Ten years of using Freemind; some words of gratitude

[1-dimensional box]

It is now ten years ago that I started using Freemind and I have decided that it is time for some words of gratitude, long due. Freemind has helped me get great results in my studies, has helped me to prepare job applications and is currently helping me develop projects in my work. Thank you!

The simplicity of Freemind, including its simple visuals, and its customizability has always appealed to me. I have also started appreciating free software more and more over the years, as I have learned more about the value of liberty in computer systems.

For a year ago however, I heard about the existence of a fork for this project which is more active than Freemind itself. I have recently starting using this fork and recommend others to do the same. Nevertheless, I want to repeat: thank you Freemind, for everything you have done for me and mindmapping in general!

[Tony Whitley]

Searching for .mm files tells me I've been using Freemind regularly since at least 2009. I didn't know about a fork so I'll take up your recommendation and try it out (though I've just installed 1.1.0 Beta 2 and that seems to be working fine for me).

[Daniel Polansky]

Thank you for this kind of feedback; it is greatly appreciated. Reading these kinds of things is one of the rewards we get as authors of a free-as-in-freedom artifact that hopes to bring value not only to the authors but also to as many other people and organizations as possible. Saying words of thanks and detailing what one finds good about FreeMind does make a difference.

[Nick Busigin]

I just want to chime in here... I've been using FreeMind for so long that I can't remember when I first downloaded it and started to use it. FreeMind is one of the first programs I install (along with mindmaps that I have developed over the years) when I purchase a new computer. It is definitely one of the most useful programs on my computers. Thank you for such a usable and useful program!

[Open Tony]

Piggybacking off this thread, I've also been an avid user of Freemind since 2009, and have loved its simplicity, speed, and my ability to take structured notes of any conversation, lecture, meeting, or interaction without leaving my keyboard. Whenever someone peers over at my screen, I always get the Q, what software I'm using, and I happily tell them to give it a go. It is also one of the first programs I install whenever I get a new computer. I tried the fork, freeplane, and it's not as simple or speedy for me, so I came back to Freemind. Sadly, Freemind has started to play up a little on the latest Apple silicon, with fonts not displaying properly. I found a workaround, by shifting the zoom to 75% or 150%, which works as a kluge for now, but hope that the authors might find a chance to fix this. I still use it, though, not least for the structured bullet points I can copy and paste into any text file, from the mindmap -- brilliant feature.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for making this, and continuing to maintain it when you can. It truly is music!