Collanos Workplace
by Volker Weber
Within minutes you can be sharing documents, having online discussions, and managing tasks, all in a single, consolidated space. Built on reliable peer-to-peer technology, Collanos Workplace software allows you to work anywhere, anytime, both online and offline.
Collanos Workplace is free and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux!
Does this smell of Eclipse?
Comments
Volker, it positively reeks of Eclipse. Strange that they are happy to put info on JXTA on their technology page but have no mention of Eclipse.
Well, it certainly smells very strongly of Groove! Even to the extent that I come across some almost identical dialogs...
One point though - looks as though on OS X you need to be on Tiger, and they don't tell you that - my old computer has not been upgraded beyond 10.3.9 for a variety of compatibility reasons and Collanos requires Java 1.5 (which I don't think is available in any form for 10.3).
But it looks interesting, and deeply familiar, so far...
It does reek of Eclipse and ECF - Eclipse Communication Framework.
The interesting thing is they do not mention Eclipse at all anywhere on the site.
whether it'e eclipse or not, the UI is a direct, almost icon-for-icon ripoff of Documentum eRoom...
I don't get it. Whats the deal about it using Eclipse?
As for the application - I hate it - I looked it up and the way it works for users is well - dated.
Yep, I would bet it is Eclipse. But it is a bit hard to say, as the Eclipse Rich Client Platform blends very well into the hosting OS.
But the curved decoration of the windows seem to be using the custom skin for Eclipse/SWT. Also the arrangement of the viewers look like it. Also the tabbar with "My Profile", "All My Workspaces" etc. look very eclipsy.
from the "about" screen: "This product is based on Eclipse Platform http://www.eclipse.org"
honest question - is something wrong with that?
offtopic: on the documentum eRoom homepage (yes, i'm nosy) is a link titled "Product Tour: eRoom 7" - well, "product tour" in their language seems to mean "registration form". "go away!" - okay
I don't think there is anything wrong with eclipse, I'm a big fan. Sorry if 'reek' came across as pejorative, I was just using it the sense that the app smells very strongly of eclipse.
Hello. My name is Franco Dal Molin, CTO of Collanos, glad to clarify a few points:
- Yes, we use Eclipse RCP - currently V3.1.2. We plan to release a new Workplace version based on RCP 3.2.x in about one month.
- We DON'T use Eclipse ECF.
- We chose Eclipse RCP because of its good mix of Java-based multi-platform portability, native look and feel, and out-of-box features such as docking views, update manager, help framework, and many more.
- Thanks for suggesting to mention also Eclipse on our Web site, along with JXTA and other core technologies. Will do as soon as find some time. We are also working on a RCP case study with the Eclipse Foundation.
- With regards to the "similarities" to Groove or eRoom etc. yes, I guess on one side we have applied best practices for standard concepts. E.g. a buddy/member/user list is a b/m/u list is a... Content is content. Folders are folders. Discussions are discussions. It is hard to be "radically different" here... On the other side, we do also clearly differentiate: For instance, we don't like Groove's "A tab for every tool" fragmentation within spaces. Collanos mixes and matches any object type you like: Office Files, Tasks, Notes, Multiple Discussions, etc. Real contextual workspaces.
We have just recently launched and we are happy for all feedback. Thank for your comments. Feel free to get in touch directly with more questions. We just got started... so stay tuned for more to come! :-)
Best, Franco
