By Mark Lawson
Getting people to work together on a project even when they're physically separated is one of the challenges businesses face today. It's also one of the cornerstones of knowledge management. Sadly, most of the Internet-based collaboration systems tend to lean toward high bandwidth, Java-enabled, ActiveX-embedded systems built to be used with Internet Explorer 5. People with Palm devices don't have much more than minimalist email and news software. This software's isn't really sufficient for working with collaborative group projects.
However, it's possible, with freely available Internet technology, to set up collaboration systems that not only work well on the Web but also allow small devices and limited bandwidth systems to take part. The technology is called Wiki, and this article shows you what it is and how to use it.
Introducing Wiki
Wiki, or rather the Wiki Wiki Web (Wiki being Hawaiian for "quick"), is the brainchild of Ward Cunningham. He created a system that allows you and members of your team to collaborate over low bandwidth connections using simple, often text-based browsers.
Wikis exist somewhere between news groups and Web pages and can be used for any number of collaborative systems. You can use Wiki as a basis for static or dynamic information, FAQs, discussions, project coordination, or brainstorming, all with free technology.
Ward's model has been successfully cloned on many platforms in several different languages. And, since Wiki's a philosophy as well as a technology, all the Wiki incarnations share the same general qualities, which fit rather well into the constraints imposed by a Palm device. Wiki's qualities include:
- A simple interface, so anyone with a browser can get involved.
- Page contents that can be changed by anyone in the user group.
- Pages that can be created on-the-fly simply by referring to them.
- Easy searching for information.
The simple interface is rather clear, and most Wiki clones are almost completely text-based, so freeware browsers like PalmScape work really well. Text isn't as much of a problem as it may seem and can be a real benefit -- links to pictures and supporting documents can be added as references into the page, but aren't imposed on the user. The result is that the "meat" of the information is highlighted and the pages tend to be concise, ideal for the small screen.
