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ActiveCollab is a server side project management tool, which allows for collaborative work between the team, clients and contractors [1]. The software is suitable for use by a group of three or more people. Travis King describes the learning curve as fairly simple, with short descriptions on what each element does and it has a straightforward set-up system for users [2]. Main features: · Project milestones · Discussions · File sharing · Joint calendars · Time tracking · Forums Other features: · Export calendars to Outlook, iCal, or Google Calendar. · Can work from Blackberry, iPhone, or other XHTML enabled mobile device. · Client login to milestones and discussions. · Available through your own server - PHP5.0 or higher · Outright purchase, no ongoing monthly fees · Customise look · Multi-lingual Multiple projects can be created and run concurrently, and with the project milestone application, tasks within each milestone can be set in place for completion before moving on to the next milestone. Management and invoicing are seamless when sharing data, creating time logs and tasks, which are all located under the one application. Billing and payments are tracked through the time reports. This data can also be used to refine and analyse each project. The evolution of files can be tracked through time log categorising. Clients, teams and contractors can all contribute to the files without losing any relevant information, thus assisting in the streamlining of sharing, commenting and organising. Email integration also allows for notification to all collaborators regarding new projects and tasks, or upgrades on file versions. Plugins and extensions are easily integrated and customisation of the interface is simple with full source code being made available for complete customisation. This is significant for security reasons alone.

activeCollab is a project management & collaboration tool that can be set up on a client's server, and accessed from the local network [1]. activeCollab written in PHP, is a complete suite of applications providing invoicing, mail, file sharing, drag and drop task management, time tracking and the ability to set customised roles and permissions for users [1]. activeCollab's wide range of applications are extendible and customisable with import and export functions for updates and reports [1]. 'The Web Squeeze' gives activeCollab a score of 4.5 out of 5 and says, 'It is a true lifesaver to a busy designer who needs a good management tool.' [3]. activeCollab started life as a free open source project but in 2006 it re-emerged as a fee based product [3]. Corporate and small business licences are attractively priced [1]. Similar products include Basecamp [4], Teambox [5] and Projectmanager.com [6]. Basecamp offers the same application functionality for the high-end of the market with their own server and storage solution at substantially higher fees [4]. Teambox is an open source product built with Ruby on Rails but it does not appear to have an active nor a strong support base [5]. Projectmanager.com has an attractive dashboard interface and like Basecamp its online provisioning & storage is reflected in their higher subscription fees [6]. 'The Web Squeeze' review and the '5thirtyone' review recommend the activeCollab as a relevant, useful project management & collaboration tool for providing good value to clients who can install their product on a reliable server [2][7]. ------------- see References below

References [1] A51 d.o.o. (n.d.). 'activeCollab - Project Management and Collaboration Tool'. Retrieved April 5, 2010 from http://www.activecollab.com/ [2] Haug, J. (2008). 'ActiveCollab Review'. The Web Squeeze. Retrieved April 5, 2010 from http://www.thewebsqueeze.com/product-and-software-reviews/activecollab-review.html [3] A51 d.o.o. (2008). 'About A51'. Retrieved April 5, 2010 from http://www.a51dev.com/about [4] 37signals. (2010). 'Project management, collaboration, and task software: Basecamp'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://basecamphq.com/ [5] Teambox. (n.d.). 'Teambox | Project collaboration'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://www.teambox.com/ [6] Project Manager Online Ltd. (2010). 'Project Management Software Online: Project Manager.com'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://projectmanager.com/ [7] Punsalan, D. (20060. 'activeCollab project management'. 5ThirtyOne. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://5thirtyone.com/archives/467

WebEx Online Classroom is the perfect tool for providing live just-in-time online instructor-led training or self-paced training to employees, partners and clients where participants can access either service from their web browser at any time from any place. WebEx Online Classroom allows for easy e-learning/e-training content creation and delivery and with the added e-commerce feature one could turn their in-house training service into a profit-earning centre. [1] Instructors are able to set up remote 'labs' for participants to practice on during any stage of the program, create polls or quizzes, receive instant feedback or track participation and attendance along the way. They are also able to record and archive. [1] WebEx Online Classroom allows for presentation sharing, streaming media or live video, interact in 'real-time' with the participants as well as passing control from user-to-user and share applications simultaneously. [1] Real-time demonstrations provide strategic advantages with respect to: [2] [3] * Rolling out new products faster * Accelerating customer usage of your products * Training new reps and partners * Bringing employees up to speed on new applications * Providing and/or improving remote support to your IT department and client base * Re-train or re-skill personnel who have been injured and/or returning to the workforce [4] The WebEx application has now been made available, free of charge, to Apple iPhone and iPad users. This means that the aforementioned training applications can be delivered to students who are on the move. It also delivers the traditional benefits of WebEx, i.e. virtual meetings and subsequent collaboration, sharing and annotation as well as individual or group chat sessions. [5]

Although predominantly marketed as a web based training tool for small-medium businesses, Webex offers a stable platform for collaboration in the educational sector. Steve Mackenzie is Distance Learning Development Team Leader in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at De Montfort University. He compares the usability and effectiveness of three web conferencing tools; Wimba, Webex and WiZiQ. He uses them as live online learning tools and his practical experience makes him well qualified to compare them. Mackenzie believes that technology should be invisible. He compares things like logging in, audio quality, whiteboard tools, feedback tools, the general environment look and feel, recording of sessions and of course support, he places more importance on the user interface and how much the tool maximises interaction. [1] Mackenzie's verdict is that Webex is the pick of the bunch providing a stable, least problematic web conferencing environment. He regards it as the easiest to log into and by far has the most appealing look and feel for participants and is easy to work with for teachers. [1] This is supported by other software review sites. [2] [3] One of WebEx's features has been its development of applications for iPhone. Users can view and join meetings and conferences from their phone, making collaboration possible away from their Internet-connected computers. [3]

References: [1] Mackenzie, S. (2009). The Three Dubya's - Wimba, Webex and WiZiQ. Learnadoodledastic Retrieved 31 March 2010, from http://learnadoodledastic.blogspot.com/2009/09/dubyadubya-dubya-wimba-webex-and-wiziq.html [2] GiveMeaReview. (2010). Webex Review. Givemeareview.com Retrieved 14 April, 2010, from http://www.givemeareview.com/online-meeting/webex.html [3] TopTenREVIEWS. (2010). Web Conferencing Review: Webex. Retrieved 14 April, 2010, from http://web-conferencing-services.toptenreviews.com/webex--review.html

Google Docs is a free application provided by Google in which team members can collaborate online for free. Google Docs offers the ability to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online. Google Docs offers you the ability to share your documents with whoever you choose and has different settings depending on your needs. You can set the file to either be viewed by other people and or edited as well. One of the advantages of an application such as Google docs is that you have no need to download or upload data. Online storage also reduces the risk of loss of data due to computer crashes. Google Docs offers a number of export options and formats which you can save your files in. Google.com states that they offer "DOC, XLS, CSV, ODS, ODT, PDF, RTF and HTML formats." Online collaboration can take place in real time so that employees can automatically follow the changes and or contribute. Murray, 2010, Describes Web 2 applications such as Google Docs as "Web 2.0 technologies can be modified, remixed, adapted, and displayed in a multitude of variations, allowing for highly customizable workflows to be developed with little effort." Dekeyser and Watson state that "We found the interface to be very usable, effective, and efficient. In addition, setting up collaboration with colleagues proved to be exceedingly simple. We suggest that Google Docs is an excellent platform for ad hoc collaboration on document creation." Overall Google docs is an excellent option for a free collaboration tool that will allow you to operate anywhere. Google is currently improving Google Docs with new features such as being able to upload any file and language translation. Google States that "We're still working to make Google Docs a better place, and we're listening closely to your suggestions".

Commentary on specific collaborator features of Google Docs Google Docs is a great document editor and word processor alternative to Microsoft Word which makes collaboration on a document easy. Before the introduction of Google Docs, you were required to send documents around via email, hover over your colleagues back or ensure that only one of you were editing the document at a time and still require a method to ensure the document is going in the direction desired. Then Google Docs introduced the ability to have more than one person edit a single online document in much the same way as a wiki. You would edit, save, refresh, see and take into account your partners' edits who would then repeat the same process. Recently Google Docs has adopted a feature from another Google product, Wave, something that had been present in the Docs spreadsheet application for a while but absent from Google Docs Document, Presentation and Drawing. Google Docs introduced real time collaborative editing (Rochelle, 2010). Real time collaborative editing allows two or more people to work on a single document simultaneously and instantly see the changes each other is making (Rochelle, 2010). To aid this Google Docs integrates a chat feature (Rochelle, 2010) and comments. Chat allows real time communication outside the document but in the same window maintaining focus. Comments allow commentary on specific parts of a document to be made. Useful when you want to suggest a change but are not entirely sure or you dislike the change your colleague has just made. Unlike chat, the contents of comments stay put between edits, allowing notes be to left for when another person is editing the document.

Google Docs also integrates version tracking for documents allowing you to see which changes were made by who and when (Ross, 2009). The ability also exists to revert to previous revisions of a document (Google, 2010) in case you make a mistake or a decision does not pan out. These revisions are created during auto-save and when you specifically save (automatic on exit of a document). Google. (2010). Tools: Revision history. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from Google Docs Help: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=92199 Gralla, P. (2010, April 22). Google Docs better; ready to take on Office? Retrieved April 22, 2010, from BusinessWeek: http://www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-04-22/google-docs-better-ready-to-take-on-office-.html Rochelle, J. (2010, April 12). A new Google Docs. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Google Docs Blog: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-google-docs.html Ross, G. (2009, August 10). Google Docs Review. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Notebook Review: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5281&review=google+docs+review

WizeHive is a collaboration platform which allows groups to share all sorts of information. Tools such as notes, calendars, files, tasks can be shared via email or within WizeHive. Workflow tools, form builder tools enable collaboration around business processes [1] Users are able to share videos, images and files by adding people to workspaces. Workspaces can be customized with corporate colours and logos and it is easily accessible via a browser with integrated email. There is also an integrated email where you can send files and notes via email to your WizeHive workspace for others to view [2]. It is ideal for project management where users are able to organize ideas and tasks for projects. Users are able to communicate and keep up to date with activities in real time as detailed in AppVita's (2009) review. Keeping track of conversations between users and managing communication is another useful function of this application. WizeHive is a free service for personal use and up to US$39 per month for the premium edition. A review from Tea (2009) highlights the ease with which users can contribute to WizeHive and the simple, uncluttered interface. Tea (2009) also emphasizes the crowded online collaboration tools market with the number increasing however with WizeHive's simplicity and powerful features makes it an option to consider. References [1] Organise and Share Information. Retrieved 12 April 2010 from http://www.wizehive.com/features/ [2] WizeHive: Collaborate Online. Retrieved 12 April 2010 from http://www.appvita.com/2009/06/27/wizehive-collaborate-online/ [3] Tea, K. (2009). Simple But Powerful - The Buzz That Drives WizeHive. Retrieved 13 April 2010 from http://www.web2andmore.net/2009/08/01/simple-but-powerful-the-buzz-that-drives-wizehive/

Wizehive - Online Collaboration and Organisational Tool Wizehive is an online collaborative and organisational tool that can be set up to track multiple tasks, activities and deadlines through the sharing of notes, files, and ideas within an individually tabbed workspace interface. It is an interactive application that can be accessed not only from your computer browser, but also through any email, a desktop client, or mobile communication device [1a]. Projects are divided into individual workspaces according to the teams that are working on them and/or the client. Each individual workspace displays as a tabbed file system with the follow categories and functions [1b]: 1. Recent Activity - set chronologically and in real time. o Displays feeds on all activities from all team members. o Instant reply can be facilitated o Notes, ideas and messages are shared between the team here o It can include text, graphics, links or uploaded files. o Information on this page can also be categorised to keep track of specific threads and ideas. 2. Files o Allows uploading, storing and sharing of files o Supports multiple file formats 3. Tasks o Displays all tasks connected to the project. o It identifies who is responsible for each task. o Records the status of each task. 4. Calendar o The calendar is integrated with the task system and identifies key target dates for each project. The application can also allow you to view all activities across all projects in one frame through the 'All' tab. The success of Wizehive was recently manifest within the use of its platform by TechCrunch to determine the top 50 applicants for the, "best new technologies of the year" [2]. CEO of TechCrunch, Heather Harde, stated that its, "…ability to easily collect ratings, make notes, and work collaboratively was fantastic".

References: [1a] Wizehive (2010) Organize and Share Informaiton. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://www.wizehive.com/features/ [1b] Wizehive (2010) Organize and Share Information. Video. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://www.wizehive.com/features/ [2] Wizehive (2010) TechCrunch50. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://applicants.wizehive.com/applicant/success-stories/techcrunch50.html

Share. Collaborate. Communicate. [1] Glasscubes is all about file sharing, intranets, contact management and document management. [1] It is an application that is ideal for maintaining customers, employee relations and dealing with issues in a real time collaborative feed. The 'cubes' part refers to workspaces where access is assigned to various individuals or departments within and external to the company. Glasscubes is a UK company with the highest audience base, as per Alexa.com, from South Korea, India, United Kingdom and United States [2]. The application allows for real-time editing of office, pdf and image files online so that users know they will be editing the latest update. Users can share calendars, if they require, and in March 2010 Glasscubes announced its calendar synchronization for active employees. "Glasscubes... announced that its online-based collaboration software now allows users to synchronise calendars directly with Google Calendars, or to view (read only) events in other calendaring applications that support the iCal format"[3]. Adding to this announcement Glasscubes has also been accepted into the "Google Apps Marketplace" [4].

Glasscubes brings together a multitude of features specifically intended to help small and medium sized organisations share files, collaborate on documents, and manage key elements of their online operations securely. (Miles, 2009) Each Cube is a workspace with a dashboard providing a comprehensive summary of activities within the Cube and a secure area for documents. Every Cube also has its own calendar that can be merged with other personal or business calendars for a full overview and to ensure bookings and deadlines do not clash with each other. (Harris, 2009) Glasscubes requires no add-ons and files are backed up daily, but it falls short of Basecamp's (http://basecamphq.com/ ) robust and structured method of document management and sharing and there is no support - either included or as add-ons, for milestones, reporting and analytics. (Harris, 2009) Like Basecamp, Glasscubes was designed for small businesses and is limited when it comes to working with large clients and teams that have multi-level, frequently changing tasks that don't require all members to see everything at all times. For larger organisations, Salesforce (www.salesforce.com ) can be scaled up for customer relationship management and offers more functionality, such as email support. (Harris, 2009) As an online service for small businesses, Glasscubes is a competitively priced Web-based project management tool with ample collaborative features to help link up with colleagues and clients anywhere there is an Internet connection. Unlike many customer relationship management tools, Glasscubes is simple to use even without extensive training or technical knowledge. (Miles, 2009)

References Glasscubes: Online intranet, workspaces and simple CRM. (n.d.). Share. Communicate. Collaborate. - Glasscubes: Online intranet, workspaces and simple CRM. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from http://www.glasscubes.com/ Harris, C. (2009, November 13). Glasscubes Review | Business Computing World. Business blogging and technology reviews - Business Computing World. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/?p=1512 Miles, S. (2009, December 26). Glasscubes ‚ Facilitating Communication and Collaboration - Reviews by AppVita. AppVita.com - Discovering web-based applications that just make life better. - Reviews by AppVita. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from http://www.appvita.com/2009/12/26/glasscubes-%E2%80%93-facilitating-communication-and-collaboration/

"Work better together on Acrobat.com" [1]. "Adobe has introduced Acrobat.com Workspaces, an extension to its online collaboration service that provides shared workspaces to enable teams to easily share project documents and other files when working on projects" [2]. Adobe is a major player in the field of producing solid software and it seems they too are joining the world of online collaboration by developing Acrobat.com Workspaces and more. Launched in 2009, Acrobat.com lets users "store and share documents, convert files to PDF, share their screen using Adobe ConnectNow, and create documents using online applications such as the Buzzword word processor and Acrobat.com Tables for spreadsheets"[2]. At the moment the paid prescription is available to North American customers only and some other regional Beta versions are available. Although this availability is a weakness, particularly at this stage for Australian clients, Adobe does offer a free alternative for everyone until the Workspaces are available widely. The alternative is a limited, but useful service; "Get an online workspace, five PDF conversions total, three person web conferencing, online office applications and forum-based support" [3]. One of the biggest strength's to the workspaces is the usability of the product and its fresh outlook. The product offers great potential for clients as regardless of what application you use to create a document; Acrobat.com Workspaces includes a PDF conversion which can make the final document industry standard.

References/Notes [1] Adobe - tagline, https://acrobat.com/#l [accessed April 5]. [2] Robinson, D., (2010). Adobe adds shared workspaces to Acrobat.com, http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2260392/adobe-adds-shared-workspaces, V3.co.uk. [3] Acrobat.com Workspaces, https://acrobat.com/#il=1&page=signup_only&su=1 [accessed April 5]. [4] Acrobat.com Mobile Workspaces, https://acrobat.com/features_mobile_access.html [accessed April 5]. [5] Adobe.com Workspace features, https://acrobat.com/features_online_office_applications.html [accessed April 5].

Placeholder interested in this for my work, so I'll comment after further research

GoToMeeting is a service from Citrix that facilitates online meetings between multiple people. The service not only allows for audio chat, but also desktop/screen and file sharing (Citrix, 2010). The service supports up to 15 concurrent users in a single meeting. Similar services are available for larger presentations in the form of GoToWebinar and GoToTraining allowing for 100-1000 and 25-200 users respectively depending on the level of service subscribed. At the conclusion of a meeting, GoToMeeting offers the ability to see who attended the meeting and who did not. To protect the security of its subscribers, GoToMeeting and Citrix's other GoTo products use 128-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) end-to-end encryption (Citrix, 2010). This ensures that all communication is only seen by the intended recipients. AES encryption is a proven encryption algorithm and the cipher approved by the NSA (an American intelligence agency) for storing information up to the SECRET level (and TOP SECRET if a 192-bit or 256-bit key is used) (CNSS Secretariat, 2003). GoToMeeting has several competitors. The main competitors appear to be Cisco WebEx and Microsoft SharedView (successor to NetMeeting). However, competition also exists with combinations of free tools that fill the same need once combined. For example, Skype coupled with TeamViewer could be used to accomplish much the same task although not nearly as easy to use in the screen sharing combined with audio conferencing aspect. Citrix. (2010). Features. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from GoToMeeting: http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/online_collaboration Citrix. (2010). Security & Reliability. Retrieved April 13, 2010, from GoToMeeting: http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/secure_web_conferencing CNSS Secretariat. (2003,

GoToMeeting is a "popular online meeting application" (Ramachandran & Beeram, 2009) that is used to "collaborate online, give presentations and for online training." (Ramachandran & Beeram, 2009) This easy-to-use application allows collaborating with anyone, anywhere, saving businesses time and money particularly with traveling expenses. (Business Wire, 2009) GoToMeeting is used by small and large businesses; with the ability to "host an online meeting with up to 15 people". (Online Meetings, 2010) For $US49 a month and an Internet connection, it can be operated on Mac or PC, and now on the iPad. An App for the iPad was created, due to the "need for more mobility in our work styles." (Citrix Online, 2010) This creates more opportunity to collaborate remotely, without the need to be in the office. Online meetings can begin with a simple click of a button. Members can be invited to join by phone or a link in an email or instant message. (How It Works, 2010) Members can join quickly and start collaborating, using their computers microphone and speakers or by calling in via telephone. (Ramachandran & Beeram, 2009) Some feature of GoToMeeting are listed below: * Display presenters screen - The presenters screen is shown, displaying the desktop, an application or document. The presenter can change the screen shown to view another members screen. This helps members visualize. * Drawing tools - encouraging interactive collaboration. Highlighting and drawing using the pen, highlighter, arrow or spotlight tool * Record Meetings - meeting can be reviewed at a later date. Recording can be posted on the company website for other employees to listen to. * Mouse and keyboard controls - can be given to other members in the meeting, allowing members to collaborate.

* Security features - Creating a safe and secure environment. "SSL-encrypted Web site, End-to-end 128-bit AES encryption, Automatic inactivity time-out" (Security & Reliability, 2010) GoToMeeting is a quick and simple meeting tool that is effective for small and large businesses and allows employees to collaborate with each other on a daily basis. Reference: Business Wire. (2009). Retrieved April 17, 2010, from http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/images/pdf/caseStudies/GoToMeeting_GoToWebinar_cs_Business_Wire.pdf Citrix Online Launches GoToMeeting App for iPad. (2010). Retrieved April 17, 2010, from http://www.citrixonline.com/pr/pressRelease.tmpl?FileID=040210& SourceTemplate=expertcity%2Fpr%2FpressReleases.tmpl How It Works. (2010). Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/web_meeting Online Meetings Made Easy. (2010). Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/online_meeting Ramachandran, K. & Beeram, S. (2009). Supporting Enterprise-Grade Audio Conferencing on the Internet. Lecture Notes In Computer Science, 5448(2009), 143-152. Retrieved April 16, from SpringerLink database. Security & Reliability. (2010). Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/secure_web_conferencing

Virtual servers, Cloud computing and Software-as-a-service,(SaaS), are all pioneering new innovative value-adding utilities. Gmail, Hotmail, YouTube, are a few SaaS tools already known to most people, but now the Internet is exploding with collaborative services and applications. With peer pressure from Google's Google docs and other web-based software developers, giant software companies like Microsoft, Adobe, SAP etc are all launching into web-based applications. [1] Microsoft's (Light) Office app will be available for free with Office 2010.[2] Even hardware technology are pointing to "slim-down" operating systems like netbooks that have little data storage capabilities, no moving parts and only connects and rely on the internet [1] CRM, Customer Relations Management and ERP; Enterprise Resource Planning are the most popular applications that companies are taking up as web-collaborative applications. ***Now Engineering design are available in the cloud. SolidWorks CEO, Jeff Ray says the one prevailing advantage to all customers is cost. [4]

[1] Patrick Stafford 2009 How cloud computing could change your business and save you thousands. Retrieved on 4/4/2010 from:http://www.smartcompany.com.au/ [2] Lia Timson 2010 Word, Excel, Powerpoint-free on the web. Retrieved 4/4/2010 from: http://www.watoday.com.au/technology/ [3]SolidWorks website. Retrieved on 4/4/2010 from: http://www.solidworks.com/sw/products/free-cad-software-downloads.htm [4] Johnson, A. 2010. CAD moves to the clouds. Retrieved on 4/4/2010 from:http://www.manmonthly.com.au/Article/CAD-moves-to-the-clouds/514146.aspx

SolidWorks offers improved collaboration between CAD team members as they can share designs with one another and external partners. Another important feature is the SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) [1]. The SolidWorks User Group Network is arrange geographically and offers users a valuable resource, the ability to network with local peers and partners helping businesses become more productive. It also connects global users, assisting them with improved understanding of SolidWorks features and SolidWorks related products. Users are able to network with peers to share experiences and technical queries and methodologies. [1] SolidWorks User Network Group, available from: http://www.swugn.org/swugn/benefits.htm

Fuze Meeting is one of the few browser-based web meeting platforms that allows the participant to not only host web conferences from their computer but to also attend a meeting from their Apple iPhone, RIM BlackBerry or any Wi-Fi or 3G enabled device [1] Since its 2009 software upgrade, participants can now invite attendees from several e-mail and instant messaging clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Windows Live Hotmail, Google Gmail, Google Talk, AOL AIM, Skype, LinkedIn and Yahoo [2] and works seamlessly with Linux, Mac and PC. Fuze Meeting also integrates with Facebook and Twitter allowing users to announce their audio and web meetings to followers. Fuze Meeting provides high-definition, real-time synchronized desktop sharing for online collaboration of videos, images, documents and PowerPoint presentations (as well as text chat). It does this by operating solely through the browser and Internet cloud (in this instance, the Fuze servers) eliminating the need for downloads or installations. [3] Fuze Meeting's simple editing tools allow for annotations on files or video frames, drawing simple graphics or adding text. [4] Control meetings and content; invite participants on the fly or schedule in advance all through the easy-to-use dashboard. At the end of the meeting hosts are able to publish a Fuze Meeting Replay link for others to review the meeting and its content. Fuze Meeting is free for up to three web users and seven audio users however there are competitive, cost-effective pay-as-you-go, monthly and annual plans to cater for larger numbers of users (for example, at the monthly level, Fuze Meeting costs $29 compared to its competition, WebEx or Go-to-Meeting which cost $49 per month). [5]

Fuze Meeting is a web-browser based web conference service and it also provides compatible applications for Blackberrys and iPhones [1]. Fuze Meeting utilises the Flash browser plug-in to provide a useful tool with an easy-to-use interface [2]. Meetings can include up to 15 attendees and its built-in chat integrates with AOL, Google, MSN, and Yahoo's chat applications [2]. Out of the top 10 web-meeting applications OnlineMeetingReviews.com ranked Fuze Meeting one of the top two products available [2]. Comparable online meeting services include GoToMeeting [3], Dim Dim [4], and iLinc [5]. Apple's GoToMeeting provides everything that Fuze Meeting does and more but at a higher monthly fee [3]. Dim Dim provides slightly more functionality to Fuze Meeting at a lower monthly fee [4]. iLink provide the same functionality as GoToMeeting with a focus towards the high-end corporate market, and iLink's pricing is available on application [5]. All four services offer 30 day free trial offers. Overall Fuze Meeting's nearest competitor in the meeting services market appears to be Dim Dim. Fuze Meeting and Dim Dim's services received an identical overall ranking from No1Reviews.com who tested for reliability, security, usability, features, support and value [6][7]. Fuze Meeting is a product worth considering for anyone interested in using a web conferencing service. ---------------- see References below

References [1] Fuze Box Inc (2010). 'Web Conferencing, Online Meeting, Web Meeting Software | Fuze Meeting'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://www.fuzemeeting.com/ [2] OnlineMeetingReviews.com (2010). 'Fuze Meeting Review - 2nd Place'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://www.onlinemeetingreviews.com/reviews/fuzemeeting/ [3] Apple Inc. (2010). 'GoToMeeting'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/ [4] Dimdim, Inc. (2010). 'Easy, Open and Affordable Web Conferencing and Webinars | Dimdim'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://www.dimdim.com/ [5] iLinc Communications. (2010). 'iLinc | Web and Video Conferencing | Online Meetings | Virtual Training | Webinars | eLearning'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://www.ilinc.com/ [6] No1Reviews.com. (2010). 'Fuze Meeting | FuzeMeeting.com Review'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://web-conferencing.no1reviews.com/fuze-meeting.html [7] No1Reviews.com. (2010). 'Dimdim | Dimdim.com Review'. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://web-conferencing.no1reviews.com/dimdim.html

SugarCRM is an open source database management system. It is important to be able to manage customer databases without having to collate numerous spreadsheets of customer information. With SugarCRM it simplifies being able to organize and track people, companies and sales opportunities [1]. Another advantage of SugarCRM is the ability to measure and report customer information across your company [2]. SugarCRM Community Edition is a free application and it is open source so the software can be altered to suit the users' needs. Not all companies have the same requirements when it comes to implementing a CRM, so the advantage of using SugarCRM is it gives users the flexibility to modify the source code [3]. To gain greater benefits of SugarCRM there is a professional edition for US$360 per licence or the Sugar Enterprise Edition for US$600 per licence [4]. A CRM solution will focus on automating and improving current processes and practices mainly supporting sales, marketing, customer service and support as Gupta & Shukla (2002) attest [5]. Implementing a CRM can be a risky business according to Bohling, et al (2006) [6]. Depending on the size of the organization and the current CRM system in operation, if any, implementing a CRM requires plenty of planning and preparation. Also, once a system is up and running, it is important to evaluate the success of the CRM and continue to refine and develop the CRM. References [1] Organise & Share Customer Information. Retrieved 12 April 2010 from http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/resources/crm-new [2] Measure & Report Across your Company. Retrieved 12 April 2010 from http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/resources/crm-advanced [3] Open Source CRM. Retrieved 12 April 2010 from http://www.sugarforge.org/content/open-source/ [4] Sugar Editions. Retrieved 12 April 2010 from http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/products/editions.html [5] Gupta, M.P., and Shukla, S. (2002). Global Business Review 2002; 3; 99. Learnings from Customer Relationship

In comparing SugarCRm to another similar product - 'TigerCRM', these are the results:
SugarCRM Advantages " Sugar Suite is an excellent choice due to its advanced features, and is convenient to organizations from all sizes and industries. The installation of SugarCRM, as well as the installation of additional modules and language packs is quite easy and trouble-free, and the admin area offers a great variety of options and tools." [1]
SugarCRM Disadvantages "While providing more capabilities and reliability, Sugar Suite loads slower than vTiger CRM and is not so easy to use. Problems may also arise if a user doesn't lock the Installation after finishing it. Contrary to vTiger CRM, some of its add-ons are not free for installing and should be ordered additionally. Another disadvantage of SugarCRM is the very resource-consuming upgrade process. A SugarCRM upgrade can rarely be completed successfully on a shared server because the upgrade times out." [1]
But the latest release of version 6, raves about the following:
"SugarCRM has completely re-written a new user interface that places a premium on speed, simplicity, and interoperability with other web applications and mobile devices. Larry Augustin, CEO of SugarCRM, said "Sugar 6 delivers a look, feel and user experience that consumers of popular social networking and other collaboration tools will appreciate." [2]
"SugarCRM has also moved its mobile application to Appcelerator Titanium so it could have one version of its application run on Apple, Google's Android, BlackBerry, Palm, and other devices without the need for their engineers to build completely different versions. " [2] References: [1] SiteGround, http://www.siteground.com/sugarcrm_vtiger.htm [accessed April 14, 2010]. [2] SugarCRM announces release of ver

Lynda.com offers a web based training solution for collaborative groups [1], the multi-user program is an online application that lets a single administrator manage a group of Online Training Library® subscriptions. This program is ideal for institutions, offering Online Training Library® access to a group of 5 or more users. The multi-user program administrator has access to a series of reports that track individual account usage. A key benefit of Lynda.com is the 24 hour online access to the Lynda.com database of thousands of training videos [2], which reduces costly offsite training expenses, with production loss and geographical transport issues, with Lynda.com a trainer can find out, down to the minute, how long a section of training will take, making easy to fit the training into a hectic schedule. Traditionally, inter-departmental training interactions within organisations and collaborations have been infrequent and difficult to maintain and monitor the benefit of the adoption of the software tools and services that foster fluidity and cooperation uses technology to build bridges between departments. The comprehensive reporting and graphing within this training application, tracks usage per account and offers other statistical data such as most viewed titles, total usage by all users, offering simple analysis of performance. A case study is provided by the media giant Time Warner Cable Media, who produce television commercials and require constant training on the latest multimedia applications, but the company's offices, are spread across a large region. Historically, assembling these busy professionals together for training was a huge challenge [3].

References: [1] Lynda.com available from http://www.lynda.com [2] OpinionsandReviews.com, Is It Really Worth The Money? Retrieved 8th April 2010 from http://www.opinionsandreviews.com [3] Anonymous. 'Case Study:Time Warner Cable Media Sales'. Retrieved 9th April 2010 from http://www.lynda/casestudy.pdf

Lynda.com is a useful tool to help software users keep up to date with the latest releases and technology available [1]. No matter what software skills you require, there is bound to be a online tutorial available on Lynda.com to watch and learn. With access to 40,000+ tutorials, there is sure to be a software program to suit your needs [1]. Even if users are comfortable with an application, there are always tricks to learn or additional upgrades with more features. With Lynda.com keeping up to date is simplified [2]. Whether you're into digital photography, web design and development, motion graphics, or just need to brush up on Excel, you can learn all the software skills you need to gain a competitive edge with our online tutorials. Once users have registered, they are able to watch any of the videos available from anywhere at any time with their login details. There are different subscription options available either on a monthly or annual basis. The prices range from US$25 per month for the basic subscription which allows access 24/7 to all courses. The monthly premium package for US$37.50 per month includes exercise files which you can use to follow along with the tutorials. The annual subscription saves $50 which is an extra 2 months free and the annual premium subscription [2]. Online education plays an important role in today's education and as Richardson (2009) [3] explains it is common for both on campus and off campus higher education refers to "face-to-face and online course delivery as 'blended learning'". Over the years, online learning has improved significantly and the accessibility of anywhere, anytime learning is an attractive factor in choosing online learning [3]. References [1] Lynda.com: Our Mission. Retrieved 14 April 2010 from http://www.lynda.com/aboutus/Default.aspx [2] Lynda.com: Products. Retrieved 14 April 2010 from http://www.lynda.com/products/Default.aspx [3] Richardson, J. T. E. (2009). Face-to-Face Versus

LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals and attracts and retains regular visitors from around the world [1], you can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with qualified professionals that can assist you to accomplish your goals. Successful organizations recognize the immense value of integrating their client-facing operations and internally-focused, department-centric views are discarded in favor of processes toward information-sharing, collaborate on projects, gather data, share and solve problems. [2] This type of collaborative profile networking results in greater business opportunities and generates insights from talents and knowledge from outside the organization. This, in turn allows organisations to recruit from the best talent. LinkedIn Groups [3] offer communities of professionals based on common interest, experience, affiliation, and goals. Stay in touch with organizations, schools, and companies that you are and were a part of, network with professionals with similar interests and goals, and collaborate in a professional community online.

...continued from post above.... Why does LinkedIn work so well for individuals? Network theorists such as Mark Granovetter and Albert-Laszlo Barabasi believe that professionals tend to network outside their usual group of friends when looking for career opportunities and usually belong to more than one network. [5] According to Pamela Rutledge, Ph.D. "this creates a connection that is psychologically more comfortable and conducive to a positive interaction. Call it transitive trust. The reciprocity and shared community of online networks builds a sense of camaraderie and trust between members and provides an element of emotional support". [5]

References: [1] Butow, E. & Taylor, K. (2008). 'How to succeed in business using LinedIn'. Amacom. Retrieved from URL: http://www.amacombooks.org/book.cfm?isbn=9780814410745&page=ReviewQuotes [2] 'Why LinkedIn? My Top Ten Reasons'. Powerful CMS. Retrieved from URL: http://www.powerfulcms.com/blog/0912/why-linkedin-my-top-ten-reasons [3] Burrus, D. (2010). 'Create Social Media Guidelines To Reach Your Customer'. Agency Sales, 40(3), 40-41,43-44. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1991048841) URL: http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1991048841&sid=8&Fmt=6&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD [4] 'LinkedIn Corporation; LinkedIn Expands Mobile Offerings With Global Release of Application for BlackBerry'. (2010, April). Computer Weekly News,238. Retrieved from ProQuest Computing. (Document ID: 2003639421) from URL: http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?index=1&did=2003639421&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1271143698&clientId=22212 [5] Rutledge, P. Ph.D (2009). 'Why LinkedIn Works'. Positively Media: How we connect and thrive through emerging technologies. Psychology Today. Retrieved from URL: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-media/200903/why-linkedin-works-the-strength-weak-ties

This issue tracking software is for used for project development and allows participants to collaborate on a variety of projects, such as tracking fixes waiting for QA or urgent issues, ideally suited to software developers through a customer support application. [1] The simple user interface allows large and small groups to quickly create efficient workflows and automatically organize specific tasks by creating, assigning, tagging and resolving project issues. The insertion of milestones helps to plan features and establish release dates and agreed deadlines and the ability to share documents and images directly to tickets, so anyone within the project team can find them. As a customer relationship management tool, Lighthouse is efficient at managing a company's interactions with its clients and involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes, which are essential within sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support by creating time-saving functionality.[2] As a case study Croogo [3] is a free, open source, content management system powered by CakePHP framework, and distributed under the MIT License. And uses lighthouse to create and reply to tickets and review the status of all projects in a simple overview that can be followed along with feeds, creating exceptional user support , as participants can create new Lighthouse tickets directly from Tender [4], Lighthouses specialized customer support service. To reduce the costs of planning and implementing software initiatives and increase the support from user base, enterprises are required to automate processes according to best practices. Using Lighthouse's email integration team members can utilize email to reply to tickets directly from inbox and as it is a web based application, it means that support can access critical information on the move, such as using the iPhone optimized interface, manage tickets through the email system, or subscribe to pro

References: [1] Lighthouse http://lighthouseapp.com/ [2] Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management [3] Croogo PHP http://bakery.cakephp.org/articles/view/introducing-croogo-cms [4] Tender http://tenderapp.com/ [5]Neath, K. (2007) "Lighthouse: The bug tracker you've been looking for" retrieved on 11th April 2010 from: http://warpspire.com/tipsresources/web-publishing/lighthouse-the-bug-tracker-youve-been-looking-for/

"Communication, Collaboration, and Bugs: The Social Nature of Issue Tracking in Software Engineering" (Bertram, Voida, Greenberg, & Walker, 2010) This article, written by the Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, is a qualitative study of a group of software development teams that make use of one or more formal issue tracking systems and examines the social aspects that reside within the software engineering and bug tracking process. They argue that an issue tracker is not just a system for tracking bugs but becomes a focal point for all stakeholders of the program including engineers, users, designers and owners. The collaborative knowledge and shared journey of tracking bugs and designing software is a social process as much as it is a design process and the tracking system should be able to facilitate and archive the exchange of information and ideas. From the study of up to 15 participants spread across 4 North American software teams they were able to articulate various real world practices for examining issue and bug tracking software. The paper enunciates the main features of an issue tracking system and what the main considerations should be when designing or implementing one. References Bertram, D., Voida, A., Greenberg, S., & Walker, R. (2010). Communication, Collaboration, and Bugs: The. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from DSpace: http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/47309/3/2009-IssueTracking.Report2009-933-12.pdf

Diigo is a social bookmarking tool that has practical research applications, for both personal and enterprise purposes. Diigo is a self-described "collaborative research platform" [1] and has been lauded as an effective research tool by a number of sources [2] [3]. Diigo allows users to bookmark and annotate links, adding tags and private commentary much like many other social bookmarking tools (e.g. Delicious). However, Diigo extends this functionality with a browser add-on that includes a highlighting tool and the ability to attach one's annotations in the form of a "sticky note" [4]. Provided the user is logged in at the time, any subsequent return to annotated pages in the future results in the presentation of those annotations. In this respect, Diigo could be a valuable knowledge management and research tool for corporate needs. Given the functionality to create and manage groups, Diigo is applicable to an enterprise that undertakes regular research and sharing of collated information [2]. Diigo has also been suggested as a useful academic collaboration tool, particularly for group work [5]. Keep up to date with Diigo developments on the Diigo blog at http://blog.diigo.com/

While traditional methods for information gathering are still popular (i.e. physical libraries and cataloguing), today's preferred method of research however, has moved to the web with business and professional practices integrating social tagging as part of their independent information sharing and distribution [3] and is especially popular among the younger generation whose "basic assumptions about information today have changed" as they expect everything to be on the web. [1] According to Wikipedia, social book-marking (also known as 'social tagging') "is a method for Internet users to store, organise, search and manage bookmarks of web pages on the internet with the help of metadata" [2] and can be tagged "according to their own terms or definitions". [1] As this information is stored in the bookmarking cloud, it can be searched for and retrieved from any computer with access to the Internet or through a Diigo iPhone application (where you can download web pages for offline browsing). [4] For this reason, Diigo helps in overcoming the isolation felt caused by the distance barrier and breaks down communications barriers and engages interaction between management and remote project teams as well as between off-campus students and their tutors [1] and turns research into a social collaborative activity. Create personal networks consisting of people who share the same information categories through the 'MyNetwork' feature. This feature helps foster discussions around the content you are researching or are interested in. Build a knowledge-management, knowledge-sharing group or community online and enhance team collaboration with Diigo. Receive email alerts of new posts, hold threaded discussions and comment both on or off the article of interest. [4] Diigo is a free online collaboration tool and supports all major browsers such as FireFox, Internet Explorer7, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari there is no installation of softwa

References: [1] Redden, C. (2010). 'Social Bookmarking in Academic Libraries: Trends and Applications'. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. ScienceDirect. DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2010.03.004. Retrieved from URL - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W50-4YR8B2D-2/2/6f8737ad459312295b39c7b1a8c40b43 [2] Social Bookmarking. Wikipedia. Accessed from URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking [3] Abbas, J. et al. (2007). 'Who is tagging information?'. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Vol. 44, No. 1, pp 1-4. Wiley Interscience. DOI: 10.1002/meet.1450440120. Retrieved from URL: US: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/meet.1450440120 [4] Diigo. Accessed April 14, 2010 from URL: www.diigo.com

The Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre [4] provides a secure, scalable and cross platform online meeting environment that allows people to collaborate and brainstorm online. The features of WebEx Meeting Centre allow people to participate in virtual meetings, talk to each other, video conference and conduct presentations in a secure online environment. The introduction of the iPad[2] from Apple Inc [1] provides another opportunity for Cisco to extend the capacity of mobile collaboration to people that are not necessarily sitting behind a desk. WebEx was first available on the iPhone and Cisco were one of the first software providers to release their application on the iPad [3] [5]. The Webex Meeting Centre provided by Cisco for enterprise online meetings has been available for sometime on the iPhone via the iTunes app store. IPad users will be able to participate in online meetings and view shared presentations, applications, view the meeting participant list, see who is talking and talk privately with someone else in the meeting. Cisco is delivering the app free from the iTunes store. References [1] Apple Inc. (2010). Apple Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Apple: http://www.apple.com/ [2] Apple Inc. (2010). iPad. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Apple: http://www.apple.com/ipad/ [3] Bradley, T. (2010, April 1). Must-Have iPad Apps for Business Professionals. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/193235/musthave_ipad_apps_ [4] Cisco. (n.d.). Cisco Webex. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Cisco: http://static.webex.com/fileadmin/webex09/files_en_us/pdf/data_sheets/mc_ds.pdf [5]iTunes. (2010). iTunes Store. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Cisco WebEx Meeting Center: http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/cisco-webex-meeting-center/id298844386?mt=8

WebEx video conferencing software operates on multiple platforms such as Windows, Macintosh, Solaris and Linux. WebEx provides users with quality, interactive meetings and provides data, voice and video seamlessly through the MediaTone Network [1]. Free trials allow businesses to evaluate the online collaboration services and with the added support for PC-to-Mac, Mac-to-PC and Mac-to-Mac and iPhone, WebEx proves to be an excellent remote access solution. With a growing Mac customer base, Cisco WebEx aims to provide the same support as what their current PC users receive. Director of product management, Ilan Kasaan said in a 2008 interview: "You can't deny that the Apple Mac is becoming more prevalent in businesses; in fact we have seen Mac usage double in last year…and as with all of our solutions, we are consistently upgrading to meet the demands of our growing user base" [2]. With the introduction of the Apple iPad, the WebEx Meeting Center (downloadable free from the Application Store) provides online collaboration to users by email and calendar invitation. The WebEx app also features a private chat option and audio conferencing and data sharing. Says Debra Chrapaty from Cisco Collaboration Software Group: "When a powerful collaboration solution like Cisco WebEx Meeting Center for the iPad is combined with an intuitive and WiFi enabled user experience, businesses and users both win" [3]. With the offering of the WebEx application free to Apple iPad, Cisco ensures support for their online collaboration software, allowing users to continue interaction via their networked computers and mobile devices [4].

References: [1] the Mac Observer (2003). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/WebEx_For_OS_X_Now_Shipping/ [2] Cisco (2008). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_032608.html [3] CBR Mobility (2010). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://mobility.cbronline.com/news/cisco_unveils_webex_app_for_apple_ipad_050410 [4] TECHblips (2010). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://techblips.dailyradar.com/article/cisco-brings-webex-to-the-apple-ipad/

Officemedium is an online collaborative package for business which offers centralized collaboration, client integration, security, organization and social platforming. One of the features of Officemedium is the client integration which allows the business to create user accounts for their clients which allows them to access only the information meant for them. The software is simplistic and centralised. According to Officemedium their product is "Unlike most business software, our application is easy to use and stripped of over-complicated, unnecessary clutter." Officemedium uses a concept of Clients, Employee and Super User which allows differing levels of access and integration. Whereas there are many business applications that are similar, ReadWriteStart which is a resource guide for first time businesses, describes officemedium as "Topping their list is Officemedium, a service we profiled last fall which provides a wide variety of collaborative features wrapped up in an elegantly designed interface." Business Pundit lists the advantage of Officemedium as follows: "Features: * Client integration * Contact information management * Task management * Event coordination * Personal and group calendars * File sharing and storage * Resource and document management * Shared blogging * Real-time chat * Private messaging * Status updates * User profiles * Polling * Searching and tagging * Email updates and notifications Continued...............

OfficeMedium is a "web-based intranet and social collaboration software" (McCue, 2010) allowing businesses to bring together their daily business and communication needs in one central location. OfficeMedium is targeted towards small and medium businesses, (About, n.d.) providing an application that is simple and easy to use. Since OfficeMedium provides a working environment online, it is accessible remotely (OfficeMedium, n.d.) and takes away the need for servers, installation and upgrade of software and data backups. (About, n.d.) The software provides "file sharing and storage, event and task management, contact and company information storage". (About, n.d.) In doing this, it places all data in a central location, avoiding dilemmas of misplaced data from unorganised methods of communication such as email, phone or instant message. These forms of communication can sometimes make it difficult to monitor and locate data on a particular project. Progress of all projects and anything related can be viewed through a simple dashboard which offers real-time collaboration. (OfficeMedium, n.d.) Some features include "task and event management, personal and group calendars, contact management, to file sharing and storage". (McCue, 2010) Managers, staff and clients can access and input information in these areas, depending on their user level. OfficeMedium allows three levels of users. (McCue, 2010) These levels determine the amount of access a user has. They are: Client: Allows least access. Can allow client to view and give feedback to documents. Employee: Greater access than client. Able to view a greater amount of data and can input content. Superuser: Has full access. Is able to see and manage all areas

Reference: About. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2010, from http://www.officemedium.com/about McCue, T. (2010). Small Business Collaboration Software: Office Medium. Retrieved April 17, 2010, from http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/04/small-business-collaboration-software-office-medium.html OfficeMedium. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2010, from http://www.officemedium.com/

EffectiveUI [1] were an early adopter of the iPad technology and released Ideate [2] as one of the first apps specifically for the iPad [3]. Ideate is a sketching tool that allows people to actually draw or sketch designs by freehand. It also comes with a range of additional templates and User Interfaces such as grids and backgrounds. Templates and Clips that come with Ideate include the following categories: * 3D and Perspective * Human Anatomy * Music Sheets * Grids, Lines and Dots * Fashion Models * Landscaping * Sports Fields * Shapes * Home Interior & Interface Design. Ideate also provides a streamlined integrated system to either share the designs by either emailing or uploading them to the Ideate Flickr Group [4] account. The app comes with a range of templates from fashion models to devices, human anatomy to music and more and it also allows the users to bring in their own images and backgrounds. The convergence of technologies including the iPad, the internet accessibility and the Ideate app bring together a single unique collaborative experience that allows for a shared experience of creativity, design and brain storming. This first release allows only for asynchronous collaboration, however the individual technologies do allow for possible synchronous creative design across the web in the future. Ideate is available from the iTunes app [5] store and is currently retailing for $4.99 (AUD) References/Links [1] http://www.effectiveui.com/index.html#/?env=0&pop=0&f=1 [2] http://www.ideateapp.com/ [3] http://www.apple.com/ipad/ [4] http://www.flickr.com/groups/ideate/ [5] http://i

EffectiveUI, the developers of Ideate, has earned customer loyalty previously by developing groundbreaking software for companies like National Geographic, eBay and the Discovery Channel. It is a recognised Adobe Gold Partner and in September of 2009 ranked No. 55 on the Inc. 500 [1]. With the release of Ideate for the new Apple iPad, the aim was to reach the "different needs for people to better capture and share their ideas", according to Rebecca Flavin the CEO of EffectiveUI [1][4]. Ideate is a useful tool for the collaboration of creative ideas and concepts and with features such as sketching and instant sharing, together with web clips, animation and music, it has the makings of a very effective collaboration tool, ideal for professionals in the medical, designing and sporting fields. Any sketches saved in documents can be shared through email and social applications such as Flickr. Ideate and iPad make an extremely eco-friendly team, as the need for printing designs are eliminated and at a download price for less than $4, it is very cost-effective [2]. Make no mistake though - Ideate is not purely an illustration tool. It does not feature sophisticated brush types,[3] you are still limited by what your fingers can actually draw on the Ipad with the features available.

References: [1] MarketWire (2010). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/EffectiveUI-Unleashes-Creativity-Apple-iPad-Through-Ideate-Sketching-Application-1142177.htm [2] AppShopper (2010). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://appshopper.com/productivity/ideate [3] Patrick Hanson.com 'Ideate Application for iPad' (2010). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.patrickhansen.com/blog/ [4] Nearshore Journal (2010). Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.nearshorejournal.com/2010/04/effectiveui-unleashes-creativity-for-the-apple-ipad-through-ideate-sketching-application/

Collaber is a virtual office that holds user information secure on a dedicated server, working on both Intranets and Extranets. The multi-platform (such as Windows, Linux and Mac) project management software allows for communication and sharing of data in a password-protected online environment. Educational institutions can benefit by creating virtual classrooms with file sharing and live interaction utilising the attractive graphics. First-time users immediately gain an understanding of available features by viewing the short video tutorials available on every feature, further enhancing the overall perception of ease of use. A demo page is also available to work through the complete process of engaging online collaboration with Collaber [1]. Collaber' features will soon include online account management for mobiles [1]. Editors are context sensitive with wizards improving file and picture sharing. Discussions and Chat tools features a time line and instant messaging with attachments. A review by Business Hacks [4] points out the value of the quantity of services Collaber offers its users and also mention the quality of interactive visuals used to enhance the user' experience of the software. Features include [1]: * Searchable contacts with changeable status and profile * Instant messaging with file and picture sharing * Drag and drop functionality to share files and folders * Task management tools to assign tasks to members and track progress * Application tool designer * Discussions, Wiki's and polls

A review by PR-inside.com [3] of Collaber' features view the highlights as: * Web version with unified account * Multi calendar with similar functionality to Google App's Calendar * Improved HTML editor * Keyboard short cuts * Advanced alerts and support * Compatibility with web applications, especially attractive to application store developers * New filters enabling items found by tags, date, members, status and more References: [1] Collaber (2007). Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.collaber.com [2] SoftSea (n.d.). 'Online Project Management'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.softsea.com/review/Collaber.html [3] PR-inside (2007). 'Web based multi-platform collaboration software released'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.pr-inside.com/print1414291.htm [4] BNet insight (2009). 'Collaborate in an online share workspace with Collaber'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=3648

ProjectSpaces provides secure online collaboration working space for project management teams, workgroups and committees. Flexibility is a main feature, with companies able to customise their workspace for co-ordinating and knowledge sharing. A review of ProjectSpaces by KillerStartups.com, found its user-friendly interface a major factor in attracting users as well as its level of control [3]. Document management is easy with version control and the organisation and management of files with smart folders, RSS feeds, blogging and discussion tools. Some features include [1]: * Support of any document file type, with multiple file uploading * WYSIWYG editor * Email notification * Export of Workplan to Word and Excel * Announcements with related links * Calendar and Contacts with photo uploading facility to identify users * Export of contacts to Excel and any email client e.g. Outlook * Customisable user level rights with password restriction * Integration with reporting tools such as Google Analytics The user-friendly interface helps users to locate information quickly with no training course needed and the help of an online video tutorial is available via YouTube [5]. OnlinePMTools rated ProjectSpaces five stars on ease of use [2]. Mashable.com compared ProjectSpaces with Basecamp and found it the better product: "ProjectSpaces, from ForumOne Communications, is like Basecamp on steroids…I tried using Basecamp for a project a while back and I found it infuriating…for those who crave more features, ProjectSpaces seems like a good option" [4]. ProjectSpaces also offer the option to host on your own servers and can easily transfer hosting to another server as needed. Customers of ProjectSpaces include THiiNC Health, Smartlife, Englin Consulting and the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC), who after Hurricane Katrina relied on ProjectSpaces to keep the team working together across several states.

References [1] ProjectSpaces. (2010). Homepage. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from http://www.projectspaces.com/ [2] ProjectSpaces. (2010). Testimonials. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from http://www.projectspaces.com/section/testimonials [3] ProjectSpaces. (2010). Full Feature List. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from http://www.projectspaces.com/section/features/featurelist [4] Mehmet. (2008). Review: Manage your projects online with Projectspaces. GabFire Web Design. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from http://www.gabfire.com/manage-your-projects-online-with-projectspaces/ [5] Cashmore, P. (2006). ProjectSpaces - Project Collaboration (And a Potential Basecamp Rival). Mashable. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from http://mashable.com/2006/01/03/projectspaces-a-basecamp-rival/ [6] Gunderloy, M. (2007). ProjectSpaces Offers Collaboration, Web 1.0 Style. WebWorkerDaily. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/04/18/projectspaces-offers-collaboration-web-10-style/ [7] ProjectSpaces. (2010). ProjectSpaces vs. SharePoint. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from http://www.projectspaces.com/section/features/projectspaces_vs_sharepoint

[8] ProjectSpaces. (2010). Pricing. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from http://www.projectspaces.com/section/pricing [9] PRLog. (2008). ProjectSpaces Releases Self-Hosted Perpetually Licensed Version of Its Online Collaboration Platform. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from http://www.prlog.org/10120142-projectspaces-releases-self-hosted-perpetually-licensed-version-of-its-online-collaboration-platform.html

Slogan: Travel is a luxury, communication is not. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is a web conferencing solution. The full capabilities of Adobe's Acrobat Connect Pro software allows hosting of instant, collaborative meetings with hundreds of participants using only a web browser and Adobe Flash Player. (Adobe, 2009) Some of the features are: * Secure sharing of desktops, documents and presentations. * Control over access to online meetings. * Instant communicate and collaborate. * Online meeting rooms. * Video and audio * Screen-sharing * Text and chat (Adobe, 2009) Clemson University (USA) chose Adobe's Acrobat Connect Pro to accommodate the needs of graduate students who couldn't always attend their classes in person. The university decided on Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, partly because it was easy to scale as and needs and resources allowed or dictated. (Dawson, 2009) Adobe's Acrobat Connect Pro conferencing solution encompasses a comprehensive set of tools that have satisfied a variety of needs for both on and off campus students and tutors. IT support staff, teachers and students frequently use the system for troubleshooting and learning support. The use of video conferencing has significantly reduced travel expenses for the faculty. (Dawson, 2009) Designed to protect meeting spaces from security threats, one of Connect Pro's greatest assets is the end-to-end encryption provided by password strength optimisers that require user authentication both for presenters and attendees alike. Hosts and presenters can control all levels of attendee access, from media files to voice privileges. In addition, Adobe Connect Pro provides features to enable the keeping of full logs of meetings and the functionality to audit logs for potentially malicious use or data corruption. (TopTenReviews, 2010) References below - in comment

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro If your students/employees have a web browser and Adobe Flash Player then Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is an e-learning tool that may have value in their education, training and conferencing needs [1]. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro has three main streams of use and several key features: 1. Web Conferencing a. Delivery through any web browser that doesn't require extra software downloads. b. Worldwide connection of distributed teams c. Synchronous viewing by all participants. d. Custom URL for consistency. e. Works with multiple audio platforms f. Facility to record meetings g. Customisable interface 2. eLearning a. Content creation can be customised to suit the situation - virtual or self-paced courses. b. Synchronous viewing by all participants c. Customisable templates that can be adapted for reuse. d. Tracking of students progress e. Surveying and polling of students f. Facility to incorporate third-party systems within the existing e-learning tool 3. Web Seminars a. Branding of interface b. Extends your arm of contacts and participants c. Cut costs while increasing your point of contact. d. Manage registrations e. Qualify attendees and send out email notifications. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is built on the foundation of Flash technology, which is compatible with up to 98% of Internet connected computers. Add to this its ability to function on an extremely low bandwidth, and its user authentication strengths, this makes it an effective, safe and highly accessible application [2]. While Oliver Rist, of Pcmag.com, rates the overall application highly, he does warn that its depth of features can lead to a need for a large learning curve when starting out [3]. Rist also lists the applications main strengths as being within the meeting, or conferencing, component because of its slick and clever interface, which can be customised all while working within the web browser.

[1] Adobe (2010) Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/acrobatconnectpro/elearning/ [2] TopTen Revies (2010) Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://web-conferencing-services.toptenreviews.com/adobe-connect-pro-review.html [3] Rist, Oliver (2008) Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2279709,00.asp