A couple of years ago I wrote a post outlining many of the tools we are using to run the business, work with clients and build websites. Of course a lot has changed since then. I'm always interested in what others are using, so hopefully some of you folks can benefit from this updated list.

By far my favorite app, the one that's most crucial to our work every day, is Dropbox. It stores all my files securely online, keeps backups and previous versions automatically, syncs everything across computers and even on my iPhone, allows me to share files and folders with my partners and does it all incredibly well without getting in the way.

Utilities

1Password (Mac/iPhone/Browser Plug-ins)

1Password is a useful application for keeping track of your logins/passwords. It makes great use of browser plug-ins to add new logins and sign you in quickly to sites it knows about.

Fluid (Mac)

This SSB (site-specific browser) allows you to use web apps like desktop apps, giving them a separate icon in your applications folder so it works independently of other apps. It's great to use for your favorite web apps.

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M (Hardware and Mac)

This is the best document scanner you will ever own. It's so awesome that I got the small version for home and highly recommend both.

Pixel Tracker (Mac)

This app is incredibly useful when you need to find a hex value fast.

Snapz Pro X (Mac)

Very handy application for taking photos and videos of your screen

Creative

Sharpie and Paper

All our wireframes start with a blank sheet of paper and a sharpie! I recommend the Dot Grid Book for sketching.

OmniGraffle (Mac)

I create sitemaps using OmniGraffle, and sometimes wireframes if the project demands it. However, we prefer not to get more specific than the paper/sharpie method whenever possible.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 (Mac)

We use Fireworks, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and the Media Encoder regularly.

Code

Textmate (Mac)

Text editor that's fantastic for coding, and I also prefer to blog/write using it

Textmate Zen Coding Bundles (Mac)

I recently started using this super cool bundle that makes writing HTML and CSS 100% faster using abbreviations and snippets. This article should get you started.

DiffMerge (Mac)

This is a free tool for comparing files and finding differences between the them.

Transmit (Mac)

Great FTP client, easy and reliable

Versions (Mac)

Beautifully designed subversion client, love it

Communication

Adium (Mac)

Great little open source instant messaging client that supports any well-known provider (AIM, Yahoo, gTalk, etc.)

Skype (Mac/PC/iPhone)

Skype is a swell app for VOIP phone calls and chat

Mail/iCal/Address Book (Mac)

They are not perfect, but I prefer the default OSX tools for email, calendar and contacts. I especially love the Letterbox Plug-in for mail.

CoTweet (Web App)

CoTweet is great for companies that have numerous people managing one twitter account.

Tweetie (Mac/iPhone)

Great twitter client, beautiful UI for both the Mac and iPhone

GoToMeeting (Mac/Web App)

We use this as a conference call number and also for client demos of all sorts.

Twuffer (Web App)

This is a nice little application to schedule tweets for the future.

Productivity

Evernote (Mac/iPhone)

I store all kinds of notes in this program, along with categorized bookmarks. If I don't know of a place to put or remember something, it goes in Evernote.

OmniFocus (Mac/iPhone)

EVERY task goes through this app, as I swear by the GTD methodology.

Behance Action Notebook

Great paper tool for taking notes in meetings and so forth

Financial

iBiz (Mac)

All our time tracking and invoicing takes place in this app. The clincher for us is creative control over the template design using HTML/CSS.

Quickbooks 2008 (Windows)

I'm looking for a reason to ditch Quickbooks, so I am not going to link it up here. It's just tough to find a system that is CPA-friendly and has the advanced features we use.

Ubersmith (Web App)

All recurring and credit/debit card billing goes through this system. It's primarily built for hosting providers, but we know the developers of this software and enjoy using it.

Firefox Plug-ins

Firebug

THE web developer tool of choice!

YSlow

Great firebug extension that helps developers optimize pages for speed, according to Yahoo's best practices

Google Page Speed

Another firebug extension that is great for optimizing and measuring web page loading time

Feedly

If you use Google Reader, Feedly is a sweet little tool that structures your feeds more like a newspaper. Sometimes I prefer using this instead of the reader interface. Cool idea!

MeasureIt

Simple little tool to measure the pixels on a web page

Screengrab

Neat tool for taking a full page screenshot, no matter how long the web page is

Xmarks

Sync your bookmarks across browsers and computers, or even view them online

Web Developer Toolbar

Lots of very useful tools for analyzing and building websites

Website Optimization and Monitoring

Clicktale (Web App)

This is a truly awesome tool where you can watch videos of people using your website and see very useful analytics. It's a great form of user testing because it is cheap and users don't know they are being monitored.

Crazy Egg (Web App)

A great way to visualize how visitors are interacting with individual pages on your website

Google Website Optimizer (Web App)

Comprehensive tool for doing A/B or multi-variate testing on your website

Google Analytics (Web App)

Definitely the most popular analytics platform, and you can't argue with the price

Pingdom (Web App)

Uptime and performance monitoring, which notifies us immediately via email and/or SMS the moment anything is funky on one of our servers

Linkpatch (Web App)

Our team created Linkpatch, and we use it to watch for broken links on our websites. If someone encounters a broken link on the website, we get an email with all the information necessary to fix the problem.

Other Apps

MailChimp (Web App)

We recommend this service to ALL our clients for email newsletters and marketing, they rock

Google Reader (Web App)

Really useful feed reader

Feed My Inbox (Email/Web App)

We created Feed My Inbox, which you can use to subscribe via email to any feed. It's very handy for people that don't use feed readers and want an easy way to follow their favorite sites.

MyFax (Web App)

I've never owned a fax machine, so this application gives me a number by which I can easily send/receive faxes via email.

Survs (Web App)

My very favorite way to conduct online surveys

Tripit (Web App/iPhone)

Automatically organizes your trip itenerary

After nearly two months without a post on this blog, I'm pleased to come out of hibernation this week. One of the reasons I was unable to make time for blogging recently is because my spare time has been dedicated to a side project that we launched about 3 weeks ago.

Our team is never short on inspiration or ideas for the web, and our outlet is a little software company called Brightwurks. Linkpatch is the name of our second web application, and it is our way of solving a problem we deal with every day at Project83.

One of the more frustrating things a user can run into on the web is a broken link. Often times, it leaves the user stuck, forcing them to wander the site aimlessly looking for what they need, or become frustrated and go elsewhere.

We do a number of things when launching a website to minimize dead ends like that. We always check the site for broken links between internal pages, and setup redirects (when applicable) from any old URLs to the appropriate location on the new site.

While most geeks stop there, I don't believe that's enough. There aren't any tools that are constantly watching, monitoring when and why people run into a broken link on your site. If another website is linking to your website, but the URL is broken or out-of-date, you have no way of knowing ... until Linkpatch.

The idea behind Linkpatch is simple. It is a small script that is always watching your website's error pages. If a user ends up on an error page as the result of a broken link, the script records all kinds of information about what happened, and sends an email to the webmaster so it can be fixed.

Linkpatch has been an incredible resource, as we have been using it internally for quite some time. We have it installed on many of our websites, and if a user or customer runs into an issue, we're able to diagnose and fix it very quickly. If we make a mistake in building the site, Linkpatch usually lets us know before the client does.

Here are just a few of the uses we have had for Linkpatch recently:

• One of the URLs in a recent client newsletter had a typo. We were able to add in a redirect from the misspelled URL to the correct one.
• The shopping cart page on a client site was broken after a recent update, and Linkpatch found it very quickly.
• Links from blogs, twitter, search engines and affiliate websites that were all wrong or out-of-date were able to be caught and corrected within minutes after the first sign of an error.

Linkpatch has definitely been a big help to us in keeping our client websites error-free. We think other webmasters and web design shops will enjoy it too. Feel free to check out the site if it sounds appealing, and we always welcome any feedback. For the next 2 days, you can get a free 5-site Linkpatch account for mentioning the app on twitter. Check out this page for more info.

By nature I am not an early technology adopter. I purchased my first iPhone just last week, and only started twittering about 5 months ago. However, due to utter frustration with traditional phone companies, I tried Ooma very early.

Ooma is a Palo Alto startup with hopes of changing home phone service for the better. Buy the hardware (an Ooma Hub and Ooma Scout @ $229.99) and enjoy free phone service for life. No bills, no surcharges, absolutely free phone service. It uses VOIP (Voice over IP), so all you need is broadband internet service.

They have two things going for them that are game changers in my opinion: the business model and the product. Ooma does both incredibly well.

The business model is obvious. Who can argue with free phone service after paying a one-time price? They also have a service called Ooma Premier that I will use, at $99/year. It simply adds some additional features and capabilities that are well worth it, and by the way have never been available with traditional phone service providers. For a full list of the great features out of the box and with Premier visit http://www.ooma.com/learn/ooma_features.php.

The physical product is very well done, and no other mainstream VOIP companies have figured this part out. The design and packaging is Apple-esque and ease of use is refreshingly simple. You can access multiple lines, voicemail and phone settings, all from 8 little buttons on each unit. The scout and hub work with any normal phone, too. From the web interface, you can access voicemail, add new numbers and more.

As for the actual service, this is no Vonage (which is a good thing). I had Vonage for a while, and it was really awful. I could never talk on the phone while uploading files, or even watch a streaming video, without the call breaking up or disconnecting all together.

Ooma has somehow figured out the dropped call thing. It's amazing, I have purposely tried to max it out by uploading big files and streaming a few videos at the same time, and the call is NEVER effected. The cute little blue light turns to red if service is interrupted, but that's never influenced by how much bandwidth you are using on your computer.

Right now my current setup is still with one traditional line for the business, and I have 2 Ooma lines (one business, one personal). I can access all 3 from one phone. Using the system is worry-free, and so is setup.

The really cool part is the Ooma Scout. One or multiple Scouts can be in any other room of the house/office, separate from the Hub. It does NOT require a direct internet connection. Simply connect the Scout to the phone, and to the phone jack (no router or modem required) and it works. Don't ask me how, but it does.

So what's the downside? The service has not quite caught fire yet, a little more than a year after launch. They are slowly making their way into retail stores and homes around the country. However, the startup is well funded (one investor being Ashton Kutcher, actually) and should come out on the other side.

I give Ooma an overwhelming recommendation for those out there looking to save money on phone service while enjoying an expanded feature set. My savings after Ooma expenses will be $570 in the first year, and $900/year after that.

"Summer Reading List" — those 3 words struck fear into my heart throughout grade school. However, now they take on a whole new meaning because I get to read what I want to read! As an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed geek (others tend to proclaim it for me as well), continuing education is the most important part of my work.

Here are some AMAZING reads that get my highest recommendation for your summer reading list ...

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question

QBQ is a message that so dearly needs to be heard in our culture. Everyone you know can benefit from this book. In less than 100 pages (about 2 hours beginning to end), Author John G. Miller will change the way you look at personal accountability. Learning from the principles in this book has had a profound impact on my personal AND professional life. I just finished reading it for the second time.

The Innovator's Dilemma

This is a "research" book from one of the world's foremost thinkers on innovation. I will warn you, I found myself re-reading about every other sentence. However, the principles and lessons learned in this book are beyond priceless.

Clayton M. Christensen studies various industries, and the disruptive innovations that eventually led to the demise of otherwise great companies (good management, good culture, etc.). The takeaways from this book completely changed my perspective about innovation, and how great companies sustain their edge.

Defensive Design for the Web

This "oldie but goodie" (published in 2004) from 37signals is one of the best books about web development available. They examine "best practices" in how to handle errors and things that go wrong on a website, something that deserves much more thought and consideration in our industry. Their definitive research walks through stuff like error pages, site help, form validation and search. Fantastic book, and for more from these guys, see Getting Real.

Mavericks at Work

I have only read about 25 pages of this book so far, but I know already that it has great wisdom for entrepreneurs. The title could not be more fitting, as it profiles companies that break the rules, and are winning BIG as a result. My biggest takeaway so far, which was first iterated in Built to Last, is that profits and competition don't drive great companies. Core ideology always rules, and the rest follows. It's a shame these kinds of companies are considered "mavericks" and are not more common.

Ever since receiving the gift of Netflix for Christmas (one of the best gifts ever), I have had the opportunity to see some incredible films I probably never would have seen otherwise. Two documentaries in particular have been both eye-opening and inspirational, a great investment of some weekend lounge time.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

In the economic climate of today, I'm sure this one is flying off the shelves. But I want to start by saying this movie was not what I expected. It tells an unbelievable story that most people have not heard. The story of GM's EV1, subsequent electric cars from other manufacturers and their eventual demise is tragic. But it IS a story everyone needs to see in order to bring about action with major auto companies and our government. The documentary has a happy ending, much of which is still being written today. Slowly, people are understanding that hydrogen is NOT the answer (probably never will be, duh), and electric cars have a place in the future of the automotive industry. Look no further than silicon valley startup Tesla Motors for proof of the amazing progress. Just this month, Hymotion released an unbelievable product to convert Toyota Prius models into plug-in hybrids, and in some cases TRIPLE the gas mileage. Google was one of the first companies to invest in and partner with Hymotion, with their RechargeIT project. Maybe someday our Prius will get one of those! There is a movement going on in the automotive industry, and this documentary has played an important role. Here is the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Hacking Democracy

Being in a computer-related field, the premiss behind this movie instantly peaked my interest. What would it be like to hack a voting machine? Is it possible? Has it ever been done? Most importantly, why aren't voting machines Macs? Surely the private companies that sell these machines and our government have the proper checks and balances in place to ever prevent a problem, right? The answer will floor you. I want to be clear that this movie is not a partisan bandwagon of sore losers from the 2000 Presidential Election, or any other one for that matter. It is quite simply an investigation into the practices of Diebold (nation's largest provider of voting machines), and how their fraud, corruption and stupidity has called into question NUMEROUS elections over the years. The makers of the film prove it, too. Truly amazing film for geeks and non-geeks alike, which is hopefully a call to action for local governments around the country to make a change. Here is the trailer:

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a beta for Dropbox. Like so many people, I have experimented with tons of various file sharing/storage applications, and most of them did not last half a day. Dropbox is not only the exception, but it has made my workflow and communication with our team fundamentally easier. Here are 3 of my favorite things about it:

2 Minutes to Setup and Start Syncing

Simple setup was the key to hooking me. It's mostly self-explanatory, and took less than 2 minutes for me to drag a bunch of files into my Dropbox and start the upload process. Within about 24 hours, I had 8GB of my files uploaded to Dropbox. Dropbox has already bailed me out in a serious way. A couple of weeks ago, prior to leaving for a week of work in New York and Austin, my powerbook stopped working completely. No power at all after 2 batteries and days of charging. I had to get a new MacBook (love it, by the way) in New York when we arrived. The first thing I did on my new computer was try to access all my important business files that I would need over the next week. Once I linked my account, I had the latest versions of all my files downloaded locally within 2 hours. WOW! Not only that, but when I got home and started up the desktop, it automatically downloaded the updated files from my laptop that were created or modified during the trip.

File Backup and Restoration

Another really great feature of Dropbox is that it constantly keeps backups of your files. Let's say you save the same file 5 times over 5 days. All 5 versions of the file would be available from the web interface, and it only takes one click to restore a prior version. This feature also bailed me out recently.

Super Simple Sharing

Sharing files and folders is also quite easy with Dropbox. From your desktop, simply right-click the folder you want to share, and Dropbox has sharing options in the contextual menu. This takes you to the web interface, where you can instantly share folders with other people that you specify. Sharing folders is also a nice way of providing your friends and family with Dropbox accounts rather than making them wait in line for the beta. In the last week, our team has gotten on board and is sharing files for projects and other work.

Obviously, Dropbox gets 5 stars from me. It's the way file sharing and storage always should have been. I can't wait for them to release plans with more storage space so I can ramp it up even further. You can visit their site to signup for the beta and also watch a cool video of the application in action.

Countless people around the world have fought and lost their lives in the name of democracy. Countries have been founded entirely upon the very ideals of freedom and democracy. Yet people around the world happily work in corporate dictatorships to this day. Have you ever wondered why there is such a disconnect? Ricardo Semler has. 

Ricardo Semler is one of the true business leaders and innovative thinkers of our time. He is a strong advocate of workplace democracy, and a true master of harnessing the wisdom of people to build a great company. Ask questions. Give up control. Trust the resourcefulness and intuition of people rather than asserting authority and following rules just for the sake of history. These are only some of the ideas Ricardo has brought to light in his company, called Semco.

At the age of 21, Ricardo took over the relatively small manufacturing company from his father. Semco had peaked at $4 million in revenues during his father's tenure. Ricardo immediately began asking questions about how and why things were done a certain way, and completely shook things up over the next two decades. Not only did Semco average 40% growth per year in a very unstable Brazilian economy, but in 1993 Semco revenues grew to $212 million. And Semco still enjoys great success, while fiercely protecting a democratic work environment with less than 1% employee turnover. It is considered one of the best companies in the world to work for, with literally thousands of applicants at any one time.

Here are just a few of the radical ideas implemented at Semco that brought such incredible success to their business:

• All meetings are optional, and attendees can come and go as they please. If no one shows up, then it is obviously not enough of a priority to warrant a meeting.
• Employees set their own schedules, and can work from home, or even a variety of remote offices.
• When hiring for any managerial position, qualified candidates are interviewed by the people that would be working for them. All hires are made through a lengthy process that is open to all employees.
• Company policies and major decisions are made collectively and democratically. Everyone gets one vote, no matter what their position in the company
• Many employees set their own salaries, and the company books are available for all employees to see. Semco even teaches classes to those that want to learn how to read the books.
• Employees on all levels are encouraged to rotate jobs and move into different roles or business units as often as every 6 months.

Most importantly, there is a method to the madness at Semco. His belief in some very foundational principles have resulted in radical change for the better, and organizations around the world now study his philosophies. The revenues are not nearly as impressive as the overall health and well-being of Semco today.

The Semco story is documented in two books by Ricardo Semler. Both are the most inspirational, life-changing books I have ever read. What I love about his writing is that it's not instructional � it's a way of life. It's a mindset that Semler masterfully writes about while telling the Semco story. He simply says, this is our story; now take these philosophies and apply them to your business in whatever ways make sense.

The first of the books is called Maverick! � The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace. It was first published in 1993. The book contains great anecdotes and ideas, all revolving around the Semco story and history. It is a fabulous introduction.

Ricardo Semler's second book (published in 2004), The Seven-Day Weekend, is the slightly better of the 2 in my opinion. I feel it is a little better organized, and digs much deeper into his mindset. It asks great questions, and adds even further insight about applying his philosophies to your own business and personal life. Get ready to read each paragraph in the book a couple times, because it takes a minute for some of it to really sink in. Powerful stuff.

Practical Applications

Through reading everything I can get my hands on by this incredible leader, I came away with 5 main ideas:

1. Give up Control

Building a company much larger than yourself or your ideals means giving up control, and trusting those around you. If you hire someone, then you should trust them enough to make good decisions and give them a say in everything that goes on.

2. The Power of Intuition

There is no technological innovation that is more intelligent than human intuition. All people should be encouraged to make decisions based on their own ingenuity and intuition. By-the-book thinking actually discourages intuition and free thinking, thus leaving companies stuck to their old business models and ineffective procedures.

3. What it Means to be a Catalyst

Ricardo Semler is a catalyst, and he makes that clear in the second of his books. He asks questions, most of them beginning with the word "why". He is constantly re-thinking the way they do things in his attempt to continue building a healthy company. He believes wholeheartedly in the process, so he never makes a decision on his own accord. Best of all, he leads by example, and constantly lives out the philosophies by which his company thrives.

4. Growth is not Synonymous with Success

The biggest companies are simply not the most successful companies. Companies that grow too fast get over-extended and don't do anything very well. There is something to be said for companies that learn to grow at the right pace. Mergers also prove that bigger is not better. Combining 2 large companies seldom results in greater success, especially for customers.

5. True Leadership

True leaders think of those that they lead first, rather than themselves. They trust the people they lead, and share openly and honestly with them to encourage two-way communication.

Additional Resources

Below is a collection of additional resources from Ricardo Semler, all of which are fantastic.

Why My Former Employees Still Work for Me - This is an article Ricardo wrote for the Harvard Business Review years back, that has some great insights. It's a good introduction into his writing and story.

Managing without Managers - Another Harvard Business Review article he wrote about the Semco management style and why it works.

Leading by Omission - This is an unbelievable talk that Ricardo Semler did at the MIT Sloan School of Management in 2005. His 48-minute talk is available by video or audio, and I would highly recommend watching or listening to it.

The SEMCO Survival Manual - This is the only set of written policies for the entire Semco family of companies. Printed out, it is less than 5 pages, and the original version in Portuguese is complete with cartoon drawings and illustrations. Pure genius.

Want a Copy of Maverick?

I have tried to order cases of each of Ricardo's books, but they are relatively hard to find, at least in the US. I was able to get numerous copies of Maverick! from a seller in the UK. Email me your story and why you feel like you need this book, and I will send out copies for the 2 best responses.

Those of us that work long hours in order to accomplish their to-do list each day are always looking for ways to save just 5 more minutes. One methodology that had a profound impact on my workflow a couple of years ago was the book, Getting things Done by David Allen. Disciples of David just call it GTD for short, and it's become quite a phenomenon. There are now seminars, blogs and now even software dedicated to putting the GTD methodology into practice. As of late, one piece of desktop software called iGTD was released by a guy named Bartek Bargiel. It's the most useful application I have, without a doubt. I have found it to be quick, easy to use and it is constantly being updated with new features. Best of all, it is currently offered for FREE (you can donate), although a commercial "Pro" version is in the works. If you don't have a Mac to install the software, shame on you, time to get one. Today I wanted to share 3 features of iGTD that help speed up my workflow and de-clutter:

Add Tasks Quickly from Anywhere

The time when I am most often coming up with new tasks and/or updates is when I check email. iGTD knows this, and helps me add items from Mail with one keystroke. When reading a message that requires action on your part, simply press F5. iGTD will open, add a new task with the subject line of the email as the default title, then will put the text of the email in the "task notes" so you don't have to refer back. Simply press one key and iGTD does the rest.

Not only can you add items from Mail, but you can add items at any time with one keystroke. Simply press F7 (this key can be customized in preferences) to bring up the "Quick Add" window. You can add your task, then get on with what you were doing without missing a beat. iGTD currently integrates with more than 25 applications on your Mac, so you can make use of it in a number of additional ways as well.

Dates

iGTD supports most any kind of date you wish to associate with a task. I personally use due dates a great deal when setting my schedule. You can also set a start date to a task, so that it does not show up as an active "to-do" until that date. Most importantly, you can setup recurring tasks. Let's say you want to pay bills on the 1st of every month, you can set iGTD up to recur that task each month. When you finish the task, simply check it off until it appears next month.

Flagging

One crucial thing to maintaining a productive workflow is planning. Each night before finishing with work, I go through EVERY project and make my to-do list for the next day. iGTD allows me to mark the tasks I want to accomplish by "flagging" them. The next morning I can instantly start my day by going down the list of flagged items without having to think twice.

The beauty of this application is that different people probably have 100 different uses for it. This is just how it's changed my workflow, and I look forward to learning more about the features to come in this great app. Download it today and get started!

This past Friday I was working with a client and did a Google search as I so often do. However, this time I saw a completely different design for my search results. I could not believe my eyes, Google actually used a gradient on their search results page!

I asked a couple of friends about it, and they could not seem to duplicate the screen I continue to see for my google search results. Then over the weekend I read an article on techcrunch that confirms my suspicions. All I can do is consider myself one of the lucky ones that google is using to test out their new search results design. I personally think it looks really cool. The only thing I am a little unsure of is the left column, where you can search your term in images, video, books, blogs and so forth. I am not sure it is worth taking up 167 pixels with that left column. Instead, I might consider working those options into the top. I am sure they have thought this through, it's just my first impression. I will be interested to see if/when they decide to launch this new design.

Would you like to see what the future of email looks like?

I think it looks a lot like an email product called Zimbra. Over the last year or so, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this highly acclaimed software. I had the opportunity to beta test it a while back, and officially made the switch this past week and absolutely love it. It will be compared to Exchange Server by many, but is already miles ahead of it in most categories.

Zimbra was developed for the linux platform, and is open source at the very core. Like exchange, it syncs your calendar, address book and email. If you use a desktop client, you can currently set it up as an IMAP or POP account and it works beautifully. They have made a commitment to working alongside Apple and PC desktop applications to sync the contacts and calendar, though. There are tools for both Outlook and OSX machines that help you sync everything. I have been using the beta sync tool for Mac, which is fantastic. It operates as an extension of iSync, and my Zimbra account is automatically synced every hour, or whenever I make additions to iCal or Address Book. The Zimbra web client is simply a sight to behold. It takes AJAX to a completely different level. Everything is drag and drop, most things are right-clickable, and the amount of options is just stunning. Instead of going into major details regarding ALL of the features, it would just suit you better to try their hosted demo for yourself. Here are more of my favorite features so far . . .

• VoiP support, works seamlessly with Skype if you choose
• Widgets they call "Zimlets" that will add a great deal of value to the product
• Share your calendar publicly for viewing or editing in two clicks
• Support for Blackberry Enterprise Server is almost here, can't wait for that
• Re-brandable interface for your business
• Automatic backups
• Great search tool!

I could talk about Zimbra a great deal, but this product is something that must be "experienced". Set aside 30 minutes or so to play with their hosted demo, it is worth every second. To be fair, I also wanted to mention a couple things I feel that they will improve on in the near future. Since it is pretty much 100% AJAX, it can move slowly at times. I noticed the hosted demo is much slower than my new account though. Also, I have found a couple things that are a little buggy, but I am sure they will continue to improve their software at an amazing pace. So are you ready to sign up? Our friendly hosting provider Voxel.net was one of the first partners on-board with Zimbra, and their team has accounts with 1GB of space for only $4 per month. Zimbra is revolutionizing the personal workspace, and bringing innovation to the web with their software. I would suggest trying it out!