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HeadCase MindMapper is now free.
HeadCase is not a well known application. It seldom shows up in lists of mindmapping software. It has an interesting history though... It has been developed by Elliott Bignell. For years he worked in cooperation with the Buzan Corporation. Tony Buzan is the creator of Mind Maps (with capital Ms). You'll notice on Elliott's website
http://www.loanedgenius.com/
that he highly esteems Buzan. During the first years of development he coordinated with the Buzan folks who were to help with the Help documentation and marketing while Elliott wrote the code. Over time the communication slowed to almost nothing then stopped. Shortly after that the Buzan Corporation released their own Mind Mapping software; iMindMap. Folks on the Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/headcaseinfo/messages
quickly pointed out that the look and function of iMindMap barred a striking resemblance to HeadCase. Just recently I downloaded a trial of iMindMap to compare it with HdCs. I noticed that iMindMap actually had one of the same bugs that used to be in HdCs. Of course this makes me think of the big corporate juggernaut steam-rolling over the independent developer and ripping him... But alas, I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Elliott has chosen not to hold a grudge and so I must do the some.
Anyway, Elliott indicates that he has a long commute and too many responsibilities to continue developing HdCs, so he's made it freeware. Unfortunately it is unsupported freeware. It does have some bugs... Imported graphics don't seem to 'stick' after you close, then reopen the app. There are some screen-draw glitches where the map, or certain branches, will disappear then reappear when you zoom in and out. Lastly, I find that the undo works haphazardly. In spite of this, the program is really pretty cool. You can see some examples on the LoanedGenius.com site. iMindMap is more stable (and did I mention $300 US for the full version), but HeadCase has so many more features that it's in a class of it's own. You can spend many many hours playing with the different types of branches and text embellishments. Just be sure to save often and don't try to use any graphics or HeadCase will drive you mad.
It used to sell for about $70 US for the full version. Elliott recently posted this master key on the forum:
Product ID: 0123456789AB
Key: F3412577384B
http://www.loanedgenius.com/
Today is a sad day--but a good day for freeware :) -steve
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Comments
I have recently tried all three of these FREE programs, and my short experience is as follows:
1) HeadCaseMindMaps - close to the original Buzan concept - but a bit 'scruffy' if trying to use in a professional environment. Wasn't too obvious how to use it.
2) ConceptDraw MindMap 5.5 - very good clean product, with lots of features. Simple to move nodes around, add hyperlinks, export to other programs etc, change colour and shapes of nodes and lines. The resulting maps look good - you can see that this comes from a 'drawing' background as the makers name would suggest.
However for me it crashed fairly often - and the map(s) that I was working on became corrupted - and could not be opened again.
3) FreeMind 0.94 RC - does not seem quite as comprehemsive as the other two (and an annoying 'feature' to my mind is that when you add an icon to a node it is propagated all the way back up to the root)- but at least seems stable.
A good number of features (changing node and line colours, adding hyperlinks, some limited export) ... even if some are undocumented!
All-in-all I have decided to stick with FreeMind.
Headcase. is a headache. thanks for the info to give it a try but it's buggy as hell. could not even get it work. sometimes freeware is free for a reason
I have used mind mapping software for many years. Even though MindManager 8 has finally worked in some useful features integrating into Office, the price is a rip-off. I find that I now stick to freeware simply because I do not want to create documents which in future are likely to be incompatible.
I don't understand how anyone can use such UGLY and DISTRACTING Buzan's TM mind-maps. Stick with FreeMind, free forewer, focus on the essential.
I Use FreeMind for all my mind mapping needs.
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
FreeMind - free mind mapping software
FreeMind is a premier free mind-mapping software written in Java. The operation and navigation of FreeMind is faster than that of MindManager because of one-click "fold / unfold" and "follow link" operations.
I use it as a master "To Do" List.
If you want to see what it looks like, and fool around with it go see: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/extensions/freemind/appletwindow.ph... which launches a Mind Map Explaining Mind Maps in a Java Applet in your browser so you can see how it will look running in Java on your hard drive.
Can anyone explain what is "mind mapping" and why or how it is useful?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
I've used it for many years, and find it a very effective technique. Curiously, I find all the computer implementations inferior to simple pen-&-paper ... but I suppose they have a place when it comes to collaboration.
Just a heads up about Mind Mapping: You can get ConceptDraw Mind Mapp 5.5 Free. It's one of the big players on this software niche and it's really good, although I cannot offer any comparison with Headcase's (never used it).
The offer is for v5.5 (v6.0 was recently released) and it usually costs $199 for it's full version or $89 for the upgrade... Me, I'm just happy with v5.5 and I'll stick to it.
Just follow the instructions (http://for-free-on-internet.com/2009/01/conceptdraw-mindmap-5-profession...).
PH.
This is a very decent program, and the best of free mind mapping software i have come across!
Wow this is an awesome promotion. I wonder how they decided (or can afford) to give it away for free like that...
It is here
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/headcaseinfo/messages
Read this post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/headcaseinfo/message/1304
then this one
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/headcaseinfo/message/1305
A review of older posts will reveal that he had been considering making it freeware for some time... Do remember that there _are_ bugs and it is (at least for now) unsupported software. Therefore new posts on the group will go unanswered...
Yup, It's free. If folks are skeptical they can go to the Yahoo groups site and checkout the developer's most resent post (which is where he posted the above ID and Key... He says he'll eventually unlock the app altogether.
-steve
Please provide a link to the Yahoo groups site.
Are you completely sure this is freeware? The website makes no immediate mention of anything but a paid version.
I'll leave it for now but I would welcome feedback if people are willing to risk downloading it.
I just downloaded the full version of HeadCase Mind Mapping, so I can assure you that it is free. Here are the steps:
1. Go to www.loanedgenius.com
2. Scroll down just a tad to where you see the words "You can download the 28-day trial version here...". Just below that is a link that says, "SmartAce-level trial version - hcsmart.exe".
3. Click the "SmartAce-level trial version - hcsmart.exe" link.
4. Follow the standard wizard prompts to download the software.
5. When the download is complete, launch the application.
6. You will be prompted to enter a Product ID and Key. Enter the ID and key that are presented in Steve's post above (Product ID: 0123456789AB, Key: F3412577384B).
7. Below the Key field are two buttons: one for the trial version, the other for the full version. Click the button for the full version.
8. Done! You now have the full version for free.
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