Welcome to your new 'web office'

New tools allow you to access your files and documents from anywhere on the planet

NICK WILGUS

What if you could, with any browser at any place in the world, have access to all your files and documents - and even work on those documents too? What if you could keep an online calendar of appointments, readily available no matter where you were? What if you could have a "virtual office" on the web, available to you 24/7, on any computer with an Internet connection and a web browser? What if you have a group of co-workers who need to stay in constant contact though they are scattered across the globe ?

If this sounds of interest, what you need is a "web office", part of what are known as Web 2.0 applications - the next generation of Internet tools.

Database recently spent a lot of time trying out the different offerings. Here's a report:

Think Free

The people behind ThinkFree were pioneers in this field, the first to offer an online office, if I'm not mistaken. I remember years ago, when they put out their first ThinkFree office suite, based on Java, for which you had to pay a monthly fee. Java was a lot slower in those days and the three applications - Write, Show and Calc - took forever to load. Given the bandwidth limitations in Thailand at the time, it just didn't make sense.

But things are much different now.

ThinkFree has become free, offering office space with 1 gigabyte of storage. Its three Microsoft-compatible applications ("Write" for Word, "Show" for Powerpoint, "Calc" for Excel) now load much more quickly. You can even buy a desktop version of the office products, if you like - and I can assure you it's much cheaper than Microsoft Office.

There is much to like about ThinkFree, including its collaboration features and sharing of documents.

While it's free for now, the company will be offering a paid, premium service.

Unfortunately for me, it does not work behind the Bangkok Post firewall.

Give ThinkFree a try - but make sure it works at both your office and your home before you get hooked on it.

The web site: http://www.thinkfree.com

Google.docs

Google is making its presence felt in this arena, which is good news indeed. Their offerings, currently free, include a word processor and a spreadsheet. Pay a visit to docs.google.com to find out more.

gOffice

There are alternatives to ThinkFree.

gOffice, for example. It's not much concerned with Microsoft-compatibility. It offers word processing, desktop publishing, presentations and spreadsheet modules; each loads fairly quickly.

What are its features? The company says, "High quality PDF output; unlimited source text storage; free letterhead designs; free fax service to US phone numbers; free postal mail delivery; nearly 1,000 free sample texts; unusual fonts; high quality printable PDF output that rivals output from Adobe InDesign CS2; no risky downloads - work anywhere - low cost - easy to use - faster than local software."

gOffice is not free. It will cost you $.99 cents (about 37 baht) a month. Is it worth it? You'll have to decide for yourself.

The web site: http://www.goffice.com

MyEvents

Here's a different sort of office. Maybe you're not interested in word processing and the like. Maybe you'd like an online office where you can store your contacts, keep track of your events, manage your schedule and so on.

If that's the case, you might try MyEvents, which is currently offering a 15-day free trial period.

The web site: http://www.myevents.com

eyeOS

eyeOS calls itself a "Web OS" and a "Web Office". To create an account, go to eyeos.info. What is it? Their answer: "eyeOS is an Open Source Web Desktop Environment, commonly known as Web Operating System or Web Office. With eyeOS you can be organised, work and have fun anywhere, using your own personalised Web Desktop."

There are many other applications, applets and games (including an excellent Java version of the first Prince of Persia game) and a feature-rich text editor.

For a home user, this would be a fine choice.

The web site: eyeos.org

YouOS

They say: "YouOS is a web operating system that lets you run diverse applications within a web browser. Small applications like sticky notes or clocks. Large applications like word processing, mp3 players, and instant messaging. Even better, it's very easy to tweak an existing application or write your own."

So they say.

Its official release name is "YouOS 0.1 Epsilon (Unstable Hippo Build)".

Make a note of that word "unstable" - it could well be.

That aside, this is a promising web office that I will definitely keep my eyes on.

The web site: http://www.youos.com

Goowy

For the best of these "webtops", try out Goowy. It's really quite awesome.

Goowy makes good use of Web 2.0 tools and has several solid applications to make it interesting, like a nice email interface and a universal messenger program. It also has a nice calendar, games and more.

Goowy is one of those things you've got to see to believe. Highly recommended, if only for the fun of it.

The web site: http://www.goowy.com

JotSpot

Share documents, group calendars, online spreadsheets - maybe what you need is a "wiki".

So, what is a wiki? It's basically an online collaboration tool/web site. Wikipedia is a wiki, to cite one example.

I'll let the company speak for themselves:

"While other wikis only support plain old text, JotSpot allows you to create rich web-based spreadsheets, calendars, documents and photo galleries. It's as easy as using a word processor - you don't need to know HTML.

"Sharing your JotSpot with coworkers and colleagues is easy. Our permissions system allows you to decide exactly who can see and edit your pages. And JotSpot doesn't require any special software - just a web browser and a network connection."

With JotSpot, you basically create "pages". Then others come along and add to or change your pages. They can also create their own pages. And the same is true for spreadsheets and calendars. As the owner of the wiki, you can decide who has access to what pages by setting "permissions".

JotSpot gives you access to modules like Calendar, File Cabinet, Photo Gallery, Spreadsheet and so on. Where's the text editor? Since everything in your JotSpot wiki is a "page" there's an icon on every page inviting you to "edit the page". There will also be icons to "add a page".

Very nice, if you need this sort of thing. About $10 a month.

The web site: http://www.jot.com

Browser CRM

"Browser CRM is a web-based application combining integrated email functionality with flexible and powerful CRM - customer relationship management - and collaboration tools, running in any web browser.

"Browser CRM is designed for small business with a focus on usability and easy navigation, a real world data model where both companies and people can be main entities [contacts] instead of corporate accounts, flexible addressing, unlimited custom fields and data sharing between users including an optional shared email inbox.

"Why does your small business need Browser CRM?

- You can have access a single, comprehensive CRM, email, documents and collaboration application from any web browser.

- You can centralise your customer information from multiple applications and individual computers.

- You can build a complete, real-time customer history including all email.

- you can instal the Server Edition on your own server or ISP, or use Browser CRM Hosted in our data centre."

What does all that mean? This is a fine "web office" which includes everything a business might need - potential customers, contacts, email, to-do lists and so on. It's fairly speedy and highly robust.

At the moment, they're offering a "three free" licence scheme.

The web site: http://www.browsercrm.com

Zimbra

Zimbra is a similar offering, aimed at companies and organisations.

In their words, "Zimbra open source messaging and collaboration leads you to new heights: email, shared calendar, web document authoring and sharing, 'Over the air' sync to mobile devices, VoIP integration, and Microsoft Outlook, Apple and Linux compatibility."

The web site: zimbra.com

Online editors

Here are two of several online word processors. You'll have to test them yourself to see which one you like the best.

- Zoho Writer (http://www.zohowriter.com/index.do)

Zoho Writer looks good and has lots of features and customisation options. There are also some companion programs: Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show, for spreadsheets and presentations.

- Inetword (http://www.inetword.com)

iNetWord is a bit clunky, but you might like it just the same.

What can it do? Again, we'll let them speak for themselves: "Create any document using point-level formatting, indents, margins, backgrounds, borders, choice of bullets, numbering, spell check, pictures and more. Create new styles and tweak styles to quickly achieve the exact look you want. Share folders, documents and pictures. View highlighted changes others made. Revert document with one click. Your document is never overwritten."

Bangkok Post
Wednesday January 31, 2007