Let’s start from this point forward.
The months of January and February were dedicated to research and development. We put into effect some free useful tools to help manage the flow of information for our staff.
The first tool belongs to Google. We created a Google GMail account last year for the company. On my “day job”, the company that I work for has implemented Microsoft’s SharePoint Server. This server allows storage, sharing, and collaboration of documents across the company. This sparked an interest to find a similar tool that was either a free online service or open source. We found something even better, Google Docs & Spreadsheets. This is a beta service that is free until April with a GMail account. Google Docs allows the online creation of documents and spreadsheets and both are compatible with Microsoft Office. You have the option to create new documents or upload your own. There is an auto-save option that is priceless. No more lost work. Google Docs stores versions of each document. The cool part is the collaboration feature. Now, we can store information in one secure location that is accessible by multiple parties. The documents are updated in real-time with versioning. This sounds like an online document management solution….It Is!
XDrive is our second utility that we recommend. This service provides you with 5 GB of free online storage and it is simply incredible. There is a web interface and a client utility that you can install on your local machine. The web interface allows you to create folders, upload files, and share folders with others. The client utility requires the installation of XDrive locally. We are not huge fans of client programs, but this one is worth the install. The XDrive program provides two features. First, you can create an automated backup of folders on your local machine. This can be scheduled to run at your convenience. The second feature is the primary selling point. The program creates a virtual X Drive (X:) based on your XDrive account that behaves like a local drive. When you are browsing your file system, the X Drive appears like other mapped network drives. This service meets our backup and bulk storage needs.
Tool number three is Meebo. Meebo eliminates the need to install all of the different instant messaging programs. Meebo provides online access to your instant messaging accounts. They allow you to configure all of your instant messaging accounts under one Meebo account. When we sign into Meebo, we log in to GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger, AOL IM, and Yahoo IM. No client software required. You can also create an embeddable Meebo widget that allows users to chat with you using your Meebo account. To clarify, we added this Meebo widget to our website and our MySpace page. This lets our users chat directly with us when we are both online. We use Meebo daily.
In January, we completed the development for our new website. The launch is scheduled for the end of March. We put a lot of effort and work into creating an enriching, pleasant presence. We want you to have an experience without making the website too busy. Again, we emphasize the recurring theme of simplicity.
This post was somewhat lengthy, but we felt it was necessary to bring you up to speed. We also wanted to provide some insight on how we think and work.
Cackalak Clothing Company
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