Open office web

Web application suite provider Zoho is one of the first companies to take advantage of Google Gears, a browser plug-in that enables people to run Web applications offline. Zoho on Tuesday announced that its online word processor, Zoho Writer, has added a "Go Offline" button by integrating with Google Gears. The company said it will add offline access to more of its Web application suite and contribute to the Google Gears open-source project. Zoho Writer adds a Go Offline button using Google Gears. In the first incarnation, Zoho Writer's offline capabilities are limited. People can view up to 15 documents when they're not connected to the Internet. In the coming weeks, Zoho will enable people to make edits before going back online. ***

If this hasn't come through in my blog, I have a sincere respect for Microsoft. I particularly appreciate what it has done with SharePoint. Microsoft has grown a lightweight collaboration portal into $800 million in revenue in just a few short years. It is the fastest-growing product in Microsoft's history. Microsoft being Microsoft, it is sharing the wealth with its partner ecosystem. Yes, Microsoft routinely runs roughshod over its partners but, to be fair, it's hard for a company that size to do much of anything without squashing partners in the process. But in the case of SharePoint, partners will help to drive SharePoint into all sizes of enterprises and into all kinds of applications, according to an article on CMP Channel. ***

Alfresco next week will release a preview of a Web content management product, filling out its open-source content management line. The company, founded by ex-Documentum employees, currently offers document management, records management, and image archiving through a partnership. Alfresco employed a group of ex-Interwoven people who designed and built its Web content management software, said Ian Howells, chief marketing officer of Alfresco. Called Alfresco Web Content Management, the final product will be generally available by the end of the year, he said. The software is designed for to run large-scale Web sites and handle multi-site transactions. It is standards based and runs on Java application servers, Howells said. Next year, Alfresco intends to offer Web 2.0-style features by using more AJAX programming and to ease collaboration among users, he added. ***