Rethinking Your WorkFlow with the iPad

I have been using the iPad for the past 6 weeks or so and learning the ins and outs of this innovative and portable tool. I have noticed over the past couple of weeks that I am beginning to think differently about how I access, create and store my information. While not exactly a "digital native" I still prefer to read paper based books and magazines but I see myself beginning to shift as I load more and more of my PDF's into iBook and read them at my leisure. I keep my iPad in my bureau next to the bed and have access to it whenever I need it. I have recently begun to read the PDF's that I have loaded and love the fact that many of them have embedded URL's which link to the internet for more information. Being able to zoom in on the text has been really fantastic and makes it a lot easier for me to read the text. The iPad screen is nice and bright and makes reading a really enjoyable experience. Just this past week I received a notice to renew my subscription to PC Magazine and I was offered a two year digital subscription for about 63 cents an issue. Having an iPad made this an easy decision to make and as I subscribe to other magazines I can see the trend to move all my subscriptions to the digital format. Prior to having the iPad I would not have thought twice about purchasing a digital subscription to a magazine. I have found over the years that reading on a Mac or PC is cumbersome and I would often print out longer documents. However, with the iPad this is a real game changer for me, as I look to move more of my magazine subscriptions to a digital format.

The software companies that understand the essence of the iPad know that users want the total experience of being able to access their documents and synchronize information in the cloud.
Over the past couple of weeks I come to learn the value of being able to store information and synchronize my data. I have been using iThoughtHD a mind mapping app on my iPad to do more of my work and really enjoy the ability to be able to export my mind maps to Box.net in many common mind mapping formats that I can access from my desktop mind mapping applications. The integration is seamless and really delivers the user extra value. The same can be said for ToDo for iPad, a task management app that seamlessly integrates with Toodledo on the web withthe touch of an synchronize icon. Moving forward I can see developers are beginning to think about the integration from the desktop computer to the web that can then be accessed with an iPad.

Just this past week MindMeister released MindMeister for the iPad which synchronizes with their cloud based mind mapping application. It is exciting to how companies are beginning to build iPad applications that either act as a go between or as a way to synchronize the information that lives in different applications. As an example FileMaker, this week released FileMaker Go, a iPad and iPhone app that allows users on the go to query and modify their databases that were created on the desktop with FileMaker Pro. I can remember back to the days when FileMaker released a version of FileMaker for the Palm platform that gave you similar functionality. It is certainly exciting to see all of these developments and makes you rethink your work-flow and how you will harness the information you need- wherever and whenever. I would be interested in learning how tools like the iPad are making you rethink your work-flow. Please post your comments below- it would be great to get your thoughts on this topic.

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Posted in: Apple,Apple iPad,filemaker,filemaker go,iThoughtsHD,mindmeister,PC Magazine,todo for iPad

MindMeister Releases Mind Mapping Extention for Google Wave

While I haven't spent enough time using Google Wave to cast my opinion, several of the mind mapping companies are finding it fertile ground to release extensions that add a collaborative mind mapping application that runs inside of the threaded discussion. Today I learned that MindMeister released their Google Wave mind mapping extension that adds the ability to create a simple mind map within a threaded discussion. To the left is a screenshot of the MindMeister within a Google Wave discussion. Granted the features are limited but it is just the beginning for this platform.

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Posted in: Google,Google Wave,mindmeister

MindMeister Revisited

The more I use the web, the more I am moving my documents to the cloud and relying on these services to host my files. Being able to have access to my files from anywhere that I am connected to the web is invaluable to me. More importantly, having the ability to work collaboratively with my colleagues and partners is equally important and a key feature that is generally built into the hosted online software applications. I have used MindMeisiter for several years now and really enjoy its host of features that allow me the flexibility to do my mind mapping quickly in the cloud.

MindMeister works quickly in the cloud and is very easy and straightforward to use. It provides me with a way to add graphics, pictures and clip art into my maps to helps add to their visual appeal. MindMeister comes with a library of clip art but it is very easy to upload your own graphics to your map should you decide to go this route. Adding notes to an idea is easy to do with lots of formatting capabilities. Likewise, I can attach links, files and tasks to any branch in MindMeister. Being able to embed files makes MindMeister a great repository when I am working on projects and have related files that I want to database. Similarly, if I am working on a project with my partners it is easy to keep track of tasks and have MindMeister automatically email notifications when tasks are upcoming or overdue, from my mind maps. Notifications can be set up from within MindMeister to automatically email any collaborators that have tasks coming up or are overdue. It would be great if there was a way to export the Tasks and timelines into a project management software application. Or better yet MindMeister should consider having built in Gantt charting capability. You can always be hopeful!

Certainly the feature set that I really enjoy is being able to share my maps with others as I am working on projects and here is where MindMeister really shines. It is very easy to invite others to either "collaborate" or "view" my map which is done by sending an invite from within MindMeister. Since I am a blogger the one feature that really stands out for me is the ability to place a mind map on my blog. MindMesiter makes it very easy for me to publish my maps when I am done to my blog by providing me with the embed code. But more importantly I have a high degree of control as to what users who view my map can do. If I choose I can allow "copy and export," or give my viewers the opportunity to edit the map. In the same vein I can also password protect the map by adding a password into the equation. You can see an example of a mind map I created below by simply pasting in the embed code that was supplied by MindMeister. The mind map is fully interactive and you can expand and collapse branches and zoom in and out. Give it a try and let me know what you think. if you like there are also options for printing and exporting your maps in various formats. You can currently export your MindMesiter maps in the following formats: MindMeister, MindManager, FreeMind, PDF, JPG, and RTF.

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Posted in: mind mapping,mind mapping 2.0,MindManager,mindmeister,PDF

MindMeister 3.1 Released

One of the first mindmapping Web 2.0 applications that I tried awhile back was MindMeister and it continues to be one of the leading online mindmapping applications available. Just today MindMesiter released version 3.1 with lots of added features. One of the features which I feel will be a welcome addition is the ability to add relationships to your map. MindMesiter calls these graphic cross connections which are easily added by clicking on the Connect button on the Tool bar. You can see in the map below how I added the green connection arrow from one node to another one in the map. In Version 3.1 it is now possible to alphabetize the nodes and so that they are sorted alphabetically. If an individual who has been invited to collaborate on the map but has not yet entered the map a coffee cup icon will appear and by clicking on the coffee cup icon you can "nudge" them to participate. It has also just gotten a lot easier to take your maps offline. No longer do you have to wait for endlessly for all your maps to synch when you go to offline mode - a new dialog allows you to choose which maps you want to take offline. Very useful if you have a lot of them!So check out MindMeister and sign up for a free account. You will also find it easy to embed yourMindMeister maps on your website or blog to communicate your ideas. Below is an actual map that was created with MindMesiter that you can interact with. Let me know what you think.

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Posted in: MindManager,mindmapping,mindmapping 2.0,mindmeister

MindMeister 3 Rolls Out

I just received an email that MindMeister 3 has been released with a a large number of new features and tweaks to the user interface. Here is a list of the new features and changes in MindMeister 3:

• Task Management

  Many more features for easier task management in MindMeister, including start date and duration, email notifications, iCalendar feeds, WunderTasks and a task overview from all maps.

• Search and filter, better tags

  The new map search - you'll find it in your map list view - makes managing many maps a lot easier. You can search for titles and contents, and even use Find in maps (CTRL-F). Also, managing tags was enhanced with a new overflow dropdown.

• Resize ideas and wrap

  Overlong idea labels always created problems. In the new release you can now resize them via drag and drop, and your maps will also keep the wrappings when exported e.g. to PDF or as image.

• History View

  We completely revamped the version history to make viewing and replaying the collaborative changes of a mind map a useful and fun experience. Clicking on the coloured bullets starts "replay" mode. See also our tutorial video.

• WikiMaps

  You can now turn any public map into a WikiMap. This will make it editable for everybody (well, everybody who has a MindMeister account, to avoid spamming). Quite useful to gather input from many people at once!

• Import text files

  In addition to Freemind and MindManager^TM formats, you can now also import plain text files into MindMeister.

• Emailing attachments

  Geisesblitz Email now supports attachments which will be inserted as attachments to your ideas into MindMeister.

• Many more key shortcuts

  Our users say they love them, so we've added quite a few more for common operations. See a complete list.

• Other enhancements

  New user interface, revamped "My Account" section, Offline mode for Safari, recommendations in map view, new export dialog and options, better printing (via PDF), clone public maps, larger note previews and much more.

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Posted in: mind mapping,mindmeister,project management

MindMeister Now Supports Offline Editing

Mindmeister just emailed me this morning to let me know that they have now added the ability to edit your mind maps offline using Google Gears. I had a chance to check it out and it works as advertises. Once you go to you log into Mindmesiter, simply go to your My Account tab and click on the Enable Offline Mode button. Once you do this a Google Gears dialog box will displayed asking you if you would like to link this application. Now you can go to My Maps screen and click on the Online button to take your mind maps offline. Te screen below shows you Mindmesister taking my mind maps offline. There are some features that are not available offline but I have not have the time this morning to delve into them. Mindmesiter should be commended for making this application easy to use and for giving us the freedom to work with our mind maps both offline and online. If you are interested in signing up for a Premium MindMeister Membership click here.

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Posted in: Google Gears,mind mapping,mindmeister

Web Based Mindmapping Survey

Chuck Frey who is noted for the work he has done in the area of mind mapping emailed me today to share with me that he has launched a new survey which focuses on the use of web based mind mapping applications. If you have used any of the web based mind mapping applications please take the time to complete the survey by clicking on the link below.
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During the last year, web-based mind mapping applications have grown significantly in their level of functionality and popularity. To better understand how people are utilizing these tools and what their potential impact is likely to be, I've decided to conduct a brief survey on this technology. This survey covers issues such as:

- Which tool offers the best functionality?
- What features matter most to you?
- What are the biggest benefits of web-based mind mapping tools?
- What are the shortcomings of this emerging technology?
- What is the future of this cool technology?
- And more!

Please take a few minutes to complete this brief, 12-question survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=y_2f0R2yPy1JeqSRO79fDCyA_3d_3d

I look forward to your thoughts and opinions!

Chuck Frey
chuck@innovationtools.com
The Mind Mapping Software Blog
http://mindmapping.typepad.com
InnovationTools

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Posted in: Chuck Frey,comapping,mind mapping,mind mapping mindomo,mindmeister,Web 2.0

MindMeister Adds New Features

The MindMeister Team shared this update with me which I thought you would find interesting. MindMeister is an online application that allows you to do mindmapping right within your browser With each update the program adds more and more functionality. One of the really powerful features is the ability to share your mind maps and collaborate with other people over the web. Check it out and tell me what you think.

What's New in MindMeister

* Links on ideas

Support for internal (between maps, or also to individual nodes) and external (websites, email addresses) links on ideas

* Automatic layouter

No more overlapping ideas and branches with the new auto layouter - can also be triggered manually on "messed up" maps by pressing F8
* Note and link previews

Notes and links on ideas can now be previewed by hovering over the respective icon, including site previews
* Reworked, more organic lines

We've changed the line drawing mechanism so that mind maps now hopefully look more organic. The poll in the last newsletter went in favor of the slightly rounded lines (with about 40%)
* Automatic canvas resizing

The map canvas will automatically resize to the size of the map, e.g. on import of large maps or when adding lots of ideas
* Changes view date slider

In changes mode the footer will display a date slider that you can use to constrain the time period for which changes are shown. Clicking on links in notification mails will only highlight changes since your last visit.
* Start new map from idea

You can quickly create new maps from ideas through the right-click menu, and the new map can automatically be linked to the current one
* Export as PDF

The map canvas will automatically resize to the size of the map, e.g. on import or when adding many ideas
* Enhanced printing

Choose whether you want to print in full size or fit to page, and with open or closed branches
* Browse public maps

You can now browse, search and view all public maps on MindMeister - let us know which ones you like through the good old star rating system!
* and much more...

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Posted in: collaboration,mind mapping,mindmeister,Web 2.0