Mind-mapping (Software)

Experimenting with FreeMind which I found on Sourceforge. Able to construct non-linear flow-charts and diagrams, to aid in mapping the mind, developing ideas, preparing speeches, projects, etc.How does it compare to commercial options like Personal Brain or Grokker 2, MindManager from MindJet ($229) and ResultsManager from Gyronix ($145), discussed in James Fallows NYT Techno Files. Mind Mapping movement stems from work of Tony Buzan, beginning in 1960's, with 101 strict "laws" for drawing mind maps. Fallows writes "MindManager's intellectual effect seems the opposite of PowerPoint's. As any veteran of business briefings knows, the visual tools in PowerPoint can blur distinctions and impose an artificial sameness on ideas. At a minimum, MindManager doesn't retard clear thinking, and it might actually help." For something more linear and left-brained, Fallows cites CaseSoft's NoteMap ($149) as best computerized outliner.