RefreshingApps.com

Mindomo have released a desktop AIR application as a companion to their successful online mind mapping tool.

Mindomo Desktop is a mind mapping application which can be deployed to your desktop and run across operating systems. It allows you to work on your mind maps offline or when your internet connection is not available.

This is really aiming to be a proper application and as soon as you start it you realise this is a serious bit of Adobe AIR right here.

If you have used any kind of mind mapping software like Freemind or Mind Manager solution then you will quickly begin to feel at home. The keyboard shortcuts and the general approach will be familiar.

This is a free application to download and run. However if you want the ability to save local copies then you will have to stump up some cash for the premium account. This gives you many export options and extra features that you can use online or in the desktop AIR client. If you are a serious mind mapping user then the upgrade might be worth considering.

It is worth saying that this application has lots of features and I won’t attempt to explain them all here. Give it a download and try it out.

Design Eye

There is no denying the fact the the Mindomo guys have taken a large chunk of inspiration from the new Microsoft Office ribbon interface. The design is centered around the idea of task based menus and options. The upside for this is Office users could start using the Mindomo desktop AIR application easily. Downside with the ribbon interface is the amount of space it takes up on screen.

Visually the AIR app is great, icons are of the standard office type and the textual content is clear. I did out of habit press the spacebar while trying to drag the workspace, this just happened to be the shortcut key for adding a new child node! Needless to say I had quickly filled my screen, a good test for the undo functionality.

Response in applications like this is key, especially in the office / corporate space. UI friction is kept to a minimum and all options were spritely while testing.

Technical Eye

Built using Adobe Flash.