Cross-Platform Collaboration

March 31, 2004 4:48 PM

Does anyone know of some good free collaboration software that runs on Mac AND Windows? VNC and NetMeeting don't have Mac versions.
posted by badstone to computers & internet (6 comments total)

VNC is terrible "collaboration software" -- it's not intended for that purpose but for controlling a remote machine -- but it very much does run on a Mac.
posted by majick at 5:13 PM on March 31, 2004

Timbuktu Pro. Used it on Windows and Macs, but never with Netmeeting, only T2 to T2 (our collab project didn't get that far).
posted by zpousman at 7:53 PM on March 31, 2004

subethaedit is a collaborative rendesvouz-enabled text editor.
posted by mecran01 at 9:21 PM on March 31, 2004

SubEthaEdit, alas, runs only on the Macintosh, and will likely remain that way; therefore it doesn't meet badstone's requirements. Shame, it looks like a really fun tool.

badstone: I get the feeling you are using the term "collaboration software" in a way differently than I might. What are you trying to do? Are you just looking for remote control of a workstation? Shared control of one? A whiteboard? File sharing? Chat features?

Are you just wishing for some kind of NetMeeting that would run on OSX, like, say, gnomemeeting?
posted by majick at 10:02 PM on March 31, 2004

FirstClass? (My net is really borked today or I'd provide a link. sorry)
posted by bonaldi at 3:29 AM on April 1, 2004

majick - what I minimally need is for a meeting participant to be able to share a view of their desktop with other meeting participants. remote control would be nice, but not necessary. yes, I understand that the world of "real" collaboration software offers all sorts of other bells and whistles, but at great cost. until we have budget for "real" collaboration, i'm willing to settle for basic remote desktop viewing and/or app sharing.

speaking of "real" collab software though - I have been reviewing a few things and find Macromedia Breeze to be pretty nifty and reasonably affordable. it's much cheaper than WebEx at least, which has every bell and whistle in the book. anyway, do you have an opinion on what is worth shelling out money for?
posted by badstone at 1:25 PM on April 1, 2004