Balsamiq is a tool you don't think about needing, but when you find it, it fits like a glove and you wonder how things ever got done before it.

Moreover, Peldi's blog is frequently featured here on HN, and he writes cogently and about interesting things. These posts, in particular, struck a chord with me: http://blogs.balsamiq.com/peldi/2011/09/07/policies/

Yeah, there really is no comparison when it comes to wireframing. In terms of creating client deliverables and complete documentation we export the wires to PNGs and place them in an InDesign template we have.

The template allows us to add an extra layer of notation and InDesigns file linking capabilities makes updates/changes a snap.

I had hoped that myBalsamiq would fix these issues but alas it did not. It works for collaborative, iterative team work but falls down flat for big 'Sprint 0' planning. Maybe one day it will get there but it needs to add some features to hit scratch that itch.

Now, whether or not that is in their big picture plan is up in the air. It did take them this long to get rid of the 'sketchiness'.

Hi mattyfo, Peldi from balsamiq here. We have not really attacked the commenting feature in myBalsamiq yet, what we have in regards to commenting is really MVP at this point. We'll do it right, stick with us! ;)

Ya that's how I felt the first time I saw it too. The 7-day free trial is what got me. I used it constantly for those 7-days and was really sad when it was over.

Now it's the unconscious first place I start for any new idea, be it a new app, website, page, feature - whatever. Start a new mockup, put a text area on the screen and start typing my ideas into it like I used to do with pen and paper.

If the idea gets beyond this stage I just start dragging and dropping. What used to take hours with an awkward combination of Asana/Photoshop/pen&paper now takes a fraction of that with far more iterations and better results.

Can't sing the praises of this product enough.

However: there are many free alternatives if you just want the ability to make wireframes and don't need something great/wont use it often: http://moqups.com is the latest I've come across. There are lots more.

I've also been using moqups.com a lot lately and must say that it's pretty amazing as well, although I must admit I'm a bit biased because I just love that it's pure HTML and JS.