Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:10:27 -0300
From: "maximiliano goldschwartz"
Filesharing
• Boxcloud --- doesn’t want to launch in my computer.
• Dropload --- haven’t tried it yet.
• Zapr --- very buggy beta stage – good interface, based on sharing folders, so you can update and works like an intranet… when it works.
• Windows live messenger – not any better than ftp.
• Allpeers – drag and drop based… seemed too slow for me.
• Pando – works, but is only based on attachments, turns them into p2p.
Here’s a CNET review on file sharing: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3000_7-6527201.html
“Or you can try turning your computer into a server, try xampp:
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html
Throw in some open source CMS package for all of you employees to use
To post files, write their blogs etc ... (try drupal or joomla) and
you'll be cooking ...”
“Complete” solutions
• e-room – recommended. Many tools, nice interface. Paid. Also offers a free limited account.
• basecamp – recommended – sort of expensive, but has a free account limited to one project at a time.
• office contact – seems interesting, haven’t had the chance to try it yet.
• Microsoft groove (beta) seems promising, but it’s such a hassle to download their beta…
Other tools
• Google spreadsheets – recommended – useful and works well.
• Yahoo calendar and to-do lists. – Good solution to share deadlines and schedules
• Google calendar – smoother interface than yahoo, but no to-do lists included.
• www.imaginationsquared.com is a very nice shared-scribbling tool. – recommended.
• GoTo meeting for sharing screens. (see below)
We use Glance software to be able to view one desktop on multiple remote monitors. It allows the user to show CAD models to a remote viewer. You can visually share anything on your monitor – spreadsheets, or real-time sketches.
We also use Google Spreadsheets to share lists, deadlines, etc
Also, in response to your email below - a friend of mine who produces a comic book uses x drive to share sketches and files but i don;t know if it's any better than straight ftp. http://www.xdrive.com
I'm sure security is an issue, considering you are sending files back and forth, but I once used a password-protected blog (meaning, you needed a password to view the blog) with an overseas client, their team, and my team. Typepad offers a monthly subscription-based service that will allow you and those who you authorize select access to content.
It worked very well for us, particularly because people were free to provide feedback (a written trail) on the ideas.
I work for Function and we have 5 offices and a bunch of employees that work from home who live all over the country. We work collaboratively with everyone in the company so we have to be good at remote collaboration and communication. One staple for us is GoTo meeting. This allows for people to control and look at someone's computer screen remotely. So if I am working on a design and I want to discuss it with someone in NYC I will set up a meeting and they will be on their computer and we can both look at my screen. If they want to point something out or scroll or pan over something they can remotely.
I have found that google has a nice spread sheet that is web based.
Everyone on the team can have access to it and can edit it. This allows for task brake down, task assignment and keeping track of completion. Since it is web based it is very seamless. We also use a program called white board www.imaginationcubed.com/LaunchPage. Two people remotely log in to one page and have control over a pen and you can sketch on the same page. Also very seamless. You can save the sessions and print out the sketches. These tools are both web based and free.
We also use video conferencing quite a bit for design reviews and staff meetings but that works best for the people in the main offices since is requires a bit of IT support and set up.
On one of my projects, we've been using Documentum's eRoom. There's some literature, samples, tours, and trials at http://software.emc.com/microsites/eRoom/index.jsp
It provides the ability to do much of what you've described, including file sharing, calendars, and task tracking. The tools are pretty intuitive, flexible, and easy to use. The folders in the eRoom can even be mapped as a network drive on your computer. It's free to try it, but then I think it's fairly expensive to use. The real difficulty we've had is the real-time whiteboard sketching. So far that's been difficult to impossible. Our firewall makes it impossible to use tools like microsoft netmeeting, but we've used GoToMeeting to share screens sometimes.
For the Lotus Notes user:
We have had some success with Sametime from Lotus.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.