Mind Mapping comes to iPad with iMindMap Mobile HD

When it comes to taking notes or putting together thoughts and ideas no technique comes close to MindMapping. This amazing way of starting with a central idea then branching out from there is one of the best ways of taking notes. The key to using this type of technique is to use only 3 - 4 words per branch. Giving yourself key words and ideas to branch out your thoughts.

This form of note taking has been found to stick in peoples minds for longer periods of times and also when students have come back to notes years later, the ideas and thoughts seem to come back even faster then the conventional way of taking notes.

The Mind Mapping software has been available for years for your computer. But, now it is out for the Apple iPad. This gives you the power to take your thoughts and ideas with you where ever you go. Plus, you can sync back to your desktop to edit your thoughts there too.
Check out the link on ThinkBuzan to see how awesome this app really is to use. At the bottom of the page they have a video showing how easy and fun it is to use too. Watch the whole video because at the end they show one even more incredible feature available.

This feature is to connect it to your external projector and give presentations right from your iPad on to the screen. As you give it. You start with the central idea and you can build your branches out during the presentation. Giving you a great way to walk your audience through the material.

New Chicago Apple Store - Lincoln Park

This weekend i had a chance to visit the new Apple store in Chicago. It is located in beautiful Lincoln Park on the corner of North Ave and Halsted. The store opened its doors at 10:30am. From what i heard people had been camped out all night to be the first to walk into the store.

I got there at about 12:30pm. There were still some small lines to get into the store even then. As you walked in, store Associates were passing out these white small boxes with T-shirts inside commemorating today's event. The T-shirts were black with some multi sized/colored apple leaves on the front with green text on the back calling out the store and a white apple logo in the middle of the wording. They were a nice simple design and fit in perfect for a Fall Chicago Day opening.

The T-shirt boxes were a one piece giant folded cardboard item. It was actually pretty cool. The outside was white and the inside was green with a white Apple logo inside the box. The one thing i love about Apple is they really do look into everything down to the box itself.

As we walked in to the store, the place was filled with people. They also had a lot of cops in uniform and plain clothes walking around too. I don't blame them esp. with how some people might be tempted to try to grab and run. Although i think that would be the worst mistake they could make. But you know what they say "Stupid is as Stupid does". lol

The Apple associates wore these nice blue long sleeve shirts with a white embroidered Apple Logo's in the center. It reminded me a bit of Apple meets Iron Man. I loved the shirts and i got to talking to one of the associates about getting one. But he said it was just for Apple employees. The material was like that of a polo shirt. Really sweet. Apple if you are reading this please make some of these shirts for sale. They look really really nice and yes i know a ton of us would buy them.

The store had all the goodies Apple is know for, from the beautiful new MacBook Air to the amazing iMacs. The store was just gorgeous. I loved walking around looking and being able to play with everything i could. It had a nice clean, comfortable look & feel to it.

The Apple associates were very friendly and always there to help or assist you with any questions. The one thing that stuck out that i loved was how everyone working there was being themselves. You had people with long hair, short hair, big giant afros, multi colored hair, tats, body art (aka piercings),etc. I love walking in a place where people are people no covered up so they don't scare the clients. This is one of the reasons why i love Apple, they don't styfile the creativity people have deep within.

The store is huge, it has a stainless steel panel finish on the outside with three entrances made out of primarily Glass with a bit of steel in some places. Really nice, clean and sleek design.It also has a nice modern sit down park on the side between the store and the newly renovated North and Clybourn Train station. Apple plunked down $4 million to bring it back to life.

If you have had a chance to visit. I would def. encourage you to do so. They did a fantastic job on the store, train station and the people are very warm and friendly who work there. Plus, you can always find something to bring home with you, what ever your price range, Apple has it all.

Chicago - New Apple Store Opens up in Lincoln Park Tomorrow at 10:30am

This weekend Apple will be opening up a new store in Chicago's Lincoln Park Neighborhood at 10:30am. The store is located at the corner of North Ave & Halsted in Chicago.

Come one, come all to the grand new Apple store. Below is a video showing the outside buildings features and location.. enjoy and see you there.

Benoit Mandelbrot Dies...

20 November 1924 – 14 October 2010

The father of Fractal Geometry, Benoit Mandelbrot dies of Cancer at age 85 in Cambridge, Massachusetts according to family members.

"The cause of death was cancer, his family said in a statement.

His seminal book, "The Fractal Geometry of Nature," published in 1982, argued that irregular mathematical objects once dismissed as "pathological" were a reflection of nature.

The fractal geometry he developed would be used to measure natural phenomena like clouds or coastlines that once were believed to be unmeasurable.

He applied the theory to physics, biology, finance and many other fields of study.

"Fractals are easy to explain, it's like a romanesco cauliflower, which is to say that each small part of it is exactly the same as the entire cauliflower itself," Catherine Hill, a statistician at the Gustave Roussy Institute, told AFP.

"It's a curve that reproduces itself to infinity. Every time you zoom in further, you find the same curve," she said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to Mandelbrot, saying he had "a powerful, original mind that never shied away from innovation and battering preconceived ideas," according to a statement published by his office.

"His work, which was entirely developed outside the main research channels, led to a modern information theory," Sarkozy added.

Mandelbrot had been "very critical of the prevailing banking models," adding that his "warnings were not heeded," Sarkozy said.

"France is proud to have received Benoit Mandelbrot and to have allowed him to benefit from the best education."

A professor emeritus at Yale University, Mandelbrot was born in Poland but as a child moved with his family to France where he was educated.

In the United States and around the world, his work attracted the attention of academics, but also pop culture because the fractals he uncovered could be illustrated in stunningly beautiful, multi-colored representations.

"Mandelbrot spent most of his professional life working at IBM?s main research laboratory at Yorktown Heights, New York," the family statement said.

"He also taught mathematics for many years at Yale University; he was Sterling Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Sciences."

He was awarded the Wolf Prize for Physics in 1993, and the 2003 Japan Prize for Science and Technology.

David Mumford, a professor of mathematics at Brown University, told the New York Times that Mandelbrot revolutionized his field.

"Applied mathematics had been concentrating for a century on phenomena which were smooth, but many things were not like that: the more you blew them up with a microscope the more complexity you found," the Times quoted him as saying.

"He was one of the primary people who realized these were legitimate objects," Mumford added.

Mathematicians and economists were among those who reacted swiftly to Mandelbrot's death on the Internet.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the statistician and philosopher best known for the book "The Black Swan," turned over his website to mourn Mandelbrot's passing.

The page featured only the words: "Benoit Mandelbrot, 1924-2010, A Greek among Romans."

Chris Anderson, the organizer of the TED conferences that feature addresses from prominent thinkers drawn from a variety of fields, also offered his condolences.

He described Mandelbrot, who addressed the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference earlier this year, as "an icon who changed how we see the world" on the TED blog.

Mandelbrot leaves behind his wife, Aliette, two sons and three grandchildren."

Ubuntu 10.10 is here

Yesterday the new version of Ubuntu Linux, version 10.10 came out.

I quickly downloaded it and gave it a spin. The first thing i noticed was that the downloads actually came down quicker then before. After that i burned a copy to CD and installed it on my MacBook Pro 13 inch laptop. The installation screen was totally revamped. At first i was a bit worried as it installed but then a more colorful and detailed screen popped up.
It was a small screen right in the middle with information about the new release. It allowed you to flip through screens as it installed itself on your machine. After that i logged in and did my updates check. Just two updates to download and installed.
After working with it for a while yesterday, it does seem smoother and faster then previous builds.

I will post more after using it for a while. If you haven't have a chance to try Linux. I would definitely recommend downloading a copy of Ubuntu and giving it a try. If you are coming from a Windows background you shouldn't be worried because the adjustment will be painless and pleasant. Enjoy,.

AT&T now offering iPhone 4 color choice

Well boys and girls its been a while since the iPhone 4 first came out.
So this morning as i was surfing around a bit, I stopped by the AT&T site to see what was going on and to my surprise it looks like now we have an option for a black or white model iPhone 4.

Its nice to see we now have an option to try the white model too. I remember reading before that it actually was a longer process to make the white model iPhone 4. It would be nice to see one of these white versions in person when they hit the stores.