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	<title>GigaOM &#187; Collaboration</title>
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		<title>GigaOM &#187; Collaboration</title>
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		<title>LaCie Debuts Wuala Sync</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/lacie-debuts-wuala-sync/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/lacie-debuts-wuala-sync/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:00:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Simon Mackie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Randomly]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[LaCie's cloud file storage service Wuala (which Om wrote about quite a while back when it was first launched) has announced the availability of a new feature, Wuala Sync, which allows users to automatically synchronize their files online and across multiple computers and operating systems.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=150545&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>LaCie’s has announced the availability of a new feature for its cloud file storage service <a href="http://www.wuala.com">Wuala</a> (which Om wrote about quite a while back when <a href="http://gigaom.com/2007/10/11/wuala-for-p2p-storage-sharing/">it was first launched</a>): <a href="http://www.wuala.com/en/learn/features/t/8">Wuala Sync.</a> It allows users to automatically synchronize their files online and across multiple computers and operating systems. As well as the new Sync feature, LaCie has also redesigned the Wuala application interface to provide a simple platform for quick back-ups, file sharing and synchronization capabilities.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/screen-shot-2010-08-20-at-14-36-27.png"><img title="Screen shot 2010-08-20 at 14.36.27" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/screen-shot-2010-08-20-at-14-36-27.png?w=604" alt=""   class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37565"></a></p>
<p>Sync is a “Pro” feature, so it isn’t available to users with free accounts. Pro accounts start at $29 for 10GB per year. In addition to Sync, Pro users also get backup, “time travel” and file versioning functionality.</p>
<p>Here’ a short demo video showing how Wuala Sync works:</p>
<p><span class="mceItemObject" id="ooyalaPlayer_chu_gd32ru0x"><br><span class="mceItemParam"></span><br><span class="mceItemParam"></span><br><span class="mceItemParam"></span><br><span class="mceItemParam"></span><br><span class="mceItemParam"></span><span class="mceItemEmbed" align="middle"></span></span></p>
<p>Wuala differentiates itself from other cloud backup solutions as files stored in Wuala get encrypted directly on the user’s computer before they are stored online. This means that no-one, not even LaCie’s employees, can view or access the user’s private data. Wuala users can also increase the amount of storage they get by <a href="http://www.wuala.com/en/storage/trade">trading some of their local storage</a> with the service.</p>
<p><em>If you’re a Wuala user, let us know what you think of Wuala Sync in the comments.</em><br><strong>Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.):</strong> <a title="Report: The Real-Time Enterprise" href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/05/are-you-empowering-your-mobile-workforce/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_content=simonmackie&amp;utm_campaign=intext&amp;utm_term=150545+lacie-debuts-wuala-sync">Are You Empowering Your Mobile Workforce?</a></p>
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		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">simonmackie</media:title>
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		<title>Teamly: Collaboration With Priorities</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/teamly-collaboration-with-priorities/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/teamly-collaboration-with-priorities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thursday Bram</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=36860</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most collaboration tools focus on assigning tasks to the people on your team who will get them done. Teamly takes a different approach, encouraging your team to look for the priorities in your project and exercise a little autonomy.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=149586&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/take-a-tour-of-teamly.jpg"><img title="Take a tour of Teamly" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/take-a-tour-of-teamly.jpg?w=300&#038;h=300" alt="" width="300" height="300" class=" alignleft"></a>Most collaboration tools focus on assigning tasks to the people on your team who will get them done. <a href="http://www.teamly.com">Teamly</a> takes a different approach, encouraging your team to look for the priorities in your project and exercise a little autonomy.</p>
<h3>The Logic Behind Teamly</h3>
<p>Scott Allison, the creator of Teamly, was scratching his own itch when he started creating the system: He’d gone from one employee to ten and was having trouble keeping track of the commitments each of those employees made. His organization was a little more loosely structured than other businesses might be, making most project management systems seem like overkill. All Allison needed was a clear picture of what his employees were doing and a way to comment on it. He wanted to make priorities a priority.</p>
<p>Teamly focuses on creating very short priority lists — just five things. The web application allows for setting daily, weekly and monthly priorities. It also allows managers and team members to review those priorities and provides real-time feedback for managers. The tool’s statistics make it easy to see how well an individual is doing at completing the priorities set on any given day.</p>
<p>Allison says, “Most to-do software suffers from the problem that they simply encourage very long and demotivating lists to be written, which you never get round to. By having a short list you think about what you are going to do, and what you are not going to do. Once you’ve achieved it you can be satisfied knowing you’ve done a good day’s work.”</p>
<h3>The Right Place for Teamly</h3>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/take-a-tour-of-teamly-1.jpg"><img title="Take a tour of Teamly-1" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/take-a-tour-of-teamly-1.jpg?w=300&#038;h=184" alt="" width="300" height="184" class=" alignleft"></a>It’s unlikely that Teamly would be a good fit in a structured enterprise. Rather, its approach is better with loose systems because it allows for more self-direction for each team member. It can be a good fit for creatives or other professionals who have their own ways of doing things — Allison has gotten responses from GTD users saying it has been particularly useful for providing a high-level view for managers while allowing employees to work within the task management structures that work for them. The best indicator that Teamly would be a good fit for your team is if you’ve felt overwhelmed by the features built into more robust collaboration tools.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/take-a-tour-of-teamly-2.jpg"><img title="Take a tour of Teamly-2" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/take-a-tour-of-teamly-2.jpg?w=300&#038;h=240" alt="" width="300" height="240" class=" alignleft"></a>Allison notes that Teamly’s future growth will be constrained by the need to keep the tool simple: Additional privacy controls on individual team members’ priorities, a way to keep notes on tasks that aren’t priorities but shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle, and similar features are in the pipeline. Teamly’s creators are also looking at opportunities to integrate Teamly into other applications and create mobile versions.</p>
<p>Teamly is currently in beta and offers a free version for a single user.</p>
<p><em>Let us know what you think of Teamly in the comments.</em></p>
<p><strong>Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.):</strong> <a title="Report: The Real-Time Enterprise" href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/01/report-the-real-time-enterprise/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_content=thursdayb&amp;utm_campaign=intext&amp;utm_term=149586+teamly-collaboration-with-priorities">Report: The Real-Time Enterprise</a></p>
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=149586&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Thursday Bram</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/take-a-tour-of-teamly.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Take a tour of Teamly</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">Take a tour of Teamly-1</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Take a tour of Teamly-2</media:title>
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		<title>Telecommuting + Flextime = More Productive Corporate Workforce</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/telecommuting-flextime-more-productive-corporate-workforce/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/telecommuting-flextime-more-productive-corporate-workforce/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dawn Foster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Career]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=34266</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I'm one of those people who takes advantage of telecommuting and flexible work hours to make sure that I am as productive as possible. I've managed to find a pretty good balance between work and life by making adjustments to the typical 9-to-5 day.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78671&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/4135220672_a71270c850_o.jpg"><img  title="Telecommute" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/4135220672_a71270c850_o.jpg?w=300&#038;h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" class=" alignleft" /></a>I&#8217;m one of those people who takes advantage of telecommuting and flexible work hours to make sure that I am as productive as possible. I&#8217;ve managed to find a pretty good balance between work and life by making adjustments to the typical 9-to-5 day to accommodate my personal needs. For example, today I went into the office around 7am so that I could leave shortly after 4pm to take care of a few personal errands. On Friday, I&#8217;ll be starting the day early again and working from home to concentrate on some projects that I can do more productively where it is quiet, while also squeezing in a couple of tech meetups that are closer to my house than the corporate office.</p>
<p>Despite (or maybe because of) these adjustments to my work day, I manage to meet or exceed the expectations for my job. My employer is flexible about when I work as long as I get the job done, and I occasionally pull some late nights, early mornings or do work on the weekend to make sure that I&#8217;m taking care of the community that I manage.</p>
<p>All of this flexibility works for me, and it looks like I&#8217;m not alone. <a href="http://news.byu.edu/archive10-jun-telecommuting.aspx">According to a recent study by a group of researchers at Brigham Young University</a>, people who telecommute balance work and family life better than those who work in an office, but only when flextime is also part of the plan. These researchers analyzed data from more than 24,000 IBM employees from 75 countries to find that telecommuters using flextime could work 57 hours per week before work starts to interfere with their personal lives, while the number was a paltry 38 hours per week for traditional office workers.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t just an IBM phenomenon, either. About a year ago, I looked at a <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/ciscos-take-on-telecommuting-and-productivity/">Cisco study of its telecommuting employees</a> that found:</p>
<ul>
<blockquote>
<li>69 percent of the telecommuting employees see increased productivity.</li>
<li>67 percent said that their work quality improved.</li>
<li>80 percent had an improved quality of life.</li>
</blockquote>
</ul>
<p>One of the biggest surprises for Cisco was that people actually spend more time working when they telecommute. This isn&#8217;t really surprising to me as I spend more time working when I telecommute. For one thing, I shave over 1.5 hours of driving time out of my daily schedule. I also tend to start work as soon as I get up around 6am and then take a little break later in the day to go for a quick run, take a shower and put on something other than my pajamas. This lets me get a jump on the work day and take a break when I need it, thus increasing my productivity while allowing me to be flexible with my time.</p>
<p>Smart companies should be taking a serious look at web working as a way to improve employee productivity while saving money that they would spending on extra office space. By being creative and flexible about working arrangements, both companies and employees can benefit.</p>
<p><em>How do you benefit from telecommuting and flextime without sacrificing productivity?</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gibsonsgolfer/4135220672/">Photo by Flickr user gibsonsgolfer</a> used under the Creative Commons <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en">Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic</a> license.</em></p>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Dawn</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Telecommute</media:title>
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		<title>MailBrowser: A Plugin to Manage Gmail Contacts and Attachments</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/mailbrowser-a-plugin-to-manage-gmail-contacts-and-attachments/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/mailbrowser-a-plugin-to-manage-gmail-contacts-and-attachments/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Simon Mackie</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=25792</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re a Gmail user who&#8217;s coveted third-party Outlook email productivity add-ons like Xobni or Gist, you might like to check out Webyog&#8217;s new MailBrowser. It&#8217;s a free plugin for Firefox and IE (with Chrome support on its way) that aims to extend the contact and attachment management [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78617&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/picture-6.png"><img  title="mailbrowser logo" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/picture-6.png?w=175&#038;h=47" alt="" width="175" height="47" class=" alignleft" /></a>If you&#8217;re a Gmail user who&#8217;s coveted third-party Outlook email productivity add-ons like <a href="http://webworkerdaily.com/tag/xobni/">Xobni</a> or <a href="http://webworkerdaily.com/tag/gist/">Gist</a>, you might like to check out Webyog&#8217;s new <a href="http://mailbrowser.com/">MailBrowser</a>. It&#8217;s a free plugin for Firefox and IE (with Chrome support on its way) that aims to extend the contact and attachment management capabilities of Gmail.</p>
<p>Getting started is straightforward: Download and install the plugin (versions available for both Windows and Mac) and give it your Gmail account credentials (which are only stored locally on your machine, as it&#8217;s not a web app). It uses IMAP to connect to your Gmail and Google Apps accounts; once  connected, it trawls through your emails looking for contacts and attachments. As soon as it&#8217;s finished indexing your emails, you&#8217;re ready to go.</p>
<p><span id="more-78617"></span>MailBrowser sits as a sidebar in your browser that you can expand or collapse as needed, and sports two main tabs: &#8220;Contacts&#8221; and &#8220;Files.&#8221; By default, it opens on the &#8220;Contacts&#8221; tab, displaying an alphabetized list. If, like me, your list of contacts is long and unwieldy, the built-in search functionality is useful. Clicking on a contact&#8217;s name gives you a more detailed view, with a photo (if available), URLs, a bio and any recent conversations. You can add tags and notes, &#8220;star&#8221; important contacts and create Google Calendar events for a contact right from the interface.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/picture-4.png"><img  title="MailBrowser" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/picture-4.png?w=607&#038;h=398" alt="" width="607" height="398" class=" alignleft" /></a>The &#8220;Files&#8221; tab displays a list of files you&#8217;ve received, with rich previews available, enabling you to skim through them quickly to find the files you need. The search functionality also works well with attachments.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/picture-5.png"><img  title="MB files" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/picture-5.png?w=607&#038;h=398" alt="" width="607" height="398" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>MailBrowser is currently in beta so you may find some gremlins (I had some problems importing mail from one of my older Gmail accounts, for example), but it&#8217;s nonetheless a useful plugin that adds better contact management capabilities to the Google mail service. While it doesn&#8217;t yet have the power of tools like Xobni and Gist, it&#8217;s a great platform to build on, and Webyog&#8217;s Rohit Nadhani says that there are <a href="http://blog.mailbrowser.com/2009/12/22/why-did-we-create-mailbrowser-gmail-plugin/">plans for many more Xobni-like features in MailBrowser</a>, including social media integration, integration with enterprise apps (like Salesforce) and the ability to sort contacts by importance.</p>
<p><em>Have you tried MailBrowser? let us know what you think of it, and how it compares to tools like Xobni and Gist, below.</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78617+mailbrowser-a-plugin-to-manage-gmail-contacts-and-attachments&utm_content=simonmackie">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/the-future-of-work-platforms-an-overview/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78617+mailbrowser-a-plugin-to-manage-gmail-contacts-and-attachments&utm_content=simonmackie">The Future of Work Platforms: An&nbsp;Overview</a></li><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78617+mailbrowser-a-plugin-to-manage-gmail-contacts-and-attachments&utm_content=simonmackie"></a></li><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78617+mailbrowser-a-plugin-to-manage-gmail-contacts-and-attachments&utm_content=simonmackie"></a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78617&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Note Taking With Capturx For Microsoft OneNote 2007 2.0</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/note-taking-with-capturx-for-microsoft-onenote-2007-2-0/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/note-taking-with-capturx-for-microsoft-onenote-2007-2-0/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Kelly</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gear]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[adapx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[capturx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Capturx for Microsoft OneNote 2007]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[notes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[onenote 2007]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SunEdison]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=24932</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Like many web workers, I take a lot of notes in client meetings and on phone calls, but have yet to leave my yellow legal pads behind despite being a longtime Microsoft OneNote and Evernote user. The biggest reasons are that I am a slow typist, [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78611&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/adapx_logo.png"><img  title="Adapx_logo" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/adapx_logo.png?w=150&#038;h=26" alt="" width="150" height="26" class=" alignleft" /></a>Like many web workers, I take a lot of notes in client meetings and on phone calls, but have yet to leave my yellow legal pads behind despite being a longtime <a id="eviu" title="Microsoft OneNote" href="http://office.microsoft.com/onenote">Microsoft OneNote</a> and <a href="http://www.evernote.com/">Evernote</a> user. The biggest reasons are that I am a slow typist, my notes have a lot of diagrams, and I&#8217;ve yet to find a tool that works well enough to bridge the gap from my yellow legal pad to one of my PCs.</p>
<p><a id="ectw" title="Capturx for Microsoft OneNote 2007 2.0" href="http://www.capturx.com/onenote">Capturx for Microsoft OneNote 2007 2.0</a> is a digital pen product from <a id="a15r" title="Adapx" href="http://www.adapx.com/">Adapx</a> that offers tight integration with OneNote 2007, with a suggested retail price of $349. The pen includes a docking station with a USB cable and software. Adapx kindly loaned me a trial unit so I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the product, putting it through its paces in various note-taking scenarios, and came away impressed with it. The pen is a bit chunkier than normal ink pens but still felt comfortable in my hand. It runs on a lithium-ion battery which you can recharge by placing it in its docking station.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_onenote.jpg"><img  title="capturx_OneNote" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_onenote.jpg?w=607&#038;h=358" alt="" width="607" height="358" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>OneNote is a great integration choice for this product, because of the searching and organizational tools it provides for your notes. You can also use it as a jumping-off point for transferring your notes into Microsoft Word 2007 or PowerPoint 2007.</p>
<p><strong>Using the Capturx Digital Pen and Notebook</strong></p>
<p>Capturx requires OneNote 2007, and either 32-bit Windows Vista or Windows 7. Like other digital pens out on the market, Capturx works with a special paper that you can purchase directly from Adapx or print out yourself. The software enables you to print the paper directly from Capturx to a four-color PostScript laser printer.</p>
<p>For purposes of my review, I used one of Adapx&#8217;s digital notebooks with the pen. The notebooks resemble a loose leaf binder but the paper inside is a bit thicker and glossier than normal notebook paper. I brought my poor penmanship along and started taking notes in the provided notebook and on some of the paper printed from my printer. Downloading my notes was as simple as docking the pen in the included dock.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_download.png"><img  title="capturx_download" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_download.png?w=424&#038;h=169" alt="" width="424" height="169" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>Once you dock your pen to download your notes, Capturx prompts you to name the notebook, or choose a notebook for your notes. Your notes then appear in OneNote:</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_scratch.png"><img  title="capturx_scratch" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_scratch.png?w=607&#038;h=379" alt="" width="607" height="379" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>Choose Tools -&gt; Convert Handwriting to Text and your handwriting is converted to text:</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_text.png"><img  title="capturx_text" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/capturx_text.png?w=607&#038;h=379" alt="" width="607" height="379" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>While I&#8217;m not going to say that the conversion was always perfect during my testing, even with my poor penmanship the conversion left me with enough to work with. I could easily see myself taking the Capturx digital pen to a client meeting for taking notes and getting enough out of the conversion to start a technical document after making some edits to the converted text. My handwritten notes have become a bit chunkier and boxier over the years, so I don&#8217;t write using cursive script, but I still found myself paying a little more attention to how I formed my letters, which seemed to help in how the software understood my handwritten notes.</p>
<p>While you can&#8217;t convert your hand-drawn diagrams for use in a tool like Visio, I did like the way I could archive the diagrams in OneNote for searching later. This would help me stay more organized and give me another reason to move past the old-school yellow legal pads that I use for taking notes.<strong><br />
</strong><br />
If you&#8217;re like me and looking to better bridge the gap between your handwritten notes and your PC but have been hesitant about digital pen technologies, I recommend checking out Capturx for Microsoft OneNote 2007 2.0.</p>
<p>I give it high marks for its tight integration with OneNote and handwriting recognition that even worked with my poor penmanship. I can envision myself using this tool to digitize my own notes from client meetings and doing away with unnecessary transcription of my handwritten notes or having to retain paper notes, and avoiding the ever-embarrassing situation of not understanding my own notes a week or two after the call or meeting.</p>
<p><em>Have you tried out Capturx for Microsoft OneNote 2007 2.0, or other digital pen? How did it work for you?<br />
</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78611+note-taking-with-capturx-for-microsoft-onenote-2007-2-0&utm_content=willkelly">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/green-its-q4-winners-wind-power-solar-power-smart-energy/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78611+note-taking-with-capturx-for-microsoft-onenote-2007-2-0&utm_content=willkelly">Green IT&#8217;s Q4 Winners: Wind Power, Solar Power, Smart&nbsp;Energy</a></li><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78611+note-taking-with-capturx-for-microsoft-onenote-2007-2-0&utm_content=willkelly"></a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78611+note-taking-with-capturx-for-microsoft-onenote-2007-2-0&utm_content=willkelly">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78611&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/36f27c41f4e1f6598fcde41633bb984f?s=96&#38;d=retro&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">willkelly</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">capturx_scratch</media:title>
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		<title>Capture Handwritten Notes on Your iPhone</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/capture-handwritten-notes-on-your-iphone/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/capture-handwritten-notes-on-your-iphone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Simon Mackie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Misc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Feature Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dan brickin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dan bricklin's note taker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electric car]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Honda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iphone app]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[MiEV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mitsubishi]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[toyota]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=24788</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dan Bricklin&#8217;s Note Taker App lets you take quickly take notes on the go by sketching onto your iPhone&#8217;s/iPod touch&#8217;s screen using your finger. Because scribbling small notes would be difficult, the app lets you write using large gestures, then shrinks your notes to fit onto [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78610&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.softwaregarden.com/products/notetaker/">Dan Bricklin&#8217;s Note Taker App</a> lets you take quickly take notes on the go by sketching onto your iPhone&#8217;s/iPod touch&#8217;s screen using your finger. Because scribbling small notes would be difficult, the app lets you write using large gestures, then shrinks your notes to fit onto the pages, which are about the size of a 3&#215;5 index card.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/notetaker1.jpg"><img  title="notetaker" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/notetaker1.jpg?w=480&#038;h=320" alt="" width="480" height="320" class=" alignleft" /></a><span id="more-78610"></span></p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a video showing it in action:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4n5z3UAgtVs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4n5z3UAgtVs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>The app has useful extra features, like multilevel undo, multitouch gestures, JPEG export, an eraser and auto-advance, which makes taking longer notes quicker.</p>
<p>Bricklin says that he <a href="http://danbricklin.com/log/2009_12_05.htm#notetaker">created the app because he found fumbling with the iPhone&#8217;s soft keyboard</a> while jotting down notes, phone numbers and addresses frustratingly slow and error-prone. Handwritten notes are faster and mean you can also use annotations, layout and symbols to give them extra meaning.</p>
<p>The app is easy to use and includes a full tutorial to get you up to speed. I found that the tutorial crashed my iPhone 3G a few times, but the main sections of the app seem fine. Personally, now that I&#8217;m used to the iPhone&#8217;s keyboard, I don&#8217;t find entering notes using it that slow (and I would rather avoid having to transcribe written notes later), but if you do, you might like to try Bricklin&#8217;s app. It&#8217;s available from the App Store in two flavors: The free Lite version (<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/note-taker-lite/id342311693?mt=8">iTunes link</a>) limits you to four pages, while the full version (<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/note-taker/id342284707?mt=8">iTunes link</a>) costs $1.99 and has unlimited notepads, and also includes a keyboard for transcribing notes to add them to the Address Book or paste them into other apps.</p>
<p><em>Do you find entering notes on your iPhone cumbersome?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78610+capture-handwritten-notes-on-your-iphone&utm_content=simonmackie">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/green-its-q4-winners-wind-power-solar-power-smart-energy/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78610+capture-handwritten-notes-on-your-iphone&utm_content=simonmackie">Green IT&#8217;s Q4 Winners: Wind Power, Solar Power, Smart&nbsp;Energy</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/a-2011-green-it-forecast/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78610+capture-handwritten-notes-on-your-iphone&utm_content=simonmackie">A 2011 Green IT&nbsp;Forecast</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/mobile-q4-all-eyes-were-on-android-4g-and-the-rising-tablet-tide/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78610+capture-handwritten-notes-on-your-iphone&utm_content=simonmackie">Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet&nbsp;Tide</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78610&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">simonmackie</media:title>
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		<title>How to Solve Tech-savvy Shortfalls</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-to-solve-tech-savvy-shortfalls/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-to-solve-tech-savvy-shortfalls/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Georgina Laidlaw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Green]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Troubleshooting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web work 101]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=21758</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve talked a lot on WWD recently about the tech-savvy of our clients, our site&#8217;s users, the public, and, well, everyone &#8230; except ourselves! We might like to think we know it all, and many of us spend innumerable hours reading, researching and learning so that [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78596&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/crisis_phone.jpg"><img  title="crisis_phone" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/crisis_phone.jpg?w=200&#038;h=300" alt="crisis_phone" width="200" height="300" class=" alignleft" /></a>We&#8217;ve talked a lot on WWD recently about <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/dont-overestimate-the-tech-savvy-of-your-clients/">the tech-savvy of our clients</a>, our site&#8217;s users, the public, and, well, everyone &#8230; except ourselves!</p>
<p>We might like to think we know it all, and many of us spend innumerable hours reading, researching and learning so that we do actually know a heck of a lot. But for all of us, there are times when things get hairy &#8212; times when we wrestle with technology and struggle to get even the (apparently) simplest things done. Although web workers may not like to admit it, we too experience technical challenges from time to time.</p>
<p>When I think about the people I know who aren&#8217;t tech-savvy, their responses to tech problems seem to encompass these options:</p>
<ol>
<li> Employ strong language in questioning the piece of technology&#8217;s intentions.</li>
<li>Strike the device in use, or one of its peripherals.</li>
<li>Ask &#8220;what kind of idiot designed this thing.&#8221;</li>
<li>Call offspring or partners for advice.</li>
<li>Complain to friends.</li>
<li>Hack an improbable and unproductive workaround at best; give up at worst.<span id="more-78596"></span></li>
</ol>
<p>Fortunately, as web workers, we don&#8217;t have to resort to such tactics. We have access to a veritable treasure trove of possible solutions to technical problems, courtesy of the web and in-the-know contacts. So what techniques do we use to solve tech issues? Here, in no particular order, are my usual ports of call when my knowledge of technology falls short.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Check Preferences.</strong> If I&#8217;m having trouble using a service or piece of software, my first thought is that I must have specified something incorrectly in my preferences for the service. So I check my preferences &#8212; for the service itself or for the piece of functionality that I&#8217;m trying to use &#8212; to ensure I haven&#8217;t missed some crucial checkbox that will enable the facility I need.</li>
<li><strong>Check the Help files.</strong> Yes, I <em>do</em> read the Help files for software, services, and so on. If I&#8217;m having trouble using a device, I&#8217;ll read its instruction manual. In my experience, much of the proprietary software products and physical devices I use offer reasonably helpful Help and instructional content, while few online services do. I use the Help search tools (which often leave much to be desired) as well as browsing the contents listings. Despite the failings of many service&#8217;s Help files, I frequently find the answers to my questions using this approach.</li>
<li><strong>Check development blogs and service updates.</strong> The developers of some services contribute to company blogs or publish service development updates to some part of the organization&#8217;s web site. These pages can be fabulous sources of to-the-minute information on functionality issues, service problems and bugs. More than once I&#8217;ve found the answers to my problems via these sources &#8212; most recently, for diagnosing issues with web hosting and RSS services.</li>
<li><strong>Search the web.</strong> If I can&#8217;t find what I need in the service&#8217;s Help files, I usually search online to see if anyone&#8217;s discussed the feature or issue I&#8217;m facing. Even if I can&#8217;t find a precise phrase match for my issue, some quick searching will usually lead me in a roundabout way to a solution to my problem &#8212; someone will have mentioned it as they&#8217;ve developed a separate service, for example, which will give me an inside hint about what I need to look for next.</li>
<li><strong>Ask a question in Help forums.</strong> Some services have active, passionate Help forums, which can be a real boon. I remember the first time I used <a href="http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php">NeoOffice/J</a> and had a problem. I asked a support question in what were the small hours for those in the USA, and expected to wait days for a reply, if indeed one might ever come. But the reply came inside ten minutes, and it worked. Help forums can be a great way to get useful assistance from real people who understand both the service you&#8217;re using and how it feels to be stuck with a problem.</li>
<li><strong>Phone a friend.</strong> If I know someone who deals with the service I&#8217;m using, I may contact them to ask them if they&#8217;re familiar with the functionality I&#8217;m wrestling with, or have any advice to help me solve it. But, as a remote worker, I tend to use this option only as a last resort, primarily because my contacts are busy and may not be able to help me as quickly as I&#8217;ll be able to help myself.</li>
</ul>
<p><em>These are the basic tactics I use to overcome any &#8230; ahem &#8230; &#8220;technology challenges&#8221; I may face in the course of my work. What do you do to solve the technology problems that inevitably crop up for web workers?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78596+how-to-solve-tech-savvy-shortfalls&utm_content=georginalaidlaw">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/green-its-q4-winners-wind-power-solar-power-smart-energy/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78596+how-to-solve-tech-savvy-shortfalls&utm_content=georginalaidlaw">Green IT&#8217;s Q4 Winners: Wind Power, Solar Power, Smart&nbsp;Energy</a></li><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78596+how-to-solve-tech-savvy-shortfalls&utm_content=georginalaidlaw"></a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78596+how-to-solve-tech-savvy-shortfalls&utm_content=georginalaidlaw">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78596&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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			<media:title type="html">Georgina Laidlaw</media:title>
		</media:content>

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		<title>FormSpring: Now With Direct Integration With Multiple Popular Web Apps</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/formspring-now-with-direct-integration-with-multiple-popular-web-apps/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/formspring-now-with-direct-integration-with-multiple-popular-web-apps/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darrell Etherington</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[@NYT]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=19519</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Web forms can be complicated or they can be easy. For a while now, FormSpring has been in the business of making it easier for those of us who might not have a programming background or the patience to take on the daunting task of coding [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78580&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="FormSpring" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/formspring.png?w=212&#038;h=58" alt="FormSpring" width="212" height="58" class=" alignleft" />Web forms can be complicated or they can be easy. For a while now, <a href="http://formspring.com" target="_self">FormSpring</a> has been in the business of making it easier for those of us who might not have a programming background or the patience to take on the daunting task of coding one from scratch.</p>
<p>FormSpring now has one more feature to recommend it, and it&#8217;s a big one for web workers: extensive third-party integrations. Using said integrations, you can now use any form you create in FormSpring with a laundry list of web apps that many readers of this blog will immediately recognize.</p>
<p>I want to take a look first at what FormSpring offers as a forms creation suite, and then go into a little more detail about the new third-party integration feature.<span id="more-78580"></span></p>
<p><strong>Creating a Form</strong></p>
<p>Making your first form with FormSpring is not very complicated at all. You can start from scratch, use a template, copy an existing form from another web page (ethically questionable?), or upload a pre-existing HTML form. FormSpring&#8217;s template list is fairly comprehensive, without being overwhelming, and it&#8217;s broken down into categories to make it that much easier to find what you&#8217;re looking for.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/screen-shot-2009-09-16-at-9-37-33-pm.png"><img  title="Screen shot 2009-09-16 at 9.37.33 PM" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/screen-shot-2009-09-16-at-9-37-33-pm.png?w=607&#038;h=392" alt="Screen shot 2009-09-16 at 9.37.33 PM" width="607" height="392" class=" alignleft" /></a>Once you&#8217;ve chosen a type of form, you&#8217;re presented with the form editor. The editor&#8217;s clean layout gives you a WYSIWYG view of the form you&#8217;re building, including preset fields if you chose to start building from a template. Any field can be edited using a convenient pop-up window, where you can customize the field type, size, label and a number of other options. Fields can be dragged and rearranged, and you can add new fields, sections, and extras using a convenient sticky toolbar at the bottom of the editor.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/screen-shot-2009-09-17-at-11-33-17-am.png"><img  title="Screen shot 2009-09-17 at 11.33.17 AM" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/screen-shot-2009-09-17-at-11-33-17-am.png?w=607&#038;h=392" alt="Screen shot 2009-09-17 at 11.33.17 AM" width="607" height="392" class=" alignleft" /></a>Form Extras include options like global layout settings, form progress indicators and saving options for end users, submit button customization and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHA</a> options. The nice thing about these options is that they exist for people who need them, but if beginner users don&#8217;t notice or take advantage of them, it really won&#8217;t detract from the quality of their final form.</p>
<p><strong>Using a Form</strong></p>
<p>Having a great form creation engine is great, but it&#8217;s all for nothing if you can&#8217;t get that form out to the people you want to use it in an easy and effective manner. FormSpring provides you with a number of easy-to-use options for distributing your creations, so that you can target different users in the way you deem best.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/screen-shot-2009-09-18-at-12-01-11-pm.png"><img  title="Screen shot 2009-09-18 at 12.01.11 PM" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/screen-shot-2009-09-18-at-12-01-11-pm.png?w=607&#038;h=392" alt="Screen shot 2009-09-18 at 12.01.11 PM" width="607" height="392" class=" alignleft" /></a>You can choose from having FormSpring generate a unique URL at which your form can be reached, embedding the form using JavaScript code or HTML, installing a widget in your TypePad-enabled blog, or using an intermediate form that gathers data from your user before forwarding them to the form you&#8217;ve created.</p>
<p>Providing so many options ensures that you can tailor your form distribution strategy to specific target respondents, and also allows users with varying levels of technical expertise to take advantage of what FormSpring has to offer.</p>
<p><strong>Third-party Integrations</strong></p>
<p>As I mentioned earlier, FormSpring recently introduced new third-party integrations that makes it easier to use forms created via the web app, and to use the data gathered with said forms in other popular online applications.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.formspring.com/third-party-integrations.html" target="_self">list of new integrations</a> includes Campaign Monitor, FreshBooks, Google Apps and Salesforce.com, among others. For Campaign Monitor, integration allows you to add subscribers from your forms directly into your email marketing software. FreshBooks integration allows you to create clients, invoices and estimates automatically using data collected with FormSpring forms. Salesforce.com integration means you can make web forms for any Salesforce object, and update existing records using web form data.</p>
<p>Integrations finally allow some of the promise of a web-based information management system to be fully realized. &#8220;Synergy&#8221; is an old buzzword that&#8217;s been stripped of much of its significance over time, but it truly applies here, in a good way.</p>
<p><em>Let us know your thoughts on FormSpring on the comments.</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78580+formspring-now-with-direct-integration-with-multiple-popular-web-apps&utm_content=etherin">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78580+formspring-now-with-direct-integration-with-multiple-popular-web-apps&utm_content=etherin">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78580+formspring-now-with-direct-integration-with-multiple-popular-web-apps&utm_content=etherin">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78580+formspring-now-with-direct-integration-with-multiple-popular-web-apps&utm_content=etherin">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78580&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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			<media:title type="html">FormSpring</media:title>
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		<title>Outright &amp; Expensify Join Forces</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/outright-expensify-join-forces/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/outright-expensify-join-forces/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Simon Mackie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=19357</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Outright and Expensify, web apps that we&#8217;ve covered previously on WWD, are joining forces to make expenses management even simpler. As Jennifer reports over on GigaOM, bookkeeping app Outright today releases a beta version of the site that uses Expensify&#8217;s API, meaning that credit card expense [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78578&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://outright.com/"><img  title="Expensify logo" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/expensifycom.png?w=190&#038;h=100&#038;h=60" alt="" width="190" height="60" class=" alignleft" />Outright</a> and <a href="http://www.expensify.com/">Expensify</a>, web apps that we&#8217;ve <a href="http://webworkerdaily.com/tag/expensify/">covered</a> <a href="http://webworkerdaily.com/tag/outright/">previously</a> on WWD, are joining forces to make expenses management even simpler. As Jennifer <a href="http://gigaom.com/2009/09/14/where-do-your-biz-bucks-go-expensify-outright-team-up-to-find-out/">reports over on GigaOM</a>, bookkeeping app Outright today releases a beta version of the site that uses Expensify&#8217;s API, meaning that credit card expense data generated using Expensify can be automatically imported into your company&#8217;s books in Outright. If you&#8217;re in the Outright beta group you can try out this feature right now; everyone else will have to wait for the full launch, due in about two weeks&#8217; time.</p>
<p>Outright is part of the <a href="http://thesmallbusinessweb.com/">Small Business Web</a>, a movement that we&#8217;ve <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/is-the-small-business-web-the-next-big-thing/">written about before</a>, which aims to bring closer collaboration between web apps in order to make their offerings stronger. Expensify and Outright are certainly a very natural fit &#8212; hopefully more companies will be persuaded that joining together like this results in a better product.</p>
<p><em>What other apps would work well together like this?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78578+outright-expensify-join-forces&utm_content=simonmackie">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78578+outright-expensify-join-forces&utm_content=simonmackie">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78578+outright-expensify-join-forces&utm_content=simonmackie">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78578+outright-expensify-join-forces&utm_content=simonmackie">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78578&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Solar Power and the FLAP Bag Project</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/solar-power-and-the-flap-bag-project/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/solar-power-and-the-flap-bag-project/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Imran Ali</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bag]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kenya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pop!Tech]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Timbuk2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uganda]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=18003</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My obsession with portable solar energy continues &#8212; in the past I&#8217;ve written about Suntrica&#8217;s portable chargers, Reware&#8217;s Juice Bags and Noon Solar&#8217;s range of bags. Suntrica&#8217;s chargers, though difficult to purchase outside Finland, currently offer the most elegant and practical solution for cheap, mobile and [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=18003&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/henry-showing-mechanics.jpg"><img  style="border:0 none;margin:5px;" src="http://www.afrigadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/henry-showing-mechanics-600x399.jpg" alt="" width="285" height="188" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>My obsession with portable solar energy continues &#8212; in the past I&#8217;ve written about Suntrica&#8217;s <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/suntricas-wearable-solar-chargers/">portable chargers</a>, Reware&#8217;s <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/is-a-solar-juice-bag-worth-it/">Juice Bags</a> and Noon Solar&#8217;s <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/noon-solar-more-solar-powered-bags/">range of bags</a>. Suntrica&#8217;s chargers, though difficult to purchase outside Finland, currently offer the most elegant and practical solution for cheap, mobile and clean solar energy.</p>
<p>Interestingly, a unique field test of mobile solar power is taking place in a handful of African nations, where electrical power is often unreliable: AfriGadget&#8217;s <a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/2009/08/07/afrigadget-and-the-solar-flap-bag-project/">Flexible Light And Power</a> (FLAP) initiative.<span id="more-18003"></span></p>
<p>FLAP is a collaboration between San Francisco&#8217;s iconic messenger bag company, <a href="http://www.timbuk2.com">Timbuk2</a>, the <a href="http://poptech.com">Pop!Tech</a> conference, and <a href="http://portablelight.org/">Portable Light</a>. Timbuk2 has modified one of its standard messenger bags with a removable flap that contains a photovoltaic solar panel connected to an LED light and a USB power outlet, which can be used for charging portable electronics such as phones and MP3 players.</p>
<p>AfriGadget&#8217;s founder, Erik Hersman, has been traveling through communities in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, assessing the usability, usefulness and adaptability of FLAP for everyday use. So far it seems the solar-charged light is the key feature, with the bag&#8217;s built-in USB charging being less crucial. However, given the <a href="http://imran.typepad.com/blog/2006/12/shared_telephon.html">crucial cultural role</a> that mobile communication is playing in countries such as Kenya and Uganda, I&#8217;d be surprised if this feature doesn&#8217;t become more popular.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Timbuk2 plan to offer the solar flap as part of their own range of accessories &#8212; bringing technology tested and evaluated in the developing world to its geek-dense customer base in the developed world.</p>
<p>With the popularity and utility of Timbuk2 bags among web workers, combined with the emerging interest in solar power, this seems like a great collaboration. I hope some benefit will accrue to those developing nations&#8217; communities, and not simply to more affluent buyers elsewhere.</p>
<p><em>Would you buy a bag with a solar charger or solar accessories?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18003+solar-power-and-the-flap-bag-project&utm_content=bmedia">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18003+solar-power-and-the-flap-bag-project&utm_content=bmedia">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18003+solar-power-and-the-flap-bag-project&utm_content=bmedia">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18003+solar-power-and-the-flap-bag-project&utm_content=bmedia">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=18003&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>28</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>CoRD: Connect to Windows PCs From Your Mac</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/cord-connect-to-windows-pcs-from-your-mac/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/cord-connect-to-windows-pcs-from-your-mac/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Simon Mackie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CoRD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prison]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remote desktop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SPIR]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Unicor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=17087</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While many web workers use (and love) Macs, most of the rest of the world still uses Windows PCs. So what do you do if you need to connect to, or control, a client&#8217;s Windows machine? Microsoft offers its free Remote Desktop Connection Client, but its [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78565&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While many web workers use (and love) Macs, most of the rest of the world still uses Windows PCs. So what do you do if you need to connect to, or control, a client&#8217;s Windows machine? Microsoft offers its free <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/remote-desktop/default.mspx">Remote Desktop Connection Client</a>, but its interface doesn&#8217;t make it that easy to use. There is a free open-source alternative, <a href="http://cord.sourceforge.net/">CoRD</a>, which has just been <a href="http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=986237">updated to version 0.5</a>. Andrew over at TheAppleBlog has been <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/cord-remote-desktop-0-5-released/">taking the new version for a spin</a>, and highly recommends it. He particularly likes the way that CoRD supports multiple connections, selectable from a list. The new version also gets props for support for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and interface and performance improvements.</p>
<p><img  title="CoRD" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/cord0-5.png?w=570&#038;h=384&#038;h=384" alt="" width="570" height="384" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>CoRD is a <a href="http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/cord/CoRD_0.5.0.zip?download">free download</a> for OS X 10.5 or later. Check out the <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/cord-remote-desktop-0-5-released/">post over at the TheAppleBlog</a> for more detail.</p>
<p><em>Do you prefer CoRD or Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78565+cord-connect-to-windows-pcs-from-your-mac&utm_content=simonmackie">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78565+cord-connect-to-windows-pcs-from-your-mac&utm_content=simonmackie">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78565+cord-connect-to-windows-pcs-from-your-mac&utm_content=simonmackie">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78565+cord-connect-to-windows-pcs-from-your-mac&utm_content=simonmackie">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78565&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>How to Give Back When You&#039;re Strapped for Time</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-to-give-back-when-youre-strapped-for-time/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-to-give-back-when-youre-strapped-for-time/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amber Singleton Riviere</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How Do You Work?]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[getting involved]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giving back]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IBM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[making a difference in the world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running a business]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=17004</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many times, we want to find ways to give back, be more socially responsible, or make our lives more about service, but running a business can make it seem impossible to find the time to do anything other than the task immediately in front of us.

How can we find a way (and the time) to do more good in the world while still keeping up with the demands of our businesses? One solution, focus on one trait at a time.

First, make a list of all the traits you would like be (generous, responsible, helpful, supportive, etc.).

Under each item, list ways you can incorporate more of that particular trait into your daily life. For example, if you want to be more responsible within your community, you might consider sponsoring an area youth program or volunteering to maintain a local park.

Finally, set aside time each day and week to devote to your commitment. Even 15-30 minutes a day can make a big difference. If you could commit to just 15 minutes a day, 5 days per week, at the end of the year, you would have contributed more than 65 hours of your time to improving the world around you. That's more than a week and a half (full time) of your attention!<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78564&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="backpack and laptop" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/backpack-and-laptop.jpg?w=210&#038;h=231" alt="backpack and laptop" width="210" height="231" class=" alignleft" />Many freelancers and small business owners want to find ways to give back and be more socially responsible, but running a business can make it seem impossible to find the time to do anything other than the task immediately in front of us.</p>
<p>How can you find a way (and the time) to do more good in the world, while still keeping up with the demands of our businesses? One solution is to focus on one trait at a time.</p>
<p>First, make a list of all the positive traits you would like to have (generous, responsible, helpful, supportive, etc.).<span id="more-78564"></span></p>
<p>Under each item, list ways you can incorporate more of that particular trait into your daily life. For example, if you want to be more responsible within your community, you might consider sponsoring an area youth program or volunteering to maintain a local park.</p>
<p>Finally, set aside time each day and week to devote to your commitment. Even 15-30 minutes a day can make a big difference. If you could commit to just 15 minutes a day, five days per week, at the end of the year, you would have contributed more than 65 hours of your time to improving the world around you. That&#8217;s more than a week and a half of your attention!</p>
<p>Many times, we put off getting involved and doing things that we really want to do because of the belief that there just isn&#8217;t enough time. On top of that, we think that the time we <em>do </em>have isn&#8217;t enough to make any kind of difference, but even small contributions add up. If we can find ways to give back in even the smallest ways, we can make big changes in the world around us.</p>
<p><em>In what small ways can you make a difference in the world around you? Share your tips for getting involved while still keeping up with your business and other commitments.</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">Image from Flickr by <a title="Link to laRuth's photostream" rel="dc:creator cc:attributionURL" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laruth/"><strong>laRuth</strong></a></span><span style="font-size:xx-small;">.</span></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78564+how-to-give-back-when-youre-strapped-for-time&utm_content=brownbugproject">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/08/vmwares-cloudy-ambitions-can-it-repeat-hypervisor-success/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78564+how-to-give-back-when-youre-strapped-for-time&utm_content=brownbugproject">VMware&#8217;s Cloudy Ambitions: Can It Repeat Hypervisor&nbsp;Success?</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/07/infrastructure-overview-q2-2010/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78564+how-to-give-back-when-youre-strapped-for-time&utm_content=brownbugproject">Infrastructure Overview, Q2&nbsp;2010</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/06/private-cloud-implementation-guide/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78564+how-to-give-back-when-youre-strapped-for-time&utm_content=brownbugproject">Defining Internal Cloud Options: From Appistry to&nbsp;VMware</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78564&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-to-give-back-when-youre-strapped-for-time/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Amber</media:title>
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		<title>Suntrica&#039;s Wearable Solar Chargers</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/suntricas-wearable-solar-chargers/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/suntricas-wearable-solar-chargers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2009 20:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Imran Ali</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NYT Startups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Feature Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Instructables]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Make]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Suntrica]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=12450</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[From Reware&#8217;s solar-powered Juice Bags to Noon Solar&#8217;s range of solar handbags, some of our regular readers may have detected that I have a bit of a &#8220;thing&#8221; for solar power. I&#8217;m sure this is an enthusiasm shared by many web workers: When your working life [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=12450&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  src="http://www.suntrica.com/pix/carousel/badgepro4.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="137" class=" alignleft" />From Reware&#8217;s <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/is-a-solar-juice-bag-worth-it/">solar-powered Juice Bags</a> to Noon Solar&#8217;s <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/noon-solar-more-solar-powered-bags/">range of solar handbags</a>, some of our regular readers may have detected that I have a bit of a &#8220;thing&#8221; for solar power. I&#8217;m sure this is an enthusiasm shared by many web workers: When your working life is governed by the proximity of electricity and availability of connectivity, free solar power would be very welcome!</p>
<p>Sadly, most solar charging products &#8212; like the aforementioned Noon Solar and Juice Bags &#8212; unnecessarily bundle solar chargers with some other product, like a bag! Fortunately, standalone solar charging products are beginning to find their way to the marketplace. Some of the most intriguing are found in <a href="http://www.suntrica.com/product.php">Suntrica&#8217;s range of SolarBadge and SolarStrap</a> chargers.<span id="more-12450"></span></p>
<p>Designed specifically for portable consumer electronics &#8212; like digital cameras, phones, MP3 players and GPS units &#8212; Suntrica&#8217;s chargers include adapters for common mobile charging connectors and USB devices and come in form factors ranging from flexible paperback-sized panels to wearable wrist-straps. Each charger holds an internal rechargeable battery, so that devices can be charged even when there&#8217;s little or no sunlight.</p>
<p>The chargers are priced between $40 and $70, with adapters priced individually at around $5 each &#8212; although, unfortunately, it seems that Suntrica&#8217;s products are currently only available in the company&#8217;s native Finnish market. Suntrica&#8217;s products are <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/b1a6/">by no means the only portable solar chargers</a> available today, but they look pretty durable, have some flexibility in the devices they support, and are competitively priced.</p>
<p><img  style="border:0 none;margin:5px;" src="http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FND/UH9D/FU6LR2MF/FNDUH9DFU6LR2MF.MEDIUM.jpg" alt="" width="156" height="116" class=" alignleft" />Alternatively, for the more adventurous, the fantastic Instructables site recently published a <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/">how-to guide to building a solar iPod/iPhone charger</a> using some basic electronic parts, rechargeable batteries and a soldering iron! The component parts come to around $70, about the same as Suntrica&#8217;s high-end unit with an equivalent output, and although the project does look fun, it&#8217;s not quite as lovingly styled.  It&#8217;s great to see that solar power is beginning to attract both venture-backed and grassroots-driven innovation.</p>
<p><em>I&#8217;m itching to try Suntrica&#8217;s products, so if you are using solar chargers regularly, let us know how they&#8217;re performing for you in the comments.</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=12450+suntricas-wearable-solar-chargers&utm_content=bmedia">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=12450+suntricas-wearable-solar-chargers&utm_content=bmedia"></a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=12450+suntricas-wearable-solar-chargers&utm_content=bmedia">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=12450+suntricas-wearable-solar-chargers&utm_content=bmedia">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=12450&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>An Offer From SUBERNOVA for WWD Readers</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/an-offer-from-subernova-for-wwd-readers/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/an-offer-from-subernova-for-wwd-readers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Simon Mackie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Green]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[SUBERNOVA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thin film]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=11029</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[SUBERNOVA is a brand-new online project management app for freelancers that helps to manage projects and clients, track time, and keep tabs on milestones and invoices. Unlike many of the project management apps we&#8217;ve seen, it&#8217;s built in Flash and the interface looks very sleek. After [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78545&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.subernova.com/">SUBERNOVA</a> is a brand-new online project management app for freelancers that helps to manage projects and clients, track time, and keep tabs on milestones and invoices. Unlike many of the project management apps we&#8217;ve seen, it&#8217;s built in Flash and the interface looks very sleek.</p>
<p><img  title="subernova" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/subernova.png?w=500&#038;h=313" alt="subernova" width="500" height="313" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>After a 30-day free trial, SUBERNOVA normally costs $120 per year, although the 40 percent launch discount means that a year&#8217;s subscription is currently priced at $72. But today <a href="http://www.hex.sg/">Hex</a>, the folks behind the SUBERNOVA app, have kindly offered full one-year licenses to the first six WebWorkerDaily readers to comment on this post.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78545+an-offer-from-subernova-for-wwd-readers&utm_content=simonmackie">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78545+an-offer-from-subernova-for-wwd-readers&utm_content=simonmackie"></a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78545+an-offer-from-subernova-for-wwd-readers&utm_content=simonmackie">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78545+an-offer-from-subernova-for-wwd-readers&utm_content=simonmackie">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78545&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>32</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Cyn.in: More Open Source Group Collaboration</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/cynin-more-open-source-group-collaboration/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/cynin-more-open-source-group-collaboration/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darrell Etherington</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Locations & Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collaboration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[discussion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[earnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[equipment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[software]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=5882</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week I wrote an article about Liferay, an open source portal app. Today, I&#8217;ll be looking at another option, Cyn.in, from Cynapse, an enterprise software solution provider. Cyn.in is an open source collaboration app, and as such only offers a portion of the functionality of [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78251&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="cynin" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/cynin.gif?w=200&#038;h=75" alt="cynin" width="200" height="75" class=" alignleft" />Last week I wrote an article about <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/liferay-open-source-portal-and-collaboration-software-with-style/" target="_self">Liferay</a>, an open source portal app. Today, I&#8217;ll be looking at another option, <a href="http://cyn.in" target="_self">Cyn.in</a>, from Cynapse, an enterprise software solution provider.</p>
<p>Cyn.in is an open source collaboration app, and as such only offers a portion of the functionality of Liferay, but those looking for a more pure collaboration platform, and not a full-fledged intranet, may find it more tailored to their specific needs.</p>
<p>Cyn.in is centralized software that collects all of your basic collaboration software, like blogs, wikis, discussion boards, etc. It also supports file sharing and repositories. I tried the live demo to get a sense of what Cyn.in has to offer, with a special focus on how it might compare to Liferay regarding my specific goal of using it to help organize and grow my collaborative writing blog.</p>
<p><span id="more-78251"></span></p>
<p>The demo allows you to log in to an enterprise edition install of Cyn.in, using one of the dummy accounts they&#8217;ve set up for their demo corporations, Widgets Inc. Different accounts are attached to different levels of employee, from junior management to executives.</p>
<p><a href="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/picture-12.png"><img  title="picture-12" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/picture-12.png?w=607&#038;h=342" alt="picture-12" width="607" height="342" class=" alignleft" /></a>For my test run, I signed on using a Senior Managment account. Immediately, you&#8217;re greeted with a mind map which breaks down your company&#8217;s spaces and views. This map was an interactive flash element, which I found buggy and not necessarily intuitive. Cynapse does warn that performance might be unusual since many people could be logged on to the demo at the same time using the same accounts.</p>
<p>Underneath the mind map is a notification area, broken down into subsections. Here you can see all recent updates, your own items, view the boss&#8217;s blog and status log, and see recently active discussions. Overall, it feels a tad cluttered, but it&#8217;s a good snapshot of what&#8217;s going on across the company.</p>
<p>On the right-hand side of the screen, you have your personal control toolbar. From there, you can update your status, view/change your profile and preference, and log out of cyn.in. You can also subscribe to email notifications and view upcoming events. I&#8217;m still not entirely sure how the email subscription system works. It looks like you can subscribe to the content of whatever page you happen to be viewing, which, if true, would come in handy.</p>
<p><a href="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/picture-23.png"><img  title="picture-23" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/picture-23.png?w=607&#038;h=342" alt="picture-23" width="607" height="342" class=" alignleft" /></a>Creating spaces was easy enough. I created one called &#8220;Disaster Control&#8221;, to see what options were available. One nice feature was the ability to postpone the publication date of any particular space, so that you can plan project streams and lines of business that are not yet active beforehand, and have them go live automatically whenever others are meant to have access to them.</p>
<p>Building a wiki for the space was also not too much trouble, although I found it far less intuitive than Liferay&#8217;s interface. I had to create a new wiki page from the top menu in order to set a home page in the Disaster Recovery area. A simple link in the wiki tab would&#8217;ve made things a lot more clear.</p>
<p>Overall, Cyn.in seems like a fairly powerful tool, especially if your users are knowledgeable and experienced in customized enterprise collaboration software. It lacks the pick-up-and-play feel of Liferay, in my opinion, but does offer an SaaS option and an Enterprise license that takes all of the setup footwork out of the equation for you, if you&#8217;re looking to spend a good amount of cash. There&#8217;s also the free open source software, but you have to run it on your own server.</p>
<p>I&#8217;d recommend Cyn.in for consultants working with larger, established companies looking for an alternative to their current collaboration solution. DIYers on the other hand will probably want to stick with Liferay or something similar.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78251+cynin-more-open-source-group-collaboration&utm_content=etherin">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/the-future-of-work-platforms-an-overview/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78251+cynin-more-open-source-group-collaboration&utm_content=etherin">The Future of Work Platforms: An&nbsp;Overview</a></li><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78251+cynin-more-open-source-group-collaboration&utm_content=etherin"></a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78251+cynin-more-open-source-group-collaboration&utm_content=etherin">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78251&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Mundu Mobile IM Keeps Me Connected</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/mundu-mobile-im-keeps-me-connected/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/mundu-mobile-im-keeps-me-connected/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Scott Blitstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How Do You Work?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first wind]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gtalk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ipo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jabber]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Messenger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mundu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stocks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[str]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wind]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=4892</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I am in my office I am connected to most everyone I need to work with through some sort of Instant Messaging service. I find it convenient to be able to stay connected and have quick discussions. It is outside of the office where things [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78113&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Mundu - Home" href="http://mundu.com"><img src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/img-mundu.png?w=213&#038;h=82" alt="Mundu IM" width="213" height="82"  class=" alignright" /></a>When I am in my office I am connected to most everyone I need to work with through some sort of Instant Messaging service.  I find it convenient to be able to stay connected and have quick discussions.</p>
<p>It is outside of the office where things can get a bit tricky.  I&#8217;ve never really been a fan of text messaging on my mobile phone.  While it can work well for an occasional status update or a quick message, using it as a conversational tool has never seemed all that efficient to me.  And while IM on the mobile phone exists, the challenge is the same as on the desktop, maintaining multiple accounts and programs that work with the various services I need.</p>
<p>Enter <a title="Mundu IM" href="http://messenger.mundu.com">Mundu IM</a> &#8211; a cross platform messaging client that helps keeps me connected on my mobile device.</p>
<p><span id="more-78113"></span></p>
<p>Mundu IM works with MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, Google Talk and Jabber which pretty much covers all the bases for me.  The devices that it works with is also extensive.  I had no issue downloading and installing on my Windows Smartphone and versions also exist for Pocket PC, Palm, Blackberry and Sony Ericsson.  A beta release for iPhone is also available and Symbian is coming soon.  I tested the Windows Smartphone version but features can vary by device so be sure to read the specifics about yours.</p>
<p>I find the Mundu interface to be clean and easy to navigate.  There was a bit of setup time to get all the accounts entered and things set up how I wanted them, but after just a few minutes I was able to get familiar with how to accomplish most tasks.  It really does a great job of giving me access to most if not all of the features I would have in each of these desktop clients.</p>
<p><img src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/img-mundo-qt.jpg?w=240&#038;h=320" alt="Mundu IM - Quick text" width="240" height="320"  class=" alignright" />I particularly love the Quick text feature (right) which lets me quickly add full sentence responses with just a few keystrokes.  The keyboard on my device is good but for frequently used items this is a great time saver.</p>
<p>On my Smartphone, I can stay connected even while on the phone or in another application which is great.  I get notified when new messages come in or when folks log in or out. The cross conferencing feature lets me invite users from different IM services to conference in a single chat window.  I can also send files and photos to any user I am connected to, as well as maintain an archive of conversations so I can review or act on them later.</p>
<p>The proliferation of devices with a keyboard is really pushing the adoption of mobile instant messaging, and with so many folks already used to the IM interface, getting others on board is easy.  Obviously, you&#8217;ll want to either have an unlimited data plan or closely monitor your bandwidth to use this extensively.  You just might be able to lower or lose your SMS plan though.</p>
<p>You can <a title="Download Mundu" href="http://messenger.mundu.com/downloads/php/download.php">download</a> a fully featured 5 day free trial of Mundu IM to see how well it works for you.  If you like it, Mundu IM is a very affordable $11.00 &#8211; They call it a LifeTime use license but that price doesn&#8217;t include full version upgrades which may incur an additional upgrade charge.</p>
<p><em>Do you IM on your mobile?  What do you use to stay connected?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78113+mundu-mobile-im-keeps-me-connected&utm_content=scottblitz">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/green-its-q4-winners-wind-power-solar-power-smart-energy/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78113+mundu-mobile-im-keeps-me-connected&utm_content=scottblitz">Green IT&#8217;s Q4 Winners: Wind Power, Solar Power, Smart&nbsp;Energy</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78113+mundu-mobile-im-keeps-me-connected&utm_content=scottblitz">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78113+mundu-mobile-im-keeps-me-connected&utm_content=scottblitz">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&amp;blog=14960843&amp;post=78113&amp;subd=gigaom2&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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