No sooner then I do a review of MindGenius 2.5, I find out that MindGenius Ldt., has just released MindGenius 3. When you first open MindGenius 3 you will see an who new look, complete with the adoption of the Fluid Ribbon Interface. MindGenius 3.0 is much more visually appealing to use but you should feel right at home with the common interface structure. MindGenius 3 kept many of the same conventions as in their previous version such as the Map Explorer and the Picture Gallery Viewer. MindGenius 3 has a clean and inviting look summoning you to jump in and use the program. If you are upgrading from version 2.5 you should be up and running in no time. While it may take some time to get used to the Ribbon, I found the organization of the commands on the Ribbon to be well thought out and relatively easy to find what I was looking for. The Welcome Map and the Getting Started Guide are two useful resources when you are just beginning to use MindGenius 3. Here are a list of some of the new features that you will find in MindGenius as provided by the publisher:

• Ribbon User Interface which allows for improved brainstorming, presentations, analysis and task management functionality and easier access to the most commonly used features and functionality.
  
• improved Analysis capability to help you sort your information and add quick filters to get a different view on your data eg by category, actions due/ over due, cost or task properties.
  
• MS Excel export for use with pivot table analysis, parts lists, costs, task management, and FMEA Analysis, allowing you to work with numerical values as well as words.
  
• Numerical fields added that allow you to record actual work hours, costs and quantities and undertake cost and quantity calculations.
  
• updated image library with a suite of pictures that can be used royalty free by all MindGenius users.
  
• ability to add and edit your own question sets in the Question Tool allowing you to undertake improved planning and brainstorming sessions and create frameworks for meetings and customer facing sessions.
  
• timer to allow you to keep on schedule in brainstorming, meetings and presentations.
  

One of the strengths that comes across in using MindGenuis 3 is the powerful filters and the ability to sort your maps by a specific category. MndGenius really shines in this area and makes for a valuable tool if you are doing consulting and looking how resources are being used in a project. With a click of the mouse you are able to create your map based on the Resources and see things through a different lens. You can watch this video to show you how to assign Resources with the Resources Dropper and how to quickly create a Resource Map within MindGenius 3. In this regards MindGenius 3 has redone the interface and allows you to quickly link resources with tasks on your map. Using the very familiar Eye Dropper you can drop resources in tasks make it easy to track them in a project. You will also find that there were some significant features added to the Task Ribbon. In MindGenius 3 you can now track Work Hours, and Cost for tasks that can then be Exported to Excel for further analysis. If you like you can also Export your Tasks to Outlook with a click of the mouse. Having exported some project information to Excel I was impressed with the formatting and the Report that was generated. Of course if I decide to, I could always export the project to MS Project to give me a full range of tools and a Gantt Chart.

One of the features which is unique to MindGenius 3 is the ability to create Question Sets. A Question Set is a series of prompts or questions that can be associated with a mind map. This is a great feature to use to help you to generate ideas and to get you to thinking about a topic is a new or novel way. While MindGenius 2.5 included this feature you were unable to edit the Question Sets and you had to use them in the standard way. In MindGenius 3 you can easily edit the Questions and use them as you see fit. These custom prompts and questions can help and guide users to be more productive when they are working through an issue and are mind mapping. These Question Sets can be very powerful frameworks for users when they are attempting to solve problems using mind mapping tools.

All in all, you will find Mind Genius 3 to be an easy to use mind mapping tool that builds on it foundations and provides a good foundation for future development. While you will have to gauge for yourself the worth of this upgrade- I for one feel that users will find MindGenius 3 easier to use, more visually appealing and brings with it a clean new interface that should make users more productive.

On the PC, first came Wolfenstein 3D, then came DOOM. Such is the way of iPhone gaming ports as well. We saw Wolf3D earlier, and now we see DOOM Classic.

To be honest, it's part of an ongoing trend. With faster CPUs on the iPhone 3G and particularly the iPhone 3GS, more first-person shooters (FPS) are ending up on the iPhone and iPod touch.

You might ask, how much? When id Software first released Wolfenstein 3D, it was $4.99. Since then, it's dropped as low as $0.99 and currently sits at $1.99. DOOM, on the other hand, is a high-priced (for the App Store) $6.99. Ouch!

Don't confuse this with the earlier release, DOOM: Resurrection. That is an all-new chapter, but if you want the full id Software experience in terms of history, you really need to get Wolf3D, DOOM Classic, then DOOM: Resurrection.

On the other hand, that is one minor nit I would have: I would expect that DOOM Classic would cost slightly less than DOOM: Resurrection. Come on, there's a recession on here.

At the same time, the game's description indicates there's probably $6.99 worth of fun there:

Welcome to Hell! Prepare to relive the First Person Shooter that defined a generation with the legendary original DOOM - now on the iPhone. As a space marine stationed on the planet Mars, you are all that stands between the armies of Hell and their invasion of planet Earth!

DOOM Classic includes the original three episodes as well as Episode Four, Thy Flesh Consumed, spread across 36 levels of non-stop carnage and action.

Choose from customizable control schemes, all designed by id Software co-founder and industry legend, John Carmack. Wield unforgettable weapons like the Chainsaw and the BFG 9000 while fighting through notorious monsters like the Imp, Cacodemon, and Hell Knight!

In DOOM Classic, multiplayer action is reborn! With a wireless connection, battle up to four players in Deathmatch mode, or work together cooperatively and fight back against the demons of Hell.

Features:

• Play the legendary first person shooter, DOOM, with an iPhone or iPod Touch.
• Fight through 36 missions in four action-packed episodes: Knee-Deep in the Dead, Shores of Hell, Inferno, and Thy Flesh Consumed
• Experience DOOM multiplayer on your mobile device, including Deathmatch and Cooperative play for up to four players via wireless internet.
• Choose from three different control types and customize the interface to suit your style
• Explore the depths of Mars while utilizing the topdown map to help you explore and save your game on the fly.
• Listen to the original soundtrack or disable it and use your own iPod music

If you have worked with computers for any length of time you know just how important the data that lives on our computers are to us. From our music, to photographs to financial data we all rely on those files being there when we boot up our computers. So the question is, "When was the last time you backed up your computer?" You see it is not a question if your hard disk will fail but a question as to when will it fail. While we go our merry way thinking that our computers will work as they should, there will come a time when you boot up and you get the dreaded error message that your computer will not start up. If a technician can't get the system up an running you will be faced with the option of having to reformat your hard drive and lose all of you files. Wouldn't it be nice if you had prepared for this event and had a backup that you could access to restore all of your data files.? I know the answer to this question, and have been working with a number of products from Clickfree to see how well they work. Clickfree has a number of products that let you easily backup your data files without the need to install any software. Clickfree tries to make the process of backing up your hard drive as fuss free as possible and in this regards- they have accomplished their goal.

I had a chance this week to take a look at Clickfree's Transformer Cable, which turns any external USB drive into a Clickfree backup solution. The Clickfree Transformer Cable is a small USB cable with the attached Transformer pod on it that you simply plug into your computers USB port. Once the Transformer is plugged into your computer you can plug in your external USB drive and within seconds the Clickfree Backup software runs finding, organizing and backing up all of your files. It is really that easy- with no software to install. With the price of external USB drives coming way down in price there is no excuse not to have your data backed up. Clickfree Transformer Cable works with Windows Vista®, Windows® XP and Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

I have to say that the Clickfree's Transformer Cable worked as advertised. I was able to back up my Dell XPS 1210 using the Clickfree's Transformer Cable in a couple of minutes and all I needed to do was plug in my external USB drive into the Clickfree's Transformer Cable. Now I have the peace of mind that my files are safe should my hard drive crash. The Clickfree's Transformer Cable backs up all of your data files and includes a Restore function should you need to restore your files. You can also search for files using the Clickfree Backup Software and access individual files should you need them. Clickfree saves your data files in the native application's file format so that it is easy to access should you need to copy or move them to another computer. The Clickfree Solution backs up over 400 difference types of files from your hard drive so that you can be rest assured that they will be there when you need them. Clickfree Transformer also ships with a small application which you can install to your computer which will remind you to backup your files- you can also set it up the Clickfree Transformer for Unattended Backups as well. You should note that the Clickfree's Transformer Cable Backup Solution does not backup your software applications or your operating system. If this is important to you, you may want to look at another solution (I hope to share this solution with you in another post shortly). But for the peace of mind of having all your data files backed up, the Clickfree's Transformer Cable solution worked as advertised. If you need a simple no fuss method to back up your computer files then this is the way to go- trust me you will be happy you did!