X-Original-Path: bcarh8ac.bnr.ca!bmdhh222.bnr.ca!btnet-feed2!unlisys!fu-berlin.de!news.mathworks.com!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cam-news-feed5.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv From: groupware@arch.ping.dk (Groupware FAQ) Newsgroups: comp.groupware,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: comp.groupware FAQ: Products2: Frequently Asked Questions Supersedes: Followup-To: poster Date: 1 May 1997 09:06:41 GMT Organization: University of Copenhagen Lines: 919 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 18 Jul 1997 09:06:05 GMT Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu Summary: Groupware Products, part two Keywords: CSCW, orgware, group, interactive, shared, environments X-Last-Updated: 1995/09/08 Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDU Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news.tamu.edu!news.utdallas.edu!nrchh45.rich.nt.com!bcarh189.bnr.ca!ferret.ocunix.on.ca!resurrector X-Comment: mfrankowski@winternet.com rogue canceller active again X-Comment: This article resurrected by dave@ferret.ocunix.on.ca X-Comment: See news.admin.net-abuse.announce for further details Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.groupware:9954 comp.answers:25814 news.answers:101672 Archive-name: comp-groupware-faq/products2 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: 1995.9.8 Version: 3.5 Copyright: 1989 - 1995 (C) David S. Stodolsky, PhD Groupware Products - Part 2 =========================== Mac Groupware Yellow Pages -------------------------- Updates and additions must go to: consensus@netcom.com This is from the "PRODUCTS" section from the the August edition of the "Mac Groupware Yellow Pages". I limit this list to shipping products that are commercially available to any buyer. It is missing a few of the other meeting scheduling packages, I hope to have a better list of these in the next edition. If you know of other Mac products that you think should be on the list, let me know. I am also starting to collect information on MS-DOS, Windows, and OS/2 groupware software packages, for a listing the PC Groupware Yellow Pages, to be released mid-fall. If you are a publisher of a product in this category, please send me a 50 word description, price, phone, fax, email and postal addresses. The electronic version of the "Groupware Yellow Pages" are free, and are a public service of Consensus Development. I have previously offered to fax or send a paper edition of the "Groupware Yellow Pages" for free, however, the number of requests I've had are making this cost prohibitive (in particular international requests.) I'll try to work out some type of distribution policy for fax and paper copies of the "Groupware Yellow Pages" in the next few months. ********************** MAC GROUPWARE PRODUCTS Copyright (c)1992 Consensus Development--All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce as long this notice is included. *Aspects (Version 1.03) Aspects allows up to 16 people to work together interactively whether they are in the same room or spread around the world. Members of a work-group can bring documents from their own Macintosh into the conference, everyone can see those documents on their screen, anyone can make changes to them, and those changes are immediately visible to everyone in the conference. Aspects has a complete set of word processing, drawing, and painting tools built in. COST: $299 for a single user, $895 for 5 user pack. Group Technologies (703)528-1555; f(703)528-3296 AL:Group.Tech AO:ReidLewis IN:reidlewis@aol.com *FirstClass (Version 2.0) FirstClass is an integrated email and conferencing system with a graphical user interface(similar to America Online or AppleLink.) FirstClass provides threaded conferences, unlimited attachments, styled text in messages, a powerful search engine, and gateways to other mail systems such as the Internet, Usenet News, and CompuServe. FirstClass runs equally well over modem or AppleTalk network, so employees on the road and customers can keep in touch. Non-Macintosh users can access via the PC Interface Option. COST: 5 network users $395, 25 users $995, 100 dial-in only users $395, PC Interface Option $295, 4 additional modem ports $595, 4 modem ports with Hurdler card $896. SoftArc Inc. (416) 299-4723; f(416) 754-1856; BBS (416) 609-2250 AL:CDA0674 AO:SoftArc IN:softarc@aol.com *Inforum (Version 1.0 ) Inforum assists office communications and the decision making process.Unlike EMail, it facilitates the on-going communication between members of the office by organizing, streamlining and documenting the meeting process. With Inforum, people use their computers to participate in on-going subjects from their desktop. It enables them to participate when they want to and in the privacy of their own office. COST: $495 for admin & 5 users, $245 for additional 5 users. MacVONK USA (215) 660-0606; f(215)668-4360 AL:MacVONK.USA IN:macvonk@applelink.apple.com *In/Out (Version 1.01 ) An electronic in/out board which allows users to instantly know who is in or out, where they are, when they're returning, and why they're gone. In/Out can also be used to track the availability of company vehicles, conference rooms and other company resources. COST: $299.95/10 user pack, $199.95/5 user pack. CE Software, Inc. (515) 224-1995; f(515)224-4534 AL:CESoftware AO: CESoftware CS:76136,2137 IN:cesoftware@aol.com GE:CE.Software MCI:CESoftware *Instant Update (Version 1.0) Instant Update fills a gap between word processing and electronic mail. The gap exists because static word processing files can't keep up with evolving information, and electronic mail is not built to consolidate replies. Instant Update allows an exchange of information within the context of a document. Everyone sees everyone else's additions and changes. It eliminates many of the time-consuming steps as you struggle to turn fast-changing information into group decisions and actions. With a live document, you know you've got the latest version, whether you open it at nine in the morning or five in the afternoon. COST: $495 per two-user pack and $995 per five-user pack. ON Technology (617) 876-0900; f(617) 876-0391 AL:ON.Marketing AO:OnTech IN:ontech@aol.com *Marco Polo (Version 2.0) Marco Polo is a group document management system for archiving, retrieving and sharing documents. Reduce paper clutter and manage your documents better. Quickly find and display all documents relating to a given topic--even if they were created by different applications. Marco Polo compresses and indexes documents to facilitate rapid search and retrieval. COST: $395 per user. Mainstay (818) 991-6540; f(818) 991-4587 AL:D0397 CN:Mainstay CS:76004,1525 GE:Mainstay IN:d0397@applelink.apple.com MCI:284-4985 *MarkUp (Version 2.0) MarkUp enables one or more people to simultaneously comment on a document electronically--even if they don't have the application that created it. Reviewers make their marks on an overlay on each page in the document. When they are done, just merge the their overlays to combine comments. MarkUp provides tools to rewrite,correct, manage, approve, and annotate documents using text, voice or QuickTime video, as well as editing tools for free-standing text, pop-up notes, highlite, strike out, lines, arrows, ovals, rectangles, and polygons, and proofreaders' marks. COST: $195 per user. AL:D0397 CN:Mainstay CS:76004,1525 GE:Mainstay IN:d0397@applelink.apple.com MCI:284-4985 *Meeting Maker (Version 1.5 ) Meeting Maker is a network application that helps you plan, schedule, and confirm meetings without leaving your computer. You can schedule a time and date, select required guests, reserve rooms and resources, and prepare agendas with co-workers. If you're in a hurry, Meeting Maker's Auto-Pick feature will find the first available time for all required attendees. The Proxy feature allows you to designate other users to act on your behalf. Calendars can now be exported to Sharp Wizard, Casio Boss, and HP-95LX personal organizers. COST: $495 per five-user pack and $895 per ten-user pack. ON Technology (617) 876-0900; f(617) 876-0391 AL:On.Marketing AO:OnTech IN:ontech@aol.com *Now Up-to-Date (Version 1.0.1) Now Up-to-Date is a calendar application that lets individuals coordinate calendar events with their associates over the network. Calendars can be moade up of a combination of both Private & Public (shared) Events. Public events are stored both on the server and on your Mac so you can access your calendar even when you're not connected to the network. COST: $99 per user. Now Software (503) 274-2800; f(503)274-0670 AL:NowSoftware IN:nowsoftware@applelink.apple.com *PacerForum (Version 1.01) PacerForum is a network conferencing product, enabling members of a group to easily share ideas and coordinate activities. As a conferencing tool, PacerForum can be used to plan a project or to brainstorm on a problem, reducing the need for meetings. As a bulletin board, it can be used to build and maintain collective lists or to distribute information and files. COST: $549/5 user pack, $1995/25 user pack. Pacer Software (508)898-3300; f(508)366-1356 AL:Pacer IN:support@ pacersoft.com [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ The current shipping version of PacerForum is 2.0. A 2.1 version will be available shortly. The FAQ lists version 1.0.1. Peter Coppola Pacer Software, Inc. (508) 898-3300 pcoppola@pacersoft.com ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] *PersonToPerson (Version 1.0) PersonToPerson mirrors "traditional" office interactions. You can send voice messages across the network, you can check an electronic In/Out board, and send 'Post-it Notes' to another persons screen. You can also tracking appointments, send files, and electronically chat with other users. Person-to-Person does not require a file server or network administrator, and when using a PowerBook it will delay sending of messages until re-connected to a network. COST: $149 for 2 user pack, $399 for 10 user pack, $699 for zone pack Asante Technologies (800) 662-9686; (408) 752-8388; f(408)734-4864 AL:D2766 IN: D2766@applelink.apple.com ..Christopher Allen Consensus Development Corporation.. .. 4104-24th Street #419.. .. San Francisco, CA 94114-3615.. .. o415/647-6383 f415/647-6384.. ..Mosaic/World-Wide-Web Front Door: .. ..ftp://netcom7.netcom.com/pub/consensus/www/ConsensusFrontDoor.html .. UNIX groupware applications --------------------------- From: garfinke@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Dan Garfinkel) Subject: Re: Does groupware exist? Date: 19 May 92 16:14:15 GMT Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA There is an "application sharing" system available for HP workstations and X terminals call HP SharedX. It allows multiple users to interact with X based applications over wide area networks (including serial lines and ISDN) as though they were in the same office. Only the "sender" of the application need the HP SharedX software, "recievers" only need an X capable display. A single user liscense lists for $495US with substantial discounts for multi- user liscenses. This system has been available for about a year and is in wide use in a few companies, including within HP. A good write-up on SharedX (and some other groupware applications) appears in a special issue of UnixWorld, called Interoperability 1992, page 33-37 (published in May, I believe). Other references on HP SharedX are available from me on request. ---- A groupware spreadsheet called eXclaim! is available for many Unix boxes. It lets several people edit the same spreadsheet simultaneously, without stepping on each others' toes. Please contact danm@qsp.com for more info. (Twin Sun helped implement it, so I'm not unbiased.) eXclaim!'s groupware features were built using a groupware software toolkit called COeX, which is intended for use by software developers to build their own groupware, either from scratch or by ``groupwarizing'' existing applications. Please contact request@twinsun.com for more info. ---- Try XTV, which "taps" the connection between the client and the server and therefore doesn't require source, special libraries, customized servers, etc. You'll find it on the R5 contrib-2 tape or it can be FTP'd from xanth.cs.odu.edu:/wahab/xtv.r2.tar.Z. : Mark A. Feit, Software Engineer : Internet: feit@era.com : : Engineering Research Associates : USENET: ...!uunet!era!feit : ---- From: tvv@ncsc.org (Terry Myerson) Subject: Re: Experience with Communique from Insoft Inc. ? Date: 15 Oct 92 15:59:38 GMT Organization: North Carolina Supercomputing Center ShowMe is specifically a shared shetckpad application. Shared X allows user to share entire X sessions. I prefer a public domain sketckpad to ShowMe, called Wscrawl. Wscrawl is written by Brian Wilson of Apple Computer in his free time. I have placed binaries and source code for Wscrawl on the International AVS Center anonymous ftp site : ftp 128.109.178.23 ( avs.ncsc.org ) anonymous email cd pub/wscrawl ls : sgi.wscrawl.Z SGI binary hp.wscrawl.Z HP 700 binary ibm.wscrawl.Z IBM RS 6000 binary wscrawl.shar.Z Source Code apple.wscrawl.Z AUX binary wscrawl_tech_paper.ps.Z Paper on the sketchpad implementation sun.wscrawl Sun binary Likewise, we prefer a public domain shared X utility called XTV - I can provide more info on this if someone requests it as well. XTV runs on many different platforms. It is developed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ---- From: sylvia@dcs.qmw.ac.uk Subject: Re: Group editor for Suns Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 02:09:36 PST There's also a set of tools (group editor, sketch tool, etc.)from Xtel services of Nottingham. They're a small company, but I believe their tools are being used in the MICE project, so they might be available. Contact g.lunt@xtel.co.uk> Sylvia Wilbur ---- Fri Feb 5 15:40:44 1993 Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 06:15:25 PST From: Martin Beer Subject: Re: Group editor for Suns > >I am involved in a project of our psych dept in which the effectiveness of > >business meetings in face-to-face vs. computer-mediated interaction will be > >compared. They want to study joint document editing tasks in which all > >participants can see and change the document, and communicate via a common > >"talk" window. > >Which CSCW software can you recommend for this purpose that run on Sun > >Sparcstations (is it feasible to do it on IPCs)? The program should be > >easily usable by computer novices. The Andrew multimedia editor ez provides most of the functionality you require. You can certainly concurrently edit documents, and there is a talk feature somewhere. It is reasonably easy to use, and customised applications can be built readily/. It works well on Sparcstations. Dr. Martin Beer, Department of Computer Science, Telephone 051-794-3672 University of Liverpool, Fax: 051-794-3715 Chadwick Tower, P.O. Box 147, EMail mdb@uk.ac.liverpool.compsci LIVERPOOL. L69 3BX. United Kingdom. ---- Also take a look at BBN/Slate from BBN (educational license around US $100). For further details contact Pam Gazley (pazley@bbn.com). J C McCarthy, V C Miles, A F Monk, "An Experimental Study in Common Ground in Text-based Communication", in Proc. of CHI'91, ACM Press,pp209-217, New Orleans, 28 Apr-2 May 1991. Tony Plant | BNR Europe Ltd, Harlow, Essex, UK, CM17 9NA (aka T.A.Plant@bnr.co.uk) | Tel : +44 279 402109 (ESN 742 2109) ---- Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 07:45:00 PST From: Paul Dourish Subject: Re: Group editor for Suns Organisation: Rank Xerox EuroPARC, Cambridge, UK Phone: +44 223 341512 ShowMe is a shared paint-style program, rather than allowing text editing. It provides a feature allowing bitmap images from elsewhere on the screen to be captured and annotated, but only using paint facilities. ---- John Bazik: >window-sharing systems for X 4 Feb 93 16:38 In article <1993Feb4.160703.10602@walter.bellcore.com>, Tom Brinck writes: |> |> xmx: Obtain it from wilma.cs.brown.edu Xmx works with *any* window manager, *any* X client(s) and *any* X server(s). VisionQuest ----------- From: eyu@hamlet.umd.edu (Ellen Yu) Newsgroups: comp.groupware Subject: Re: Need software for brainstorming and problem solving. Date: 15 Oct 92 13:40:48 GMT We use VisionQuest from CTC here at the University of Maryland. We've used parts of it in an academic setting and we've used it a lot for decision making. I find it to be very flexible. There are 9 tools and I will try to briefly describe their capability: brainwriting provides brainstorming capability. everyone basically can "talk" at the same time by typing in their answers. A collective group list is displayed in realtime. Part of each participant's screen is their "private" area to type and the other part reflects the groups answers. comment cards This tool is similar to brainwriting except that you provide topics and then allow the participants to comment on them. This is a good tool for getting feedback on things or gathering opinions. subgroup This tool allows you to define the number of items you can pick from a list. You define their significance (most important, most significant, worst, etc.) point allocation You define the maximum number of "widgets" that can be allocated and the participants allocate those among the given alternatives. This can be used as $ in a budgeting exercise (as an example). scoring This is a multi-criteria tool. You define the criteria and weighting and then the participants score (the scale is defined by you) based on these criteria. The score is then normalized. voting This is a yes, no, abstain tool. You get a count of number of yes, number of no, and the number of abstain. rating The participants rate all alternatives listed in this tool. You set the rating scale and what it signifies. Group average is displayed. ranking You rank a list by physically moving items around in the list. compactor You set up categories and each participant puts each alternative in the category they feel it belongs in. You get a frequency count of how many people put each item in each category. This is my attempt to describe the tools (I did not go and dig out the manual and type what it says in the manual). One of the most important features of this tool is that all input is ANONYMOUS. All the input from one tool can be imported (with various filter capabilities) to another exercise. All the people I've had use it love the tool. It handles the anytime, anyplace scenario although we use it mostly in the same time, same place scenario. Yes, there are some things I don't like about it (in regards to the user interface), but I must say the company has listened to our comments and are working on changes. The basic functionality that this tool provides is great. It runs in DOS right now (or in a DOS session in Windows). They are currently working on a Windows version. This is a hard tool to try and describe (any groupware tool usually is). You have to really "experience" it in order to understand how it works. If you want more information on the product, you can call CTC at (512) 794-8858. No - I do not work for CTC - I'm just a satisfied customer. I'd be happy to correspond through email in more detail with anyone who has specific questions about VisionQuest. -- Ellen Yu, AT&T Teaching Theater Phone: (301) 403-4623 office Computer Science Center, Univ. of MD (301) 403-4628 Fax 4321 Hartwick Rd., Suite 500 Internet: eyu@umd5.umd.edu College Park, MD 20740 Compuserve: 71641,1764 From: kwlyon@aol.com (KWLyon) Newsgroups: comp.groupware Subject: Re: Group Decision Support Products? Date: 18 Mar 1994 13:31:05 -0500 [...] his product is simpler and easier to learn than GroupSystems, in my opinion. From: kwlyon@aol.com (KWLyon) Newsgroups: comp.groupware Subject: Re: Can't Find VisionQuest from CTC or grapeVine Date: 23 Mar 1995 00:50:03 -0500 Reply-To: kwlyon@aol.com (KWLyon) Visionquest (the product) is now owned by Intellect Corporation 3373 Towerwood Dr. Dallas, TX 75234 (215)243-1706 I met the president, Phil Matthews, at Groupware '95 in Boson, and it looks like we'll be seeing some serious marketing of Visionquest soon. Kenneth W. Lyon & Associates 84 Saint Paul's Drive, Ventura, CA 93003 Phone: (805) 658-7547, Fax: (805) 658-2193 From: eyu@hamlet.umd.edu (Ellen Yu Borkowski) Newsgroups: comp.groupware Subject: Re: Can't Find VisionQuest from CTC or grapeVine Date: 23 Mar 1995 11:54:51 -0500 [....] If you are interested in the University Support Program, you should talk Dwight Shetler. Dwight can be reached via e-mail at . FYI - their Windows version is supposed to come out in April. Ellen Yu Borkowski email: Ellen_Borkowski@umail.umd.edu Coordinator Instructional Technology & Support Office: (301) 405-2922 Computer Science Center Fax: (301) 314-9198 University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-2411 Mac Brainstorming tools ----------------------- From: moseley@ra.csc.ti.com (Warren Moseley) Subject: Re: Need software for brainstorming and problem solving. Date: 15 Oct 92 21:28:15 GMT Organization: Texas Instruments Check out two Macintosh tools. One is Fair Witness and the other is Inspiration. I have used both of these tools to capture and display the results of a JAD. I used these tools to scribe the JAD, and this allowed interactive display of the results as we proceeded. Inspiriation is excellent for Mind Maps. You can obtain more information about these tools from the FAX FACTS line at MacWarehouse. I have used them both successfully, and I am pleased with both. I dont work for either company. Any more questions you can contact me at moseley@ra.csc.ti.com 214-995-1641 ---- Fair Witness is put out by Chena Software, Inc. 905 Harrison Steet Allentown, Pa. 18103. 215-770-1210. Inspiration Software, Inc., POB 1629, Portland, OR 97207, USA. Tel: 1 503 245 9011. MORE, Euclid, and InControl also fit this category. See excellent reviews in TidBits. (DSS) grapeVINE --------- From: brookes@aix00.csd.unsw.OZ.AU (Prof Cyril Brookes) Subject: grapeVINE: Request for expressions of interest in research or pilots Organization: University of New South Wales Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1992 09:47:54 GMT grapeVINE - A new "value-added" information sharing product for Unix, OS/2 and VMS servers on standard LANs with Windows, Macs, OS/2 workstations, and email terminals grapeVINE is creating some of the first databases of soft information discussions (ideas, opinions, news, suggestions, forecasts, problems, etc. plus their assessments) as a by-product of normal business and government agency professional and executive work. Research areas we are starting to canvass using these databases are related to: Improving issue escalation and the assessment process of news, ideas, opinions, rumors, etc. in an organization Linking related soft and hard information, in market intelligence, technology awareness, account management, etc. Incorporating soft information into EIS Understanding the "cultural impact" of introducing information sharing tools to different types of organization Reducing repeated problem solving through better communication. grapeVINE - Overview grapeVINE is able to index, prioritize, selectively disseminate, and store for retrieval a wide variety of information in text or document form. In addition, it supports commenting and other forms of added- value items such as ideas, opinions and rumors. A database with multi- threaded links is created to associate related items. Users maintain their own interest profiles, using keywords drawn from a thesaurus that is also the basis of the indexing procedure. Item importance is also used as a parameter for profile building and selective distribution. The information items that can be automatically "seeded" into grapeVINE for classification and distribution include news, Internet items, email messages, questions, rumors, graphics, spreadsheets, CD-ROM documents, reports and forecasts. The comments and other items originating direct from professionals using the system may include assessments, suggestions and problems. Delivery, and commenting, escalation, etc. can be by workstation or electronic mail. grapeVINE operates as a client server system on Unix, OS/2, VMS servers, with Windows, Macs, OS/2 clients across standard networks. The email interface allows remote or unskilled users to have access. A VAX mainframe version with vt100 terminals, with or without ALL-IN-1,is also available. A multi-server capability selectively transfers items between LANS based on common interests, avoiding the load impact of full replication, and supports cross server alerting, discussions, and security. In North America, please contact Dave Wilkie at: Office Express Inc., PO Box 80646, Atlanta, GA 30366-0646 Tel/Fax: (404) 977 3126 Email: dwilkie@attmail.com In Australia, please contact Cyril Brookes at: Institute of Information Techonology, University of NSW Level 15, Tower 1 Bondi Junction Plaza, 2022 Tel: +61 2 389 4800 Fax: +61 2 387 8585 Email: brookes@cumulus.csd.unsw.oz.au EQUITY ------ EQUITY from ICL. It is commonly used for a variety of resource allocation problems in decision conferencing. Groupware toolkit ----------------- Subject: Re: If you use/develop a groupware toolkit, read this (please)! Date: 8 Mar 94 17:41:58 You can do anonymous ftp of GroupIE-related papers from tk.telematik.informatik.uni-karlsruhe.de:pub/papers/NESTOR The file 1STREAD.ME contains the references. You would probably want to look at CSCWWS91, HCI91, ECSCW91, ECSCW93. However, these papers are not very up-to-date. I am currently working on a chapter on GroupIE for a book but this will take some time. GroupIE and GroupIT are implementations that have been done as part of my PhD thesis in order to validate new concepts for supporting distributed teamwork. The software is fully functional but not a product, especially as far as documentation and user-friendlyness is concerned. We used GroupIE and GroupIT within project NESTOR to support teamwork between authors and learners in computer-aided learning. The software, however, is generic i.e. adaptable to various application domains. GroupIT (Group Interaction Tool) is an object-oriented graphical multi-user editor with integrated email functionality. It stands out for its flexible selection of interaction characteristics. GroupIE (Group Interaction Environment) is a complete development and runtime support system for CSCW applications. It is based on a comprehensive model of distributed teamwork along the aspects of interaction and coordination. The software runs on Ultrix DECstations with TCP/IP on top of a distribution extension to Smalltalk-80 that we wrote. The model and the system are described in my dissertation `Tom Ruedebusch, CSCW - Generische Unterstuetzung von Teamarbeit in verteilten DV-Systemen, DUV (Gabler, Vieweg, Westdeutscher Verlag), Wiesbaden, 1993, ISBN 3-8244-2043-0' but this book is in german... Tom PS: A new article describes the use of GroupIE for cooperation support in computer-aided authoring and learning and will be published in the proceedings of ED-MEDIA 94 in Vancouver, Canada. -- Dr. Tom Ruedebusch Tel: +49-721-608-4046 Telematics - Telecooperation Fax: +49-721-388097 Department of Computer Science University of Karlsruhe D-76128 Karlsruhe, Germany tom@informatik.uni-karlsruhe.de Subject: Re: If you use/develop a groupware toolkit, read Date: 9 Mar 1994 18:11:25 GMT Another excellent product for the unix environment (Sun/Openwindows is where I have used it) is KMS from Knowledge Management Systems. They are located in the Pittsburgh PA area, but I don't have an address. KMS is an extremely powerful distributed hypermedia system which has an excellent toolset of basic functions from which users can create application specific tools and processes. -> Note I am not at all associated with the company, just an extremely satisfied (unfortunately former) user. Mike Stoughton ... who does not speak for stote@tsun.eglin.af.mil Sverdrup Technology, Inc From: janssen@parc.xerox.com (Bill Janssen) Subject: ILU 1.8 now available Date: 6 Mar 1995 17:13:55 +0200 The 1.8 release of the Inter-Language Unification (ILU) system is now available via ftp://ftp.parc.xerox.com/pub/ilu/ilu.html. ILU is a multi-language distributed object system that Xerox is making freely available. It can also be used to build multi-lingual object-oriented libraries ("class libraries") with well-specified language-independent interfaces. It can also be used to implement RPC systems. It can also be used to define and document interfaces in non-distributed programs. It also provides support for use of the OMG CORBA IDL interface description language, and can be thought of as a CORBA ORB system (though with omissions from and extensions to the CORBA spec). It includes a self-contained implementation of ONC RPC. This release of ILU contains support for ANSI C, C++, Modula-3, Python, and Common Lisp. It has been installed on many flavors of UNIX, including SPARC machines running SunOS 4.1.3 and Solaris 2, SGI machines running IRIX 5.2, Linux 1.78, DEC Alpha with OSF/1, RS/6000 w/AIX, and HP/UX. It supports both threaded and non-threaded operation. Natural Language Processing Based Group Decision Support -------------------------------------------------------- From: MilamAiken@aiken.bus.olemiss.edu (mkaiken@aiken.bus.olemiss.edu) Newsgroups: comp.groupware,comp.infosystems Subject: Re: groupware + infosystems: any thoughts? Date: 6 May 1994 16:33:37 GMT I developed a brainstorming program which enables participants to query data and knowledge bases via English sentences. The system then posts the answers in the comment stream. Studies have shown replies are faster and more accurate than if a human searched for the answers. Also, some participants believed this "intelligent agent" was actually a human posting the answers. For more information: 1. "Knowledge-based Information Retrieval for Group Decision Support Systems," M. Aiken & C. Govindarajulu, Journal of Database Management, 5(1) Winter 1994, 31-35. 2. "A Natural Language Processing Based Group Decision Support System," S. Conlon, B. Reithel, M. Aiken, & A. Shirani, Decision Support Systems, in press. --- Milam Aiken Univ of Mississippi ConversationBuilder ------------------- Date: 7 Feb 92 02:51:08 GMT We're pleased to announce the first release of the ConversationBuilder environment, a tool we've been building for `active'support of collaborative work. A copy of the release announcement is enclosed. If you would be interested in obtaining a copy of the system, or discussing the system or related issues, please dont hesitate to contact me. Release Announcement ConversationBuilder v 2.0 An open environment for "collaborative process support" ConversationBuilder Group Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign For more information, contact: Simon Kaplan Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1304 W. Springfield Avenue, Urbana IL 61801, USA email: kaplan@cs.uiuc.edu fax: +1 217 333 3501 phone: +1 217 244 0392 0. Brief Summary ConversationBuilder (CB) is an "open architecture" for the construction of collaborative systems. Rather than providing specific collaboration models, it provides a family of mechanisms which can be used to construct specific collaboration models (which we call protocols). We have used CB to define several protocols, including: - A simple IBIS model - A Negotiation model, based on CHAOS, which in turn is based on Coordinator - Code Inspection support - Software Process support - Collaborative document and code development support - A host of smaller auxiliary protocols which are used in many of the others. Some of these protocols are quite robust and in daily use; others are experimental. Some were developed purely as demos; still other protocols are under development. The CB release includes several tools which can be used in a collaborative environment, or independently, including the CB server, Message Bus for tool interconnection, Widget Server for controlling and building user interfaces, Graph browser for hypertext browsing, and Epoch editor for text display and editing. Other tools, such as a shared drawing tool, will be released in the near future. The CB system has been designed to be open, so that other tools can be integrated with relative ease. (Brief descriptions of all these tools are included at the end of this document). The "products" of our research cover a wide spectrum of interests, including - collaborative work (groupware?) systems - hypertext systems - tools for tool UI integration (widget server); allowing multiple tools to cooperatively and dynamically build and share a common user interface - support for inter-tool communication; an extension of the message server concept in field and softbench. - some work in the area of active-object persistent object storage. - multi-window, multifont text editors (epoch) Portions of CB could be of interest to people in any of these communities; we expect the system as a whole will be of interest to people in the CSCW, groupware, hypertext, (software) process modeling and related areas. CB is actually used at Illinois by our group to maintain itself as well as for other activities such as writing papers (i.e supporting the "real work" of research groups :-). 1. System Requirements We have tried to ensure that the CB system runs on as many variants of Un*x as possible. It is run regularly on Sun, HP and NeXT; it has been run on IBM RS/6000's and 386 and 486 boxes under SysV/3.2 also. It would (probably) run under SYSV.4 if you could find an appropriate Common Lisp. CB runs using a client-server model. The server is written in CLOS, and needs a fairly substantial machine (a sparc I+ with enough memory (> 24 meg if this is the only application on it) should be ok. The clients (user interface clients) are all written in C and are fairly small. A 16meg machine should be more than adequate for the user interface part. The components, and their requirements are listed below: CB Server Comon Lisp with CLOS to at least PCL Mayday Rev 4b (ie latest version) Any version of Allegro CL from 3.1 seems to be OK (4.0 or better is preferred as it includes a native CLOS). AKCL and CMU Common Lisp with the latest PCL seem OK Lucid lisp is almost certainly OK, but we dont have it, so we havent tried it. I'd expect it would work with the usual minor porting hack problems. Graph Browser X11R4 or newer, Motif 1.1 Widget Server X11R4 or newer, Motif 1.1 Message Bus C Epoch 4.0 or newer, depends on C and X11R4 (actually epoch will work on X11R3, but as the rest of the system doesnt, this is moot). Space requirements for a complete installation will be at least 60 meg. (including epoch). Most of this can be cleaned away after installation, down to around 20 meg. Thereafter your usage will grow as the CB database gets bigger. 2. Getting CB Some portions of CB are freely available: Epoch (under GNU license) and the message bus and widget server (under X11-type license). The CB server itself, which is needed for exploitation of the collaboration, hypertext and persistent storage features of CB, is distributed under a more restrictive license and is only available to members of the ConverationBuilder consortium. Membership in the consortium is free for Universities. Other organizations should contact Simon Kaplan for information. Once you've joined the consortium and signed the CB license agreement, we'll give you a login so that you can FTP the restricted parts of the CB system. The unrestricted parts will be available from your login as well, but will also be available for anonymous FTP from cs.uiuc.edu. For those who do not have ftp access, we can arrange to send a tape (streamer, reel or exabyte). To obtain more information about joining the ConversationBuilder consortium contact Simon Kaplan 3. Here is a very brief capsule of the functionality of the major CB components: CB Engine: Provides collaboration control, access control, hypertext and persistent object storage facilities. Message Bus: Allows tools to interconnect and send messages to each other. can be used independently of all the other tools; arbitrary new tools can be connected to it and communicate assuming they "speak" the message bus syntax. Widget Server: Builds user interfaces in response to UI expressions sent over the message bus. Can be used in applications other than CB, with the message bus. Provides a high-level way of describing and evolving user interfaces as applications run. The widget server can callback to applications using the message bus in response to user input events. Graph Browser: Displays arbitrary graphs sent to it over the message bus. supports callback to other applications over the bus. Epoch: Emacs extended to be "better integrated" into X11. Supports multiple X windows, colors, proportional fonts, read-only regions, zones (buttons in buffers, including graphical buttons). Can be used independently of any other CB component (and often is). Virtual Notebook System and OpenMind ------------------------------------ From: peter@wyrms (Peter J. Spellman) Newsgroups: comp.groupware Subject: Re: Virtual Notebook System Date: 6 Jul 1994 15:02:29 GMT The company is called the ForeFront Group: 1360 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 1660, Houston, Texas 77056 Phone: (713) 691-1101 Fax: (713) 961-1149 I would ask for Sara Robinson; I have personally worked with her and she is pleasant and helpful. VNS runs a server on a Unix (Ultrix, AIX, IRIS, NEWS-OS, SunOS) box, and clients under Unix with X Windows (DECwindows window manager, NCD's ncdwm, Solbourne's swm, Sun's OpenWindows, twm, or mwm), MS-DOS + Windows, and Apple Macintosh. Data is stored in a database: ndbm, Sybase SQL Server, or Ingres. From: skc@hk.super.net (Shri) Newsgroups: comp.groupware Subject: Re: DCA OpenMind Date: 7 Apr 1995 00:01:41 GMT DavidC121 wrote in comp.groupware : I think OpenMind is in the same "groupware" category as the Forefront : group's Virtual Notebook, but I think DCA sold the product recently to : Attachmate! DCA merged with Attachmate :-)... Thats the official word on the streets. Shriram Chaubal http://hk.super.net/~skc Attachmate (Hong Kong) Ltd http://www.atm.com/ e:mail:- schaubal@dca.com and 100314.1075@compuserve.com =================================================================== David S. Stodolsky Euromath Center University of Copenhagen david@euromath.dk Tel.: +45 38 33 03 30 Fax: +45 38 33 88 80 (C)