Jacob Morgan, co-founder of collaboration consultancy Chess Media Group, recently posted his answer to this question on his blog. His perspective: we’re still waiting for a breakout collaboration product, and it should look like “WordPress for the enterprise.” Of course, there is an enterprise version of WordPress, but assumedly that’s not what Morgan means. He explains how the collaboration solution he’d most like to see is instead like WordPress in key ways:

What we need is a “WordPress for the enterprise” and before its acquisition I thought Podio was the closest to moving down that road.  When you think of WordPress you think of a content management and delivery platform but it’s more than that.  Take a look at how many millions of sites all run on WordPress, each with a unique look and feel and each with it’s own set of features and plugins that can be customized and added to make every site unique and individual.  Currently we don’t have anything like this for the enterprise.  Sure, some vendors have their own app stores where you can buy and download application specific additions but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Atlassian is probably the closest vendor out there to building a complete enterprise ecosystem with apps but even those are focused on the single platform.

He calls this vision of DIY collaboration suites supported by an extremely flexible platform “the widgetized enterprise” and says there are several roadblocks keeping us from this version of the future. One, “we don’t have collaboration standards for all the vendors out there to get them to speak the same language,” and two the market lacks a true platform vendor. But Morgan has hopes that we’ll see something like what he’s after soon. “Eventually we will get to a more widgetized collaboration platform that allows us to take the bits and pieces we want from every vendor and combine them together to make something that works for us,” he concludes.

What do you make of Morgan’s vision of the future of collaboration tools – have you already found a platform that’s flexible and customizable enough to meet your business’s needs, or are does WordPress for the enterprise sound like the solution you’ve been searching for?

Image courtesy of Flickr user Phil Manker.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Personal tools lead to practical business
• Defining work in the digital age: an analysis by GigaOM Pro
• Millennials in the enterprise, part 1: strategies for supporting the new digital workforce

Now French upstart unlimited-music service Deezer has shown Spotify how to do it properly, by winning a small media partnership for its better web embed player.

Deezer is servicing reviews write-ups on the little-known indie music website Artrocker with a playlist widget comprising reviewed tracks (example). That’s the same kind of partnership Spotify struck with top-tier partners like Rolling Stone and Time Out.

But, through Deezer, Artrocker’s readers can play the tunes right there on the web page, without opening a supporting application. Of course, Deezer is entirely web-based.

Deezer wants to use the exposure to sign new users. Embedded track plays are limited to 30 seconds until Artrocker readers subscribe to Deezer itself. But they get a 15-day free trial when they play the widget for the first time.

Deezer has offered embeds for three years, and leveraged them in its native France through festival partners like Les Inrocks, Télérama, Arte Live Web, Rock en Seine and in the UK and Ireland with Jazz FM, Clash and The Irish Times. It won’t disclose how much consumption occurs this way.

Deezer has also put a “radio”-like web player atop all Artrocker pages which, sadly, stops playing each time a user flips pages.

Conclusion: Deezer, like Rdio, has a neater web deployment than Spotify, which is not a web service. If it all works, the web could help Deezer build its business, which it is rapidly building out in countries around the world.

But none of that will matter a jot. Such is Spotify’s heft and influence in the world of music subscription now, it is becoming the segment’s default service regardless.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• NewNet Q4: Platform mania and social commerce shakeout
• The evolution of consumer-media cloud storage
• How social discovery is transforming entertainment

Skyfire cloud service Rocket Optimizer 2.0 launched in October, boasting the ability to handle LTE support and instant optimization for almost any video format. With the ability to apply granular controls for video optimization based on cell tower congestion, device type, subscriber profile and service plan, the company said it can effectively add 25-percent capacity to any cell tower with its technology. Skyfire is now looking to take its new funding and expand overseas, particularly in Europe and Asia, where it’s building out its footprint.

Skyfire is expanding its role serving mobile operators with the launch of its Rocket Toolbar for carriers, which will be able to create a customizable web-based portal embedded in the default browser on mobile devices. Rocket Toolbar builds off Skyfire’s earlier inclusion of sharing and social features in its popular web browser, giving operators a “beachfront property” on the browser users turn to most often. Carriers that use Rocket Toolbar will be able to customize a user interface with toolbar extensions that offer contextual recommendations, advertisements, app discovery, social sharing and friends’ news feeds.

Skyfire said it has two “tier one” North American carriers that will deploy Rocket Optimizer and Rocket Toolbar by this spring. Skyfire isn’t naming them, but Verizon has to be one, though it’s unclear which product they’re going to use. The company is breaking even in North America and is working on trials with European carriers.

With Rocket Toolbar, Skyfire is trying to help put carriers back into the heart of a user’s mobile experience. They used to be front and center with portals on their device decks, but with modern operating systems, they have been relegated more and more to data providers. Their attempts to include preloaded apps are criticized as bloatware. Now, with Rocket Toolbar, they can get much closer to consumers again on an almost daily basis.

But it’s unclear how consumers will take to this new UI over their browser. Some may find a lot more utility in Rocket Toolbar, which brings a lot of context and social discovery to browsing. But the carriers could overplay their hand by being too pushy with ads or recommendations that don’t provide clear value or by directing people to their own app stores.

Jeff Glueck, CEO of Skyfire, told me the toolbar is customizable and can be turned off by users if they don’t like it. But he said Skyfire has learned a lot of lessons with its browsers, which have been downloaded by 12 million users. Users are able to see what their friends have liked and shared on different websites, and they can get recommendations on what to read, making the browsing experience more engaging. He thinks carriers can benefit by providing these services, making some money and getting an opportunity to be in front of users.

“There is little real estate to let carriers offer new services. They have no touch points with users to offer value added services or sell advertising,” said Glueck. “That’s what Skyfire is all about: leveraging the cloud and letting carriers thrive in an over the top world.”

Skyfire’s approach, becoming the best friend of carriers, makes sense to me. The mobile data boom is real, and offering a smart compression solution should make it attractive to carriers. Getting Verizon as a backer should also provide a big shot of legitimacy as Skyfire takes its technology worldwide. I’m curious how consumers will receive the Toolbar, a lot of which will depend on how carriers implement it. But it’s another way in which Skyfire is capitalizing on the needs of operators.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• U.S. Wireless Data Market: Q4 and Year-End 2008
• How to manage the signaling storm in 2013
• Podcast: Mobile winners and losers in 2012 and what to expect in 2013

It turns out that Mac Intel chips have a built-in feature called THERMTRIP that will temporarily suspend the CPU when things get hot, and shut down the CPU altogether when things get too hot. Speculation is that this temperature is somewhere in the neighborhood of 120-130ºC. While my Macs did not reach three digit temperatures, the increase did alarm me. Luckily, as you can see, the temperatures settled down to a normal range after a few days. This is likely due to the machines running a lot of initial tasks like Spotlight indexing of your entire drive just after the Lion upgrade.

Still, if you, like me, are concerned and want to do something a little more proactive than just waiting, here are a few precautionary measures you can take:

iStat Pro Dashboard Widget. One of the first (and lately the only dashboard widgets) I installed is iSlayer’s iStat Pro. This widget will allow you to monitor several of your Mac’s vital statistics, and with the optional companion iOS app, you can monitor your Mac from your iPhone when you’re attached to the same Wi-Fi network. Information reported includes systems various temperatures, and the speed of your Mac’s internal fans. The problem is that as your Mac keeps getting hotter, your fans aren’t spinning faster, something for which we turn to the next tool.

smcFanControl Menu utility for Mac. To manually modify the speed of your internal fans, you can install Hendrik Holtmann’s smcFanControl. For some of the older Macs that are still technically capable of running OS X 10.7 Lion, you may find that they are having some difficulty keeping up at times, and the default fan speed just will not provide the relief required. This menu bar item will allow you to change the minimum fan speed and effectively take control of just how fast your fan will blow. I created two custom settings: a midrange setting at 4000 RPM, and a high setting at 6000 RPM and will turn them on when I see things get a little too hot. I then set things back to Apple’s default levels once things cool down.

Purchase a laptop stand. Proper ventilation is key to allowing your Mac to cool down under normal conditions. Placing your laptop on a pillow or blanket because it is running hot may do more harm than good, especially if you end up blocking the vents that are trying to expel all that hot air. My personal favorite is the Cooling Bar from Just Mobile for $39.95US.  I find it convenient to carry with me and easy to set up.  Just Mobile has other stands for your MacBook as well. And if you tend to keep your Macbook closed when at a desk, consider Twelve South’s BookArc Pro for $49.99 U.S.

Let us know if you have other tips for keeping your Mac cool under pressure, or if you’re seeing temperature spikes under Lion that last beyond the first few days.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Takeaways from mobile’s second quarter
• Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room
• Hyperlocal: opportunities for publishers and developers

Android Agenda Widget. This jewel provides a window into the user’s calendar, displaying a lot of information in a small space. The agenda can aggregate events from multiple calendars. The display can be customized in every way. In fact, there are more configurable settings than much bigger programs. This is really a collection of widgets, all of different sizes so you can choose the one that fits the screen space available. The developer has a donate button which helps support the effort; the widget is the same, though, donation or not.

BatteryLife. Keeping up with the phone’s battery can be an obsession for some folks. This widget has you covered, if you’re one of those, with a complete view of remaining battery life, presented with as much detail as desired. If you enjoy watching the actual voltage in use, this widget is for you.

vizBattery. If the previous widget is overkill, and it is for me, then vizBattery is for you. This takes no more space on the home screen than a program’s icon, yet gives a graphical display of battery life remaining on the phone. Tapping the battery icon gives a popup screen that shows full technical information about the battery, and also provides a one-tap link to display settings.

Ringer Toggle. This widget provides a 3-way toggle for the phone’s sound. Hit once to enter vibrate-only mode, again for totally silent, and once again to restore audio. The widget is the size of an app icon, and the icon changes to reflect what audio mode is selected. It is a nice addition to any Android phone; once you have it you wonder how you did without it.

Data Counter. With unlimited data plans rapidly becoming a thing of the past, this widget is a good tool for keeping track of data usage. It sits on the home screen and keeps you informed of accumulated data usage at a glance. It can be set to give you a warning if you approach your data cap, if you’re unlucky enough to have one of those. Those of us with unlimited plans should keep this widget in mind, as it seems our unlimited days will not last forever.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Google’s Mobile Strategy: Understanding the Nexus One

I was thrilled to hear that current apps will be compatible with the iPad, but I’m more excited for apps that haven’t been written yet. Apps for the iPhone and iPod touch are designed for use while being held. There’s an exciting new use case that comes with the iPad — when it’s sitting in the dock. Owners not only have a new device to read news while on the couch, but they also have the perfect peripheral display.

What’s a peripheral display? Something that provides basic information without distracting you from your primary task. It runs silently in the background and it’s there when you need to retrieve some glanceable information. You already use plenty of them every day: clocks, stock tickers, weather icons, unread email icons, etc. I currently use one app on my iPhone as a peripheral display: Flip Clock. I think we are soon going to see a lot more apps like this.

My perfect peripheral display app would come with a few basic widgets like a clock, calendar, stocks, weather, and access to photos on the iPad. The app could then offer upgrades (perhaps $2.99 each) for access to services like Flickr, Picasa, Twitter, Facebook, CNN (and other news sites), etc. The app could be free with the requirement that one of the widgets shows advertisements. A quick paid upgrade (perhaps $9.99) would remove the ads and offer a spot for another widget.

I’ve taken the liberty of mocking up in Photoshop what this app may look like using the iPad GUI. Below you can see a few basic widgets, a tweet that changes every few minutes, and a photo slideshow powered by Flickr. The tweet includes a link which when tapped should close this app and launch Safari. This applies to the other widgets too; tapping them should launch their corresponding apps. Interactivity makes this app better than any digital picture frame available.

There are tons of apps that provide basic information, but now they can be combined to take advantage of the larger screen.

Now that I’ve filled your head with ideas, go build it! Just think of me when you publish the app to the store. Also, let me know if you think this is a good idea.

• Forget Synching, Let’s Put Music in the Cloud!
  We’re listening to digital music on so many devices these days, it’s time we started using the cloud to deliver music to all of them — and Amazon may be best positioned to do so. Read more

• The New Digital Retail Revolution
  
  Consumer-directed information technology is starting to do to traditional brick-and-mortar retailing what search engines and aggregation tools have done to cyber-retailing. Read more

• By the Numbers: Budget Analysis of a Web Series
  Get an exclusive peek at the books for a multi-episode comedic web series that was commissioned and financed by the digital arm of a mainstream network. Read more

• 
• Are You Ready for the TV Widget Revolution?
  Black Friday sales could propel web-connected TVs to mass market must-haves, but widget developers should approach this new market with a few caveats in mind. Read more

• Can Developers Help LinkedIn Learn to Have Fun?
  LinkedIn’s newly expanded developer base can help blur the lines between work and fun. Read more

• Green Data Centers: Batteries Included
  Data centers have long used big banks of batteries as their backup power supply plans. Today, batteries are getting cozier with servers and storage systems to help achieve greater efficiency and savings. Read more

• Why Cloud Computing Might Not Dampen IT Spending
  Experts suggest cloud computing, virtualization and automation will decrease long-term IT spending, but ever-expanding data volumes and computing requirements could ensure plenty of revenue to go around. Read more

• Why Apple Should Choose Sprint Before Verizon Wireless
  Almost all the rumors about a new carrier partner for Apple center on Verizon Wireless, but Sprint is actually a better fit. Read more

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Forget Syncing, Let’s Put Music in the Cloud!
• The New Digital Retail Revolution
• By The Numbers: Budget Analysis of a Web Series

Roku owners will now be able to get content on their big screen TV from:

blip.tv: web shows (though NewTeeVee videos weren’t available yet when I searched)
Facebook photos: see yours and your friend’s pics on your TV, or use…
Flickr: for photos, if you prefer
FrameChannel: lets you view photos and updates from your social networks
MediaFly: web shows and podcasts
MobileTribe: another service to connect you to multiple social media sites
Motionbox: for personal video sharing
Pandora: lets you listen to Internet radio
Revision3: original web shows like Diggnation
TWiT.TV: Leo Laporte’s raft of tech-related content

Linking your Roku box to these services is snap, though you will need your computer on hand to enter the proper registration codes (see video embedded above for a demo).

Channels are easy to navigate and finding content within them was straightforward enough, but as we’ve brought up before, navigation is limited to just a left and right scroll, which can be a hassle. Search requires an on-screen keyboard, which is even more of a hassle.

Overall video quality was excellent, though it did look a little “streamy” sometimes, and there are lots of factors that determine quality on channels like blip and Motionbox where users upload their own videos. Speaking of which, I asked Roku why it has Motionbox but no YouTube channel, which was widely expected to be available on Roku by now. Roku wouldn’t comment, but perhaps it has to do with the same Terms of Service issue that blocks set-top box company Popcorn Hour.

The Roku Channel Store is available on all three Roku models starting today. While they are a nice to have, we’re not sure how many people will be swayed by the inclusion of select podcasts and internet radio on their TV to buy a Roku (Boxee, another competitor in this space will reportedly unveil its CE device in January). And then there is the whole question of whether people will want dedicated set-top boxes when their TVs will soon have these types of channels already baked right in.

Regardless, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the Roku store. As we talked about with Seiber, Roku is opening up the platform so that just about anyone can create their own channel.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Connected consumer third-quarter 2012
• Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room
• Connected Consumer Q2: Digital music meets the cloud; e-book growth explodes

In the “free” age, one might scoff that the company is charging for its service from the get-go, but according to David Adams, Rallycast vice president of business development, there are nearly 30 million fantasy sports participants in the U.S., and they spend an average of $400 a year on their fantasy activities.

Adams also said that 90 percent of fantasy footballers have a laptop open while watching games, so the company believes there is an opportunity to take out that computer middleman by putting that information on-screen.

Eventually, Rallycast plans to add more features to its widget, such as the ability to follow more sports, a news ticker, shopping (think: pizza delivery), and picture-in-picture video.

Because Rallycast uses the existing TV remotes, some parts of it are clunky. Facebook integration is vaguely social viewing, but it only provides for general status updates, wall postings and direct messages (and those all need to be typed out using an on-screen keyboard).

Rallycast is currently available only on Samsung TVs but will expand this fall as Yahoo’s widget platform becomes available on more brands by the end of this year.

Rallycast was founded a little over three years ago and is currently based in Portland, Ore. The company is privately funded and has 12 employees.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Will TV Ever Get an App Store Moment?
• Controversy, courtrooms and the cloud in Q1
• Connected Consumer Q2: Digital music meets the cloud; e-book growth explodes

I think a more strategic statement would have been to say that developers should start thinking about applications that are appropriate for the big and the pocket-sized screens. TV widgets are transforming right before our eyes. Where they used to be about checking the weather and stocks, now they are about interacting with friends via Twitter, or sharing photos via Facebook (among other possibilities). As our televisions access more content and we are able to do more and we interact with that content on-screen, we will need input devices that are flexible and make sense to us. Forget the 53 button remote control — just use your phone.

Because Verizon has a TV, broadband and a wireless platform, smart developers could whip up apps that cross all three, providing users with greater control of their television, a way to search and enter text through a keypad, or a way to take their TV content with them on the go.

This type of cross-platform app is something that Verizon is already thinking about. I spoke with Ruchir Rodrigues, vice president, product platforms at Verizon, who provided a couple examples. Instead of futzing with an on-screen keyboard, you could use your phone to Tweet and then read the responses on the TV screen, he said. Or, using location-based services like Chaperone, a parent could, while watching television, bring up an app to see where their kids are at that moment.

Getting this kind of app singularity would, of course, rely on all the parts of Verizon not being siloed apart from each other. Something Rodrigues didn’t seem worried about “We’re a pretty close-knit company,” he said. But then there’s the issue of exactly how open Verizon will be with its Widget Bazaar platform — the company has had an issue with openness on its wireless side before.

Verizon isn’t the only one with consumer touchpoints across video, broadband and wireless. AT&T has similar opportunities in front of it with its wireless offering (complete with iPhone!) and U-verse. And on the pure TV widget front, Verizon faces competition from Yahoo’s TV widget platform.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• As Millions of Videos Come to TV, How Will We Choose?
• OTT technologies and strategies for broadcasters
• What the shift to the cloud means for the future EPG