Look
and See
BrainBox
Pro Ver
6.0
...an extensive set of screenshots, so you can see the program in action...
(NB: I know that the BrainBox Windows Captions say Jan 2006
and that the final release was in May 2006. What can I say?
Our original estimated release date was over-optimistic.
And I didn't want to delay the release even more by changing all references to Jan 2006).
After installing BrainBox, look under the Windows Start Menu.
Find the folder BrainBox 6 and select the option entitled Start Here.
As you might expect, this will lead you to the Start Screen. From here you can (i) access key programs, (ii) view important news about BrainBox (providing you click the REFRESH button) and (iii) configure BrainBox, if your computer has any 'unusual characteristics'. Otherwise, you can just get started and BrainBox will pretty much auto-configure itself for each separate user on your computer, placing a BrainBoxData folder in your My Documents folder.
Most importantly, it is from the StartZone that you can access The Tour. Each time you hover your mouse over a button, written notes are presented for you to read. And each time you right click on a button, those notes will be read aloud to you.
Now imagine yourself on a journey, with a 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 your 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.
App 1: ReadFast is a floating toolbar that can be used in the same way that speed readers use a ruler with a paper-based book. However, being electronic, ReadFast can also link into a voice recorder or video recorder. It also enables you to define a target application, so that if you type (as you read) your typing will be sent to your 'target window', even if it is hidden from view. As a final couple of facilities, ReadFast provides a popup menu listing all the (visible) applications running on your computer. A single click can bring any of these applications to the fore. ReadFast also provides an option to take screenshots of the screen or any open window, if you want to take a one-click snapshot of a graphic presentation. In short, ReadFast is optimised for reading and note taking.
App 2: 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.
App 3: Of all our applications, arguably our flagship program is MapEdit, which is designed to enable you to draw concept maps, mind maps causal maps, flow diagrams and many other kinds of 'map-based representations', on a work surface up to 9 sheets of A4 in size. As in our other software, the application has been optimised for ease of input: (i) You can quickly draw shapes by dragging the mouse of the work surface; (ii) Shapes can be linked in a couple of mouse clicks; (iii) Right clicking any object brings up pop up menus and edit dialogs; and, (iv) Output is possible to printer, PDF or EMF.
App 4: GanntNow provides you with the tools you need to draw a Gannt Chart up to three years in length, with detail down to a minimum time period of an hour, or a chart of up to fifty years in length with a minimum time period of a day. Assuming that professionals who need a more powerful charting application, with AI built into it, have the budget to buy Microsoft Project, GanntNow focuses on the more modest needs of everyone else. For most purposes, using GanntNow, you have all the tools you need to define: what needs to be done, where, when and by whom.
We now go on to describe some additional software which is supportive of the preceding four applications. We are thinking here of software which can be used to make life easier for someone who needs to make a decision, or report the results of research, or communicate a plan to others.
App 5: FreeThought contains a large number of templates and explanatory sheets related to a wide range of planning and creative thinking techniques. You select the techniques that you think may be useful to you. Or if you are a teacher or a facilitator, you select the techniques you think will be useful to your clients. You then ask for output. FreeThought then uses MS Word or OpenOffice (free from OpenOffice.org) to collate all the templates you requested into a single rich text format file. You can then either edit the file electronically, or print it out for use as an aid in pencil and paper exercises. Now note that for added flexibility all templates and worksheets are editable, so if you want to customise our text, or simple use some text of your own. The native format is RTF, so you can easily mix words and graphics, text and pictures.
App 6: WriteNow is akin to FreeThought. Only the focus is changed. In WriteNow the focus is on templates for use by researchers and report writers. Select the templates you think may be useful to you and WriteNow will get MS Word or OpenOffice to collate those templates into a single file. (Again, if you are a teacher, trainer or facilitator, you can edit and customise all templates to suit your clients' needs).
App 7: Orator will be of use after you finish writing your erudite scripts. If you are like us, you probably find proof reading your own work difficult. Orator taps into the free Windows text-to-speech system to read direct from MS Word or from the free Open Office word processor. Alternately, Orator can be used to read direct from the Windows Clipboard, thus making it compatible with any and all text-related applications.
(NB: For best result, use Orator in conjunction with the low cost AT& T Natural Voices from nextup.com.
We use AT&T Mike 16 and AT&T Crystal 16, who have soft US accents
).
App 8: LibraryDesk provides a foil to Orator. Whereas Orator gives you tools to read your work aloud, LibraryDesk provides you with access to our web folders. LibraryDesk links to web folders containing all our ebooks, concept maps and powerpoint presentations. If you have a fast web connection, you only need to drag and drop from our web folders to LibraryDesk and our entire catalogue of resources will download. And here it is worth noting that our materials are in acrobat format. Thus, if you select an appropriate 'voice' you can use Acrobat to read the files that Orator cannot. (See the Acrobat options menu item, the exact name of which will depend on the version of Acrobat you are using).
Now for a collection of additional 'utilities'...
App 9: FileZone (aka Doc2Go) provides a ready made repository for all your files. Whenever you open or save a file, the FileZone dialog pops up giving you one click access to a range of folders. No more click-click-clicking to find your way around MS Explorer. All these folders are contained within the single brainbox data folder, which (by default) is maintained in your My Documents folder. Given that My Documents is in a different location for each user logged onto your PC, this means that all users have their own data files and their own configuration files.
Moving along from FileZone to the rest of Doc2Go, you will find lots of small utilities to help you in your work. There are utilities for: (i) simple backup, (ii) version checking if you are an author or programmer needing to monitor the version numbers of electronic documents, (iii) web site monitoring, (iv) zip and unzip, (v) encrypt and decrypt, (vi) delete and shred, (vii) protection of personal passwords in encrypted text files, (viii) configuration of BrainBox, (ix) direct access to Microsoft templates, (x) tools for maintenance of your own template folders, (xi) simple picture filters, (xii) input from TWAIN compatible scanners and cameras, (xiii) along with a picture gallery applet.
Plus..
App 10: a 185,000 word dictionary / thesaurus...
On the final furlong, we complete our round up of BrainBox utilities with six applets that might be classed under the umbrella term professional development, though they have many other uses beyond this...
App 11: SpeakEasy provides a set of tools for recoding voice memos. Particularly useful is the check box option for auto-pausing when nothing is being said. Using this checkbox, you can put the recorder on and leave it recording in the background, whilst reading. You can then make voice notes, as and when it is appropriate. In contrast, another use for SpeakEasy is in the preparation of a talk or a presentation. In this case, you can practise speaking and then listen to the quality of your 'delivery'.
App 12: VoiceCoach is for professionals who want to go beyond simply listening to the quality of their presentation. It is for individuals who are interested and intrigued to improve the tonality of their voice. VoiceCoach gives some simple notes related to voice training exercises, as undertaken in the theatre. It also links out to specialist web sites that contain voice related training materials. (Though some of these are commercial). However, among the free tools are an oscilloscope (so you can see the wave form generated by your speech) and a midi player (so you can generate musical scales, which you can then attempt to emulate).
App 13: MozartFX can be used by teachers and trainers to collect together music tracks. In usage, it is much simpler than many other Media Players, focusing on just three facilities, rather than attempting to be all things to all people: (i) you can play individual tracks, (ii) you can create and play a play list, or (iii) you can emulate a tape-to-tape player, with MozartFX recording whatever sounds are traveling through your computer's sound card and out of your speakers. From our own point of view, we plan to use the application in conjunction with a range of authoring tools, such as those from sharm and transparentcorp, which enable you to compose music with embedded binaural and monaural beats. But there are many other applications for the software.
App 14: RecordPerformance taps into your web cam, assuming that you have one installed. The software can be used to record a presentation, if you are practicing or if you want to upload an electronic presentation to the web.
App 15: SnapStream is similar to RecordPerformance and is almost identical in appearance (hence no screenshot). Like RecordPerformance, SnapStream also taps into your web cam, assuming that you have one installed. The aim here is to help in the recording of non verbal gestures. SnapStream takes sequences of images, like a photo booth. You can therefore model gestures or place an artists doll in front of your camera and use that doll to emulate gestures that you want to photograph. Of all our applications, SnapStream is probably the most specialist, and will be of most interest to NLP and DHE practitioners who spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting on the non verbal gestures of others.
Which brings us to one final app...or rather two versions of one final app...
App 16: FastText Unleashed (shown below) will act as an autocue, linking into any MS Word or OpenOffice word processor document. Alternately, a somewhat simpler and more straightforward autocue can be found in the guise of FastText Lite, which will act as an autocue for rich text documents, as long as those documents do not contain graphics. In FastText Unleashed, the autocue panels auto-arrange themselves along the side of your screen, whilst the window of the application from which you are reading is placed to the other side. (As you might expect, FastText Unleashed is of most use to people with access to WXGA and SXGA resolution monitors, whilst FastText Lite may be more appropriate for monitors with more modest screen dimensions). FastText Lite is a single window that contains both the autocue and a very simple RTF text editor of our own design.
That concludes our brief tour of BrainBox.
As you will appreciate, there is a lot to it, for it represents over ten years research and development work. We hope you find the facilities that we provide useful...Please let us know how you get on. Your comment help us to direct the future of this project.
Positive comments by students and professionals are particularly helpful in our applications for future grants and sponsorship, especially if you do not mind being cited on our web site and/or in official applications.
In particular, feedback from trainers, consultants, facilitators and entrepreneurs helps us approach commercial companies, whilst feedback from faculty staff in academia and civil servants helps us with applications for government research monies.
In short, a few paragraphs detailing the way you have found our work useful, from even a few tens of individuals on a yearly basis helps us to demonstrate to potential sponsors the ongoing worth of our work.
Thus, your feedback can and will help us continue our work into the future. To email us, click here...