11th February 2012

OS X:Tools – Mental Case – Flash Cards – With iPhone Support

Once I had decided to move into flash cards I looked into what freeware was available such as jMemorize but it didn’t seem to do the things I wanted.

I finally purchased Mental Case from MacCoreMac for USD$25.00, or about GBP£15.00 (inc. VAT) and have been more than happy with it. Here is a quick look at the software and why I think its pretty and cool.

Shades.jpg

As you can see, I have been entering the study notes into the system. When you select study, the screen blanks and the first part of the question is displayed – something like this:

mentalcase-1.jpg

and then the second part of the question:

mentalcase-2.jpg

Of couse, the content can be anything. I have created lessons that only have learning material in it, and

mentalcase-3.jpg

thus I see a single flash card per topic with my Multicast study notes on each card.

You can change the display a reasonable amount, I normally use black/white (but am using different colours for this post).

It also creates different lessons. If there are Folders of Notes that haven’t studied, it will “create a lesson” for you. You can also set how many times you see the cards, and you can mark them as completed etc. All the things that you would want to be able to do.

This is a really well thought out program, and seems to be scientific in their approach to creating it.

iPhone Version

In the last couple of days ((at time of writing)) they have submitted their iPhone version to the Apple Store and it should appear soon. This means that I can carry my flash cards wherever I am and review my study material.

The also have a special offer:

Mental Case for iPhone is almost here. To celebrate, we are giving away Mental Case for Mac at the special price of $10. Mental Case for iPhone will be free, so that’s two apps for less than half the usual price!

Get in quick, because the offer is only available to the first 500 people that enter the following coupon code when purchasing: CPN7646143480.

Check out the MacCoreMac web site to go and purchase your copy.

Conclusion

Flash cards are a study must have for me, and Mental Case is my choice. I hope you like it as well.

This post is copyright of Thropos Ltd ©2008-2011 at Etherealmind.com - contact | email: greg.ferro@packetpushers.net - twitter: @etherealmind | All rights reserved
About Greg Ferro

Greg Ferro is a Network Engineer/Architect, mostly focussed on Data Centre, Security Infrastructure, and recently Virtualization. He has over 20 years in IT, in wide range of employers working as a freelance consultant including Finance, Service Providers and Online Companies. He is CCIE#6920 and has a few ideas about the world, but not enough to really count.

He is a host on the Packet Pushers Podcast, blogger at EtherealMind.com and on Twitter @etherealmind and Google Plus

  • http://www.edfnetwork.com EDF Network

    Do you of any such tools that is Windows based?

    • http://etherealmind.com Greg Ferro

      I don’t use Windows for much these days, only when I am at a corporate site. I am sure that there are quite a few. Check Lifehacker, I think they did a review on Flash Card software a few months back.

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  • http://www.globalconfig.net Brandon Carroll

    Hey Greg,

    I know I’m late to the party on this app but I have a question….can you export these notes? If I have them on one mac (Desktop) can I move them to another (Laptop)?

    Thanks and still enjoying the blog. You do a really good job with it.

    BC

    • http://etherealmind.com Greg Ferro

      I’m shocked that you haven’t memorise it!!! :)

      You can import and export flash cards from Mental Case in CSV, TSV, and Study Archive – http://www.macflashcards.com/studyarch.

      If you have two machines you could probably use Dropbox to sync them using SymLinks.

      • http://www.globalconfig.net Brandon Carroll

        Yeah I found that “after” posting the question here. Duh! Anyhow, thanks. Looks like something worth exploring.

  • Daniel M

    I have created some notes already and I love Mental Case. I’m studying for my CCNA and is it too much to ask if you would share your Mental Notes or post them on your website?

    • http://etherealmind.com Greg Ferro

      Daniel

      Since my personal flash cards are taken directly from Cisco Press textbooks I feel that I would be publishing someone’s else content.

      Secondly, the process of making the flash cards is as important as reviewing them. I would strongly suggest that you make your own flash cards as part of your learning process.

      greg