http://blog.onlinegroups.net Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:55:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en OnlineGroups.Net has released the source code of GroupServer, the software that powers our web and email collaboration service. This means that, if you are technically savvy and have access to a server, you can download, install and run GroupServer sites for free. You can inspect the inner workings of GroupServer ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/07/03/why-we-release-groupserver-as-open-source/ If I had to sum up software development in one word, it would be "don't". When you know a bit about what's possible, it is easy to be seduced by the notion that custom software could solve all your problems. Your business is unique of course, and so your requirements ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/06/24/why-we-built-groupserver/ Finally this week (well, last week, this post and the release announcement have only just caught up) OnlineGroups.Net produced a new alpha release of GroupServer 1.0 entitled "Cream Freeze at the Beach". Why did we do it? Or rather, why are we continuing to do it? Was it our love for ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/06/17/groupserver-the-open-source-software-behind-onlinegroupsnet/ In Why Fight Email?, I explained how OnlineGroups.Net makes email useful for group collaboration. Unfortunately, however, even though OnlineGroups.Net inherently adds useful metadata to email, it does not provide immunity from the GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) effect. If people send bad email, people receive bad email. Receiving bad ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/06/07/email-consider-your-audience/ There are problems with email as a collaboration tool. The worst is email overload. A lot of email takes a lot of management. Triaging and curating email are especially difficult when the email lacks metadata that enables it to be assessed ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/05/19/why-fight-email/ One of the nice things about working in usability is that I do get thanked, in a way: people use what I create. Below is a screen-shot of the front-page topics listing on a GroupServer site — which I have edited to protect the users' privacy. ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/05/16/thanks-from-users/ As I am responsible for the user-interface of GroupServer, I am also responsible for its accessibility. I try and follow the accessibility guidelines, but supporting those with cognitive disabilities is something that I avoided looking at in detail: it seems too ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/05/01/web-accessibility-for-individuals-with-cognitive-defects/ The following strikes me as a good exam question for a honours-level networking course. Contrast and compare the new mobile networks being introduced in the Western Pacific: New Zealand, at 14.4Mbps, and Japan, ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/03/27/mobile-data-speed/ Alice and I have just agreed new hours of work. The standard hours that she works now don't fit so well with her other priorities. So instead, Alice will be working 1100-1930, Tuesday to Saturday. On Saturdays, Alice will work remotely. Does this make me a good employer? Actually, I think ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/02/26/flexible-work-is-your-new-day-job/ I needed some tech support with my home computer, so I took it into the lab (our office) where there are plenty of friendly geeks. If I'd taken it by car, I would have had to park outside the office, take the machine upstairs, then either drive back home and ... http://blog.onlinegroups.net/2008/02/26/mobile-computing/