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Collaborative outlining
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Posted by MadaboutDana
Oct 15, 2010 at 12:47 PM
We’ve just started playing with the really very impressive Kerio Workspace (http://www.kerio.com/workspace). For a piece of beta software, it’s remarkably polished, and it’s got some amazing features that make solutions like SharePoint and Alfresco look slow, dusty and over-engineered.
For all that, it’s got plenty of things that could do with improvement - the Search function supports Unicode (which is great), but doesn’t allow you to isolate branches/folders. It doesn’t have tags or categories. It does have web preview of attached documents, though (which works amazingly fast). It does drag ‘n’ drop in some places, but not in others. It doesn’t allow you to set new defaults (for e.g. colours, fonts etc.), nor does it support templates (yet). But for all that, it’s truly impressive (apparently Kerio have been using it themselves in-house for quite a long time now, which would account for its stability).
It’s not really a personal solution - although currently I’m using it as one, while I test it! It runs fast enough on my HP laptop! - but it is an exceptional example of where collaborative outlining could be going. No, I don’t have any interest in the company as such! I’m just pleased to find (after exploring goodness knows how many different collaborative solutions, including wikis, CMS, DMS, intranet/extranet servers etc. etc.). I’m convinced that for corporate purposes, you really can’t get away from a hierarchically organised system (hence outlining), and apart from Telepark Wiki, for which I have a residual fondness, this is by far the best attempt at a convenient solution I’ve come across.
Plus it’s cross-platform (yup, Windows, Mac ‘n’ Linux too!).
Posted by MadaboutDana
Oct 15, 2010 at 01:58 PM
Actually, I’ve just realised that according to Steve’s definition (in his OmniOutliner review), Kerio Workspace is not a “true” outliner at all. It uses
folders, it doesn’t hoist, it focuses primarily on the editor (although actually, that’s disputable). On the other hand, pages can be broken up into multiple sections and data types, so from an information-handling viewpoint, it has many of the advantages of a properly defined outliner. Oh, and a great Search function.
In any case, judging by some of the other applications that have appeared in these pages, I think I can safely assume it will be of interest nevertheless… ;-)
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Oct 16, 2010 at 05:07 AM
Thanks for the heads up on both Kerio Workspace and Telepark Wiki; it is precisely the kind of tools I am looking for at the moment, as we need a more collaborative environment in my company.
I have tested numerous offerings until now and I must say that, given the enormous choice of software and webware out there, very few actually stand out—often only for specific features which are not found elsewhere. A case in point is SocialText’s collaborative spreadsheet SocialCalc http://www.socialtext.com/products/spreadsheets.php
Can you tell me how you use Kerio as a personal solution? You only install the client, without the server?
Posted by Ken
Oct 16, 2010 at 03:22 PM
Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
>I have tested numerous offerings until now and I must say
>that, given the enormous choice of software and webware out there, very few actually
>stand out—often only for specific features which are not found elsewhere. A case in
>point is SocialText’s collaborative spreadsheet SocialCalc
>http://www.socialtext.com/products/spreadsheets.php
In casual use, I found this program to be interesting: http://www.smartsheet.com/ . They used to have a free subscription, but I do not believe that it is offered anymore. But, there is a 30-day free trial. I do not know if it will meet your needs, but I thought it was a bit different from much of what is out there.
—Ken
Posted by MadaboutDana
Nov 4, 2010 at 04:53 PM
Sorry, Alexander, didn’t see your question: no, you install the entire server, then access it through http://localhost (it uses the default web ports 80 and 443). It’s very, very quick, so you wouldn’t know you’re using a server-based system at all. It’s quick over the network, too - I’ve rolled out the beta for further testing, and we’ve put the host on an elderly Lenovo laptop (the screen died, but the notebook still runs well). The impressive part is, I’ve got colleagues accessing it over the web (via HTTPS) and through our SSH virtual private network, and they’re finding it runs really fast, too. When I’m out of the office I access the office version myself on my Asus 1101HA netbook over a 3G connection, and I can honestly say it’s difficult to tell it’s remote-hosted. On a laptop, remember!
The fastest version we’ve used so far is the Ubuntu/Debian version (which is what we’ve installed on the laptop), but the Windows one doesn’t hang about either. The closest thing I can compare it to for enjoyment is Luminotes, but it’s much more powerful. On the other hand, it’s also commercial, and Kerio haven’t told anybody what they’re charging yet (though I’m cultivating one of their support staff, who’s promised to let me know as soon as he does!).