Thortspace

Comentarios: Overall the workflow creates organic structures that aid in understanding complex topics and provide context to attach details to in subjectively relevant locations that contribute to knowledge retention. It creates the most organic-looking results among mind-mapping tools that I've considered. Being required to break down content so atomically forces the user to distill information to its essential components and consider its emergent structure from there. I find complex topics grow organically like colonies of bacteria across sphere surfaces. Thortspace has become my primary tool for learning any important topic. I have created publicly view-able spheres on diverse topics including tax liens and deed investing, blockchain fundamentals, advanced Matlab and Simulink programming for control systems engineering, and a verse-wise study of the Book of Psalms. Several of those maps would span unwieldy acreage in any less succinct mind-mapping tool.

Puntos a favor: Thortspace is the only mind-mapping software available with any 3D capabilities. It's really 2 1/2 D, mapping everything on spheres instead of flat pages. But spheres can be chained together in 3D to create clouds of related topics. Sacrifices were made to enable the paradigm. All content must be broken down into sub-tweet-sized "thorts", shown as text-laiden bubbles. Thorts are then categorized and organized into groups which are sticky blobs of thorts that can be rotated, re positioned, and titled. Paths can then be used to relate thorts or groups, or spheres. Categories and path types are entirely user-configurable. I've one set I use for computer science, and an entirely different set I use for Bible study. Thortspace has a "do" mode that presents groups of thorts as a list of lists. Its...there. I've little use for it personally. I find it looses the positional and relational context the information is built with. The "explore" mode has all of the navigation tools "think" mode does, but is read-only. It's useful for freeform review of a sphere's information. Thortspace also has a "present" mode. I often use it to blow people's minds when they're expecting death by PowerPoint in the conservatory. It allows for views of spheres to be sequenced instead of slides.

Contras: The user interface was designed by the psychology department, not the usual software engineering folk. Controls are all present and functional, but not where a sane user would expect to find them, nor is everything entirely labeled sensibly. "Search" for example really acts more like "File", switching among and managing your inventory of spheres. It all makes sense if you're willing to adopt a certain level of psychosis. The image handling features need some streamlining, but they are functional if you're willing to wrestle them. Specifically Thortspace imports image files into its available catalog, and then allows thorts to be painted from its image pallet. Managing the pallet is not intuitive. Pasting an image from the clipboard directly to a thort is a glaringly missing feature.

Comentarios: The software is easy to use, engaging, and looks good when shared in social media. The appearance of spheres on social media is a key factor that drives my use of Thortspace. The Thortspace team is responsive, and many ideas are shared by the user community.

Puntos a favor: It is a visually engaging software. I have experimented with many tools over the years, and use Thortspace for the following reasons: 1) the distinctive look of connected spheres, 2) how spheres look when shared on Facebook, Twitter etc., 3) support for multiple ways of categorizing same information, 4) selecting and organizing information into journeys for users. Unlike users who fill the sphere with many thorts, my preference is for a small number of thorts in a sphere. I like to include more text in groups rather than on individual thorts because it is more readable. I like to use Thortspace for storytelling. The point is that there are many ways to use Thortspace that are discovered over time. Thortspace user community on Facebook is a useful resource for discovering ways to use the software.

Contras: While I do not need bi-directional links for all uses, there are situations when I would have liked to have that functionality. I would like to be able to specify colors using codes rather than just selecting from a set of pre-defined colors. Finally, being able to edit thorts in web browser would be very useful in some applications that I would like to develop.

Comentarios: I started using Thortspace as I was looking for a mindmapping tool to use personally and in my work with children.
It is a platform full of wonderful surprises.

Puntos a favor: Thortspace is a great multi purpose platform. I have discovered lots of creative ways to use it including : creating space in my mind and feeling less overwhelmed by writing ideas in the thorts, typing in simple family menu plans created by my children, thus reducing family stress! dictating ideas for stories when out and about which allows for wider and deeper thinking working collaboratively on a book - chapters and random ideas shared presenting a talk about Growing Teenagers using the Journey facility
creating a story journey called Project Oak Leaf which had hyperlinks to a Youtube video and other relevant documents which I shared in a Primary School. The children loved the 3D display and the way the spheres could be linked together, in this more complex presentation. mapping out a business start up idea for clarity and coordination capturing key points from shared conversations in a simple cluster The spheres can saved, published, shared and embedded into websites.

Contras: It takes time to get used to.
Fluency develops with practice.
It is best to begin with simple ideas and then build on the skills to create visually interesting and thortful arrays and stories.
There are short and simple training videos to assist

Comentarios: In my company helps me train new employees in the marketing sector, allows me to build a 3D mapping of all the study modules I must teach, is very easy to use and helps understand complex projects to see a general mapping of these.

Puntos a favor: Thortspace is an excellent mind map's tool. It has large buttons and the cursor, allows you to easily arm and position the spheres. It is far superior to other mind mapping software. I like to be able to zoom in when I want the structural view to the global view to see the whole image and be able to study it better before any modification.

Contras: There's nothing I don't like, it's a very useful and intuitive software.

Puntos a favor: I've used various versions of mind mapping before but Thortspace certainly is in a league of it's own. The interface initially feels a bit funny, specifically the large buttons and cursor, but then you kind of get hooked into creating new spheres and all. It certainly feels easier than your average Mindmapping tool.
If you don't mind not linking to your co-workers, it's free!
I can see how team collaboration would become really powerful this way.

Contras: The interface can feel a little dated and clunky
It would be great if the actions bit was integrated with some common tools such as Asana or Slack.
This would be incredibly powerful if the software could assist in fact finding based on the comments one puts in (not actually a lack but just a great future addition)