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Designed particular for esthetic surgery and medi spas. Very easy to set up and to use. Excellent tech support. Cloud storage eliminate the need for a local server and concerns of backup security. Easy to use at multiple sites. Cons Since transition to cloud storage, annual cost is higher. Still a good value. Welcome to McKesson Connect. McKesson Connect is a one-stop resource for all your pharmaceutical needs: Place orders, get product updates and review order status in.
PersonalBrain 6
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Pros
- Associative linking.
- Dynamic views.
- Database architecture makes it infinitely scalable.
- WebBrain sharing and syncing a welcome addition to version 6.
Cons
- Lacks the esthetic IQ of the competition.
- Bare-bones printing and presentation options.
- Jargon takes a little getting used to.
- Still some bugs.
Bottom Line
PersonalBrain 6 Pro is mind mapping on Adderall. It isn't for everyone, but for non-linear thinkers in particular, TheBrain offers the most sophisticated cross-platform mind mapping software available.
The PersonalBrain 6 Pro uses 21st century technology to modernize mind maps, an organizational concept that's been around forever. Mind maps, visual webs of words, tasks, and ideas, predate the printing press. By the twentieth century, in particularly the 50s and 60s, mind maps helped envision semantic networks. In the 70s, concept maps structured around keywords enriched education. Today, mind mapping has moved from the chalkboard to the computer screen, with a host of different software packages designed to help anyone from educators to engineers, project managers to market researchers, to map out complex concepts. Of the available options, PersonalBrain 6 Pro ($299, including an annual subscription to WebBrain Premium) provides the most sophisticated package for visualizing virtually everything on your Mac or PC.
Unlike traditional mind maps, limited to a particular project or topic, PersonalBrain is infinitely scalable: You can literally put your brain in TheBrain. Whereas, traditional mind maps require hierarchical organization, PersonalBrain accommodates associative linking, so a thought from one topic can link to an entirely different idea, topic, or attached file. To accommodate a webbier Web, views animate and adapt, responding to whatever thought you click. When it comes to sharing, thoughts can sync to the Web, or from one computer to the next through the WebBrain service.
Certainly, there are comparable packages of cross-platform software that best TheBrain in the basics. NovaMind ($249) is a more esthetically-attuned mind mapper.
If you're looking to visualize—or print—a given project, such competitors are not only viable, they may be preferable. However, if you're looking to invest in mind mapping, PersonalBrain 6 has the most developed cranium. None of the competition can match its scalability, animated and adaptive views, or speed with which you can scrawl your map from scratch.
Cracking Heads
PersonalBrain feels less than 'personal' at first glance. The default screen is a blue-black gradient with a rotating circle that looks like something out of Tron. This circle, the 'Gate,' is the top level of your brain, from which you may draw as many child thoughts as you please. Before I got started, though, I had to change the look of the program.
Thankfully, TheBrain gives you a number of views and options. Switching to Presentation View expands the window to full-screen and looses the top bar. Transparent View is a real mind-melter: The software disappears leaving you with a search box, and your brain hovering over your desktop. If your desktop is less than pristine, you'll get lost. I settled on the standard view and tinkered with the preferences to change the default typeface, and add a less austere background.
Changing your project's look and feel doesn't necessarily address all of the UI limitations of PersonalBrain. While I found adding thoughts easy (to be discussed), there were a couple of instances in which I wanted to use keyboard shortcuts but couldn't. For example, there's a shortcut to jump to Presentation View, yet no way—without tinkering in preferences—to quickly jump to Transparent View. Alone, a quibble, but every shortcut counts as you invest in the software.
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Making Connections
PersonalBrain is designed to grow with your mind. Unlike competitors that use flat file architecture, PersonalBrain is a relational database that expands to accommodate attachments, folders, and links. Adding thoughts and topics is intuitive. Drawing a line out from the Gate creates a child. If you have a number of subtopics, you can semicolon—separate the terms and create a whole family at once. Drawing a line up from any of those children creates a new Parent(s) and drawing a line to side creates a related thought called a Jump. I found the whole process surprisingly agile.
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Where PersonalBrain really starts to flaunt its IQ is in building associative relationships. Building a hierarchy is one thing—any mind mapping software can do that—but going a step further, and building relationships across that hierarchy is where this software stands out. Let's say I'm a publisher creating two distinct books that share content. The books are separate projects and they ought to remain so. However, there might be basal chapters, or at least common pages, within chapters. With PersonalBrain, I can draw relationships across hierarchy to connect thoughts.
Despite its sophistication in association, PersonalBrain is a less apt importer. PersonalBrain includes an import tool that enables you to import a tab-delineated hierarchical document. I dreaded having to build a map from scratch, so I spent a good deal of time setting up the document. Unfortunately, it wouldn't import. After contact with the company, I learned that PersonalBrain looks to the hierarchy of the document as it's expressed in text styles, visible in Word's 'Outline' mode. I was able to workaround the issue by opening my document, copying the text, and pasting it in PersonalBrain through the Paste Outline option. I was happy to see that it preserved my hierarchy. A word of caution, however: when working in Office, the inclination is to write longer, but this tends to look cluttered in PersonalBrain.
Mind's Eye
PersonalBrain excels in visualizing complex connections. Clicking a thought centers it on screen, with lines radiating to related thoughts. I was impressed with the dynamic viewing: Clicking related thoughts sent them spinning to the forefront. Even as I added more content to my brain, the visuals remained responsive.
Along the bottom of the screen, there's a breadcrumb trail that will help you keep tabs on hierarchy. This is a valuable feature, especially as you begin adding more associations. Clicking any of the terms in the trail that teleports you to that level, so you cannot get lost. At the same time, if you want a more permanent link to a particular thought of interest, you can bookmark it, or, in the parlance of TheBrain, Create a Pin. Pins stick to the top of the screen. They work well, but I wish you could do more with them: After five or six, the top of my screen looked cluttered.
Speaking of clutter, Views make extraordinary differences in PersonalBrain. The default Normal view is sufficient in the beginning, but I found that as I added more content to my brain, I had to switch to Expanded View, which enables you to drag and manually open or close specific thoughts. With your mouse's scroll wheel you can zoom in and out on an area of interest. There's also a sub-option to Expand All. This is fine when you're just starting out, but once you begin adding more to your brain, it can resemble a jumble of text. Finally, Outline View will prove most comfortable for linear thinkers (like me). Think of it as a hierarchical list. It works really well for traditional mind maps; however, if you have a lot of associative relationships, you'll find this view inadequate.
Nimbly Minded
PersonalBrain thinks big. As previously suggested, TheBrain takes a different approach to mind mapping, building their software on a database rather than a single file. This means that you can put in whatever you want. First, let's talk attachments. If you want to include a file along with a thought, just drag it in to create a shortcut. Double-clicking the shortcut launches the file. And because the shortcut is essentially a link, you can move the file without PersonalBrain losing its cool. You can even drag in entire folders to create virtual thoughts.
The other option is to embed the file in your PersonalBrain database, an option available by right-clicking inside your brain (though you can also change the default preferences). You can either move the file into your brain, or make a copy. PersonalBrain even supports versioning, so you can use it as a searchable database for file management. Moreover, despite localizing a lot of data—documents, spreadsheets, images, and zipped files—I never noticed diminished performance.
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PersonalBrain is clever with the Web. There's a built-in tool, similar to Snagit, which enables you capture images from the web and associate them with thoughts as 'thought icons.' You can drag URLs directly from your browser URL bar into PersonalBrain to capture a hyperlink. This might be useful if you're working on a research project where, in addition to capturing a stack of bookmarks, you want to track relationships between resources. Every thought also has a Notes space, where you can include full hypertext notes on each thought, or even checkbox to-do items.
Your Two Cents
The final key feature, new to version 6, is a beta synchronization service called WebBrain. WebBrain has two main functions: First, WebBrain helps you synchronize your brain among multiple computers; second, if you want to share your brain with others, WebBrain provides an online storage space for your data.
In terms of synchronization, PersonalBrain isn't terribly clever. The first time I manually synchronized, I encountered an issue wherein I couldn't synchronize because my computer's clock didn't match that of WebBrain. I had to manually change my computer's clock in order to synchronize. Then, you have the option to either manually sync, or schedule syncing. In a world of cloud-based computing, where users expect perpetually synching data, this sort of rigidly scheduled sync seems antiquated.
For sharing, however, WebBrain is a solid beta. There are already numerous free public brains available for your perusal. And WebBrain looks and feels like your desktop client, retaining your custom settings—for example, my custom background and typeface. I could even launch attached links.
But be advised, WebBrain is a beta. When I tried to add a new item via Firefox, I wound up with a '+' where there should have been a space. There also isn't a refresh button, so if you happen to have the page open while you make a change in your desktop client, there's no easy way to make it see that change without manually refreshing the page. If you embedded files your Brain, WebBrain will initiate a download in your web browser; if they're simply linked, don't expect to access those files remotely.
Sharing wasn't entirely intuitive for me: I couldn't see my WebBrain without a WebBrain account, an inconvenience when I tried to share my project with a non-user. This is because, by default, Brains published to WebBrain are private, password-protected and exclusive to your account. To share your brain with someone else without asking them to sign up for an account, you'll need to change the privacy settings to 'public' for that Brain. Perhaps in future revisions, WebBrain will build a bit more hand holding into the process: it's a useful feature that shouldn't be overlooked.
To its credit, WebBrain does give you the option to toggle between a JavaScript version and an Ajax version. Although Ajax meant relinquishing right-click functionality, I found it ran considerably faster in Firefox, and it is probably better suited for sharing your brain in a presentation.
Beyond WebBrain, PersonalBrain also features a number of manual exports, including a brain zip—something like an archive—XML or HTML export, or even returning to a Word document by copying text as an outline. As long as you're staying on screen, your data is versatile. If, however, you're looking to print, your options are fairly limited. The PrintPlex engine mimics the current screen view (so if you're in Expanded view, you'll print Expanded view). Printing across multiple pages can help capture a particularly large cranium. That said, when compared to the in-depth print options available in the presentation-centric competition, PersonalBrain looks a little thin in this area.
The Personal Brain
Limited printing options belie PersonalBrain's priorities: This mind mapping software isn't intended for presentations, per se, but for heavy, personalized use keeping your thoughts organized. It doesn't aim to map a project, but to absorb all of your projects, and anything else you seek to include. If you want mind mapping for the workplace, iMindMap might be a more prudent choice: It is a more sophisticated presenter, supports a host of desktop and mobile platforms, features an online version, includes a Project Management System with Gantt Charting, and shares a similar price point.
However, if you're looking for something that embraces associative relationships between ideas, PersonalBrain is the strongest—and singular—option. No other mind mapping software scales, animates, or adapts like PersonalBrain. With the addition of WebBrain, users can expect a more personal community. There are already sample brains available for review and inspiration, not to mention video tutorials and free technical support. TheBrain even offers PersonalBrain 101, a biweekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) online class for new mind mappers.
$300 gets you the works—the professional client and one-year subscription to WebBrain—which is about par for premium mind mapping software. For those weary of the costs, TheBrain offers tiered pricing, based on desktop and online functionality, starting at half the cost. For those who want all the Pro functionality, start with the 30-day free trial: try it before you commit to it. For nascent mind mappers, seriously consider the free version of the software, which contains most of the functionality without the ability to embed files. You might find that you can't live your personal PersonalBrain.
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