Is there a "family size" web task/calendar system that'll survive my work's firewall policy?

May 28, 2009 11:01 PM

My household has suddenly found itself need of a new family-scale web-based planning/organization tool. This is tougher than it might sound as we (well, I) have some pretty twitchy technical requirements, thanks to my work's firewall rules.

My wife and I have been happy users of one of the very-low-user-count plans at Backpack for a couple of years, but the moment I've been dreading has finally arrived: I can't use it from work anymore. My employer blocks sites classified by McAfee as "Personal Web Storage", and McAfee has finally figured out that Backpack's file storage features qualify.

I have no problem with my company's firewall rules -- they make sense given the business we're in -- but they seriously complicate picking a replacement. I'm likely to have trouble using any site with personal file-storage features (even just document files -- IIRC Google Docs is blocked, for example), which relies on another site with personal-file-storage features (like Amazon S3, which has storage front-ends like JungleDisk), or which hosts public discussion forums (support forums or "discussion board" features tied to personal sites are probably ok).

We need something that offers multi-user calendar sharing, to-do list management, and general notes-and-clips features, in that order -- anything else is a bonus. Reasonable monthly charges are fine. I want to use it rather than maintain it so self-hosted packages are out. And desktop clients that sync content to the web are ok but they have to run on Windows and they can't be a mandatory component of the solution.

(Having said that, if there's an iPod Touch [not iPhone] app that can sync to a web site but which keeps a local cache so it works well without a live wifi connection, I wouldn't need to access the web interface from work, making all the firewall-related restrictions moot. We might even be able to stick with Backpack under those circumstances -- I know there are a couple of Backpack clients for the Touch, but how well do they really work when you're offline?)

Are we boxed completely into a corner here, or are there still some options available?

posted by Lazlo to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Try accessing Backpack through http://www.guardster.com/ from home. If all of the features you want to use work, try using it through Guardster at work. If Guardster is blocked from work, try setting up PHProxy in a web hosting account, which will function similarly to Guardster but be less likely to be blocked.
posted by XMLicious at 11:50 PM on May 28

Before you start interpreting your conditions of employment as damage and routing around them, talk to your workplace's IT people. You might be able to negotiate an exception to McAfee's pre-canned rules.
posted by flabdablet at 12:21 AM on May 29

iPod Touch solution

I've been using the Satchel iPhone app for about a month now and it does everything Backback is capable of. Syncs up when you're home on your network and easily goes offline to use its local cache. It's a bit pricey at $9.99 in the app store, but it's well worth the price. It's not initially clear how to switch to offline mode, but according to the FAQ:

"To go offline, go to the Page List screen and tap and hold the refresh icon Refresh icon. Select 'Go Offline' and you'll be able to use Satchel without receiving connectivity alerts."

Features from the developer's site: create/edit all Backpack pages, manage/edit notes, view images, add/edit reminders, full calendar support, write new journal entries/update status, apply/edit tags, view files, etc.

I love it. It works. I gave up Backpack awhile ago (our work team uses Basecamp) until I found this app to use for my personal needs.

Good luck.
posted by philrj at 12:21 AM on May 29

i saw this a while ago...
http://www.cozi.com/
don't know if this would trigger the personal storage flag.
posted by sio42 at 6:27 AM on May 29

I'd suggest you could be starting a "shell game" with them. If the kind of resource you need would be described as something they're trying to block, you could need to keep moving to stay ahead of them. Besides the disruption this causes you, a perception on their part of you trying to circumvent their security measures is likely to end badly.
Better would be to try to reach an amicable agreement with them about your access needs and your showing them how it would not be incompatible with their goals.
posted by TruncatedTiller at 7:34 AM on May 29