Thursday, May 22, 2003

Anticipating a post-Web, post-PC world

"To understand where the technology industry is going, don't focus on the future--look to yesterday." That's the advice given by Kevin Werbach in this interesting look at current trends in Information Technology. Worth reading.

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Building an Open Source Office

The LINC Project, has just published its Grass Roots Organizations Case Study, Part II, entitled "Building an Open Source Office".
From the introduction: "This article is meant for people who are interested in deploying open source software in Grassroots Organizations. It should be of particular interest to non-profit technology assistance providers working with small resource-strapped organizations. Grassroots organizers, as well, may be interested in our overview of what it takes to bring open source into their own organization."

Monday, May 19, 2003

XINA

Our most recent find, Xina, is not so much a tool as a development environment (in the vein of Zope and the like) that enables building and deploying Web databases. It is open source, free, and available for several versions of Unix (including Linux, we suppose), as well as in hosted mode (usually for a fee, with exceptions). It is also incredibly versatile and can be used to build a whole range od database-driven, dynamic applications, including: blogs, calendars, surveys, discussions. It will even accept uploading of files into database fields, thus serving as a document/file management system. To run, it requires a Perl module and a database engine (MySQL or PostgreSQL), and in order to install it you will probably have to be a Unix guru (or a good friend of one), but once it is up and running, it can be administered relatively painlessly via a Web interface. If your organization is on a really tight budget but has a great need for dynamic content management, this is one tool (pardon, development environment) really worth looking into. It never ceases to amaze me that people are still willing to create such wonderful, complex software and then give it away for free...

Friday, May 16, 2003

TechFunders Collaborative

From the mission statement: The TechFunders Collaborative is a new and evolving initiative of diverse foundations. Its mission is to collaborate as grantmakers across sectors to advance knowledge, advocate best practices and fund projects that use information and communication technology (ICT) to strengthen nonprofits and improve the lives of communities and people worldwide. The Collaborative is open to any grantmaker with an interest in technology-related grantmaking. Starting with an inaugural convening in March 2002, funders and strategists have met regularly and have identified three common themes that drive their concerns about technology-related grantmaking.

1. A sense of urgency around the systemic challenges -- including nonprofit adoption, underlying infrastructure, and traditional foundation risk aversion -- that are shaping technology-related grantmaking.
2. A thirst for deeper discussions with peers, practitioners and academic experts on a host of issues relating to technology-related grantmaking.
3. A desire to engage in initiatives as a group where individual funder effort would have little to no impact. We believe that information and communications technology is a force that groups and individuals can use to transform communities. It should be easily available tothose with an interest in the building of a more civil society.

Tuesday, May 6, 2003

Broadband envy

South Korea is leaving the US in the (digital) dust, as far as adopting high speed Internet access is concerned, according to this story from News.com. This, of course, is yesterday's news - we've known this for months already - but there are new twists: not only are S. Koreans connecting at speeds much higher than those offered by ADSL and cable in the US, but the prevalence of always on, superfast access is spurring new forms of economic activity and social behavior (not always positive, one feels compelled to admit). Wouldn't it be nice to have this little engine of innovation and growth available here, to help us get out of the current recession a bit faster? (Sigh...)

Monday, May 5, 2003

Poll Monkey

I am happy to announce that one of my favorite online tools - SurveyMonkey - has a baby brother: PollMonkey. Easy to use interface, good set of features, and attractive price ($0 for "basic" service, $19.95/month for "professional" subscription) make adding a poll to a Web site or online community painless and affordable.

Thursday, May 1, 2003

Honor Roll

In my constant scouting for "social software" I sometimes come accross especially well crafted, innovative, useful tools. I mention them in this blog (previously: ACT Newsletter), but I always wish I could present their developers with some sort of an award (like the Webby) to recognize the admirable implementation of a brilliant idea. Alas, I do not have an award to give, so let me at least induct them into my own Honor Roll of the Best Social Software I have ever laid my eyes upon:

Kubi Client - an add-on to Outlook 2000 and 2002 that turns this e-mail client into an impressively versatile collaboration tool . Someone has figured out how to turn people's reluctance to leave e-mail into an advantage. (Reviewed in ACT Blog in March 2003.)

Scopeware Vision - one of the most innovative "information management systems" available for individuals and organizations. Among other accomplishments, it breaks away from the ubiquitous metaphor of "nested folders" and does it in such a way that you'll never miss it. (Reviewed in ACT Newsletter in August 2001.)

Survey Monkey - easy to use, inexpensive tool for creation and deployment of online surveys. (Reviewed in ACT Newsletter in April 2002.) Also worth mentioning: Zoomerang - at least as capable, but with a much higher price tag.

QuickBase - I have yet to see a better combination of power and simplicity in a tool for creating Web-accessible databases. All you need is a Web browser. Really. (Reviewed in ACT Newsletter in April 2001.)

Centra - thanks to its staunch support for good quality, easy to install IP audio, it remains at least one step ahead of its two main competitors: Placeware and Webex. The three are miles ahead of the rest. (First reviewed in ACT Newsletter in December 1999 and still my favorite...)

TimeDance - Purchased by another company and apparently killed, this clever Web application, which took the pain out of scheduling group meetings, still has no replacement. What a loss. (Reviewed in ACT Newsletter in April 2001.)

DocuShare - This tool for storing, organizing, and sharing digital documents of every conceivable type seems a tad dated today, especially in comparison with such intriguing newcomers as Scopeware, but when it first appeared (and for a while afterwards) it had no equals. Hence, this tip of the hat from a longtime admirer. (Reviewed in ACT Newsletter in September 1999.)