Opinions On TheBrain?

Posted by Hugh
Jun 26, 2008 at 11:38 AM

Manfred wrote:
>I have looked at The Brain in the past, and partly as a result of the activity here, I
>downloaded a new trial and put it through the paces.
> >The result of this is not so much
>an opinion as a question:
> >What is it that you have left of The Brain when you strip away
>the - admittedly pretty - face ... eh ... surface? Isn’t it just links? And aren’t there
>easier (or less cumbersome) ways to create links?

Manfred

Isn’t it just links? Yes, but aren’t outliners all just links, of one sort or another? ;)

To be less facetious - four points:

- PB is graphical - for many people seeing links/relationships in a graphic is more understandable than reading of them in a textual PIM such as UltraRecall
- PB handles criss-crossing multiple connections, which unlike those in tree-form mindmappers, better represent the real world
- PB’s USP could be regarded as a sort of of permanent three-level hoist/focus - that may make relationships, especially in a complex network, more understandable still
- PB offers the possibility of highlighting unexpected relationships in a large database as Al and others have stated - there aren’t many PIMS that can accomplish that (DevonThink and what else?)

But I guess the question has to be whether those benefits are worth $150 more than the price of a non-graphical PIM such as UR Pro (or $50 more than the price of the partially graphical and very different Tinderbox).