XMind goes open source

XMind -- a powerful, Java-based mind mapping and charting application -- has been open-sourced (it's free!) with version 3.0. While it's not my absolute top pick for mind mapping, it ranks up there. I did have a license for the paid version, and I can tell you that it packs plenty of punch. It has all of the extra features I like: boundaries, relationships, summaries, notes, markers, outline view, floating topics and more, as well as intuitive keyboard navigation for rapid-fire brainstorming.

One of my favorite features was the drilldown; pressing F6 focuses in on the current topic, displaying only it and its descendants. Shift-F6 takes you back up. It's similar to MindManager's "Focus" feature, but faster (and more limited in scope). And for those who want (or need) to, just set all of the shapes to underline, turn on multiple branch colors and tapered lines and presto, you've got an honest-to-goodness Tony Buzan-style mind map ... or as close as you'll get without buying Buzan's software (which, despite it being relatively expensive and lacking in system integration, I am regularly tempted to do) or breaking out the colored pencils.

You can also create Org and Fishbone Charts with XMind. It imports FreeMind and MindManager maps as well as Marker Packages, and can export to HTML, image, Marker Package or Text. The HTML export is ... okay. FreeMind actually creates more useful HTML pages, but it works. Overall, it's great stuff, and it's exciting to see it open sourced.

So, how did software that once cost $299 end up being free? It appears to be a change in the business plan, with a subscription model for "XMind Pro" replacing retail sales. I'm a little sketchy on the details, but the Pro version seems to include online collaboration for XMind users, Gantt charts and a Presentation mode (among other features), with a range of subscription prices: $6USD for 1 user/1 month, $400USD for 10 users/1 year, and everything in the middle. It's not necessary to have a subscription, however, to use XMind. Just download a copy (or even the source code) and let the brainstorming begin. Oh, and tell your PC friends, too; like many Java apps, XMind also comes in Windows and Linux flavors.

Audacity 1.3.6 Beta [ MacOS ]

Our buddies over at sister blog Download Squad gave us a heads-up this morning about a new release of Audacity, the open source, cross-platform audio recording / editing application.

Audacity 1.3.6 (Beta) for Mac has new features added by students during the Google Summer of Code 2008:

• Support of WMA, M4A, and AC3 file formats
• Import of audio from video files
• On-demand loading of uncompressed files, eliminating the wait before files can be edited
• Linked audio and label tracks, so labels move with their corresponding audio when cutting, pasting, or changing speed or tempo
• A hierarchical plug-in grouping for built-in plugins

Experimental features include:

• Sound activated recording
• MIDI file import, edit, and export

As always, Audacity is free. Click here to head over to the download page, and remember that this is betaware.

Ambrosia's Uplink goes universal

Who among us didn't want to start a career in illegal computer hacking after watching the movie Wargames (and who actually did)? You can fulfill your cyber crime fantasies with Uplink, Ambrosia Software's corporate hacking game.

You play as a covert agent hired to gain information from rival companies' computers. As you go, you earn money to upgrade your own equipment, gain deeper access and more.

I only played briefly, but I had fun. Ambrosia released verison 1.6.0 earlier this week, which is a Universal Binary. Other changes include

• Updated game content
• Toggle fullscreen and change resolutions in-game without restarting Uplink
• Various bug fixes and enhancements

If you like DEFCON, another Ambrosia title (we took a look at DEFCON here), you'll probably enjoy Uplink. A single license costs $25US. Uplink requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.