Computer

Collective network services on the Internet. What is network software? Usenet newsgroup service

Personal and collective network services

Personal network services

Personal network services belong to a specific user, are protected by a login and password, access to them is carried out only personally by the owner of the service. An example of such a service is a personal mailbox. Email, personal website or section (blog), personal telephone number and a password to use it, a personal page on the remote testing site. All personal services on the Internet require personalization, i. registration by the user, as a result of which the user receives a personal login and password, etc.

Personal information activity on the Internet is mainly search and communicative in nature. Consider the communicative type of network activity on the example of e-mail, and the search one on the example of the user's work with search servers.

In order to correspond with someone by e-mail, you need to have your own mailbox. It can be started on any search or mail server. Many general purpose servers now have mail.

Let's choose the most famous mail server www.mail.ru and enter it.

First you need to register, for which you need to call the Registration in the mail service. In the window that appears, you must fill in all the fields marked with "*", otherwise registration will not take place. The main fields are login (i.e. your unique name) and password, without which no one can enter your mailbox.

We chose the marsolov67 login and password, and also entered other data, many of which are optional. The system will tell us that we are registered.

Now our mailing address [email protected] We can already participate in the correspondence. For example, we have a friend, and we know his address: [email protected]. We type www.mail.ru in the address bar of our browser and enter our username and password in the appropriate windows.

Choose Write a letter. Be sure to fill in the "to" field, i.e. enter your friend's address (in this case [email protected]), the "copy" and "hidden" fields are optional. Of particular note are the generally accepted norms for filling in the “subject” field. It is better to indicate briefly the main idea of the message, this will help both you and the addressee to navigate email messages more quickly. You can attach files up to 15 MB (texts, photos, music, etc.) to the letter, for which there are file installation windows at the bottom of the letter design window. After writing a letter, call the service Send. The system will notify you if the submission was successful or if there were errors. If desired, you can save copies of sent emails.

The mail service offers folders for sorting messages "Inbox", "Doubtful", "Sent", "Drafts", "Trash". In these folders, you can store letters, and optionally clear them. It should be noted that unread messages are marked in a darker color.

Using E-mail, it is often not possible to transfer a large file. Typically, modern mail services impose a limit on the size of the transferred file - 5 or 10 MB. For exchange big files many providers social services file sharing service is provided on the Internet. As an example, you can use the file exchange service of the Mail.ru portal - http://files.mail.ru/.

Every Internet user uses search services. To access the Internet, you will need a special browser program. The most popular browser programs today are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. Since Internet Explorer is included in Windows by default, this browser is more common, and we will work with it. You can call it from the menu Start, Programs, Internet Explorer.

By clicking on the arrow to open the list of addresses, you will see the addresses of sites that have already been signed in with this computer. If you need one of them, just click on it with the mouse. If you need a new address, then you should type it in the address bar and press ENTER. For example, to enter the Yandex search server, you need to type www. yandex.ru (this address is also called URL), as a result you will be taken to home page desired site.

A developing flag in the upper right corner of the screen indicates that Internet work is in progress, and network connection with the computer's Internet connection is not interrupted. At the top of the browser panel is a menu. The right and left arrow buttons mean to move forward and backward respectively, Refresh- homepage; Search- search on the Internet necessary information; Favorites- calling the most liked pages, the addresses of which you remember; Seal- output to the printer of the materials you like, The size- choice of font sizes, Encoding- Select the type of encoding. Popular among search engines are www.google.ru, http://list.mail.ru/, www.yahoo.com, www.aport.ru, etc. Modern search services include news, reports, TV shows, Internet MEDIA. An example of such an extended search and information service is www.km.ru. Information about breaking news can be obtained from www. utro.ru., www.news.ru, www.gaseta.ru, information about business news - at www. rbc.ru, about the weather on www. weather.ru. Not only news, but also video reports are available to the Internet user.

A very interesting possibility is the use of web-cameras, which, with a certain frequency, sometimes measured in seconds, transmit an image over the Internet lines.

You can look at Moscow, the view of which was obtained from webcams installed on the 13th floor of the main building of Moscow State University in real time (http://webcam.mnc.ru/). Such cameras are installed all over the world and allow you to watch an Internet report about Niagara Falls, a storm off the coast of Australia, urban life in Paris, and much more without leaving your home.

Using the Internet, you can express your opinion on various forums, participate in electronic conferences, chat with friends in chat rooms, shop, write letters or send virtual postcards to friends, listen to good music, travel around cities and countries, etc.

With the help of any Internet search server (Yandex, Rambler, Google, etc.) you can place your personal ads. For this you need to create search query from keywords, for example: "Electronic bulletin board". By clicking on one of the links that appear, in particular "LesRuk" (www.lesruk.ru).

All ads are grouped into different categories. If you want to leave any information on the board yourself, after registration, click on the line To add an advert.

Then you need to select the desired section, write the text of the message in the window that appears and click the button Add. In a few seconds, your ad will be posted on the electronic board and will be available to a huge number of users. world wide web.

One of the forms of personal service is registration and submission of abstracts for the conference, including videos. There are conferences on various topics: public, technical, medical, educational, scientific, etc. An example is the well-known conference "Information Technologies in Education".

Personal blogging sites have become a popular personal network service. You can create your own blog, for example by registering on the website www.pedsovet. org

The most important place in personal network services is occupied by distance learning. It allows you to choose your learning path, and the environment will generate a gradebook for you. By registering on the free access distance learning site "Network Workshop on Informatics", you can study those sections that are most interesting to you personally.

The Internet makes it possible to remotely assess knowledge, analyze personal qualities, career guidance features using sites that provide services online testing. As an example, you can try to pass the USE test of previous years on the website http://abiturcenter.ru/ testi/ index_ n. php.

Questions and tasks

1. What online distance learning services do you use?

2. Using your mailbox and file sharing service, transfer a selection of photos through it.

3. Create your blog.

4. Find news about the latest advances in the field information technologies.

5. Take an online test.

Collective network services on the Internet

In the structure of the WWW-service for a wide range of users, various network services collective use. Several users can participate in such services at the same time.

Modern means remote interaction-telecommunications - allow very efficient exchange of various information. At present, it has already become the norm to conduct such means of remote interaction via the Internet as online surveys, and with the help of video cameras - teleconferences.

Let's consider the organization of collective discussion in the network in real time using the example of the Mail.ru portal (http://www.chat.ru).

In order to chat (from the English chat-conversation), you need to register on the site that provides this service, then type your messages and send them in the mode permanent connection on the Internet. There will be constant updates on the screen, these are your messages and messages from other chat visitors. You can answer them, ignore them, put different emoticons, you can go to a private chat with a user you especially like and talk in private. An example of a chat is presented on the page (http://chat... chat..ru/).

Instant messaging service(Instant Messaging Service-IMS) a class of programs designed to exchange messages over the Internet in real time. Text messages can be sent sound signals, pictures, videos. With an instant service SMS messages transferred to your subscriber's phone number, and it's free of charge. They can also be used for teleconferencing. This type of communication requires a client program, the so-called messenger (from the English. Messenger- Courier).

A wide range of users know some popular messaging networks such as ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!. Each of these networks was developed by a separate group of developers, has a separate server, and is distinguished by its own rules and features. There is usually no interconnection between different networks. Thus, an ICQ network user cannot be associated with an MSN network user. However, nothing prevents you from being a user of several networks at the same time.

The Mail.ru portal has its own instant messaging service - Mail.ru Agent, and the user is given the opportunity to install the client program both on a computer and on his mobile phone or communicator. Mail.ru Agent (http://agent.mail.ru/ru) is compatible with the most popular ICQ network (http://www . icq. com).

Mobile Mail.ru Agent, among other things, provides the user with the opportunity to work with his e-mail using a mobile phone.

Forum- it is a collective form of communication on the site. Each message on the forum has its own author, subject and its own content. As a rule, forums are divided into topics, and each of your answers will be part of a general open discussion on a specific topic. The range of forum topics is unlimited. Another feature of the forum is that it is not necessary to respond in real time. Topics and replies are stored for an unlimited period. There are forums that exist for many years, and for several years there may be a discussion of one topic. As an example, let's take a forum "Information technologies in education" on the website http//pedsovet. org/forum/.

The interaction of people on the Internet, in addition to communication of interest, is also of a business nature related to work or its search, i.e. This is an interaction with a potential employer.

In the conditions of the modern labor market, a resume, i.e. information about the job seeker is of great importance, since the employer's first impression of the applicant is formed precisely on the basis of the information contained in the resume. Of course, you can write a resume in any form and send it either by e-mail or regular mail. But it is better to follow a certain pattern. If you are looking for a job using the Internet, then on specialized sites, for example www.job.ru , www. superjob.com www.rabota.ru , a resume form is offered to you, it remains only to fill in the fields. As an example, consider the site www.job.ru .

First of all, you need to click on the line Create a resume.

In parallel with the simple placement of a resume, in order to increase the efficiency of the search, you can view the existing bank of vacancies on the same (and similar) site, and if you like any of them, send your resume to the employer's email address.

Questions and tasks

1. What is telecommunications?

2. What are the services of collective interaction of Internet users?

3. Enter one of the sites dedicated to job search, write a resume according to the proposed template, search the bank of vacancies.

4. Register and take part in the forum "Information technologies in education" on the website http//pedsovet. org/forum/.

5. Use your mobile phone to receive email from your mailbox .

Project assignment

Take a test on your own on the site of a network workshop in informatics http//webpractice. cm.ru, using level 2 and all course topics.

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Possibility of conducting telephone conversations over a global computer network between any part of the world attracted the attention of almost all firms developing software Hardware contemporary personal computers(PC). This method of telephony seems to be cheaper than those discussed above, since in this case it is only necessary to pay for the use of the Internet during a telephone conversation. In the case of long-distance and even more so international calls, this can be significantly lower than the price for a regular telephone.

Examples software product that supports computer telephony on the Internet are CoolTalk (Netscape), Internet Connection Phone (IBM), Internet Phone (Intel), etc. As a rule, modern products of this type require the use of standard PC audio hardware - today almost every PC comes with a sound card), a microphone, sound speakers or head phones. The voice message enters the PC through a microphone connected to the sound card of the computer and undergoes analog-to-digital conversion (as in digital telephony) with significant volume compression without losing useful information. After that, the received sequence of digital characters is divided into separate groups, called a data packet, each of which is supplied with its serial number and the recipient's PC email address. The received data packets are sent one after another to the Internet computer network. In the PC of the recipient of information, the original sequence is again compiled from the received packets, and after digital-to-analogue conversion, the original voice message is restored.

At present, the quality of this method of voice transmission is still significantly lower than in the telephony systems discussed above, since there is no guarantee of quality of service on the Internet. Each of the packets can be delivered to its destination along its own, randomly chosen route, different from the routes of other packets. Of course, the original numbering of the packets guarantees that they are compiled at the place of reception in the correct sequence corresponding to the original message. However, the difference in delivery routes always leads to a difference in the delays of packets when they are distributed over the Internet. In the case of e-mail messages (which also uses the packet transmission method), this will only slightly (no more than a few seconds) increase the total message transmission time, which will not affect the quality of its reception. But such a delay is unacceptable when transmitting a voice message in the course of a dialogue. Attempts to restore the original message with uncontrolled differences in the delay time of individual packets cause systematic short-term loss of sound, which drastically reduces speech intelligibility.

This phenomenon can be prevented by increasing bandwidth Internet channels, i.e. use of channels with a higher information transfer rate. However, this will inevitably increase the cost of using the Internet. those. the disappearance of the main advantage of such a telephony method. To overcome this drawback will allow the development of new, more effective methods transmission of packet messages with guaranteed quality of packet delivery.

Most of the software and hardware tools offered by firms implement functions that go beyond the scope of telephone communication itself. So, along with the voice transmission function, the following are offered: answering machine services; services voice mail (file transfer, containing a short voice message, similar to the voice pager mode); photo display on screen caller before connecting with him; the possibility of holding multilateral text teleconferences; real-time exchange of text messages entered from the keyboard of computers; sending pre-prepared files of any type (text, graphics, including electronic copies of documents) during the conversation; sharing screen space for the preparation and discussion of various text and graphic documents.

On fig. 3 as an example shows the main menu of the CoolTalk system with the opened window for dialing the address of the called subscriber. In this case, it is possible to set both the e-mail address of the called party and the unique address of this computer on the Internet (the so-called IP address).

After connecting, a picture of the called party appears in the main CoolTalk window (Fig. 3). Each CoolTalk user enters an electronic copy of his photo and his personal data into the PC in advance during the installation of the corresponding program on the PC. (Receiving an electronic copy of a photo is similar to receiving electronic copy any document described above.)

Fig 3 Window for dialing the address of the called subscriber in the CooITalk system

Figure 4 also shows a window for real-time discussions with the input of text messages from the keyboard in the CooITalk system. The need to use this mode arises, for example, if you want to record the most important parts of a telephone conversation or if the voice quality is significantly reduced.

The messages of each of the participants in the conversation are indicated in the window (Fig. 4) by indicating the e-mail address of the corresponding participant. The considered mode of discussions is implemented simultaneously with a telephone conversation.

A significant expansion of the functions of computer telephony systems is associated with the use of the so-called virtual classroom whiteboard, or "working board" (White Board), which in many cases is one of the main tools for real meetings, seminars, and discussions.

Fig 4. CooITalk discussion window

"Working Board" allows you to draw by hand, make drawings, make notes of any kind in any part of the workspace. On fig. Figure 5 shows a view of the CooITalk workboard. The working area is framed by icons that allow you to select the desired mode (drawing by hand, image of standard geometric shapes, setting the remote pointer, choosing the thickness and color of the lines, etc.). An important function of the workboard is to create text files when they are simultaneously edited by both participants of the communication session, as well as joint viewing of text and graphic files copied from PC memory.

As in real meetings or seminars, if you need to display additional illustrative materials on the classroom board, the whiteboard mode allows you to capture an image from any area of the PC monitor screen. So, simultaneously with the "working board" you can call up on the screen an image of an object received from the Internet, and move it to the "working board". In Fig. 5, the discussed block diagram is made up of symbolic drawings captured directly on the "desktop" of the computer, i.e. on the standard screen when using operating system Windows 95 and up.

Rice. 5. CoolTalk Workboard

An example of a CoolTalk "workboard" in fig. 5 illustrates only some additional features offered by computer telephony systems.

Thus, in situations requiring discussion by business partners, it is possible to use a wide variety of technical means that implement the communication process with low distortion, high speed of information exchange and a sufficient degree of confidentiality. However, the novelty and complexity of such devices determine their high cost, as a result of which they will be available only to a circle of consumers with certain financial capabilities.

Computer facilitiescollective work v networks

Sean B. Yeom

1. Introduction

2. History and development of the issue

3. Software collaboration communication

4. Collaboration software to support information storage and retrieval

5. Teamwork Software for Decision Support

6. The future of computer systems supporting teamwork

Overview

In connection with the improvement of data communication, the main goal of automated information systems today is to help groups of cooperating individuals overcome temporal and spatial barriers. "Collaborative software" is a general term for information systems that enable a group of people to carry out collaborative activities, such as creating new products, writing project reports, developing computer software, making decisions, etc. Such networks, designed not only for collaboration, but also for the acquisition of knowledge, often referred to as “computer collaboration tools on the network.” They can also be considered as an academic discipline that includes many disciplines that study the impact of computing and related technologies on behavior and group performance, and the processes of designing, developing, and implementing information systems to support groups of people working together.This discipline is based on computer science, cognitive science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, ethnography, organizational behavior, and management information systems.

1. Introduction

At the dawn of an era computer science the use of information technology was focused on increasing the productivity of individual employees. With the advent of telecommunications technology, the emphasis in the application of information technology has shifted towards helping individuals working together, as well as the organization as a whole. According to Foreman (Forman, 1998), as of 1998, the estimated number of network software users exceeded 43 million, indicating an increase in their number (approximately 20 million users lotus N o tes/ Domino, 10.4 million users nowell`s GroupWise and 13 million users Microsoft Exchange).

Computer systems support collectivework and software security collective use

The term "computer-based network collaboration" is often used alongside the term "computer-based collaboration." According to Johansen ( Johansen, 1998), the term "computer-based collaboration" is used as a synonym for the terms " software for collective use”, “team work software”, “technological support for working group”, “collective decision support systems”, “collective automated work”, “collaborative automated work”, “computer-assisted communications”, “expanded knowledge workshop” - ( augmented knowledge workshop- an electronic space in which the production and reproduction of knowledge is carried out, from searching for the necessary sources to publishing works and discussing the results, "automated collaboration", "groups with computer support" and "flexible interactive technologies for the implementation of collective tasks". However, there seems to be agreement that the term "shareware" is generic for information systems intended for workgroups. "Sharing software" is a general term for information systems that enable a group of collaborating individuals to carry out joint activities - create new products, write project reports, develop computer software, make decisions, etc. This group of collaborating individuals , overcoming time and space barriers, not only carrying out labor activities, but also expanding the scope of their knowledge, is often called the term "team working together on the basis of computers."

Shared software allows a group of individuals working together to carry out joint actions to achieve set goals by facilitating communication, sharing data and information, and improving decision-making. Computer-based collaborative teams are often classified according to the features of the software they work with:

Shared software for communications management;

Shared use software to ensure the process of use general information;

Shared use software for decision support.

Computer systems supporting teamwork as an academic discipline

Computer networking can also be viewed as an academic discipline that includes many disciplines that study the impact of computing and related technologies on the behavior and performance of a group, as well as the processes of designing, developing and implementing information systems to support a group of people, workers together. The discipline "Computer tools for collective work in a network" is based on such disciplines as computer science, cognitive science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, ethnography, organizational behavior and Information Systems management. As with any kind of information system, computer-based collaboration systems include hardware, software, data, procedures, and people. Working with other people inevitably entails networking, sharing data and information, and solving problems together. To make this possible, users' computers must be connected to a local area network or office telephone network, which can be connected to global networks and the Internet. This is the fundamental difference between individual information systems and information systems for working groups.

2. Story and development question

Many of the people who pioneered computer technology dreamed of using computers to support groups of cooperative workers. Doug Engelbart ( Doug Engelbart) was one of them. He predicted that the computers of the future would be able to push the boundaries of human intelligence "through cooperation based on and with the help of new technologies". His advanced knowledge workshop lab worked on some of the fundamental questions that are essential to understanding computer collaboration systems. These include dialogue and recording, teleconferencing, documentation sharing, scheduling, shared databases, and multimedia contacts ( Johansen, 1988). The two most widely used components of community software (e-mail and computer conferencing) emerged in the 1970s. In the 1980s we have seen the emergence of key computer-based collaboration terms and ideas such as shared software, shared decision support systems, computer-based collaboration, and teleconferencing. At present, support systems for groups and electronic systems meetings are considered to be the most important components of decision support systems. The reader can find a brief history of this question and part 1 of Grif's book ( Grief, 1988) and chapter 1 of Johansen's book ( Johansen, 1988).

3. Communication collaboration software

Email

Electronic mail (e-mail) is the most widespread and most successful form of communication software for community use. Anyone with an e-mail address can send e-mails to any other person who also has an e-mail address, to any computer connected to the network and anywhere in the world. With email software such as Eudora Pro, you can compose and attach email messages. The attachment function is used to send documents of any type by mail, for example text documents, spreadsheets, images, database files, etc.

Text Filter Software. This group of technologies extends the capabilities of email through the use of artificial intelligence to assist the user in structuring, directing, and filtering messages. The need for these services is due to the fact that the amount of mail that is almost or not needed by the user is constantly growing. Filtering software can ensure that only personalized messages containing news that are important to them are delivered to users, and it also helps users find the information they need in their decision-making process. Messages can be filtered in order not to interrupt the work of group members by reading unnecessary messages ( Malone et al. 1989).

Computer based conferencing systems

Computer-based conferencing systems enable a group of people working together to share their opinions, ideas, or information in discussing an issue, overcoming temporal and spatial barriers. When the group of people who need to take part in the conference cannot meet at the same time in a certain place, the traditional face-to-face meeting cannot be held. There are currently many varieties of conferencing systems, including computer conferencing (meetings conducted via e-mail), desktop conferencing, teleconferencing, video conferencing, and multimedia conferencing.

Computer forums are a type of e-mail where messages are organized by topic, and dialogues are often organized by a moderator. A computer conferencing system, also known as an asynchronous meeting system, can be used to exchange information on a given topic when face-to-face meetings are not necessary or difficult. The use of this system allows you to save time and money, which are usually spent in cash meetings and travel. Alternatives to asynchronous computer conferencing are interactive real-time (synchronous) computer conferencing and videoconferencing, which avoid the disadvantages of asynchronous conferencing (lack of simultaneity). Teleconferencing systems or multimedia conferencing systems allow participants in different locations to see and hear each other using audio and video devices.

PC-based conferencing systems are a type of real-time, computer-based conferencing systems designed for individual participants to negotiate with other participants located in different locations, while teleconferencing involves negotiations by a group of participants, located in a specially equipped room, with similar groups of people located in other places. The teleconferencing room is equipped with a large shared screen and a dedicated channel. An important feature of synchronous collaborative systems, such as a PC conferencing system, is that the system must have the means to display a common software application window for an individual user on a large number of personal computers or workstations, and to , in order to provide information input from any personal computer or workstation, which would simultaneously be input information for all computers participating in the conference. In addition to a personal computer, the required hardware includes a microphone and loudspeaker, as well as a camera and a video monitor. Each of the participants sees a common area (a shared area designed for collaboration), where each of the participants is presented with the same information (“what I see, you see”), as well as their own personal workspace, containing an individual window. software application. Intel Corp. released a complete video conferencing system, TeamStation 4.0, based on the Pentium II processor and running on the Windows NT 4.0 operating system. This dedicated room video conferencing system provides users with a wide range of hardware and software, such as a duplex speakerphone, wireless keyboard and mouse, auto-tracking camera, high resolution multimedia monitor. All of these are designed for use on integrated services digital networks (ISDN) and local area networks. The TeamStation system can provide a frame rate of 30 frames per second ( Santoni, 1998).

Collective registration documentation, planning, registration graphic materials

Collective execution of documentation (group development of documentation) is the creation of documentation simultaneously by a group of employees. Using the system for collective documentation allows each member of the working group to create and edit their own sections of any documents (for example, project proposals, committee meeting reports, brochures, documentation created using information systems, etc.) , which may include text, graphics, spreadsheets, and so on. The hardware for this system includes a file server to which the workgroup's personal computers are connected. All the documentation of the group is concentrated on it. A file server is a computer that is part of a local network and manages a database located on its hard drive. For a group to co-create documents, specialized software is needed to allow individuals to locate documents.

4. Collaboration software to support information storage and retrieval

Database Management Systems for Workgroups (DBMS for Workgroups)

Information storage and retrieval are fundamental functions of automated information systems. Data is stored on secondary storage devices, such as a hard disk, using several hierarchical levels of data: bit, byte, field, record, file, and database. Data is raw information that is collected internal divisions organization, such as a sales department or a manufacturing department. Full information about any client is stored as a record, which has a structured format. This means that each record contains certain fields of a given length, such as last name, first name, middle name, address, state, zip code, phone number, and so on. A collection of records (for example, records for each customer) is a file. A collection of grouped and interconnected files is a database. A workgroup DBMS is software for managing (inputting, updating, organizing, querying, reporting, etc.) databases. DBMS like Microsoft Access, Microsoft foxbase, dBase etc. can be used by one person or by a group of people. The difference between workgroup DBMS and individual DBMS is that workgroup DBMS controls data sharing. To see how two or more users can process the same information at the same time (or at different times), the reader is advised to refer to the book by Krönke and Hutch ( Kroenke. & Hatch, 1994).

Office automation systems

Computer-based collaboration tools, such as e-mail with attachments, can be used to improve office workflow. Application programs office automation covers all kinds of issues related to the activities of the office, which must be studied and accepted for execution, and also require the approval of certain persons, such as foreman, manager, vice president, etc. To modernize and speed up processing document, many activities, such as approving a travel expense financial statement or processing orders, can be performed by office automation systems.

Planning the activities of working groups (drawing up the agenda of working groups)

Planning systems for workgroups make it easy to plan their daily, weekly and long-term activities. By working with a shared database and scheduling software, an organization can minimize team members' scheduling overlaps.

Text database systems for open workgroups

Text database systems for open workgroups are an efficient way to access unstructured text data held in memory for storing organizational materials. An organization's storage space (or open database) is a collection of textual data obtained from electronic messages, bulletin boards, and community conferencing systems. If the memory contains text data that reflects the activities of a group, it is often referred to as group memory. This is an important corporate resource that can be used when solving problems, working with clients, and in other cases. For example, in order to answer a customer's question regarding the malfunctioning of a purchased item, a customer service representative can look up information from a shared text database and find a suitable solution.

When storing text data effective way systematization of very large amounts of information is hypertext. The use of hypertext provides users with quick and convenient access to information contained in large documents. Page from the World Wide Web good example a document organized using hypertext. Hypertext sharing allows people to conduct a session of distributed work in real time. With the help of hypertext sharing, a group of users distributed in space and working together can simultaneously view and edit various elements of hypertext. User actions are immediately displayed on the displays of all participants who have chosen to work in the interaction mode with a strong connection. If a user selects a loosely coupled interaction mode, they can take some action that is not immediately visible to others.

Lotus Notes is the leader among software for use open bases data through the organization's computer networks. Lotus Notes has a lot of important features. Unlike conventional databases such as Microsoft Excel, dBase or foxbase, data banks Lotus Notes store documents that contain graphic data, spreadsheets, textual information, etc. in the form of a single record. What's more, this software is compatible with many popular text editors, spreadsheet programs, and graphics packages for a personal computer. lotus notes can work under different operating systems and with different hardware. It can be used when working on any computers with OS/2 operating systems, Windows or Unix, as well as some popular network operating systems, including Novell, Banyan and IBM. Compatibility lotus notes simplifies the process of sharing information and collaboration among users in large organizations around the world.

5. Teamwork Software for Decision Support

Spreadsheet software for workgroups

Spreadsheet collaborators are a type of collaborative software designed to provide large-scale spreadsheet analysis in multi-level organizations consisting of departments, divisions, and a central office. Monthly sales reports are generated by each department in a specific format using a company-wide standard template. The template contains the same number of dependent and independent variables of the standard type and a formula that defines the relationship between them. Sales reports submitted by all sales departments can be combined into a set of spreadsheets for each division (for example, East, West, North, and South), which in turn can be part of a single company-wide spreadsheet.

Working group project management

Project management is concerned with planning, scheduling, overseeing and controlling project activities and managing the funds needed to do so. The development of a new product or the design and commissioning of new manufacturing facilities are examples of complex projects that consist of many individual tasks (sometimes more than ten thousand) carried out by many different departments (engineering department, purchasing department, production department, etc.) and separate individuals. The goal of project management is to complete the project on time, without any delay. There are a large number of software packages devoted to management methods that help plan up to several thousand activities and are designed to help the manager concentrate on managing critical activities. Project management information systems have a graphical user interface and allow managers to better plan and coordinate the diverse activities of a large number of departments. By sharing project plans and related information stored on a file server, the system makes all departments of the organization aware of the degree of dependency of each ongoing task on others and thus contributes to the timely completion of the project.

There are many for sale commercial products such as Team Manager 97 from Microsoft Corporation, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange and Livelink Intranet (version 8) from Open Text Corporation. They can be used to monitor and report staff on project progress and completion.

Group decision support systems, group support systems, electronic meeting systems

Decision support systems are a kind of automated information systems. Only in the 1970s. scientists have drawn attention to the important role played by automated information systems in supporting managers and their partially structured or not at all structured decision-making activities. The concept of group decision support systems is based on the concept of decision support systems (see DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS). Since the 1980s much attention is paid to everything related to group decision support systems. A group decision support system is "an interactive automated system that facilitates decision making on unstructured issues by individuals working collaboratively as a group" ( De-Sanctis & Gallupe, 1985). Group decision support requires additional specialized hardware, software, human resources, data, and procedures. Each member of the group has a personal computer or workstation, which is connected to the personal computers of other group members, as well as to one or more large public screens so that each of the group members can see the information entered by others. Team decision making software must support specialized features such as anonymous input of user ideas and comments, listing of user inputs, voting, ranking of alternative solutions and their display. The human component of group decision support systems includes a group moderator who conducts the session and is a kind of liaison between the group and the computer system.

In the early 1990s the concept of group support systems appeared, which gave a more general view of meeting the needs of working groups in decision support and communications. Group support systems are called automated information systems used to support joint intellectual work ( Jessup & Valcich, 1993). This definition of group support systems implies that they enable communication, information sharing and retrieval, and decision-making activities. Dennis and others ( Dennis et al, 1988) defined the term "electronic meeting systems" as they considered generic, to include the terms "group decision support systems", "team support systems" and "computer networking tools":

An information technology (IT) based environment that supports group meetings that can be distributed both in time and space. The IT environment includes (but is not limited to) distributed hardware, software, hardware, audio and video equipment, procedures, practices, aids, and data necessary for the team to operate. Team tasks include, but are not limited to, communication, problem solving, discussion of emerging issues, negotiation, conflict resolution, system analysis and design, and team activities such as document preparation and sharing.

Although researchers in the field of computer networking tools and electronic meeting systems seem to agree that the two classes of systems are similar in many ways, they may disagree on a more general term. Researchers in the field of computer collaboration tools on the network consider that the term "computer-based collaboration" is broader and includes electronic meeting systems, while Dennis et al. ( Dennis et al, 1988) present their opinion that electronic meeting systems include computer networking tools as a subsystem. More recently, there have been reports that many collaborative decision support programs have been developed that cover strategic planning, quality management, reengineering, augmenting the knowledge of multiple experts, distributed group decision making involving enough a large number participants (from tens to hundreds), developing national economic policies and accelerating the creation of terms of reference in the system development process ( Earn, 1998).

6. Future computer systemssupport collective work

Web based collaboration software products. More and more large quantity community software will be inextricably linked with Internet technologies. The World Wide Web is becoming a particularly important platform for the next generation of shared application software. Software products for collective use combine an increasing number of Internet protocols. Such products include, for example, Domino from Iotus Development or Microsoft Exchange from Microsoft. Expected in the next version Microsoft office the boundaries between the World Wide Web and software for shared use will be completely erased. Internet collaboration software is expected to account for one-third of the collaboration software market in 2000 (estimated at bln 82) due to the fact that it is not subject to restrictions associated with the use of firewalls (hardware and software protection) in large systems using community software, as well as due to the ease of its installation and use ( Coperland, 1998).

There is a process of integration of synchronous and asynchronous communication systems. According to Hibbard ( Hibbard, 1998), companies engaged in the development of software for collective use (for example, Lotus, Microsoft) are acquiring real-time conferencing technology companies to incorporate this technology into their asynchronous communications software products. In the very near future, community software will combine both synchronous (simultaneous) and asynchronous store-and-forward technologies on a single server. Using new synchronous collaboration technology, team members can see a list of team members who are viewing a web page at the same time, as well as open a spreadsheet or document and edit it together in real time. The changes you make will be visible to all members of the working group at the same time.

The advent of software for large workgroups. Collaboration software was originally designed to increase the productivity of workgroups within an organization. There is an emerging trend for many companies to use shared software to improve business collaboration (i.e., collaboration between a company, its customers, and suppliers) via intranets (Internet-based intranets. An intranet is a private corporate network using software products and technologies of the Internet) (company internal networks) and extranets (external networks based on Internet technologies, an Extranet is an extension of an organization's intranet outside the organization on the Internet for those users who have special permission to access intranet materials) (continued intranets built on the World Wide Web to facilitate communication with the company's suppliers and customers). Some companies are already using intranet-based large workgroup software (workgroups that include business partners such as customers and suppliers) to automate the procurement process. Large workgroup software includes email and workflow management software based on business policies and practices. There is a perception that EDI will be superseded by large workgroup software as it is easier to use and maintain ( Adhikjari, 1998).

Extension software ensure collective usebefore level management knowledge

Many companies are leaders in the field of community software development, such as Lotus, Microsoft and Novell, expand the functions of the software for collective use to the level of knowledge management. Their goal is to shift the focus to the area of such database work, when asking questions and looking for answers. Knowledge management is an activity associated with the provision and processing of knowledge (in the form of descriptions, in the form of procedures and in the form of reasoning). Knowledge management techniques include text management, form management, database management, spreadsheet analysis, policy management, report generation, etc. The application of these techniques aims to use various databases: Lotus Notes, relational databases data and file systems. Users can search all of these databases at once. Shared-use software allows a company to automatically organize indexed documents by topic, including full-text indexing of all types of emails, documents, tasks, and plan items.

SeanV. Efrom
Southeast Missouri State University

Almost all services offer a free trial period during which you can try the product in action.

Of the Russian services, one can note Megaplan, teamtools.ru, the service for interaction in the process of developing graphic materials TheCommentor, task managers Planaria and Task.ly (task management), as well as The Comindwork.

There are systems that are fully focused on working with clients and a contact database (CRM). Among them is the well-known Salesforce. In addition to this service, Solve360, Highrise, BantamLive, etc. can be noted.

If the company is not yet ready to integrate itself so strongly into the Internet, then you can try to introduce individual services that Google offers into the workflow. For example, Google Groups allows you to create a separate mailing list for the marketing department.

“We use this tool to quickly discuss new industry events together, putting only one e-mail in the address bar, without fear of missing anyone! This saves a lot of time when making decisions,” says Andrey Talalaev, specialist in online promotion of the Ingria technopark business incubator.

Google Services Spreadsheets and Docs will help you keep timelines and edit important documents with simultaneous access for all employees. And by the way, these documents will not be lost and will be available from anywhere in the world where there is Internet access.

Many companies - residents of the business incubator "Ingria" successfully use teamwork services. Mikhail Zakharenkov, founder and CEO of Exteer, uses the Megaplan system, Nikita Kabardin, director of Binza Games, uses Basecamp and Dropbox, and Danis Suleimanov, head of the 2Nova agency, actively uses Redmine, Google Docs, and PB Wiki.

The possibility of conducting telephone conversations over a global computer network between any part of the world has attracted the attention of almost all companies developing software and hardware for modern personal computers (PCs). This method of telephony seems to be cheaper than those discussed above, since in this case it is only necessary to pay for the use of the Internet during a telephone conversation. In the case of long-distance and even more so international calls, this can be significantly lower than the price for a regular telephone.

Examples of a software product that supports computer telephony on the Internet are CoolTalk (Netscape company), Internet Connection Phone (IBM company), Internet Phone (Intel company), etc. As a rule, modern products of this type require the use of standard PC audio hardware - a sound card today it comes with almost every PC), microphone, speakers or headphones. The voice message enters the PC through a microphone connected to the computer's sound card and undergoes analog-to-digital conversion (as in digital telephony) with significant volume compression without loss useful information. After that, the received sequence of digital characters is divided into separate groups, called a data packet, each of which is supplied with its serial number and the recipient's PC email address. The received data packets are sent one after another to the Internet computer network. In the PC of the recipient of information, the original sequence is again compiled from the received packets, and after digital-to-analog conversion, the original voice message is restored.

This phenomenon can be prevented by increasing the bandwidth of Internet channels, i.e. use of channels with a higher information transfer rate. However, this will inevitably increase the cost of using the Internet. those. the disappearance of the main advantage of such a telephony method. This drawback can be overcome by the development of new, more efficient methods for transmitting packet messages with a guaranteed quality of packet delivery.

Most of the software and hardware tools offered by firms implement functions that go significantly beyond the scope of the actual telephone communication. So, along with the voice transmission function, the following are offered: answering machine services; voice mail services (sending a file containing a short voice message, similar to the voice pager mode); displaying a photo of the caller on the monitor screen before connecting with him; the possibility of holding multilateral text teleconferences; real-time exchange of text messages entered from the keyboard of computers; sending pre-prepared files of any type (text, graphics, including electronic copies of documents) during the conversation; sharing screen space for preparing and discussing various text and graphic documents.

On fig. As an example, Figure 3 shows the main menu of the CoolTalk system with the window opened for dialing the called party's address. In this case, it is possible to set both the e-mail address of the called party and the unique address of this computer on the Internet (the so-called IP address).

After connecting, a picture of the called party appears in the main CoolTalk window (Fig. 3). Each CoolTalk user enters an electronic copy of his photo and his personal data into the PC in advance during the installation of the corresponding program on the PC. (Obtaining an electronic copy of a photograph is similar to obtaining an electronic copy of any document described above.)

Fig 3 Window for dialing the address of the called subscriber in the CooITalk system

Figure 4 also shows a real-time discussion window with the input text messages from the keyboard in the CooITalk system The need to use this mode arises, for example, if you want to record the most important parts of a telephone conversation or if the quality of voice transmission is significantly reduced.

Fig 4. CooITalk discussion window

"Working Board" allows you to draw by hand, make drawings, make notes of any kind in any part of the workspace. On fig. Figure 5 shows a view of the CooITalk workboard. The workspace is framed by icons that allow you to select the desired mode (drawing by hand, drawing standard geometric shapes, setting a remote pointer, choosing the thickness and color of lines, etc.). An important function of the working board is the creation of text files when they are simultaneously edited by both participants in the communication session, as well as joint viewing of text and graphic files copied from the PC memory.

Rice. 5. CoolTalk Workboard

An example of a CoolTalk "workboard" in fig. 5 illustrates only some of the additional features offered by computer telephony systems.

Thus, in situations requiring discussion by business partners, it is possible to use a wide variety of technical means, realizing the process of communication with low distortion, high speed of information exchange and a sufficient degree of confidentiality. However, the novelty and complexity of such devices determine their high cost, as a result of which they will be available only to a circle of consumers with certain financial capabilities.

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