| Topicscape Pro |
|
PersonalBrain |
| Price |
|
|
| 3D
Topicscape Student 2.0 - US$ 0.00 |
|
PersonalBrain 5 Free - US$ 0.00 |
| 3D
Topicscape Lite 2.0 - US$ 49.99 |
|
PersonalBrain 5 Core - US$149.95 |
3D
Topicscape Pro 2.0 - US$109.99 |
|
PersonalBrain 5 Pro - US$219.00 |
| Pro 2.0 competitive upgrade US$ 54.99 |
|
|
| Structure |
|
|
| Topics
can have many parents |
|
Thoughts can have many
parents |
| Topics
can have many children |
|
Thoughts can have many
children |
| Topics
can have non-hierarchical links (Loose Associations) |
|
Thoughts can have
non-hierarchical links (Jumps) |
| Anything
can link to anything |
|
Anything can link to
anything |
| View of the structure |
|
|
| 3D
landscape view with zooming gives a practical view of a much larger portion
of your information map but at the same time, different-sized objects emphasize
relationships and reduce confusion. 2D Map view also available, with rapid
switching between 2D and 3D. |
|
2D map |
| Shows
Current Topic, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, grandparents, great-grandparent, children's alternate
parents, grandchildren's parents and more. |
|
Shows Active Thought,
children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, children's alternate parents (in
'expand all' mode) |
| Current
Topic, its parents, children and siblings |
|
Active Thought, its
parents, children and siblings |
| Current
Topic's siblings' children |
|
|
| Current
Topic's grandchildren |
|
Active Thought's grandchildren ('expand all') |
| Current
Topic's children's other parents |
|
Active Thought's children's
other parents ('expand all') |
| Current
Topic's great-grandchildren |
|
|
| Current
Topic's grandparents |
|
|
| Current
Topic's grandparents' children |
|
|
| Current
Topic's great-grandparents |
|
|
| Current Topic's great-grandparents' children |
|
|
| Four
levels of detail from 'very detailed' up to 'most important only' using
function keys |
|
One menu option for 'exand
all' mode. |
| A
3D zooming landscape or a 2D swinging, floating map. |
|
A flat map |
| Because
of the many levels and Quickzoom, you can absorb more at once, and home in on
what you want quickly. |
|
|
| Color
topics individually, or by level in the structure, or by groups |
|
Color topics individually |
| Option to show footprints around topic groups |
|
 |
| Describe
associations between topics. |
|
Describe associations
between thoughts. |
| Flag
topics to make them stand out. Choose from penants, whole topic coloring, or
topic tips. |
|
|
| Make
unflagged topics invisible while a function key is pressed. |
|
|
| Moving around your map |
|
|
| Search
by user's added data, file content |
|
Search by user's added
data, file content |
| Control
which fields are included / excluded in the search |
|
Control which fields are
included / excluded in the search |
| Once
in the right general area, moving around is often not required because so
much is visible at once. |
|
Continuous moving, needing
mental re-orientation as you search. |
| Fly
and see a large landscape of your topics (Google Earth style controls) or
choose a 2D map and float around it (as in Cooliris).
Choose another topic to center on if you wish - click a topic to center
a 2D map or 3D landscape around it. This is not so often necessary, as in PB
because so much more is visible at once. |
|
Click a topic to center the
map on it. |
| The
expansive view assists greatly in spotting new connections. |
|
New connections can be
seen, but within a narrower scope. |
| Take
it all in with a glance, instant zoom |
|
Scroll sections of screen
when size exceeded |
| Recognize
where you are, because you are looking at a varying, 3D landscape, not a flat
graph. |
|
Scenes look much alike. |
| How multiple parents are
handled |
|
|
| Topics
cloned (multiple instances of the same thing appear in as many places as
required). |
|
Thoughts cloned if not
visible elsewhere, faint lines criss-cross map if already visible elsewhere. |
| Your files |
|
|
| Files
associated with topics can be internal (stored by Topicscape) or external
(elsewhere in your PC's file system and linked to by Topicscape) |
|
Files associated with
thoughts can be internal (stored by Brain) or external (elsewhere in Windows
file system and linked to by Brain) |
Import
a structure of folders and the structure is retained in that Topicscape's
folder.
Import files and all are stored directly in the Topicscape's folder (with
automatic handling of any duplicate filenames encountered). |
|
Located in arcane structure
of subfolders with names such as 0BC7A021-5E0D-8FD5-114B-F9DB98B57DD3 which
means that finding a file yourself is hard |
| Metadata
(your descriptions, notes, connections and other added information) stored in
a relational database. |
|
Metadata (your
descriptions, notes, connections and other added information) stored in a
relational database. |
| Internal
and external files can be copied or cloned (the same file - not a copy - can
appear in several topics).If you
delete, it checks for multiple instances first. |
|
Internal and external files
can be copied only. |
| Save As |
|
|
| Yes,
save a complete Topicscape under a new name |
|
No |
| Import |
|
|
| Files
can be dragged in or imported |
|
Files can be dragged in |
| Duplicate-file detector tray: drop files on it, and see which are already in that Topicscape |
|
|
| Folders(builds an equivalent structure in the
Topicscape landscape) |
|
Folders(builds an equivalent structure in the
Brain map) |
| Structured text |
|
|
| Word
outline (after saving as text) |
|
Word outline |
| IE
Favourites (mirrors structure in Topicscape landscape) |
|
IE Favourites(mirrors structure in Brain map) |
| FF
Bookmarks (indirectly) |
|
FF Bookmarks |
| PersonalBrain file PBA exported from Brain + labels + tags + types |
|
PersonalBrain file PBA
exported from Brain |
| MindManager
v.5 - v.8 files |
|
MindManager files |
| FreeMind
files |
|
FreeMind files |
| XML
using XSLT |
|
|
| OML
files |
|
OPML files |
|
|
|
OWL files |
| IE
Favourites (mirrors structure in Topicscape landscape) |
|
IE Favourites(mirrors structure in Brain map) |
| FF
Bookmarks (indirectly) |
|
FF Bookmarks |
| All of the above can be imported to make either a new Topicscape
or a new branch of an existing Topicscape |
|
Apart from
files, folders and favorites, imports must make a new Brain. |
| Seamless
drag and drop from Outlook (with Livelink) |
|
Seamless drag and drop from
Outlook |
| Export |
|
|
| Structured text (can be re-imported into Topicscape - so allows a round trip) |
|
|
| Indented
text. Read your Topicscape offline! |
|
|
| FreeMind
file (free mind mapping software) |
|
|
| XML
using XSLT |
|
|
| HTML
(single web page with hyperlinks) |
|
HTML (with navigation
sidebar or Brain navigation) |
| OPML
(also viewable as a web page with collapsing branches) |
|
|
| Export
a Topicscape to folders and files that follow the same structure, making
shortcuts |
|
|
| All
of the above can export a whole Topicscape |
|
|
| All
of the above can alternatively export a topic and all its descendants |
|
|
| Both a full Topicscape and a branch of a Topicscape can be
exported to any of the above. |
|
Only a full Brain can be exported, only to HTML or BrainEKP and only using PersonalBrain Pro |
| Your files |
|
|
| Files
associated with topics can be internal (stored by Topicscape) or external
(elsewhere in your PC's file system and linked to by Topicscape) |
|
Files associated with
thoughts can be internal (stored by Brain) or external (elsewhere in Windows
file system and linked to by Brain) |
When
you import a structure of folders: structure retained in that Topicscape's
folder.
Import files:all stored directly in
the Topicscape's folder (with automatic handling of any duplicate filenames
encountered)
This means that finding a file yourself is easy. |
|
Located in arcane structure
of subfolders with names such as 0BC7A021-5E0D-8FD5-114B-F9DB98B57DD3 which
means that finding a file yourself is hard |
| Metadata
(your descriptions, notes, connections and other added information) stored in
a relational database. |
|
Metadata (your
descriptions, notes, connections and other added information) stored in a
relational database. |
| Internal
and external files can be cloned (same file - not a copy - can appear in
several topics) or copied. |
|
Internal and external files
can be copied only. |
| Paste portions of documents into Topicscape, which makes a
file wrapper for you.Opt for simple
paste or linked or embedded paste. Include Excel, Word and other scraps in
their native form. |
|
|
| Preview
many kinds of files: MS Office, many image and PDF files, web pages (XP only) |
|
Preview many graphics files |
| Too
many files in a topic? Make subtopics easily by selecting the appropriate
ones, and right-click to use "Create sub-topic with selected
occurrences". |
|
|
| Flag
files by color for easy separation |
|
|
| Flag
files as "finished with".
They are kept in the topic but instantly moved to the bottom of the
list and shown in gray. |
|
|
| Add
description, author, source and other useful information that can be viewed
with its file in the filelist. |
|
|
| Archiving |
|
|
| Built-in
archive area for old-but-wanted material (Topicscape Orphans). |
|
|
| Can
demote files to 'Finished with' status to get them out of the way, but still
accessible in the topic. |
|
|
| Searching |
|
|
| Just
type to initiate search |
|
Just type to initiate
search |
| Press
Enter to see 3D (or optionally 2D) list of results |
|
See immediate list of
results |
| Search
based on keywords, phrase, file contents, flags, colors, tags, dates created,
last opened, last modified |
|
Search based on keywords,
file contents, labels, tags |
| Search
an entire Topicscape, search down one branch only, or search just amongst
visible items. |
|
|
| Search
in search results (using 'Scape search) |
|
|
| Search
just the files in a topic |
|
|
| Search
by navigating through topics, zooming and flying |
|
Search by navigating
through topics and scrolling |
| Downloads
local copy of web pages for searching, so you know they'll still be around. |
|
Indexes live web pages |
| Tagging |
|
|
| Centrally
managed, including Topicscape-wide editing |
|
Centrally managed |
| Three
ways to view matching items after application of a tag filter: See the 'Scape
with unmatching items hidden, see all matching items in the hit list, and see
all matching items in 3D in the tag pool. |
|
Tags can be used to
instantly show all the tagged Thoughts without cluttering the specific
contexts of each Thought. |
| Three
ways to view matching items after application of a tag filter: See the 'Scape
with unmatching items hidden, see all matching items in the hit list, and see
all matching items in 3D in the tag pool. |
|
Views of all tagged
Thoughts can be shown in the plex as well as in reports. |
| Tags
imported from PB can be viewed in the 'Scape with a simple hover. All tags
can be viewed in a tag cloud in which font-size and weight relate to
frequency of use.Select tags from tag
cloud for use or filtering. |
|
Optionally, tags can be
made visible in the plex for an at-a-glance cue. |
| Full
Undo and Redo (Ctrl+Z/Ctrl+Y or menu) |
|
Full Undo and Redo (menu
only) |
| Helper application |
|
|
| Topicscape Box provides lightweight support application to make Internet Archive files with a single drag, and allow adding descriptions and other information to files that will go into Topicscape later. |
|
|
| Drag
in Outlook Express / Windows mail items.
Files will be made that include the date/time in the filename to allow
listing in chronological order and avoid duplicate filenames.Excellent for preserving important email
conversations, in sequence, outside the email software. |
|
|
| Copy portions of documents, paste them into Topicscape Box.
Makes a file wrapper for you. Simple paste or linked, or embedded paste. Can include Excel, Word and other scraps in their native form. |
|
|
| Help |
|
|
| Built-in
Help |
|
|
| Help
also available on line |
|
Help available on line |
| Also
available as pdf |
|
Also available as pdf |
| Topicscape
Glossary online, and pdf |
|
PersonalBrain Glossary |
| Topicscape
Online Demo |
|
PersonalBrain Online
Tutorials |
| Built
in live 'pausable' demonstration |
|
Free Web Training |
| Google
Group - fast and free email support - on-line FAQs |
|
Online Forums |
| Price |
|
|
| 3D
Topicscape Student 2.0 - US$ 0.00 |
|
PersonalBrain 5 Free - US$ 0.00 |
| 3D
Topicscape Lite 2.0 - US$ 49.99 |
|
PersonalBrain 5 Core - US$149.95 |
3D
Topicscape Pro 2.0 - US$109.99 |
|
PersonalBrain 5 Pro - US$219.00 |
| Pro 2.0 competitive upgrade US$ 54.99 |
|
|
