Can anyone recommend an app for creating flowcharts and diagrams?
I'm seeking a Mac app for creating basic flowcharts and similar diagrams.
Google has been no help; I've followed dozens of links to apps that either don't exist anymore, I can't find any real reviews of, or that won't run on OS X 10.6.6.
What I'd really like:
A simple and clean interface
Basic shapes
Automated connectors that stay linked as you move shapes around
Inexpensive, preferably under $30 but definitely under $50
What I'm not looking for:
Hundreds of shapes
Default styles that have shadows and textures and such that I have to keep removing
Dozens of amazing features that allow you to automatically map databases and draw UML diagrams from code and such (I'm looking at you, Visio) that I have to constantly navigate around to make a few basic diagrams
A mind-mapping app with all the features such a thing entails, one that happens to also let you make basic diagrams
A full-fledged drawing app where, once again, I have to maneuver around a whole bunch of features and options to get to the basic functions I need. (I have Illustrator, I love Illustrator, but it's crap for basic flowcharts and other simple diagrams.)
I wouldn't actually use it for flowcharts, but rather basic similar diagrams to show data flow between apps, information flow in a company or other places, that kind of thing.
I recently found out that the drawing portion of Google Docs actually does a pretty good job with the types of diagrams I need to create, but the UI is pretty poor and it obviously requires a constant net connection.
If you can stretch your budget, get OmniGraffle for Mac. At $149, it's pricier than you'd like (do you possibly qualify for the $89.99 edu price?), but it's exactly what you're looking for.
On the lower end there's Mindcad Incubator for $10.99, but I haven't tried it myself and I'm not sure it does everything you want.
For free online diagramming there's diagrams.net, which I am a developer on. It supports the automatic connection and dragging of components you're looking for. Also, it's free (and open source), which meets your under $30 requirement.
There is also a Desktop version available.
The Google Docs suite of tools now has a diagramming tool that lets you create flowcharts. While not as feature rich as something like OmniGraffle, it does cover all your requirements: simple & clean interface, basic shapes (and not an overabundance of shapes), automatic connectors with elasticity, and it meets your price point at free.
Certainly can't hurt to try it out before you drop $100 on the Mac Daddy of diagramming programs for Mac.
Edit: just noticed your last paragraph in your question. Not much I can do about the UI, but I will mention that offline support is about to make a return via Chrome.
I found another one. Seems to meet all your prerequisites.
Shapes
Shapes is a simple, elegant Graphing and Diagramming app for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Shapes gives you all of the most important features you need in a Diagramming tool without all the extra cruft, and without breaking the bank.