In my PC time, I have tested this software in two versions. It was indeed quite intuitive to work with it, but I found it too unreliable - each time I opened a file, the items (the “blocks”) weren’t properly in their columns, had changed their place completely etc., so I gave up.
I used Writer’s Blocks in the brainstorming phase of the book I’m writing. It has some flaws, and it also has some strong points. It’s just a matter of what you need most.
Flaws: The word processor that comes with it is weak. The screen re-draws slowly and the whole software responds sluggishly when you have a lot of blocks on a computer with low ram. (This was on a Dell laptop with 1g ram. I didn’t have this problem using Parallels on my Imac with 2g ram.) It’s sort of clunky when you re-arrange the blocks. Either I did it wrong, or the links feature is more trouble than it’s worth.
Strengths: It is a great environment for setting down random thoughts as they occur to you. The interface encourages free thinking, and the color-coding allows you to organize these thoughts, either as you go or later. It’s reaches the gold standard of easy when it comes to exporting your work into Scrivener, Curio, Devon Think or Omni Outliner: I did it on the first try without giving it much thought.
I intend to keep Writer’s Blocks on my hard drive. It’s useful to me, not just for writing, but for the pre-thinking part of many types of projects.
Rebecca