thebrain

[flamerz]

they not do many discounts...

http://www.thebrain.com/store/cyber-monday

15% until day 26 november

[40hz]

If anybody here goes for it and does something non-trivial with this product, could you please keep us posted on it?

[attach]

[barney]

I used [free] Brain for two (2) or three (3) years under XP.  Used it mostly as a PIM.  The linking capabilities were great, although the screen did get a bit cluttered after a while with connecting lines  .  Part of that usage was Web links with notes from the site and linked to that were my notes about the site.  Also used it to track software downloads, what I'd paid (if anything), source pages, online reviews, and my reviews.  Don't think I ever used it in any kind of planning capability, but then, I don't often make long range plans  .

It has a learning curve, but works pretty well.  Some of the export capabilities were pretty nice, too.  Lost all that when a hole in the roof let the rain in - over my then desk   - and wiped out the XP box and the backup drive, in use at the time.  (That's when I started off-site rotation of my backups, mentioned in a thread discussing backup methodologies.)  

Never installed it on a Win7 box, since I'd lost everything I had in it, but might pick it up and work with it again.

<edit>
Went back, looked at some file dates ... I was using it for something like five (5) years.
</edit>

[superboyac]

I've tried this one out 3 times over the years, the most intensive workout I gave it was a few months ago.  It's a unique product with a fantastic interface and pretty productive.  I don't know what to say about it, though.  It's like...in the end, it doesn't matter.  I've spent a decade trying to wrangle in my own personal information management system.  I'd put it this way, if your JOB requires you to know a lot of random bits of information and you are required to keep track of it, etc...then it's a good thing to get.  It would also be good for professional collaboration in information collection and analysis is the goal.

But for personal use and if you think it's going to help you keep track of things, i think you will quickly find yourself using it less and less.  But this is not unique to the Brain.  This has been my experience with all PIMs.  Also, no matter how nifty things get, I can't ever break myself away from the old school tree structured PIMs.  I use RightNote now almost exclusively, not because it's amazing...just because.

40hz, my recommendation is to continue using whatever hodge pdoge of information is currently working for you.  I use rightnote for serious notetaking.  I use everything to search my files.  Archivarius to search inside files.  And for organization, I use file naming and folder structuring techniques.  This is all I need.  I keep trying to add niftier tools like the Brain into the mix, but they don't stick.  If you were to use the brain seriously, it would interfere with your file/folder organization because I think you'd feel the need to duplicate that effort inside the brain.  And then you will get tired of it.  And then you will find out that it's not as good/flexible/easy as file/folder organization.  I have never been able to sustain "virtual" organization such as tagging systems and fancy PIM interfaces nearly as long and comfortably as file/folder organization.  Too much work and too virtual.

[barney]

I'd put it this way, if your JOB requires you to know a lot of random bits of information and you are required to keep track of it, etc...then it's a good thing to get.

And that's a thing I did when I was using it.  It was one (1) of the best snippet containers I ever used.  However, that was a very specific usage, not suitable for all.  All I can say is that it's a try-and-see application.  It fits some folk, others not so much.