ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

SimTech has announced on their website that they will soon release Mindmapper 2008 USB. With Mindmapper 2008 USB you will be able to have access to Mindmapper 2008 by simply plugging the USB flash drive into any USB port on a Windows computer. MindMapper 2008 USB will give you full access to the application and does not need to be installed to run the application. Mindmapper 2008 USB ships on a 4 Gigabyte drive which allows you to save your mind maps on the drive and open and edit them as if it were installed on your hard drive. Here is the information about MindMapper 2008 USB:

Product Introduction

Run MindMapper on any PC: MindMapper 2008 USB Edition is portable MindMapper that lets you run MindMapper on any PC with a USB interface. No installation No registeration or activation It also doubles as a 4GB USB flash drive so you can store all your MindMapper files and other files for your convenience Miniature slim swing-type USB drive Gold plated appearance to give you the best and valuable looking USB device among all your peers Small enough to easily attach to your keychain or mobile phone with the included strap

What's in the Box

USB Flash Drive with MindMapper 2008 Professional Edition built in MindMapper 2008 USB Edition has MindMapper 2008 Professional built in. Think of it as portable version of MindMapper, as you can plug it into any PC and start MindMapper

A couple of weeks ago I had reviewed the initial release of Mind2Chart and found it to be a very easy to use MindManager add-in for project planning. I did make some recommendations to the developer for improvements and as a result of my feedback we now see that many of them have been incorporated into the latest version of Mind2Chart 1.3 which was just released.

Mind2Chart has now been upgraded to version 1.3. Mind2Chart 1.3 is an add-in to MindManager 7 and has been tested to ensure compatibility with the latest MindManager 7 build. Mind2Chart includes the following new features:

- Coloring tasks and color synchronization between MindManager topics
and Gantt bars;
- Master Schedule for the whole project and individual resource
schedules, to specify working days, holidays, individual days off and
vacations;
- Project cost calculation based on the resource costs. New report for
project cost calculation;
- Automatic Task Alignment Tool - allows to reorganize the project
schedule depending on the resources assigned, so resources will not be
overloaded and project will finish at earliest possible date.

Mind2Chart was thoroughly tested for compatibility with Mindjet
Connect®. Such compatibility should enhance collaboration within
project teams when planning and tracking task performance.

My bags are packed and I off to San Antonio, TX for the National Educational Computing Conference. I will have 5 full days of educational technology and meetings with both hardware and software developers. At this conference the hardware and software developers will announce new products and services which always makes this one of the more exciting conferences of its kind. For the conference, I am packing my MacBook, Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, Olympus Digital Camera, Blackberry Curve, and FlipVideo camera. If I have learned anything, attending these conferences, is make sure you bring lots of business cards. I have lots of meetings and look forward to reporting to you from the convention floor-up to the minute news. I have set up my Jott account so that I can use my cell phone to quickly post to my blog. So if you see some minor errors please know that it is the speech recognition that is faulty. It should be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to reporting the news to you- so stay tuned.

For those of you that are considering using Mindjet Connect, take a look at my vignette to give you some insight as to how I have been using it for the last couple of months. I have found Mindjet Connect indispensable for planning the Fall Visual Mapping Conference. I have been able to share my MindManager 7 visual maps, as well as PDF and Word documents in the workspace. When I have needed to I have been able to in real time to co-edit my MindManager 7 maps with my co-presenters which has been really fantastic. So if you have the chance view the vignette to find out how I have been using Mindjet Connect.

Anyone who has been following the visual mind mapping arena for any time certainly has heard of Chuck Frey. Chuck has been a vigilant leader in the field who keeps all of us abreast of the trends and software developments in the field of visual mapping. I for one am grateful for the work that Chuck has done and honored that he will be one of the guest speakers at the Intelligent Visual Mapping Conference on October 2-3, 2008 in the Greater New York City Area. Chuck recently started a new mind mapping blog which I wanted to make you aware of. Once you goto Chuck's new blog you will treated to one of the most informative blogs on visual mapping that you can imagine. So click here to take you to Chuck's new blog.

I have had the opportunity to beta test Mindjet Connect before its initial release last week and have really enjoyed the ability to collaborate in real time on my visual maps. Once you use Mindjet Connect, there is no going back. Mindjet Connect is a wonderful and easy to use collaborative technology that lets you not only store your maps but other files types as well. I have been using Mindjet Connect to plan the Intelligent Visual Mapping Conference in the Fall and it is great having one single access point that all of my presenters can go to for all of the conference information. I am now storing Word and PDF files in my workspace along with JPEG files which makes it easy for me to access wherever I am. To see Mindjet Connect in action you can click on this link.

Along with Mindjet Connect, Mindjet announced the availability of MindManager Web which lets you create visual maps using an application that is served up through your browser. As long as you have a Mindjet Connect account you can launch the MindManager Web client from your computer and create and access your visual maps from your workspace. While you will need to have a Windows computer with a Mindjet Connect Account you can successfully use MindManager Web on a Macintosh to edit and create new maps. Having access to my visual maps from any computer is a great feature and one that I am going to really enjoy. Mindmanager Web was very easy to use and is functionally the same as the desktop application. MindManager Web has a great look to it and is very responsive when using it. Once you start using it you will soon forget that you are using a program through the browser. The interface is very well done and it looks as if the client was written using Adobe Air and Flash. When creating topics and subtopics MindManager Web behaves just like the desktop version and so you can easily use the Enter and Control Enter keys to add topics and subtopics to your visual maps. All of the standard markers, symbols, flags, and smileys are available to you for use. You can also add boundaries and relationships as you would on the desktop version of MindManager. Adding your own images to your topics can be easily accomplished within the application. One of the really nice features is the ability to open your MindManager visual maps and import them into your Connect workspace. Similarly, you can also add attachments and hyperlinks on your visual maps that you create with MindManager Web. With access to all of the features you would expect from a visual mapping application having them available to you 24/7 is really terrific. Check out Mindjet Connect and see what all of the excitement is about.

FYI:


PersonalBrain 4.5 beta is now available you can download it at
http://www.thebrain.com/download.

It is a free upgrade for all PersonalBrain 4 users.

New features include:

. Increased performance on all platforms
. Complete undo and redo support
. Paste outlines for easy importing of content
. New SiteBrain features
. Timed events and reminders
. Merge Brains command
. Copy and paste improvements

CS Odessa Introduces ConceptDraw Office - The Integrated Solution for Effective Project Management Visualization and Communication

Odessa, Ukraine, June 17, 2008 - CS Odessa announces today the general availability of its new ConceptDraw Office business productivity software suite. ConceptDraw Office reflects CS Odessa's collective expertise in developing market leading business applications, data visualization technologies and project management tools.

Using CS Odessa's new InGyre Technology in its ConceptDraw Office business productivity applications (ConceptDraw MINDMAP, ConceptDraw PROJECT, and ConceptDraw PRO), users are provided with a seamlessly integrated workflow solution. The functionality of one stand-alone application is significantly extended, by utilizing the capabilities of the other applications within the suite, to create powerful work environments.

Building representative visual documentation that reflects work progress is a critical project task that ConceptDraw Office was developed to support. InGyre Technology assists in the creation of visual dashboards and reports that represent key indicators of work progress, from either project files or a set of selected tasks. It also quickly transforms task outlines into professional looking Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) charts that are editable by using ConceptDraw PRO.

From a communication standpoint, impressive visual project reporting is critical for the project success of any participant. ConceptDraw Office introduces a wide selection of tools to easily generate professional visual project reports.

Gregory Zhukov, Chief Executive Officer of CS Odessa explains, "We have seen from how our customers use currently available software products on the market, that there is a clear need for a visually-based application suite that has the capability to break through many of the business productivity barriers which have an adverse effect on project success. Years ago, Microsoft Office revolutionized the way we work with text documents and spreadsheets. In much the same way, ConceptDraw Office revolutionizes the way we work with project management data and business information."

Gregory Zhukov, further states, "With the time and other resource constraints that face knowledge workers today, it is important that the tools they use closely fit the tasks at hand. With CS Odessa's forward thinking design of CD Office, knowledge workers can now focus on accomplishments without struggling with the tools they use."

A common customer usage scenario often begins with the brainstorming of project ideas, using whiteboard views and organizing results into highly informative mind maps. During the next phase, information is developed into detailed project plans with Gantt charts and visual performance dashboards. Managers can then balance and efficiently allocate resource loads using the Resource Usage view, or assign and send task lists to team participants in the form of mind maps. ConceptDraw Office provides start to finish process and project cycle management.

For more information about ConceptDraw Office, please visit:
http://www.conceptdraw.com/pg?id=cdo_1.0_press-main

ConceptDraw Office is available for $499 USD at:
http://www.conceptdraw.com/pg?id=cdo_1.0_press-buy

ABOUT CONCEPTDRAW PRODUCTIVITY LINE
The ConceptDraw product line for Macintosh and Windows is comprised of:

• ConceptDraw PRO
  Diagramming and drawing software
• ConceptDraw MINDMAP
  Brainstorming tool that utilizes mind mapping techniques to help organize ideas and tasks
• ConceptDraw PROJECT
  Professional project management software
• ConceptDraw WebWave
  Software for creating professional diagrams and drawings on the stage of website or application prototyping and design, page mocking-up and site-mapping
• ConceptDraw NetDiagrammer
  Network and system design

ABOUT CS ODESSA
Founded in 1993, Computer Systems Odessa (www.conceptdraw.com) supplies cross-platform productivity tools and graphics technologies to professional and corporate users. With headquarters in Odessa, Ukraine and an office in California, USA; CS Odessa sells products internationally through resellers in over 25 countries. The ConceptDraw Productivity Line of products has won numerous awards and is used by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world