Since we've now launched ColabSpace for the space community I would be remiss in not using the service myself.
So here's the link to my personal wiki space on ColabSpace. It provides a little background on myself along with some projects I'm working on. As well I'll occasionally post some source code from various project for anyone to reuse.
For some time now SpaceRef has wanted to create an online collaborative service for the space community. It took some time though to try and find the right platform that would allow us to provide the community with the appropriate tools so they could in turn create rich interactive collaborate services.
I'm happy to say that we've now launched our new service called ColabSpace under our brand OnOrbit.
The goal of the service is to provide the tools that will allow users to effectively collaborate on a project increasing productivity so that any given project moves ahead in a timely manner to conclusion.
For the platform we decided to use Deki, a social enterprise collaborative platform from MindTouch. Why did we use Deki? For starters it was because of its ease of use. If you want a simple wiki then it will do that. At first glance it looks just like another wiki, but under the hood it's a robust platform, where only your imagination is the limit. If you want to create some really cool collaborative mashup services then Deki provides a wide array of extensions allowing you to plug in to services like Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, Mantis for developers, Chat, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL and Google services such as Maps, Calendar, Apps including Docs, Spreadsheets and nearly a hundred more services.
The platform also comes with it's own scripting language called DekiScript which allows you even more flexibility in modifying your service and cretaing your own extensions. As well if you've already got a MediaWiki, Confluence, PBWiki or other wiki then odds are MindTouch has the conversion tool that will allow you to import it into ColabSpace.
For those of you who didn't know I've been sick since November 2nd. The good news is that I'm finally feeling better, about 80% of normal and should be back to normal by the end of the week. Being as sick as I was meant that my various projects were pushed back yet again and this includes my most pressing project, On Orbit.
I'm happy to report that On Orbit is back on track and today I've decided to include a little teaser of the home page. This is not the final version and only shows part of the home page but it will give you a little glimpse as to what the new site will look like.
I won't provide a date just yet as to when we'll launch but it will be before the end of the month.
We have a winner! Adam Cooke of Plano, Texas created a great logo for On Orbit which is launching next month. Both Keith and I felt that Adam's design embodies what On Orbit is. We had over 140 logo submissions. And besides Adam's there were some other ones that really caught our attention.
After a couple of frustrating days of programming I'm finally making some headway with the integration of the various platforms that make up On Orbit. Our own content management system will shortly be able to post stories to our new social news service Mercury. What's cool about Mercury is that anyone who has an account can upload a story. As well anyone can upload to our new video service. The news and video will be brought to you courtesy our staff and you the public.
I don't know how realistic it is that we'll launch on September 4th. I think we could do it, but it really will be "Alpha". As I have to travel on the 5th to Montreal for a meeting with the Canadian Space Agency for a couple of days I'm nervous about the timing. I'm inclined to wait until the 12th when I get back from my trip. That way I can focus on the meetings and not deal with the inevitable "Alpha" bugs.
More to come...
On Orbit video section coming along nicely and will be ready for the launch. Started integration on home page of social news service called 'Mercury'. There's still some integration issues with Intercat to overcome. Style sheet for the site is also taking shape. It's very different than what we have with SpaceRef now and has a bit of an Apple look to it. The site is designed so that we can have optional layouts in the future that can be changed at a moments notice. Of course they have to be programmed ahead of time.
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