in his first post, Vorwaller says: PersonalBrain is for research, learning and long-term planning. Mindmapping is for brainstorming
in his second post, he says: In PersonalBrain each node is first class data, whereas in a Mindmap, nodes have hierarchal importance
5 comments
Comments feed for this article
July 20, 2008 at 5:40 am
Vic Gee
Hi Colin,
I think Vorwaller seriously misunderstands MindManager (and to a lesser extent FreeMind) as well as PersonalBrain, and gives a very simplistic view of the uses of the two classes of product. MindManager has deep and serious use in medium-sized project management, with a small subsector of products design to interface with it – products like Gyronix ResultsManager. These can give project managers a continually up-to date dashboard of progress. Also, I can make a Personal Brain with no data on each node, just the name, and use it as a brainstorming tool – I have done. And I have built collections of files on the nodes of MindManager maps (though now I use Topicscape for that, but not the free student version you reviewed yesterday). No, IMO Vorwaller’s view is not based on solid knowledge of the products and does both types a disservice, I’m sorry to say.
Vic
http://www.mind-mapping.org
The master list of mind mapping &
information management software
July 20, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Marcus
@Colin – Thanks for the link!
@Vic – I got a little excited when I first read that I “serious misunderstand MindManger” and that I have a “simplistic view” and lack a “solid knowledge” of the products to the point of doing them a “disservice.” Since those are pretty harsh criticisms, I thought you were going to give me some insight into what I was missing out on or how I could use mindmaps and PersonalBrain more effectively. Instead you only give a vague reference to ResultsManager’s dashboard, brainstorming in PersonalBrain and “collections of files on the nodes of MindManager maps” which really leaves me wanting! I know there is overlap in the tools (I implied that in my articles) but I still don’t see how I was fundamentally wrong.
I’m looking to seeing exactly where I went wrong, hopefully I can learn a little from you–after all, you’re the guy who runs mind-mapping.org!
July 20, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Marcus
Oops…I left out a few words:
‘read that I [have a] “serious…’
‘I’m looking [forward] to seeing…’
July 28, 2008 at 11:24 pm
zenrain
Strange. Medium-sized project management (as stated by Vic) would indicate that the scope is limited in context and fairly isolated (isolated as in the specificity of it, not individuals using it). Although you can use MindManager or other mindmapping softwares to map out large and complex systems, eventually you run headfirst into the maps complexity making it hard to use.
I actually use PB less for brainstorming or relationship layout, and much more as a PIM.
I believe that Marcus has it right, in the context of using the best tools for the job. You can use MindManager for showing and interlinking huge amounts of information, and you could use PersonalBrain for laying out workflows and brainstorming, just as you can pound a screw in with a hammer.
The question is, if you already have a screwdriver, why would you want to?
Oh, and my feedback is based on a solid knowledge of both products and capabilities.
January 15, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Bookmarks about Mindmap
[...] – bookmarked by 5 members originally found by miiTeacup on 2008-12-18 Marcus Vorwaller: PersonalBrain vs. Mindmapping http://chock.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/marcus-vorwaller-personalbrain-vs-mindmapping/ – bookmarked [...]