Filed under: Productivity, Freeware
MindNode - Free mind mapping for Leopard
Mind mapping seems to be one of those things that you either get, or just don't. For those who do, there's a new player in town. MindNode is a free Leopard-only mind mapping application from Markus Müller, based in Austria. The application is by no means feature-rich; in fact, it's so simple as to be a bit disarming at first. But what it lacks in features, it makes up for in elegance.
The interface is incredibly clean. To create a new node, simply double-click anywhere on the window, or press the Tab key when focused on a node to create a new child node. To create a node at the same level as the one that is currently in focus, press option-Tab.
As new nodes are added at the same level, they surround the previous nodes. For example, the second new node appears below the original one. The third appears above. Below, above, below, above. While this is an easy way to keep everything grouped together, it's not particularly useful if you're using MindNode to create a list with any sort of ordering. Some would argue that mind maps should not worry about ordering since it should be all about capturing ideas. But given that mind maps are useful in large part because they allow for graphical organization, this behavior is a bit unfortunate.
Other than that one small beef, MindNode is a nice, small, but useful tool that will be right at home in your Applications folder for the next time you find yourself needing to do some brainstorming.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Robert McGovern said 10:21AM on 4-09-2008
Your link to the MindNode site appears to be borked.
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Jason Clarke said 1:15PM on 4-09-2008
Thanks - I've fixed the link.
Luigi193 said 10:26AM on 4-09-2008
javascript:void(0);/*1207718225806*/
Hmmm.....
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Ehych said 10:52AM on 4-09-2008
Here is the link for the download, the site seems to be having some trouble.
http://www.mindnode.com/download/MindNode.zip
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bobics said 10:54AM on 4-09-2008
I use FreeMind. Is this any better?
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Chris Rossini said 11:19AM on 4-09-2008
I like MindNode's simplicity. It's like the GoogleTalk of mindmaps.
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Dave S said 11:40AM on 4-09-2008
I'm a mindmapper, I've used Freemind, and got a cheapo license for xMind during one of mupromo.com's events.
I like xMind over freemind, but I have trouble outputting - so is this any better? I'd love to be able to output a vector based file, or a GOOD pdf, which I can't seem to do in xMind.
And any possibility of this overly generous developer doing a Tiger version? I'm stuck in the past...
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Ehych said 1:15PM on 4-09-2008
It is nicer, better looking maps
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glad said 1:15PM on 4-09-2008
I used this a few months back and it does the job for me as it's a great creativty tool. Nothing too fancy just works well.
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Robert McGovern said 1:20PM on 4-09-2008
Not quite Jason, the link is now http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/09/mindnode-free-mind-mapping-for-leopard/www.mindnode.com and not www.mindnode.com
BTW Why can't a reply to a response to my own comment?
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Jason Clarke said 2:09PM on 4-09-2008
Thanks Robert - fixed (again).
Markus Müller said 1:43PM on 4-09-2008
Thank you for this very nice entry about my application. This really took me by surprise and sadly my server wasn't able to handle the traffic. I switched to a static page for the time being.
Website: http://www.mindnode.com/
Download: http://www.mindnode.com/download/MindNode.zip
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Michael said 3:19PM on 4-09-2008
Really nice app! On that topic, do you guys know MindMeister (www.mindmeister.com)?. It's a free web-based mind mapping app where users can collaborate in real time on maps just through the browser.
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Michael said 3:25PM on 4-09-2008
Sorry clickable URL: http://www.mindmeister.com
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Mathias said 4:40PM on 4-09-2008
One way cool thing is that a saved file gets a thumbnail of the mindmap as icon, and it's viewable in quicklook. Makes things way easier if you have it together with a project and need to check a thing on the go, right in finder.
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Brooklynguy said 9:21PM on 4-09-2008
I really need cross-linking on a decent free mindmapping app. Does anyone know of one? I can't afford NovaMind and similar products right now, and FreeMind seems so complicated and buggy to install on 10.5.2. Suggestions, anyone? I love MindNode's simplicity, but I really need cross-linking. Thanks.
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jwindmueller said 6:11AM on 4-10-2008
It's nice to have a simple and free alternative to FreeMind. As someone who uses concept maps often--for my own brainstorming, for presentation graphics, and for group facilitation--I'm also a fan of the (unfortunately not-so-cheap) commercial option of MindManager (http://www.mindjet.com). I was thrilled when they finally created a native Mac version of the software a few years ago, since it was one of the few reasons I ever needed to schlep back into Windows emulation.
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joaquin said 1:31PM on 4-10-2008
I am a mind-mapper too and have been using the greatest mind mapping app for the mac IMHO: MyMind by Sebastian Krauss. (http://www.sebastian-krauss.de/software/#mymind)
A shame Sebastian has discontinued development. As it stands today, it is the best mind mapping app I have used so far on my Mac. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
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Hervé S. said 6:32AM on 4-11-2008
I add my vote to MyMind too :-)
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Custardbun said 11:23AM on 5-26-2008
If mindnode and mymind were to merge together we would have the best mind mapping software on either windows or the mac platform.
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