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Free your mind with Freemind
Take a step beyond whiteboard scribbling with a new category of software that help you explore the relationships between items and concepts.
When planning a project, whether it's an essay or software, there's a tendency to try to capture ideas in a linear fashion, organizing them as you draw them from your mind. The classic example of this is attempting to write an orderly outline as the first step of composing an essay.
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The problem with this approach is that combining brainstorming and structuring can actually hinder both processes. On the one hand, without the raw ideas visualized, you can become trapped in structural dead ends. And on the other hand, adhering to a prematurely conceived structure makes it harder to call forth all the ideas efficiently. Anyone who has been stuck partway through a stubbornly dysfunctional outline knows this dilemma all too well.
In other words, it's often better to to separate the two processes: get all the ideas down first in a non-linear way, then organize.
Mind mapping is great for this kind of two-step brainstorming. A mind map is a diagram that represents ideas arranged around a central concept. It's a non-linear way to organize and visualize ideas.
Freemind is a free mind mapping application written in Java that will help anyone who plans projects, for example: developers, writers, conference presenters and students. Beyond planning, it can be used to assist decision making, organize information, and aid problem solving.
Freemind boasts a number of excellent features, including: a fast and intuitive interface, node folding, support for hyperlinks to remote and local content, drag-and-drop editing, and export to HTML, XHTML, PDF, SVG, PNG, JPEG, and Open Office Writer document.
The latest version is available at the Freemind web site. There are versions for Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows, as well as generic binaries for any operating system. Freemind requires the Java Runtime Environment.
Installation of Freemind on Linux is fairly straight-forward, and the Freemind wiki has a page of detailed instructions for Linux and Unix users. The instructions explain the installation process on Debian, Ubuntu and Kubuntu, SuSE and Gentoo. They also cover RPM and apt4rpm installs, as well as installs without package management tools.
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