No. 16 

March 13, 2000

 

Technology:

ThinkFree

Two Spotlight issues ago I reviewed MyWebOS as an example of interesting technology ahead of its time: essentially great idea hampered by abysmal performance. This particular verdict is probably still valid, but now I have stumbled upon a very similar solution that does not appear to be suffering from the same ailment. Its name is ThinkFree (no apparent relationship to Apple's "Think different!" campaign). It is a Web-accessible office productivity suite, offering three most popular applications: word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation builder. Like MyWebOS, it tries to emulate the familiar interface of Windows, but rather than imitating the Desktop, it uses a Windows Explorer look-alike as its primary interface. This is brought to the user as a large Java (or ActiveX) application, downloaded and installed automatically upon the first use; it may take quite a while, especially on slower connections, but all subsequent launches are quite fast.

The applications have eerie resemblance to their counterparts in Microsoft Office. So much so, that I expect the company to be sued by Microsoft for appropriating the look-and-feel of its product. (Unless, of course, the idea is to be noticed and acquired by the Redmond monopoly asap.) But here, of course, lies a lot of appeal of ThinkFree: such resemblance makes switching to this new tool almost painless. All the more that ThinkFree is also compatible with MS Office - users can open a Microsoft Word document, for example, and save it as a ThinkFree file. Or save the latter in one of several popular formats, e.g. RTF, HTML, text.

It also integrates quite well with the local environment, leaving the existing C:\ drive intact and accessible via the ThinkFree webtop, and adding a new one, which represents the space allocated for your files on a ThinkFree server. One of the benefits of that is the ability to work in the same, consistent environment both online and offline. Automatic synchronization ensures that the remote content stays current. Built-in e-mail client (with support for IMAP servers) and address book compliment this impressive tool. Were hotel rooms equipped with decent desktops connected to the Internet via DSL (or any other high speed connection), I'd seriously consider not schlepping my laptop to another conference.

ThinkFree isn't without flaws: its performance still lags behind those of locally installed office applications; it lacks any collaboration features; it does not support drag-and-drop transfer of files, requiring copy-and-paste instead; most features are still in beta or not available; the Java client runs only on Windows and Linux. Yet it is clearly shaping to be the best in its niche, at least until something better comes along. Which, of course, may happen next week...

ThinkFree (click on a thumbnail):
Webtop
Word processor

For more information please visit ThinkFree site or search the ACT database of Groupwork Tools.
 

Initiatives:

The first Computer Clubhouse opened its doors in 1993 in The Computer Museum in Boston, MA. The goal of this project, supported in large part by the MIT Media Lab, was to provide a creative and safe after-school learning environment, where young people ages 10-18 from underserved communities in Boston could work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop skills, and build confidence in themselves through the use of technology. Using the "original" Clubhouse as a model, the Computer Clubhouse Network now supports 15 community-based Clubhouses in the US, Colombia, and Germany, providing thousands of youth with access to resources, skills, and experiences to help them succeed in their careers, contribute to their communities, and lead outstanding lives. Thanks to a recent $20 million grant from the Intel Corporation, the Network plans to help establish many more clubhouses around the world,  for the total of at least 100 by the year 2005.
For more information, please visit  http://www.computerclubhouse.org/ or send e-mail to Gail Breslow, Clubhouse Director, at gbreslow@mos.org

Online reading:

"3D Virtual Worlds and Learning:
An Analysis of the Impact of Design Affordances and Limitations in Active Worlds, blaxxun interactive, and OnLive! Traveler; and A Study of the Implementation of Active Worlds for Formal and Informal Education" by Michelle Dickey. Presented as dissertation at Ohio State University in 1999.

From the abstract: This thesis is a two-part study into the design and implementation of 3D virtual worlds for educational purposes. Part one of this study provides an analysis of the impact of design affordances and limitations of three popular 3D virtual worlds (Active Worlds, blaxxun interactive, and OnLive! Traveler) by addressing the way the user is constructed. This study relied on the use grounded theory methodology to analyze the various design features that serve to construct presence, representation, and embodiment of users. The findings indicated that although all three 3D virtual worlds had roughly comparable design affordances and limitations, each functions in different ways. In turn, it was revealed that these three worlds provide interesting and different potential as learning environments. Part two of this study is an investigation of how Active Worlds is currently being used for both informal and formal education. The two case studies provided in this investigation are an AW object modeling class offered by Active World University (informal) and an undergraduate business-computing course offered by the University of Colorado–Boulder College of Business (formal). Findings revealed that in both case studies the use of a 3D virtual world provided unique learning opportunities that would be difficult to replicate in a physical classroom. Implications of this study can be applied to the design, practice, and future research of the educational use of 3D virtual worlds. (In PDF format.)

She said, he said:

"The killer app will not be a shrink-wrapped program that sells millions. The killer app will be a Web site that touches millions of people and helps them to do what they want to do." -- Lou Gerstner


© 2000 Vlad Wielbut and the Alliance for Community Technology