Sun's Instant Collaboration Pack integrates with, but does not require, a Sun ONE Portal Server. But unless you value excellent moderator and access-control abilities above all else, the other products we tested might suit your organization better.
Portal server integration adds single sign-on and access-control capabilities. You can specify which users in the directory are permitted to use IM; otherwise, anyone in the directory can use it. We tested the product using Active Directory. However, on its own, the Instant Collaboration Pack is one of the best values of the products in this roundup on a feature-for-feature basis. In this release, there is no conversation logging, and access logs are limited and must be searched manually. Sun recently released version 6.0 (the vendor skipped a few version numbers), which is said to have improved logging, but this release was in beta during our tests, so we stuck with the shipping version.
The client software is a pure Java applet that can run in a Web browser but can also run separately if you use the Java Web Start program. We found no real difference using either method. That's the only positive comment we can make about the interface. This IM program's unique way of showing chat/IM conversations, in one tabbed window, reminded us of Opera's and Mozilla's tabbed browsing. You'll love it or hate it. Furthermore, the built-in sounds reminded us of a bad Atari video game, and the alert message tone will scare you the first few times.
Beyond regular IMs and one-way alert messages, Sun's product can send messages to offline users. Users can leave a status message, such as "Gone home," and elect to receive messages while offline; upon next login, the messages appear. A news-board feature let users post announcements that other users can read later. We could create multiple message boards and limit who could post to them, and users would be able to choose which to subscribe to. We could also post Web pages here.
Sun's chat rooms offer the best moderator and access-control capabilities, even without the Portal Server. Moderators have the power to control who can read, write, manage and deny access to users, and can assign specific rights to individual users and a default right for everyone else. Moderators can also screen and approve messages before letting them be posted into the room, to manage large Q&A conferences smoothly. A chat room can have multiple moderators, and each will get a copy of the screened message. The product also supports polls, but unlike IBM's solution, you get only individual responses rather than a final tally count.
Michael J. DeMaria is an associate technology editor based at Network Computing's Syracuse University Real-World Labs®. Write to Michael at mdemaria@nwc.com.
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Sun's Instant Collaboration Pack integrates with, but does not require, a Sun ONE Portal Server. But unless you value excellent moderator and access-control abilities above all else, the other products we tested might suit your organization better.
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