Cayra is a mind mapping and concept-planning application for Windows that lets you create graphical representations of thought processes and ideas like brainstorms, family trees, and product-release schedules.

The program lets you label link paths and change the colors of links and nodes. You can also add images, hyperlinks, dates, and yes/no fields to nodes. FreeMind and MindManager file imports are supported.

The Cayra team is working on a web-based Flash version of their product that can be used on any platform and will support map exchanging. The current Windows version requires .NET framework 3.0.

For mind mapping on Mac OS X, try MindNode.

[Thanks commenter upsilamba!]

Mindjet, the folks behind the slick productivity tool MindManager, announced today that MindManager 7 hits the shelves on May 30. Whether you're planning your ten-year old's birthday party or your next corporate takeover, there are always a zillion details to attend to. Some folks find it easier to organize and visualize things by getting them down on paper (or pixels, as it were), and opt for mind mapping tools to help. Others find productivity software indispensable when it comes to Getting Things Done.

Mindjet knows their product is used in hundreds of different ways by people with different needs. That's why there are three versions of Mind Manager to choose from: the full-featured Pro 7; MindManager 7 Lite for home users; and MindManager 7 Mac for (you guessed it) the Mac.

A bevy of new and updated features will be available in all versions. MindManager Pro 7 has a spiffy new user interface with a look and feel similar to the "ribbons" sported by Microsoft Office 2007. In fact, it's so tightly integrated that users can even launch Word, Power Point, Outlook and Excel right from MindManager itself. It will retail for $349 but upgrades will only set you back $119 during the promotional period before going up to $174.

MindManager for Mac 7's price has been lowered to $129 and upgrades are only $69. The company says prices were reduced "to compete with similar mapping products on the market." Mac 7 has several new features including a timer, the ability to position notes, and a new method to select topics by rules. They've also enhanced the import/export feature and made substantial improvements in printing.

MindManager Lite (formerly Basic) runs $99 and, while it's not as robust as it's Pro sibling, it's intended for home and personal use. Mindjet also plans to position MindManager Lite as a useful tool for students that will "make homework fun."

When back-of-the-envelope planning just won't cut it, maybe it's time to give MindManager a whirl.

Mind mapping has been increasingly becoming a popular method for brainstorming or list-making. As anyone that has put a mind map up on a projector and used it to lead a meeting knows, mind maps can be an impressive and very useful way to organize thoughts, particularly when trying to keep a group of people on-task.

But until now, there have been few options in terms of available mind mapping software, and none of it was web-based. That has changed, thought, with the introduction of two competing products called MindMeister and bubbl.us. Setting aside the hipster and web 2.0 names, let's see how these products stack up against one another.