No. 37
August 27, 2001
Technology:
Scopeware
It's been a while since I came across a tool that really impressed me, so please forgive me if the following paragraphs will seem a tad too enthusiastic ;-) - I'm really quite excited about Scopeware, both the concept and its implementation. Here comes the paean...
Scopeware could be categorized (simplistically) as a "document/file management system", but I'd prefer to call it a "knowledge management system". In fact, it is one of few tools that really deserve this classification. It consists of 3 components: a server, "intelligent agents", and a thin client (Internet Explorer). The software agents reside on client machines and quietly, unobtrusively monitor activity in designated areas, e.g. My Documents folder, e-mail client's Inbox, etc. Whenever a new object (document, message, image, file) appears in one of those areas, or an existing one is modified, the agent dutifully reports this fact to the server, sending along a lot of information, such as: date, ownership, title, summary, access rights, keywords, etc. All this information is accessible (to authorized users) via a Web browser, where it appears as a Stream, a Grid, or a List.
Here's where things get really interesting. Scopeware does away with the hierarchical organization of files into folders and subfolders, so prevalent in all desktop environments. Instead, it places the file data reported by the agents on a timeline, with the most recently created/edited objects appearing first, followed by older ones. Visually it is represented as a 3-dimensional queue of index cards, one after another, disappearing behind an imaginary horizon. That's the Stream view. Hovering a mouse over one of those cards reveals more information about the file it represents, including its thumbnail view. Double-clicking provides access to the complete set of metadata and to the file itself.
While Scopeware recognizes different file types and outfits them with appropriate icons, it does not sort the files by type but places them all on the same timeline. When a user enters a query on the stream, the system searches across all the objects, regardless of their origin, and creates a new stream for the results. Thus, a search on a word "camel" will result in a stream containing e-mail messages sent by Joe Camel, images like "camel.jpg" and "camel_Egypt.gif", a Word document about keeping camels as pets, a spreadsheet of price fluctuations on the camel wool market, etc. A stream generated in this way can be saved and retrieved later, without searching again.
Access to streams and files is specified by their creator/owner on a per-item basis and can have several levels. In this and a few other aspects (e.g. browser accessibility) Scopeware resembles DocuShare (reviewed in Spotlight No. 7). What is truly unique about it is that it no longer burdens the owner with the task of organizing the items in a folder hierarchy or specifying any dependencies between objects, and frees the user from the task of retracing the owner's thought process.
How radical is this? Just imagine a house with no closets, kitchen cabinets, shelves, chests, etc. You take a load of laundry from a dryer and put it into a chute, where it promptly disappears. Next go pots, pans, plates, and silverware from the dishwasher, followed by two pairs of shoes, five bags of groceries, today's mail, a stack of magazines, and a paycheck - all swallowed by the same chute. When your dinner guests are about to arrive, you say: "Give me the white plates and bowls, and a set of silverware for six!" - and poof!, all this appears, neatly arranged, on your table. Going to work? Simply say: "I need a pair of olive Dockers, green shirt, and a yellow tie!" - and a moment later these items are on your dresser. No more guessing where your wife might have placed the car keys this time, or wondering whether your dog dragged your brown shoes to the basement.
Best of all, you don't have to employ a small army of butlers and librarians to keep everything organized and ready to go. One of the biggest surprises that awaited me when I started looking at Scopeware was... pricing. The lack of any information about it on the Web site was plenty worrisome. ("If you can't find the price, you won't be able to afford it", as the saying goes.) However, it turns out that the system is licensed for a quite reasonable one-time fee of $200 per account, with extra fees for support (15%), customization, etc. Of course, that may be another reason to worry: innovative products like this often go steeply up in price once the market is established and customers are "hooked". Therefore, if you know you need it, grab it soon, while you still can afford it and Scopeware hasn't switched to the more profitable annual subscription model...
Scopeware (click on thumbnail):
Conference:
- 2nd International Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers
- Held October 10-14, 2001 in Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN
- The Internet's ever-increasing points of connection to almost every element of 21st century life have prompted strong interest in understanding the social aspects of cyberspace. The popular press offers wave after wave of speculation and vague forecasts, but what is really needed to help us understand how to live in our wired world is research: research that is collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary. IR 2.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, practitioners, and students from many disciplines and fields for a program of keynote addresses, paper presentations, formal discussions, and informal exchanges.
- Topics include: Communication-based Internet Studies --- Distance Education and Pedagogy --- Gender, Sexuality, and the Internet --- Human-computer interaction (HCI) --- International Perspectives on the Internet --- Internet Technologies --- The "Digital Divide" --- Race and Cyberspace
Initiative:
KabissaKabissa (meaning "complete" in Kiswahili) is a nonprofit organization (or Web site? ISP? something in between?) dedicated to strengthening the capacity of African nonprofit organizations to use the full potential of the Internet in the interest of building civil society and democracy in Africa. It offers free services to African nonprofits, such as: Web server space, e-mail accounts (with Web access), listserv, as well as low-cost domain registration and hosting. Its weekly electronic newsletter containing up-to-date information about events, news, and resources of relevance to the nonprofit sector in Africa currently reaches over 2,500 individuals.
Kabissa provides support for the Adilisha Project, which seeks to "strengthen the campaigning, advocacy and organizational capacity of human rights organizations in southern Africa through the development of computer and Internet based distance learning materials." This support includes database building, hosting and technical maintenance of the project’s websites and mailing lists, and advisory role in the development of a CDROM-based training course on the 'Use of the Internet for Advocacy and Research'.
She said, he said:
"To think that the new economy is over is like somebody in London in 1830 saying the entire industrial revolution is over because some textile manufacturers in Manchester went broke." - Alvin Toffler
© 2001 Vlad Wielbut and the Alliance for Community Technology
