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Collaboration and the Net Whether it'sa shared calendar,athreaded discussion board,a common contactlistorsecure documentstorage, people whowork together need tools to do their project work eifectively and efficiently
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store whatever files you need to share. This allows teun members, and even dients who need accessto sped&c documents, sodownload the Se they need when they're ready,
had acamp counselorwhose mantta was
Many handsmake light work" It was his way of asking us aB to pitch in and give him a hdping hand. In those days it was
without bavirqI to watch a 10 MB Se attach-,
called teamwork and cooperation. Although
today there are new buzzwords, like distributed computing and online collaboration, the concept remains the same. When more people contributeto the pmjoct, the work gets donegrater. And if it's wdl manageL the
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ment choke aslow dial-up «nunc non. Although PunchWebGroups (hgpf/parakeet erzlanm) pmvideslessstorage space, its service indudes avery sophisticated online document-managementsystem.Whenyou down-
... WOW~
load a document fiom the online fokler,
Punch "locks" it. This lets other team members knowyou are currently editing the document. When you upload a newversion, you can chooseto have Punchsenda note to each of the members of the group to let them knew that the file has been updateL Punch lets the site administrator decide who can edit and whohasread-only permission. Onlineservicesdo have some drawbacks. The experience of intera«ting with a browser,
cofiective contribution of many minds also mahrs it better.
Most cofiaborations focusoncommunication, to hdp team members understand their
role and make aneffective contribution. The most useful cofiaborations are thosethat can be created and managed by the team members themsdves.This story focusesprimarily on tools and servi«es that are available to individual end-users and don't require the kinds of complex server configurations typically performed by corporate IT departments—making them ideal for the home
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where the screen must be refiesh each time a
selection ismadeor an action perfonneL can slow productivity to acrawl. Updating online calendarsand entering information in online addressbooks areparticularly onerous tasks,
oS«e environment. Although Lotus Notes may be a great collaborative tool, you need professional hdp to get started and to perform routine tasks
no matter how fast the computer or the «onn ection.
like adding users and setting up projects.
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When I want to work with friends and col-
Although it's still in preview mode, Groove
leagues, either for business or pleasure, the
Networks (hzp/Aurrsgreeveaetweths.con/) i s already a very useful tooL This is the latest
tools that I prefer to use are those we can
pmje«t &om Ray Ozzie, the genius behind Lotus Notes. The Groove dicot is an application that runs on the desktop. instead of on the Web. This makes it more powerful, and as
handle on our own. In computer tenne, this kind of sharing is
usuafiy cagel peer-to-peer (P2P). Although Napster hasgiven P2P a bad name, there are many useful P2P tools that enable individuals to share information and ideas, to work on
problems, find solutions, and sometimes
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a result, it is much more responsivethan the
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online tools. Within Groove, you can create shared
have a little fun.
spaces for as many business and personal
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discussion areas, Ses, images, an outliner, a calendar,a «ontact manager, and many
projectsas you need. Spaces can contain
One of the major challenges of working together is synchronization. Meetings,phone calls, and instant massaging are forms of synchronous «ommunication —where the participants «onununi«ate with each other in real time. Voice-mail, email and online discussion forums are asynchronous. and each person participates when it's convenient to do so. Although asynchronous communication can be dfective, it requires that each team member perform certain tasks, like checking a Web site or responding to email in order to make a contribution. Synchronization is also important when documents are one of the team's tasks or
rative spaces that do have document sign-in
and sign-out proceduresandtheversion control required to enable rofibacks to previous vetslolls.
haveanowner.Even ifthatownership changes regularly. this is parti«u)ar(y important in a shared online space where two or more team
membersmay besimultaneously working on the same document. Without an ownership
rule, or astrategy that passesownership fiom one to the other, changes made by the first member are lost when the second saves. In the absence of formal version control
software, these rules wifi likely have to be ezpficit, agreed-upon pmcedures for most teams. There aresomesophisticated cofiabo-
closeL Anyone can self-subscribe to an open
group. The moderator regulatesmembership in a restricted group. Iu a dosed group, tbe
OnBnn cnfi nbosnghm The era of fee serviceson theWeb is qui«k)y coming to an end. HotOS«e, an excellent shared workspace —and a PC Magazine Editor's choice last September —turned oif its servers shortly before Christmas. While, the bust of the dotcom boom does not mean the
end of ail fee online services, the dosing of the likes of HotOfiice reminds us to be careful about the expectations we have of these
deli verables.In orderto manage acogaborative document-creation process, each must
the site toseewhat's happening. Yahoo groups can be open, restricted, or
There aremany worthwhile online services. They range fmm the simple ones that o(yer
moderator must inviteme mbers. Messagesto the group can be unmoderated with afi messages being automatically sent to afi members; moderated; or sent as newsletters created by the group moderator. Group members can select to view messages on the group page or have messagessent to their email account. either as they arrive or as a daily summary.
Visto's service has a lesscomplex feature set,but it has other capabilities including file and bookmark storage. There are many more similar services.
Bo«mnange Working together nearly always involves some sharing of document files, which is nearly always a problem. Sometimes it's an uncooperative email gateway, but just as email service. At these sites, your teun gets an often attachmentsdon't work properly. As a email address (like mytesmgyshoogrevpscem) result ,many teams use ongne storage Web and an onlinespaceto read messages,sharea sit es. like Pre«Drive (hxp//auw)resdri recam), Xdrive (happ/wswzdavemm), and i-drive few do«ament«, and post calendars. Membership is by invitation, and access is (hzpf/iessvidma«em)to transfer files. BachpmPassword ~ Teu n members log mto vides at least 50 MB of fee online space to
one or more useful features to complex
rentabl espacesdesigned foronlinecofi aboration. Simplesitesare still free, and likeYahoo's dubs(hap//groups.ythoo.<om/) or Visto's groups (hzpf/auwv'ale.cem),they are erteruions of sn
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more tools including games like chess and ti«-tac-t oe. You can invite others to join the spacesyou
create. and you can join the shared spaces othershave created. As s result, each user's Groove space will be unique —a reflection of their cunent interests and projects. Online team members can work together, sharing the common workspace. When one member adds a file, a link or a comment, it quickly appears in the Groove space of the other team members. Although it's a peer-to-peer application, Groove'sservers coUect new data for your
groups while you are oifiine. When you return, your shared spaces are automatically updated with the new messages. documents, and other data that was added after you left.
When the preview isover. Groove saysit will charge userslor a more robust professional version, while continuing to maintain a fee s«M«e.
lnpgnngsnnsanglng Although usually seen in the context of
friends exchanging idle chit-chat, instant ma ssaging (IM) t ools l ike IC Q Continued eapage30