of your standard blogging tool functionality is here. You also get the ability to store notes along with posts and category support (tags). Trackbacks, Technorati & del.icio.us integration, timestamp manipulation, pings and ftp support round out this tool and makes it really stand out. [edit - WOW. After editing this review I minimized the right sidebar and revealed a wealth of media integration possibilities (images, flickr, youtube). Very nice.]
5. Dashblog - Firefox extension - I didn't really like this tool at first because of the lack of features. It isn't really a full-fledged blogging tool though. It is more of a content poster with the ability to post videos, images, text/quotes, songs. I really like the screenshot function though allowing you to screenshot an entire page or a selection. I might actually end up using this to post quick content that I come across. I had to finish up the editing in Blogger though so it is a one trick pony (with a pretty good trick). The image at the end of this post is the result of a screenshot of the extensions own page.
6. Deepest Sender - Firefox Extension - This one of the oldest Firefox blogging extensions. After using the tools above I was pretty disappointed with this tool. First off, the post editor opens in a new window, not within the browser, effectively covering the page I was using for reference. The interface is bland but it does have Normal, Source, and Preview tabs and the normal text formatting options. Not until choosing the menu option "Post History" could I access the other posts on my blog. Again, not terrible but another pop-up window was the last thing I wanted to see. I already have 15 windows on my screen! This tool serves its purpose but I was expecting more from one of the more established tools in this arena. [edit - I tried to edit the original post and the application failed with an ugly javascript error. Final nail.] -- [edit MAJOR - I even tried to post this entry as a draft and received the same error. Not being able to post puts this blogging tool officially in the uninstall queue. Screenshot attached.]
   
7. Flock - built in browser blogging - The Flock browser is geared towards the social / community driven web. It has built in support for several social networking platforms and their ilk. Since it has a built in blogging component I decided to throw it in for review. Again, I was unable to edit the original post so it doesn't make for a very portable solution. Standard WYSIWIG and source editing. Nothing flashy. Nothing new. It is your standard browser window application. (New window I mean...grrrr.) If you already use Flock then this could come in handy since there's nothing to download, install, or pay for. Not my tool of choice but it might be yours. [edit - couldn't post this as a draft so it went live to my blog immediately. Not cool.]

All in all, there are some very high quality tools out there to help you blog quickly and efficiently. Of all the tools mentioned I'm still a big fan of Scribefire. I was hoping to find a quality desktop application but I don't think I'm ready to shell out the $17.95 for Ecto (although I would if I was). Any of the above tools (except for Deepest Sender) will get the job done so check 'em out yourself and let me know what you think.
Did I miss any? Have an app you prefer? Let me know in the comments. I have some more ideas for blog related software reviews but they'll have to wait. I've got programming to do...

[edit - scribefire continues to surprise me. It's even able to edit your posts on the fly from your blog page and add photos, videos, quoted text and a few other things. Sick.]