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Pro Ver 6.0
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Contents
Introduction
ReadFast
GrafittiLite
MapEdit
GanttNow
FreeThought
WriteNow
Orator
LibraryDesk
FileZone/Doc2Go/NLPlab
Dictionary and Thesaurus
SpeakEasy
VoiceCoach
MozartFX
RecordPerformance
SnapStream
FastText
Options and Customisation
Past Changes/Future Evolution
Introduction
BrainBox
represents a suite of software designed to enable you to:
* think more clearly,
* learn more quickly,
* communicate more clearly.
Use the software to: generate ideas, sort information, discern meaning, and structure your thoughts. The intention is to promote 'effective' thinking, learning and communication by bringing to your attention a range of techniques of which you might not otherwise be aware.
The Journey
We begin our description of the tools in BrainBox with the metaphor of a journey...a journey on which we need to (i) research ideas, (ii) make some tentative observations, (iii) pull together ideas into a report, or pull together ideas into a viable plan of action, and (iv) convert conclusions into a step-by-step plan that can be communicated to others. With this metaphor in mind, we will look at the first four applets that BrainBox provides for you to use. ReadFast helps you to collect information and ideas. GrafittiLite helps you to sketch out some preliminary thoughts. MapEdit supports the use of concept sorting and concept mapping, and also provides enough sophistication to also be of use drawing causal maps and flow diagrams. GanttNow give you all you need to construct simple Gantt Charts, detailing who will do what, when, where and how.
ReadFast
In our age of broad banded internet connectivity, we have access to swathes of written information. The world in the palm of our hand. Thus the challenge is to (first) learn how to skim this deluge of facts and figures, (second) to extract key ideas and (third) collate those key ideas so that they are useful to us. With this in mind…
ReadFast began with a question: Given that many speed readers use a ruler or pointer to help them focus on the line of text they are reading, what would an electronic version of such a pointer look like? This led to a second question: When interacting with electronic documentation, what added facilities could we program into ReadFast that would never be available to someone reading a paper based presentation?
So…Use ReadFast to seed your mind with information, facts and figures, as a foundation on which your work with other BrainBox modules, such as Graffiti, MapEdit and GanttNow, can build…
ReadFast can attach itself to any application, providing a set of reading tools which work in conjunction with your browser or word processor. Using the application, you can: (first) use the Window Edge and a moving pointer as a reading guide, (second) access a voice memo facility, (third) copy selected text to a word processor; and (fourth) make use of a magnifying glass, for occasions on which your eyes feel tired.
GrafittiLite
Graffiti Lite is an application that is inspired by the way in which many great ideas and inventions have begun life on the back of a restaurant napkin. The software is also influenced by the layout of many Innovations Laboratories, in which walls are covered by whiteboards on which people can scribble their thoughts.
In essence, Graffiti Lite can be likened to a simple paint program (like Windows Paint) that has been optimised for brainstorming and / or for use as an electronic flip chart or scribble pad. For example: (i) the default size of the virtual workspace is equal to an A3 sheet of paper, (ii) you can store up to 99 sheets in a file, (iii) the save format is based on that of a zip file so file size is minimised, (iv) output can be sent to a printer or exported to PDF and (v) you can import artwork in a variety of formats via the paste special function.
All you need is some form of pen input and you are away. Thus, Graffiti Lite really comes into its own if you are using a Tablet PC, if you are using an interactive whiteboard, if you own a graphics tablet, or if you are using one of the increasing number of pen inputs, such as the Ipen Pro wireless pen mouse, which functions like a pen-shaped mouse.
Note: Sometime in late 2006/early 2007, we expect to release a BrainBox Plus Pack containing a new version of Graffiti called Graffiti Plus. This will add many of the powerful facilities of a tablet PC to any computer running XP Service Patch 2 (or better, as long as your computer has the Microsoft .Net Framework installed on it). For example, the ability to scribble ideas and then ask Windows to convert your writing into typed text. Graffiti Plus will also provide facilities compatible with Widows Journal…in a package which integrates into the heart of BrainBox.
MapEdit
MapEdit is an application designed to make it easy to generate ideas and shape those ideas into the form of a concept sort, concept map, mind map, causal map or flow diagram. It is therefore an ideal ‘next step’ after using Graffiti or sketching out ideas on a piece of paper.
MapEdit provides most of the functionality of a flow charting application, and is focused upon ease of generating ideas and then sorting those ideas into meaningful clusters. So if you like to generate and sort ideas in a visual and pictorial format, this is an application you will want to check-out.
Completed maps can be exported in pdf, wmf, text formats and pasted into a word processor, which means that it is easy to create a map and quickly arrange for it to be deployed onto the web or emailed to colleagues. This makes MapEdit a useful tool for explaining your thoughts to others, as well as a tool which help you refine your thinking in the first place.
GanttNow
GanttNow provides the final link in a common sequence associated with decision making: (first) jotting down some thoughts in Graffiti or on a scrap of paper, (second) refining and elaborating on those thoughts in MapEdit, and then (third) wanting to generate a detailed plan of action.
As you might have guessed from the title, GanttNow has been designed to help people draw Gantt charts. For those not familiar with Gantt charts, these are diagrams which help managers to organise large projects, from starting a new business to launching a rocket into space. (And for those of you unfamiliar with this notion, GanttNow begins by providing a set of help links to several web-based sites which explain how you can make Gantt charts work for you).
Now. Assuming that professional managers, who need really powerful Gantt charting facilities, probably already possess MS Project, GanttNow focuses on the needs of the rest of us, who only need to draw relatively simple diagrams...and who need a Gantt chart editor which is relatively easy to learn to use.
But this does NOT mean that GanttNow lacks sophistication. Within the application, you can navigate projects up to three years in length, down to time periods of one hour. Or you can peruse much longer projects down to a time period of a day. So there is every reason to expect that with GanttNow your projects will be more successful in the future.
A change of metaphor
Think of the next three applications as the 'support staff' that help you get the most from the tools that have already been described...
FreeThought
FreeThought is an application dedicated to making it as easy as possible to select and make use of a wide range of creative, innovative and focused thinking techniques.
FreeThought supports over thirty different ways in which to generate and sort ideas, from the many now in use by managers in many large companies and organisations around the world.
Begin with the templates that we provide, then customise and edit those templates to suit your needs. After pressing a couple of buttons, you will be able to read about the techniques that are of most use to you, and then copy templates and instructions associated with those techniques into either MS Word or the free office suite, Open Office. And because the native file format of FreeThought is RTF, you can mix and match text and graphics to best effect.
Using FreeThought , preparing for a creative thinking session has never been so easy…
WriteNow
WriteNow does for researchers and writers what FreeThought does for decision makers.
There are many different kinds of research and genres of writing. And one of the hardest things for a ‘novice’ to do is to find an appropriate structure for their work. Hence, WriteNow provides notes and templates to help new authors and researchers evolve such a structure.
Thus, if you need to: dash off an essay, distinguish between meta-studies and quantitative research, or storyboard an award-winning novel – this is the place to begin…
Inside WriteNow, you will be able to read about the research and writing techniques that will be of most use to you, and you can then copy templates associated with those techniques to the Windows Clipboard.
Once on the clipboard, the templates can be pasted into MapEdit or a word processor, such as Microsoft Word or the free office suite Open Office, from OpenOffice.org.
Orator
Orator is a program designed to help you edit, or present, written ideas by reading them aloud.
The name for Orator derives from the fact that the software makes use of Microsoft Agent Technology to convert text into speech. Thus the quality of the speech will depend upon which languages and voices you have pre-installed on your computer. Some of the default Microsoft voices are a little robotic, but there are many free and low cost alternatives which sound much more like natural speech. (Such as the AT&T Natural Voices from nextup.com).
With the advent of Orator Unleashed, Orator has been re-programmed to read direct from Microsoft Word and direct from the free office suite, OpenOffice. Alternatively, it can be set to read any text that you copy to the Windows Clipboard. Which makes proof reading a cinch.
With Orator able to read your word processor files, and the speech facilities built into Acrobat able to read your PDF files, you now have access to a powerful ‘combination’ of text-to-speech technologies.
(Note: We suggest downloading an purchasing an AT&T Natural Voice for use with Orator. The AT&T Natural Voices make listening to your words much more of a pleasure than do the default windows robotic voices. But if you do decide to use the AT&T voices, we suggest that you avoid the UK voices, which do not sound like Mr and Mrs Chumbley-Walker. The US voices are much better).
LibraryDesk
LibraryDesk provides a place in which you can organise any electronic resources, which you download from the web. In particular, it provides a link to web folders on our server, which contain a set of e-books, posters and PowerPoint presentations, related to decision making and accelerated learning.
Anyone who wants to make serious use of BrainBox will find that the content of our books will help them understand the learning and decision making techniques that BrainBox is designed to support. Our texts provide both a detailed, and a practical, introduction to subject matter, which ranges from forms of applied psychology, to NLP, to DHE, to computer-enhanced learning, to mind mapping, to advanced forms of knowledge representation and systems analysis.
In format and presentation, the e-books are well-illustrated with pictures, with case studies and with many humorous stories. All-in-all there are over 600,000 words plus many pages of graphics, yet, being electronic in form, the whole set can be downloaded as an 'ensemble', relatively quickly over a broadband internet connection. And when read in screen format, the text integrate well with the text-to-speech engine found in modern versions of the Acrobat Reader. (Especially if you have invested in an appropriate AT&T Natural Voice from nextup.com).
(To read our books click here)
Another change of metaphor
Think of the next two applications as the 'gofers' who contribute to the low level filing and grunt work...
FileZone/Doc2Go/NLPlab
FileZone connects to two facilities, designed to help you store, sort and retrieve your files. These two facilities are Doc2Go, which will be of interest to everyone and NLPlab which will be of interest to practitioners of a form of psychology called Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Starting with Doc2Go…Doc2Go provides a one-stop-shop that you can stock with templates, resources and notes. In essence, Doc2Go provides an interface based on Windows Explorer so that you feel at home. Yet at the same time, Doc2Go provides you with access to an expanded set of options. For example: zip/unzip, encrypt/decrypt, delete and shred, archiving, simple backup, version monitoring, web link checking, and the provision of a secure (and encrypted) haven for all your passwords.
Moving on the NLPlab…NLPLab is designed for people who want to learn to become more eloquent in their speech and in their written communication. When you use applications like SnapStream, RecordPerformance, SpeakEasy, VoiceCoach, which began life as parts of NLPlab, designed to assist users in the development of professional skills, you will find that when you elect to open or save files, the applications ask if you would like to store your files within the NLPlab cluster of folders.
Dictionary and Thesaurus
Everyone aspiring to become more adept at communication soon realises that they need to improve their word power.
No matter how good you are, there is always someone who is better. Therefore an essential item in any communication toolkit is a dictionary. Arguably, a second essential item is a thesaurus.
While you could walk off to your bookshelf and browse your paper based dictionary and thesaurus, it may not always be convenient to do so. When your brain is full of innovative ideas - and your creativity is in full flow, it is always helpful to have several tens of thousands of words, definitions and alternatives quickly to hand. Hence, the inclusion of both a 185,000 word dictionary and thesaurus in this version of the BrainBox suite of programs.
(The 'engine' underlying our dictionary and thesaurus is that developed by a company called World Web Developer, whose website is well worth a visit by anyone with an interest in words).
A final change of metaphor
We imagine that the following applications will be most useful in terms of personal and professional development. We trust that you will find them useful...
SpeakEasy
You may have all the right words, and some pretty good ideas, but they will only be useful to you if you can recall them at a later date.
With this in mind, SpeakEasy provides all the tools that you need to record and playback voice notes and memos. All you will need is a suitable microphone and soundcard plugged into your computer…and you can get started.
Ultimately, the applications of SpeakEasy are many: from taking notes, whilst studying, to recording instructions, to practicing a speech, to preparing an audio file to be pasted into an electronic presentation.
VoiceCoach
VoiceCoach is conceived as a place in which you can consider the quality of your tone, cadence and manner of speech. For whether we like it or not, the way we speak hugely affects the way that others relate to us.
Thus, VoiceCoach provides: (first) some notes on ways you can begin to improve the quality of your oral presentations, along with (second) links to additional free tools, which will be of use to anyone seriously seeking to improve the quality of their oral presentations. And (third) links to a web site containing shareware tools developed for use by speech therapists.
Over time, we hope to expand the range and quality of the facilities in VoiceCoach. But for now it represents a simple set of tools that you can use in conjunction with advice that you glean from books, audio and video materials which explain how you may best improve the quality of your spoken words.
MozartFX
The name MozartFX was derived from increasing interest by teachers and trainers on in the impact of sound on brain state, which is often reported under the umbrella title 'Mozart Effect'.
With this in mind, MozartFX provides facilities for the playback and recording of single wav and mp3 files, as well as additional facilities useful in the maintenance, play and recording of multi-track play lists.
If you take some time to surf the web, or to read books on applied psychology, then you will discover a growing industry related to the many ways in which music and sound can affect the human mind – both positively and negatively.
You can use commercial software, such as Neuro-Programmer by Transparentcorp, or SHARM’s, Self Hypnosis and Relaxation Machine, together with commercial music and music editors, like Acid Pro or EJay, to edit your own mind-related sound resources.
You can also copy from existing cd-roms or from the output of mind machines, such as MindLab Proteus.
You can then use MozartFX to organise your audio resources, ready for when you need them.
(NB: MozartFX will record anything that comes out of your computer’s speakers. Hence if you are having trouble converting audio resources from one format to another, you can use MozartFX much like an old fashioned tape to tape machine).
RecordPerformance
RecordPerformance is designed to assist public speakers (and those who would like to become more confident, when speaking to a live audience).
Imagine that you need to give a public presentation.
You want to practise, not only the words you will speak, but also the body language that you will adopt.
Assuming you have a webcam (or other digital camera) attached to your computer, RecordPerformance makes it easy for you to record your practise sessions, so that you can play them back at your leisure.
Using RecordPerformance is easy, because on most computers the software will sense the camera that you will be using and configure itself accordingly. In this case, all you need to do is to START, STOP and VIEW your performance. Only if you are feeling adventurous do you need to edit any settings.
(NB1: You may need to experiment with settings in order to optimise audio recording and playback, in synch with video. In addition, the quality of the final picture will depend on the quality of the web cam plugged into your PC).
(NB2: Since we programmed RecordPerformance, the technology of web casting has evolved in leaps and bounds. You can also use RecordPerformance to record web casts for upload to the internet).
SnapStream
SnapStream is designed for students and practitioners of NLP and DHE.
As many of you will know, in both NLP and DHE there is a need to examine and record the body language that you observe in other people. Thus, using SnapStream in liaison with VoiceCoach, you can work on both visual and auditory aspects of the way that you portray yourself to others.
In the past, you might have made use of written notes or diagrams, but these can take a relatively long time to complete. So we suggest that you use our SnapStream application, which operates a little like one of those photo-kiosks that you see in shops and train stations.
SnapStream uses your web cam to take a sequence of still pictures, with several seconds space between each. As SnapStream counts down to the next picture, you can prepare to use your own body to mimic and physicalise the body language that you have observed in people whom you would like to emulate. Having taken your pictures, a couple of additional mouse-clicks are all that is needed to load those pictures into your favourite graphics editor or word processor and add comments and observations.
Thus, by using SnapStream you can focus in upon the appearance of gestures. movements and body shapes.
FastText
FastText derives its name from the fact that the software provides an autocue facility, which will run at any speed you select, highlighting and enlarging blocks of text from either Microsoft Word or the free office suite OpenOffice, one paragraph at a time.
The combination of autocue and simple word processor is a powerful one. You can open up rich text files and let the software scan your script, so that you can speed read your way through notes, in order to refresh your memory. Alternately, you can open text files that you intend to use as the basis for a public presentation. You can then set up the speed of scroll so that you can use FastText as an autocue prompt as you give (or practise) your presentation.
Hence, using a combination of the preceding applications, you can progress from reading, through generating ideas, collecting and collating information, generating a single, practical course of action, scripting written and oral presentations of your ideas, practising your delivery of speeches, to the use of FastText as an autocue to help you delver your thoughts to an audience….
Getting BrainBox to work for you
What follows is an explanation of how to customise BrainBox to suit your needs, along with a summary of the past and future (anticipated) evolution of the software (funds and funding permitting).
Customisation and Options
When you install and run BrainBox, in 99 cases out of 100 it will auto-sense your Desktop and your My Documents folders and organise to direct open and save dialogs to these, and to a folder called BrainBox Data, which you can use to help organise your work, or just use to store the configuration files for BrainBox programs. (Don't worry, this is done for you, behind the scenes).
However, for those individuals who like to run non standard configurations of Windows, or who like to store data files on a network, we offer a number of customisation options. For a start, you can define exactly where BrainBox data files are to be stored. Indeed, you can define up to three default paths, for those unusual occasions where someone plugging into three separate networks might need a separate configuration for each. In addition, you can over-ride the tendency of BrainBox to auto-sense the location of your desktop and documents and force it to address is specific location. For example, on our college machines, we define My Documents as being the N-Drive. Finally, the options utility gives you advice on PDF printers and on screen keyboards.
Here, we would like to take the opportunity to underline and explain why we decided to use PDF-Xchange as a way to obtain PDF output from many of our applications.
After many days of trialling different commercial printers, we found that of the many PDF printers we tested only PDF-Xchange was able to auto sense the size of documents sent to it. All other PDF printers (even the really expensive ones) expected you to change the size of the output manually. Hence, this is why we deploy PDF-Xchange and not another PDF printer, such as the free PDFcreator (for sourceforge.net) or the less expensive PDF995 (from pdf995.com) or the nifty easyPDF (from BTL Technologies) which is the best low cost PDF printer we have tested if you are outputting a Word document that contains lots of embedded web links.
In short, if you always (!) want PDF files of a single specific paper size (such as LETTER or A4), then we would advise that these other three PDF printers might be a better choice. However, if like us, you send all manner of sizes of output, they are not. It is particularly difficult to use MapEdit with other PDF printers. Hence, in our opinion PDF-Xchange Lite is by far superior. And given that the demo is free and the commercial upgrade is only (about) $25, we believe it represents the best choice for you to use. Hence the reason we include it within the BrainBox install pack. And hence the reason we encourage you to install it.
Past Changes /
Future Evolutions
Changes from Version One to Version Two
1. Doc2Go is a new module. Doc2Go has been designed and implemented to integrate BrainBox more closely with all other Windows applications, enabling you to create an expanding set of templates related to the processes of creative thinking and accelerated learning. Doc2Go also makes it easier for you to track files, on which you are working, and even to zip or encrypt those same files, if the need should arise. Doc2Go is our response to those of you who said that they valued simple software that helps you to organise resources on your hard drive.
2. RTFeditor has been placed on the substitution bench. RTFeditor is no longer needed because BrainBox uses Doc2Go technology to integrate with your existing office and graphics software. Since the launch of BrainBox Pro Version One, apart from the increasing power available within Microsoft Office, it has become apparent that there are a range of powerful office-clones available for free on the internet. With BrainBox now optimised for use with Word and the free Office-Clone available from software602.com you have everything you need to become a successful student, teacher, manager or entrepreneur with almost no expenditure of money.
3. The four BrainBox ‘Pix’ applets have been relegated to the sidelines. Again, with the advent of Doc2Go technology, there was little reason for us to diffuse our focus by spending time re-inventing the wheel. For example, Office XP provides its own links to Microsoft Clipart Organiser, while Windows XP has built-in support for twain scanners and cameras. Also, the office clone from software602.com contains a range of graphics options, as well as those related to word processing , spreadsheet and database. With it being so simple to transfer graphics via the clipboard, we decided that it made more sense to focus in upon what we do well, and let other people supply you with powerful applications that represent ‘their’ specialisms.
4. NLPlab has been overhauled and expanded. With our new emphasis and focus upon integration with other office and graphics applications, NLPlab has been expanded by the integration of the freely available Microsoft Agent and Speech technologies, as well as by hyper-linking to (third party) specialist, low-cost, software, such as that available from visualizationsoftware.com. For example, the NLPlab module, SpeakEasy, enables you to record voice notes; VoiceCoach gives you the option to make use of (third-party) applications to improve the tonality of your voice; Orator can proof-read text by reading it aloud, so you can hear how your words ‘sound’; and, FastText is much more effective in the way that it acts as an autocue.
Changes from Version Two to Version Three
1. Redesign of the main BrainBox menu. Many of the main NLPlab facilities can now by accessed directly from the main BrainBox menu. Also many applications load more quickly.
2. Integration of NLPlab and Doc2Go, combined with a huge overhaul of the Doc2Go interface, and implementation of a wider range of tools. Doc2Go now has powerful tools for zipping, for encryption, for security, for backup, for version checking and for web link maintenance (if you are looking after a web portal).
3. Implementation of the MozartFX applet. MozartFX allows playback and recording of single wav and mp3 files, as well as the maintenance, play and recording of multi-track play lists. This makes it easy for you to find music that encourages the states of mind (and emotional mood) that you find help you to be most productive in your work.
4. VoiceCoach and SpeakEasy now have their own recording and playback devices. This means that neither piece of software is any longer dependent on the limited Microsoft Window’s Recorder. Previous users will realise that Microsoft Window’s Recorder has a limited record time of 60 seconds. Our recording and playback devices have no upper limit, other than the space you have on your hard drive.
5. Redesign of the NLPlab Library exercises. The three sets of language related exercises are now presented on a split screen, providing a text editor on which you can easily make notes or undertake the exercises set.
6. The option to use the mouse wheel to scroll text in many text fields. You can now use the mouse wheel to scroll text in FastText, Orator, FreeThought, WriteNow, NLPlab Library Exercises, and VoiceTools.
7. Provision of an auto-update facility. The auto-update facility downloads information on the latest version of BrainBox and will alert you when a new version (or a patch) is ready for you to use. It will then provide links so that you can download and install the new files without even having to load your browser.
Changes from Version Three to Version Four
1. MapEdit: Better print options. You now have the option to print to A4, A3, Letter and Tabloid sized-paper. Now, when you select a new print format, MapEdit remembers your preferred format, and all new files, based on one of our standard templates, will be altered to suit your stated preference. In contrast, existing files will be unaffected, so that you can still distribute your MapEdit files, to someone else, and know that the recipient will view your files in the format that you intended.
2. MapEdit An upgrade to the zoom and navigate facilities. The button bar now contains two new buttons. One new button allows you to 'zoom out' so that the whole MapEdit workspace can be viewed at once. (You can even work on your diagram in this zoomed out focus). While zoomed out, you can quickly select any node or link. Then, when you press the other new button, the zoom will then return to 100%, with the selected item visible on your screen. In short, the two new buttons make it very easy to quickly navigate around the screen.
3. MapEdit: Re-labelling of the workspace. Several people reported that they found it confusing that the first page you see in MapEdit is labelled as 'Page 5'. To reduce confusion to a minimum, the way we refer to pages, in the MapEdit workspace, has been changed. Pages now have more evocative names, such as 'Mid-Centre', or 'Top-Left' or 'Bottom-Right'. Based on feedback we have received over the last few months, we trust that this small 'name' change will make it easier for everyone to use our software, particularly tutors who use MapEdit with students.
4. General: Behind the scenes improvements. For example, (a) better sensing of your default Windows' editors for various kinds of files, (b) an ability to access all drives (not just drives a-through-e), (c) more integration between separate circle-of-excellence software components, and (d) revamping of the macro code behind the Word templates.
5. General: Faster start-up. As you know, once a day, BrainBox looks to see if there are new web pages, on the circle-of-excellence web site, to bring to your attention. We have now altered the rules by which BrainBox decides what needs downloading, so that only one page is downloaded daily, and the other pages are downloaded monthly. We expect that this should speed 'load-times' by a factor of four.
5. General: Integration with the new install/update wizard. In the future, installation and upgrade of BrainBox components will be much easier than in the past. You will be able to run the install and upgrade wizard. This will conduct an analysis of your installed circle-of-excellence products, and will then tell you of individual files that need installation or upgrade. Whereas in the past, installation and upgrade was relatively difficult for those not used to playing with computers, in the future, installation and upgrade will be much easier. The wizard will also provide tools for teachers and trainers who want to create install CDROMs for their students and trainees. Now our work is sponsored by gutdoctor.co.uk, security is no longer an issue for us, and we can do our best to make it as easy as possible for you to copy our work on to other people.
Changes from Version Four to Version Five
1. RecordPerformance. Rollout of the RecordPerformance will provide you with a facility that taps into your web-cam, so that you can practise your presentations, and focus on becoming more adept at the non-verbal aspects of your presentations.
2. DHE Dialog. This dialog will present a number of templates, in various (common) graphics formats, in a way that makes it easy to record gestures. (NB: Understanding the utility of this dialog may require training in - or at least a background understanding of - a form of NLP/applied psychology called Design Human Engineering).
3. An upgrade to our GateKeeper applet. As you will know, GateKeeper will keep all your passwords in a single encrypted file. We will be looking for ways to make the applet work more efficiently for you. Keeping track of passwords is a chore, and the easier and more secure we can make the effort associated with that chore, the happier we will all be.
4. An upgrade to the zip/unzip and encrypt/decrypt facilities in Doc2Go. We have a few ideas to increase the usability of the zip/upzip and encrypt/decrypt facilities in Doc2Go.
5. New editions of our key books on accelerated learning. We will be revisit our three books on accelerated learning, and ensuring that all the references to technology are up-to-date. We will also be revisiting our older books and bringing them up-to-date.
6. Integration of LibraryDesk into the core part of BrainBox. PLus the addition of web folder links, to make it easier to download our work from the web, using drag-n-drop. Thus, downloading files and folders from our web site becomes as easy as selecting items from a cd rom, zip drive or data-peg.
Changes from Version Five to Version Six
1. First impressions. We have made changes to the Start Screen, which are intended to make it easier for people to understand how the different applications can be used as an ‘ensemble’. In addition, we have reconfigured the audio aspect of the Start Screen. The wizard who tells you about your options will only auto-play once. After that, you have to request him.
2. Privacy. We have made changes to the way that BrainBox accesses the web, giving you more control over when, where and how BrainBox accesses the circle-of-excellence web site. If you want to block all input or output to the web, then you can elect to do so. (See the instructions provided above).
3. ReadFast. ReadFast is programmed to help users who have been trained in Speed Reading and Photoreading. You can control scrolling in a target application without having to change windows. Then, as you read, you can copy text, images and voice memos to Word or Open Office. Plus, you can make quick voice memos using our very own SpeakEasy applet.
4. Graffiti. Graffiti Lite is designed to replicate the kinds of applications which are often associated with interactive white boards. This integrates the utility of such applications within the heart of BrainBox. It also means that if you use a number of boards in the course of your work, but do not have access to any appropriate commercial software of your own, you can use ours.
5. GanttNow. As we have described previously, GanttNow provides the final link in a common sequence associated with decision making: jotting down some thoughts, refining and elaborating on those thoughts in MapEdit, and then generating a detailed plan of action, in the form of a Gantt Chart. GanttNow provides all the facilities that you will need to author Gantt Charts for small to medium sized projects.
6. Enhancements to MapEdit. We added a hand scroll facility to MapEdit, like that found in Adobe Acrobat. Select the hand scroll tool and you can mouse down on the MapEdit work surface and drag to scroll the work surface of any map on which you are working. In addition, we have also provided the option to export files in WMF/EMF and PDF formats, which makes it easy to export your maps in a web friendly format.
7. Enhancements to Orator. As you might expect, we’ve been working hard on Orator, because we use it a lot ourselves. Orator will now link to MS Word, OpenOffice Write and also to the Windows Clipboard. Other new improvements with which we are pleased include a facility which auto-senses the currently active application and adjusts the mode of Orator automatically. Also, if Orator finds difficultly connecting to an open Word document, it has some new tricks to try to auto-connect, without you having to click the restart button.
8. Enhancements to FreeThought and WriteNow. Both FreeThought and WriteNow have been reprogrammed to dovetail with word processors, such as MS Word and OpenOffice Write in a more sophisticated manner and with an expanded number of templates. In addition, you also have the facility to edit any and all of our templates. Thus, teachers working with primary school children, university students, entrepreneurs and management facilitators have the flexibility to author their own ‘thinking templates’.
9. Enhanced interface. Many modules have been extensively redesigned, as the first part of a planned complete redesign for the whole suite of programs. For example, the initial versions of Orator, Record Performance and SnapStream were all developed under time pressure. We’ve now undertaken a little work to upgrade the look and feel of all three of these programs.
10 FastText. Whilst on the subject of our enhanced screen interface, FastText now looks very different. We have used some of the code and graphics that we developed while working on our new look Orator application to enable our FastText text-prompt software to integrate with MS Word, Open Office Write and the Windows Clipboard. Thus, FastText integrates with pretty much any word processor, and is particularly effective when used in conjunction with Word and OpenOffice.
11 Retirement of the macroed Word files associated with BrainBox. The macroed word files that ported with previous version of BrainBox are no long inappropriate – especially in our current era of paranoia concerned with macros. We are therefore dispensing with them.
12. General speed improvements. There have been lots of behind the scenes changes which should result in improved performance in most modules.
13. Open Office. As we have already mentioned, applications which can connect to MS Office can now also connect to the free office suite Open Office. Thus, if you do not have access to Microsoft software, you can still get the full functionality of BrainBox, without having to outlay any money. We see the integration of BrainBox with both MS Word and Open Office as an important aspect of our future developments. If you have a programmable Word processor or graphics package, then let us know, and we may be able to add it to our list of software to automate in the future, obvious contenders being MS Works, MS Visio and CorelDraw.
14. Data Folders. Aspects of our Doc2Go data folders are now built into the very core of BrainBox, making it much easier to locate and keep track of your work. In addition, the default path for your data folder is now located in the My Documents folder, instead of the Program Files folder. This means that when different people use BrainBox, logged on as different users, BrainBox will adapt more elegantly to their needs. It was always possible to customise BrainBox in this way in previous versions. Now we organise the customisation for you. Plus, while on the topic of data locations, we have designed an updated interface for the Config Facility in order to make it easier for you to customise how various aspects of BrainBox will behave on a network.
15. Acrobat output. We have done quite a lot of behind the scenes recoding in MapEdit so that you have more control over the acrobat writer that you use. However, that said, we underline that of the many free writers we have tested PDF-Xchange is the only one that allows itself to be reconfigured by MapEdit when outputting large custom size diagrams. All the other printers have to be configured by hand.
16. A more flexible installation package. You can now elect to place the folder containing BrainBox on any drive with read-write access. And because all config files now read and write to the data folder, multiple users can log onto Windows and not be affected by one another’s’ preferences for the layout of the working environment.
Anticipated for Version Seven (Winter-2006)
1. Face Lift. We hope to use a new control that will provide us with the ability to programmatically create irregular shaped forms. (Then users of BrainBox will be able to truly ‘think outside the box’).
2. Network compatibility. We are working towards users being able to install BrainBox on read-only network drives.
3. GanttNow and Graffiti Lite. Current versions of both these programs only enable users to run one instance of each application at a time. Future versions will enable multiple instances of each application to run simultaneously.
4. An upgrade to AllHours (our web-link checker) applet. The applet will become faster and better able to provide you with the information you need on your favourite links, in a shorter period of time. It will also be able to sound an alert or email you if your web pages become unavailable for an extended period of time.
5. An upgrade to our GateKeeper applet. As you will know, GateKeeper will keep all your passwords in a single encrypted file. We will be looking for ways to make the applet work more efficiently for you. Keeping track of passwords is a chore, and the easier and more secure we can make the effort associated with that chore, the happier we will all be.
6. Enhancements for Orator. Implementation of a facility which we are calling Inflection. This will enable you to type in unusual words with their phonetic spelling, so that Orator can then render those words more accurately when reading aloud. Plus a facility that we are calling Scribe, which will make it easy for you to add key words to any text file, such that when your text is read by Orator, key words and phrases will activate certain preset animations, to accompany the speech. The idea is that you can list all the animations associated with a particular Microsoft Agent. You will then by able to drag and drop commands into your text, making the scripting of your agent easy to achieve.
7. Enhanced Connectivity. We plan that both Orator and FastText will be able to read direct from both web and pdf files.
8. Doc2Go. Added tools for making the most of any mail you have stored in the Mail Zone.
Plus-Packs which will provide specific optional 'add-ons'
Plus Pack #1: Video help. (Winter 2006)
A ‘plus pack’ containing animation-based help files to orient would-be users within each of the modules which BrainBox has to offer.
Plus Pack #2: Graffiti Plus. (Spring-2007)
Users with computers which run XP SP2 (or better) and who have also installed the free MS .Net Framework 2.0 can add an application modelled on (and arguably more powerful than) the MS Journal found on most tablet PCs. For many, this will bring handwriting recognition (along with a host of other benefits) into your work with Graffiti.
Plus Pack #3: Mind Music #1. (Summer-2007)
Examples of audio resources designed to generate different states of mind, which will download into folders from where they may be accessed using the BrainBox application MozartFX.
Plus Pack #4: Mind Music #2. (Autumn-2007)
More examples of audio resources designed to generate different states of mind, which will download into folders from where they may be accessed using the BrainBox application MozartFX.
Plus Pack #5: Connectivity Pack (Winter-2007)
People who download this pack will add additional connectivity to a range of freeware and shareware applications contained within the pack.
Plus Pack #6: Innovative Input. (Summer-2008)
A pack that will work with both BrainBox or any other application, providing a customised on-screen keyboard, handwriting recognition and speech input.
...try out the software that your colleagues report as being so useful to them...
...and let us know, when our work helps you to achieve more success...