"tell us what apps you are coming from, and how attached are you to that way of doing things."

First off, many thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I will be going through each.

As to my most used windows software, that would have to be Microsoft's OneNote. It's a combination word doc, file system, database. Very good for collecting random thoughts as well as structured meetings.

Next would be Visio. It allows you to put together flow diagrams (logic, process, you name it) very easily. All its objects have connectors which make it simple to align and move.

The last biggie would be MindManager. It's a brainstorming kind of app that allows you to put together a lot of (at first) disjoint information and then make connections between them. The latest version even provides links to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

I don't have any problem learning new apps, just a concern about spending too much time on the upfront learning curve only to find out that the app doesn't do what I need.

Many thanks,
Mike