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Labs report : Office rival raises its game

Dave Bailey — 2008-05-22T12:46:00.000Z

Dave Bailey, IT Week, Thursday 22 May 2008 at 12:46:00

OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta has better Mac and Microsoft Office support

The OpenOffice.org project has released its first beta of OpenOffice.org 3.0, the next version of its free-to-download office application suite. New features include native Mac OS X support and the ability to read Microsoft Office 2007 documents.

The final version is due in September, and is expected to support version 1.2 of the Oasis OpenDocument Format standard. Users will also be able to open files created in both Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.

OpenOffice.org 3.0 will be the first version of the suite capable of running natively on OS X without the need for users to install the X11 networking and display protocol.

We installed build BEA300_m2 of the beta on several desktops and laptops variously running Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Business and several Linux distributions, including OpenSuse 10.3 and Ubuntu 8.

On Windows XP, the install takes under five minutes and the first thing users will notice is the presence of a Start Centre, allowing them to directly open new documents for the word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, database, or drawing applications, as well as templates or existing documents.

On both Windows and Linux systems, the applications seemed stable and we experienced no major problems. We found we could open documents created with Word, Excel and PowerPoint in Microsoft Office 2007 with no discernible visual difference in formatting.

A new collaboration feature available in version 3.0 is the ability to share spreadsheets, as in Excel. We found this feature simple to use, and documents were easy to save when being accessed from two different systems. In the event that there are conflicting changes in a shared spreadsheet, the user who opened the document initially has the authority to resolve the conflict.

OpenOffice.org has also responded to requests for custom error bars to be shown whenever users are displaying graphs in the spreadsheet. These can also display regression equations and associated correlation coefficients.

Other changes include a feature in Writer that displays notes on the side of the document, and the ability to view multiple pages in a document while editing.

Hosted desktops offer PC as a service

Daniel Robinson — 2008-03-05T00:00:00.000Z

Daniel Robinson, IT Week, Wednesday 5 March 2008 at 00:00:00

Extrasys offers corporate users secure access to hosted Windows XP desktops via a browser

Extrasys Hosted Desktop is a service designed to let businesses outsource their desktop environment as a managed service, thereby cutting the cost of employee access to Windows applications. As such, the service is more likely to appeal to small-to-medium enterprises rather than larger organisations that already have a well-staffed IT department.

Available now, the Extrasys service lets businesses provide employees with a hosted Windows XP desktop each, which is accessed securely via a browser. The remote desktops can be provisioned with common applications such as Microsoft Office 2003 and Outlook, while Extrasys said it can also host turnkey applications for customers for an extra fee.

Moving some or all users to an Extrasys desktop could ease the burden on IT departments by reducing the need to manage the local physical client systems so closely. However, it is likely to make a firm more dependent on the reliability of its network connection with the outside world. To address this, Extrasys said it intends to also offer network provisioning in future through its parent company, Bailey Teswaine.

We tested the Extrasys Desktop using a sample account provided by the firm, and found the experience little different from using a local Windows PC. As this is essentially a thin client session, users will not find it suitable for graphics-heavy applications such as those using video. However, we found no problems with performance, even when using a domestic broadband connection to access the remote desktop.

We were able to create, edit and save Office documents on the remote system as normal. We were also able to copy files between the remote desktop and local drives, including USB storage devices connected to the local system.

This enables documents to be uploaded to the Extrasys desktop, or copied for backup purposes, if necessary. Workgroups can also be configured with a shared folder, accessible by all users in the group, which serves the same purpose as a network share on a local network.

The advantage of the remote desktop is that it can be accessed from anywhere just as easily as from the corporate site. This can make business continuity planning easier, since staff can be moved to any available site with internet access if their office is rendered temporarily inaccessible. It also lets workers with a broadband connection work securely from home.

To access their desktop, users must go to the Extrasys web site and login. This requires a username and password, but for greater security users are also required to key in a one-time passcode generated by a Secure Computing SafeWord token provided by Extrasys. The token, which can be fitted to a key ring, generates a six-character passcode and displays it on its small LCD screen whenever a button on the device is pressed.

Once logged in, a page is displayed showing the resources that users have access to. Extrasys can host individual applications as well as entire Windows desktops. Users then click “connect” to begin a desktop session.

For our tests, we accessed the remote desktop using both a Windows PC and a thin client terminal running Windows XP Embedded (XPE). The thin client had the advantage of a built-in Citrix ICA client – the preferred method for linking with the remote desktop – but clients can be downloaded from the Extrasys web site for various platforms, including current and old versions of Windows, Mac OS, Linux and even Symbian OS. A Java client can also be downloaded on demand if required.

The first time a particular system is used to access the Extrasys Desktop, a dialogue box appears asking for permission to access local client files. This determines whether users can map local drives to the remote desktop, enabling them to move files from a USB Flash drive onto their Extrasys account, for example. Companies can also specify whether or not employees are allowed to connect local drives in this way.

Any printers installed on the local client system are automatically connected to the remote desktop, so that users can print just as they would normally.

Extrasys said that it has several datacentres across the UK that provide redundancy for each other as well as keeping latency as low as possible. All user data is backed up, and if a customer decides to end their contract, all files and data are returned to them before being removed from the Extrasys environment.

Review : A handy tool for remote control

Dave Bailey — 2007-11-14T00:00:00.000Z

Dave Bailey, IT Week, Wednesday 14 November 2007 at 00:00:00

I’m InTouch now allows Windows clients to be remote controlled using a range of handhelds

Developed by 01 Communique, I’m InTouch Desktop version 6 enables workers to take control of remote Windows clients over a secure connection using screen-sharing technology.

There is a server version designed to be installed at the WAN gateway, while the desktop version uses a direct PC-to-PC connection. We reviewed the latter.

No software is required on the device used to remote control other systems, but an executable does need to be installed on the system or systems to be remote controlled. After this, the URL https://locator.01com.com is accessed using a web browser on the controlling system, and a unique hostname for the system under remote control as well as username and passwords need to be given before access is allowed. These details would normally be stored locally on firms’ servers.

Setting up the client from which to access remote computers was simple, with only an ActiveX control needing to be installed. I’m InTouch also has FAQs in case users need to configure firewalls to allow access, but only port 80 for http and port 443 for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) need to be set up, which may already be the case with most firms’ firewalls.

New features in version 6 of the desktop package allow users to perform a remote PC Wake-Up over LAN, manage remote printing and also control systems using Pocket PC devices.

We used the system to access a Dell Precision M50 laptop home computer from IT Week Labs and easily took control of the system. For instance, we could transfer an executable of GFI’s Network Security Scanner, install the program, get security updates for that program and run security scans of the laptop, all remotely. We could also “chat” to the user at the far end of the link, send CTRL-ALT-DEL commands and check the task manager, as well as reboot and shut down the system. We could also cut and paste text between applications running on the local and remote systems. Systems with attached webcams also allow remote viewing.

The latest version of I’m InTouch also enables PCs to be remote controlled using Pocket PC devices, mobile phones or RIM BlackBerrys. The remote desktop can be viewed in horizontal or landscape modes. Users can choose to view a section of the desktop, or can set up their devices to see the entire desktop.

The software allows access to Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express email, including attachments, as well as contacts and calendar entries.

As well as allowing users to access and control remote systems, I’m InTouch can be configured to allow view-only access for up to 10 simultaneous guests for demonstration purposes.

Business review: SoftMaker Office 2006

Daniel Robinson — 2006-11-20T00:00:00.000Z

Daniel Robinson, IT Week, Monday 20 November 2006 at 00:00:00

SoftMaker's impressive Office suite supports many platforms, including older Windows systems

SoftMaker’s SoftMaker Office 2006 is a low-cost full-featured office suite available for Windows, Linux and Pocket PC handhelds. Its applications are compatible with Microsoft Office file formats and work well on older hardware, which could make it attractive for firms with a diverse, multi-platform environment.

SoftMaker Office 2006 consists of two applications: the TextMaker 2006 word processor and PlanMaker 2006 spreadsheet. The Windows version and the Pocket PC version are available now but the Linux/FreeBSD version is still in beta.

SoftMaker Office is unlikely to tempt large firms away from Microsoft Office, but its low system requirements could win it a niche for basic productivity work in departments using older systems or running Linux on the desktop.

A notable feature is its consistency across platforms; a user moving from the Windows version of SoftMaker Office to the Linux one will find little difference. And the Pocket PC version has much of the functionality of the desktop suite, so users can open documents created on a PC without losing formatting.

We looked at the beta version of SoftMaker Office 2006 for Linux, and found we could open, edit and save Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets without any problems, even with complex spreadsheets containing formulas and charts. We could also access OpenDocument text and spreadsheet files as well as SoftMaker’s native .TMD and .PMD formats, and both applications allowed us to convert files to PDF documents.

We tested the beta of SoftMaker Office 2006 on a PC running Ubuntu Linux 6.06 LTS, and found the install needed a few tweaks. We were able to download the suite as a Gzipped tarball file (.tgz) and unpack it using the File Roller archive manager that ships as part of Ubuntu’s Gnome desktop environment. But this did not put in place icons or shortcuts to the apps, which we had to add manually.

Like many productivity suites, SoftMaker emphasises its compatibility with Microsoft applications, and both TextMaker and PlanMaker can be set to save in Office file formats by default.

TextMaker 2006 adds a Track Changes feature, compatible with Microsoft Word to the extent that changes made in TextMaker show up if a document is reopened in Word, and vice versa. It also boasts new drawing tools compatible with Microsoft’s Autoshapes. Our only quibble is that TextMaker’s word count function is hidden in a tab on the Properties option of the File menu. PlanMaker likewise appears to handle Excel files well, and has some interesting features of its own, such as drawing tools that can be used to create flow and organisation charts on a worksheet.

SoftMaker Office 2006 for Linux runs on any PC distribution with version 2.2.5 of the GNU C Library or higher and any X Window manager, which means pretty much any current desktop Linux.

The Windows edition runs on Windows 95 and upwards, while the Pocket PC version works on any ARM-based Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone Edition device.

Tested: Wyse Streaming Manager

Daniel Robinson — 2006-07-17T00:00:00.000Z

Daniel Robinson, IT Week, Monday 17 July 2006 at 00:00:00

Wyse Streaming Manager (WSM) serves Windows and applications to diskless workstations

Wyse Technology’s Wyse Streaming Manager (WSM) enables firms to operate a network of diskless workstations that boot Windows from an image stored on a server. This architecture gives users the full desktop Windows experience, but allows administrators greater control over which applications can be run, and can also help firms to comply with the terms of software licences.

WSM, announced in March, is designed to work with Wyse’s new Winterm V00 thin client terminals, which have no built-in operating system. However, it also supports the firm’s older V90 and 941G models, or can alternatively be used to stream an operating system to regular PCs, if a customer wishes.

In tests, we found we could boot a V00 terminal from a WSM server simply by switching it on, as you would a standard PC, even though it was actually fetching Windows XP from a server instead of a local drive. The terminal felt responsive enough to run most applications under Windows XP. Many staff would probably assume they were using a full-blown PC unless told otherwise.

We also found it a relatively straightforward (if lengthy) process to package up applications for delivery from a WSM server, and IT staff will have little difficulty managing user access to applications from WSM’s web-based admin console.

WSM delivers the operating system and applications separately. This means a single image of Windows 2000 or Windows XP could potentially serve an entire organisation, even if the various departments run different applications.

To create an operating system image requires a reference device: a special VR0 terminal with up to 4GB of Flash memory. Windows is installed onto this with all the drivers and optional components an organisation needs, and then distilled down to just the necessary files.

Once deployed to the WSM server, an operating system image is locked. But if an update is necessary – for example, to apply patches – an administrator can log onto a terminal in a special “private mode” and make the changes, which are then written to the server as an updated image.

To make an application available to users it has to be published to the WSM server. This requires the use of a clean Windows workstation with the WSM Publisher application already installed to serve as the build environment. Wyse recommends the use of a virtual machine for this, as it can easily be rolled back to a pristine state for each new application.

An administrator uses WSM Publisher to take a system snapshot both before and after installing an application in the build environment. The Publisher tool then looks at the differences between the two snapshots and calculates which files, Windows Registry settings and other configuration data belong to the application.

It is necessary at this point to modify the file set to remove unwanted files and change some settings, such as default file locations. Wyse ships a set of macros that do most of this work, but some settings will inevitably be application-specific and may require several cycles of the build process to identify. WSM Publisher then builds an AppSet, a single file that can be copied to the WSM server.

We tested this process using a copy of the open-source OpenOffice 2.0.3 productivity suite downloaded from the OpenOffice.org web site. Our first attempt produced a successful build of OpenOffice, apart from the Start menu shortcuts that pointed to incorrect locations for the various apps. This required us to go back to the build files and change the way the shortcuts are handled by WSM, before creating a new AppSet.

The WSM server itself runs on Windows 2000 Server with SP4, or Windows Server 2003. It also requires SQL Server 2000, and ships with a Trivial FTP (TFTP) server application to deliver the bootstrap loader to client workstations.

Wyse’s administrator console is web-based, and so can be accessed remotely. It provides an overview page displaying a top-level view of the WSM environment and alerts the administrator to any problems or irregularities, such as if a user group has been added but not assigned access to any applications.

From the console, an administrator can add operating system images and application AppSet images to the system. Apps must also be “licensed”, which is Wyse’s terminology for configuration settings that enforce the licensing restrictions applicable to each application published on WSM.

For example, an administrator can set restrictions on the number of concurrent users allowed to run a particular application, and how long the licence for a particular application is valid. WSM will not allow users to run an application if the licences are all in use or no longer valid.

WSM can be used in environments running Microsoft’s Active Directory, but this is not a requirement. Wyse has designed the WSM architecture to be scalable, with a central Core Server controlling optional Edge Servers in different departments, or even at remote branch office sites. Administrators can use the WSM admin console to configure separate operating system images and application AppSets for each different server.

The minimum system requirements to run the WSM server are a 733MHz processor with 512MB of memory and a 100Mbit/s Ethernet connection. However, Wyse recommends 1GHz dual processors or better with at least 1GB of memory and a Gigabit Ethernet connection. Our test server was restricted to the minimum amount of memory and we found its performance slow at times.

On the client side, the V00 workstation uses the Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) protocol to find the WSM server and request an operating system image. A Wyse client tool placed in the Windows system tray enables users to subscribe to available apps, based on their profile. The applications are streamed to the workstation as soon as the user subscribes to them.

We found no performance problems with applications once they had been streamed into the workstation’s memory. In fact, we found apps opened faster than on a standard PC, which typically fetches the program code from disk each time.

Because applications run locally, users can access multimedia applications such as streaming video or voice over IP (VoIP), which would be impractical in a server-hosted thin client session.

Wyse supplied us with a pre-built AppSet for Office 2003, demonstrating that WSM architecture can handle the most important commercial applications. WSM can also be used to deliver a Citrix ICA client, enabling users to access server-hosted applications instead of running them locally.

Although WSM has the potential to simplify desktop administration for IT departments, it can be complex to install and get running. Wyse said that it is working with resellers to do much of the deployment work for customers.

WSM currently supports Windows XP SP2 and Windows 2000 SP4 client images. Support for Windows Vista and Linux will follow.

ACT 7.0

Dave Bailey — 2005-02-03T18:56:10.000Z

Dave Bailey, IT Week, Thursday 3 February 2005 at 18:56:10

A comprehensive CRM system with an intuitive user interface

Sage's ACT Professional 7.0 is a contact and customer relationship management (CRM) suite aimed at corporate workgroups. Like rival CRM packages, ACT is complex, so time spent reading the manual will typically pay off.

ACT 7.0, available since October, supports Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds, but not smartphone operating systems. For data storage it uses Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE) patched with Service Pack 3.

We reviewed the Professional version, installed both on Windows 2000 Professional and XP Professional. ACT supports Windows XP and 2000 clients, Windows 2000 Server and Server 2003, Standard, Web and Enterprise editions.

Currently, email support includes Outlook 2000/2002/ 2003, Outlook Express 5.5 and 6.0, Eudora 5.2/6.0, and SMTP and POP3 internet mail protocols.

We installed the software on a 2.4GHz Pentium 4-based laptop with 512MB of memory, although we did get the impression that an even faster processor would be useful. Some users may find they need to upgrade their laptops to get an acceptable level of performance. Installing the software was simple and within 10 minutes we were ready to load contact data into the database. This could be done manually by typing in specific records, or by importing data created using an earlier version or data held in Microsoft Outlook.

However, Sage has detailed some difficulties with ACT when the email client is Outlook 2003 and cached mode is being used.

When we started ACT 7.0 for the first time it flagged that an update was available. It then downloaded a 40MB update - nearly a third of the size of the installed program. The update cleans up some underlying functionality and installs a dialler program on handhelds to allow automatic calling of contacts.

The graphical interface has been upgraded, but remains clear and intuitive, although we still had to return to the manual for certain tasks. Switching between tasks is simple due to the iconised sidebar and the back and forward buttons. ACT 7.0 lets users keep track of just about anything connected with clients and contacts and can easily index and track this information. Global sharing of data and event scheduling facilities are also easy to use once set up.

The security model offers a choice of five levels or roles. The Administrator role has full application and database access rights and is similar to the Manager role. In practice, Standard roles will probably be the most commonly assigned, followed by Restricted and Browse roles.

Users can install ACT Link for Pocket PC and Palm OS handhelds, although currently it will not synchronise contacts made on handhelds back to the main database. Sage said two-way synchronisation will be supported in a future release. If there are any other programs present which synchronise to handhelds, users could lose data or see it duplicated, so these programs should be uninstalled before proceeding. ACT Supports Pocket PC 2000/2002 and the Phone Edition as well as Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC.

We found it was quite complicated to set up ACT 7.0 to synchronise contacts across to our test Pocket PC, despite a configuration setup screen.

Contact: Sage 0845 245 0276

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Citrix MetaFrame XPe

Dave Bailey, IT Week — 2002-10-25T11:22:33.000Z

Dave Bailey, IT Week, IT Week, Friday 25 October 2002 at 11:22:33

Citrix's MetaFrame XPe application server now has better user-rights and delegation systems and can support DB2.

Citrix's MetaFrame XPe application server software supports and controls access to applications. In May, Citrix launched feature release 2 (FR2) of the product, giving administrators more granular control over user access to hardware such as floppy drives and CD-ROMs.

Administrators of server farms can now use IBM's DB2 database as an alternative to the Windows registry, Oracle or SQL Server for system data. They can also offload tasks such as printer management to designated users. The shadowing feature, which lets administrators see users' screens, has been updated so users can shadow each other. Previously staff needed full admin privileges to take on such supporting roles.

FR2 runs only on Windows 2000 server operating systems and requires at least service pack 2 to be installed. The CD contains suitable ICA clients, but Citrix's Web site can be checked for more up-to-date ones.

Upgrading MetaFrame XP for FR2 is not difficult, but requires other software to be in place. Service pack 2 for Windows 2000 servers must be installed and the Windows Installer updated to version 2. The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) also has to be set at version 1.3.0, which means upgrading earlier versions or uninstalling later ones. We did not need to apply FR1 to our server before upgrading to FR2.

When updating the Windows Installer, we had problems that were only solved by contacting Microsoft support and editing our server registry.

Installation is complicated by the most onerous licensing systems we have seen. There is a 35-day grace period before the FR2 licence is activated, so administrators can check the performance of their setup and adjust hardware as necessary.

With FR2, administrators have better control over the hardware that users can access. We could deny users access to their floppy drives, CD-ROM drives and even prevent them from copying data to the clipboard. FR2 also allowed us to allocate specified tasks to groups designated as Citrix administrators. Tasks that can be delegated fall under 11 categories, including Printer Management and Farm Management.

We used the Citrix Management Console to delegate Citrix server licensing to a particular user. We could also configure shadowing policies to allow novice users to be shadowed by their colleagues, so reducing the helpdesk's work. Citrix has introduced support for PC/SC smartcards - but not Java-based products - and smartcard-enabled apps such as Outlook are accessible.

Network manager plug-ins are available for NetView, OpenView and Unicenter. Systems administration is carried out through the Citrix native management console or a Web console.

Price: £320 + VAT per connection, with discounts starting at 400 seats.

Contact: Citrix 01753 276 200

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