Spotlight


	No. 36 July 26, 2001 Technology: Update In this issue of Spotlight, instead of reviewing a new tool, I decided to revisit those reviewed in previous issues and inform you about significant changes in their status. Are they still being offered? Have they been acquired by another company? Has their pricing changed? Sadly, a number of very innovative tools went extinct. Apparently, providing services for free is not a viable business model, at least not in the long run. Not a big surprise here, but still a pity, because some of these services will be difficult to replace, e.g. TimeDance. Although this is probably only a matter of time - the World Wide Web remains a powerful source of innovation and creativity. Below is the list of important updates: ThirdVoice (Spotlight No. 2) - discontinued since April 2001 FireTalk (Spotlight No. 6) - the tool and the company disappeared without a trace... TimeDance (Spotlight No. 9) - no longer available DocSpace (Spotlight No. 10) - no longer available iNiku (Spotlight No. 10) - discontinued since June 2001 MyPlaceware (Spotlight No. 10) - no longer available. Replaced with a 15-day free trial of Placeware Conference Center 2000 for up to 25 participants. Centra 99 (Spotlight No. 11) - replaced with Centra Symposium, Centra Conference, Centra eMeeting myWebOS (Spotlight No. 14) - the tool and the company disappeared without a trace... eGroups (Spotlight No. 15) - acquired by Yahoo!, now available as Yahoo! Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/) Flashbase Forms (Spotlight No. 18) - no longer available AnyDay (Spotlight No. 19) - acquired by Palm, now available as MyPalm (http://my.palm.com/) WebBoard (Spotlight No. 21) - acquired by ChatSpace. Price increased by ca. 30 percent to $2,500 for standard edition.. Visto.com (Spotlight No. 24) - moved to MyVisto.com, with some feature changes Zoomerang (Spotlight No. 27) - 100 percent price increase to ca. $400 annually Online reading: Creating a Development Dynamic Final Report of the Digital Opportunity Initiative, July 2001 From Associated Press' news brief:"Poorer countries can raise their living standards by changing laws, building technology infrastructure and training workers to use the Internet, a report released Monday concludes. The document urges countries to copy successful programs that use information technology to create jobs, lure investment and sell high-tech products and handmade crafts on the global market. The 86-page report [...] came from the United Nations Development Program, along with the Markle Foundation, a New York-based charity, and the global management consultancy Accenture. Together, the group calls itself the Digital Opportunity Initiative. [...] The plan recommends poorer countries adopt new policies in five areas: technology infrastructure, human skill development, entrepreneurship, government policy and the creation of local Web content. The report also cited as models several successful projects that use the Internet, wireless telephones or business incubators." Initiative: Computers in Our Future (CIOF) CIOF is a four-year, $7.5 million demonstration project initially funded by The California Wellness Foundation to establish and support CTCs in 11 low-income communities throughout California. The centers provide access to technology and opportunities to learn to use it productively. They also serve as community resources and advocate on community technology issues. CIOF has recently made available a series of "Toolkits" with practical tips and examples for practitioners, and a new report of lessons learned, intended for corporate and community leaders, funders and policy makers. Toolkits topics include: * CIOF Center Startup Checklist. * Sustainability Checklist * Curriculum and Instruction Resources * Computers and Technology The Toolkits and the report can be found at www.ciof.org. She said, he said: "The Internet scales like no other technology. (...) It can help people, even the poorest people, invent their way out of poverty, and create digital dividends, rather than a digital divide." - Alan Hammond © 2001 Vlad Wielbut and the Alliance for Community Technology