Web | Whatever Blows Your Hair Back

Feb 04 2011

Vyew.com – FREE Alternative to WebEx and GoToMeeting

Category: Collaboration,Productivity,Web — Wil @ 9:39 am

Vyew.com is a fantastic alternative to spending $50 a month or more on GoToMeeting (which requires a download) or WebEx. They Vyew interface is entirely web-based so there is no requirement of downloading any additional client software. It’s written with Adobe Flash and Java (as far as I can tell) and seems to be extremely well laid out and responsive. “Vyew allows you to meet and share content in real-time or anytime. Upload images, files, documents and videos into a room. Users can access and contribute at anytime.”

Vyew is 100% free as long as you’re ok with advertisements and a somewhat limited account. Still, the free account seems to have more power than the average Joe normally needs. Should you find yourself not one of the average Joes, you can opt to pay for a “bigger” account with no advertising. If you take this route, you’ll still pay 80% less than WebEx or GoToMeeting.

The only caveat is that it is not “live” like WebEx or GoToMeeting… meaning you can share but you can’t see the presenter’s screen in real-time fashion. That may be a deal breaker for you.

Give them a shot and let me know what you think!

Tags: colaboration, gotomeeting, vyew, webex

Comments (2)

Jan 30 2011

Project Locker – Free Subversion and Git Repository Hosting

Category: Software Development,Tools,Web — Wil @ 3:06 pm

If you’ve ever accidentally or otherwise lost (possibly a hard drive died) or deleted some of your source code without having a backup, you know that feeling of utter stupidity which can make you physically ill. Not that I have ever had that feeling but if I did, I would be so compelled to find a way to prevent it in the future.

We all “half ass it” when we are working on pet projects of our own. You know you do it! You cut corners, write code you know you shouldn’t write just to “test something out”. No worries. I’m not saying you’re a bad person. I’ve done it and I still do it at times. However, the older and (hopefully) wiser I get, the more I come to find value and comfort in doing it right the first time instead of having to “fix it later”.

Subversion and Git (currently) are two of the major “revision control systems” in use by software developers. This is not about which is better as that is (usually) a very subjective dialog. This is more about how to get your precious source code to a safe place so you can rest soundly.

Project Locker (http://www.projectlocker.com/) is a great place to start (and possibly stay). They offer hosting for both Subversion and Git and you can use either one you choose on a project by project basis. And if you’re really into being one of the geeky cool kids, they also offer continuous integration, defect tracking, team collaboration, and document management. For FREE, you can get an account with three users, 500MB of space, and three projects. Not bad for free huh!

I’ve been using them for a few years and have absolutely nothing but great things to say about them. Check them out. You won’t regret it.

Tags: git, project locker, subversion

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Oct 22 2009

SuperStarThemes.com == Awesome!

Category: Software Development,Web — Wil @ 9:33 am

Recently, I have been looking for some “business” WordPress themes. And after what seemed like an endless and unsatisfying journey, I finally came across a company named Super Star Themes. Their prices are fantastic, their service is superb, and the quality of their work seems to be outstanding!