Comments on: Glimpsing into the Future of Collanos http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/ - think out of the inbox - Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:31:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Al M http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-32864 Al M Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:35:57 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-32864 The web interface to Collanos will be make or break. Right now in our team - half of us use Google Docs/Sites exclusively. For Collanos to compete with the elephant in the room, the web experience is critical. I still think offline access to data (which Google does not provide (for now! but Google Gears is coming!) is extremely critical for businesses. AM The web interface to Collanos will be make or break. Right now in our team - half of us use Google Docs/Sites exclusively. For Collanos to compete with the elephant in the room, the web experience is critical. I still think offline access to data (which Google does not provide (for now! but Google Gears is coming!) is extremely critical for businesses.
AM

]]> By: Benoit Broucke http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6378 Benoit Broucke Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:51:38 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6378 Hello every body, I follow Collanos since a few time, and as lot of people my feeling is it looks like a great product. I would like to add two comments. First is regarding the data security and especially about the encryption. I understand the answer of Franco, but it stills a problem: no way to control encryption, and no way to control the bounds of the community. In some companies it's a problem. Or perhaps it's just a problem of explanation/information. The second point is the concept of data space, work space, repository space ... and associated, tools, binary formats... In a compagny data management is more or less organised, versionning, project repository and others. Using several data model and tools generates data replication, copies, and after a while ... which version is right ? Just to think about this organisationnal problem. But I'm not sure a solution is profiling today. (The nature of data storing, where it is, and how I can access it should be tool agnosting and defined in a public concept of "electronic data", with kinds of properties like security). Hello every body,
I follow Collanos since a few time, and as lot of people my feeling is it looks like a great product. I would like to add two comments. First is regarding the data security and especially about the encryption. I understand the answer of Franco, but it stills a problem: no way to control encryption, and no way to control the bounds of the community. In some companies it’s a problem. Or perhaps it’s just a problem of explanation/information. The second point is the concept of data space, work space, repository space … and associated, tools, binary formats… In a compagny data management is more or less organised, versionning, project repository and others. Using several data model and tools generates data replication, copies, and after a while … which version is right ? Just to think about this organisationnal problem. But I’m not sure a solution is profiling today. (The nature of data storing, where it is, and how I can access it should be tool agnosting and defined in a public concept of “electronic data”, with kinds of properties like security).

]]> By: Franco Dal Molin http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6230 Franco Dal Molin Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:26:59 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6230 Thanks everybody for your comments, encouragements, and ideas! Mark, 1. The tricky part when it comes to locking/checking-in-out schemes is being a P2P system and furthermore allowing off-line work. While marking content as "changed" is easy, the complexity is pushed to the "conflict resolution" part (and again, because of P2P, remains still hard). Source control systems are server centric. We are working on concepts such as "managed objects" with a "mobile locking" that can be passed on to others. More about this in a future column. 2. Off-line invites. First step comes with central user directory, but yes, your ideas are the next steps: Email invitations/notifications including opt-in to specific workplaces. Neil, 1. Workplace currently is a 45MB download, and typically has 90-120MB memory footprint (depending on active workspaces). This numbers are before applying optimizations. We will unbundle the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), which will make it roughly 15MB lighter. A 30MB download is comparable to Skype. We are also working on the memory reduction. Currently we are using about the same as OUTLOOK, but with the replication improvements we hope to also bring down this number. 2. You can read on www.jxta.org about the P2P protocols that we use. Traffic is going through a "Relay" only, if no direct TCP connection can be established between any two peers. If that is the case, still, all communication is encrypted from peer to peer. Thanks everybody for your comments, encouragements, and ideas!

Mark, 1. The tricky part when it comes to locking/checking-in-out schemes is being a P2P system and furthermore allowing off-line work. While marking content as “changed” is easy, the complexity is pushed to the “conflict resolution” part (and again, because of P2P, remains still hard). Source control systems are server centric. We are working on concepts such as “managed objects” with a “mobile locking” that can be passed on to others. More about this in a future column. 2. Off-line invites. First step comes with central user directory, but yes, your ideas are the next steps: Email invitations/notifications including opt-in to specific workplaces.

Neil, 1. Workplace currently is a 45MB download, and typically has 90-120MB memory footprint (depending on active workspaces). This numbers are before applying optimizations. We will unbundle the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), which will make it roughly 15MB lighter. A 30MB download is comparable to Skype. We are also working on the memory reduction. Currently we are using about the same as OUTLOOK, but with the replication improvements we hope to also bring down this number. 2. You can read on http://www.jxta.org about the P2P protocols that we use. Traffic is going through a “Relay” only, if no direct TCP connection can be established between any two peers. If that is the case, still, all communication is encrypted from peer to peer.

]]> By: Neil Johnson http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6228 Neil Johnson Sun, 11 Mar 2007 14:49:56 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6228 OK, I just linked here from a "Groove" discussion on Slashdot, and took the tour. I like the idea, and the product looks pretty good. I do have a couple of questions though: 1. How much memory does the application use? 2. Is there a version that does NOT have all of the communication and files going throuh a server that is not under my control? OK, I just linked here from a “Groove” discussion on Slashdot, and took the tour. I like the idea, and the product looks pretty good. I do have a couple of questions though:
1. How much memory does the application use?
2. Is there a version that does NOT have all of the communication and files going throuh a server that is not under my control?

]]> By: Steve van Niman http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6134 Steve van Niman Fri, 09 Mar 2007 18:33:35 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6134 Franco, Thank you for the roadmap and general direction we can expect from Collanos in the near term. Your teams willingness to listen to practical improvments have helped improve our collaboration within our team. We now have timeframes on when we can tap into additional functionality to aid in improving performance. Thanks, Steve Franco,

Thank you for the roadmap and general direction we can expect from Collanos in the near term. Your teams willingness to listen to practical improvments have helped improve our collaboration within our team. We now have timeframes on when we can tap into additional functionality to aid in improving performance.

Thanks,
Steve

]]> By: Mark Beaubien http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6086 Mark Beaubien Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:22:36 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6086 First off, great job! A couple ideas, (which you may have already pondered): 1. to prevent overwrites, how about a semaphore/lock mechanism on files? Essentially, you check out a file, and if the file is being edited/changed/overwritten a hash code is generated to indicate to another peer that the file's been modified since it was last checked-in. Source code control systems do this. 2. For user must be online to be invited, perhaps use a method of sending them a smtp email and when they open it they click on a URL hyperlink (OK that means a web server and that's not pure P2P) and if necessary, auto-download/install the entire environment (*gasp*). Then they opt-in to the workspace? -Mark +1-413-863-0200 X7201 First off, great job!

A couple ideas, (which you may have already pondered):
1. to prevent overwrites, how about a semaphore/lock mechanism on files? Essentially, you check out a file, and if the file is being edited/changed/overwritten a hash code is generated to indicate to another peer that the file’s been modified since it was last checked-in. Source code control systems do this.
2. For user must be online to be invited, perhaps use a method of sending them a smtp email and when they open it they click on a URL hyperlink (OK that means a web server and that’s not pure P2P) and if necessary, auto-download/install the entire environment (*gasp*). Then they opt-in to the workspace?

-Mark +1-413-863-0200 X7201

]]> By: tra http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6074 tra Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:29:08 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-6074 Franco, Great to see the progress and continued improvements, and glad to see that the JXTA technology, the industry leading open-source P2P platform, has enabled you to develop a great product. B. Franco,

Great to see the progress and continued improvements, and glad to see that the JXTA technology, the industry leading open-source P2P platform, has enabled you to develop a great product.

B.

]]> By: Martin Kuppinger http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-5997 Martin Kuppinger Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:11:47 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-5997 Franco, like you know I think that you are on the right track and many of the features I have in mind for Collanos and discussed with you are prioritized on your roadmap. So I'm looking forward especially for the central user directory and, in consequence, an easy way where I can have one identity with Collanos even when I work on different systems (like my notebook and the PC in my home office). Martin Franco,

like you know I think that you are on the right track and many of the features I have in mind for Collanos and discussed with you are prioritized on your roadmap.
So I’m looking forward especially for the central user directory and, in consequence, an easy way where I can have one identity with Collanos even when I work on different systems (like my notebook and the PC in my home office).

Martin

]]> By: Steve Pearl http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-5964 Steve Pearl Tue, 06 Mar 2007 18:50:15 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-5964 Here's hoping that my comments on the TechCast get Collanos the positive recognition it deserves. You guys are doing a great service to the IT community in developing this product. Yes, I acknowledge Collanos "early stage" warts in my comments, but I hope the admiration I have for your product comes through in my comments. Keep up the good work! Steve Here’s hoping that my comments on the TechCast get Collanos the positive recognition it deserves. You guys are doing a great service to the IT community in developing this product. Yes, I acknowledge Collanos “early stage” warts in my comments, but I hope the admiration I have for your product comes through in my comments. Keep up the good work!

Steve

]]> By: Peter Helfenstein http://blog.collanos.com/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-5960 Peter Helfenstein Tue, 06 Mar 2007 16:56:33 +0000 http://blog.collanos.com/index.php/2007/03/01/glimpsing-into-the-future-of-collanos/#comment-5960 Todays PhillyTechcast with Collanos user Steven Pearl confirms the importance of the improved replication for all our users. This blog series will address Steven's requirements re IM and calendar soon! Interesting webcast: http://www.phillytechcast.com/2007/03/interview_steve.html Such feedback is a great motivation for all the Collanos team! Todays PhillyTechcast with Collanos user Steven Pearl confirms the importance of the improved replication for all our users. This blog series will address Steven’s requirements re IM and calendar soon!
Interesting webcast:

http://www.phillytechcast.com/2007/03/interview_steve.html

Such feedback is a great motivation for all the Collanos team!

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