Fans of 37signal's online task management and information gathering tool Backpack will be excited to hear about the tool's latest addition, a Journal page.

Backpack recently underwent a major update that moved the tool from a single-user focus to a tool intended to allow teams that are working together to keep information organized. The new Journal function continues the tool's move to more of a team focus, which is both exciting and a little frustrating. While none of the functionality that makes Backpack a good tool for individuals has been lost, it's disappointing to see 37signals lose their focus with respect to Backpack. Considering they already have three team-focused products (Basecamp, Highrise, and Campfire) it would have been nice for Backpack to have remained focused on individual productivity.

Opinion aside, the new Journal functionality allows teams to keep tabs on what each other are up to. There are two main elements. The first is the current status field, which can be thought of much like a private Twitter or Facebook status update. You use this field to tell everyone what you are currently doing. The second field allows you to enter what you have just completed, and these items are logged. This allows you to see what your team members are currently busy with, and what they have recently accomplished.

It seems to us that this might seem a little too much like big brother looking over your shoulder, but on the other hand almost all jobs require some sort of accounting for your time. Is this a feature you could see yourself using? Why or why not?

If you're still not quite sure what to make of this, a video demonstration of the new Journal page is available.

A lot of folks say that Google's new App Engine is basically a free clone of Amazon's Web Services. And they're pretty much right. So we probably shouldn't be surprised to find that some of the applications already making use of Google App Engine are free clones of other popular programs.

HuddleChat is a web-based mult-user chat application built with Google's App Engine. And it's almost identical to Campfire, a chat application from 37signals. But while Campfire provides free chat rooms for up to 4 users, and charges a fee for rooms with more users, HuddleChat lets an unlimited number of users chat for free.

The interface is pretty slick and offers a bunch of features that make it ideal for virtual team meetings. Chats are automatically archived, and you can upload files like images which will be displayed in the chat. They're also saved on a Transcripts & Files page. You can invite any user by sending out an email from the site, or you can share the room's URL. Best of all, users can sign into a chat room using their Google ID. So if you already have a Gmail, Google Calendar, or Picasa account you don't need to sign up for a new account to use HuddleChat.

Predictably, the folks at 37signals are less than pleased with HuddleChat.

Update: Astute blogger Emily Price noticed that there's at least one important Campfire feature missing from HuddleChat: Search. Which is kind of funny when you consider the fact that HuddleChat is hosted by Google and was developed by two Google employees.

Update 2: HuddleChat is dead.

[via Web Worker Daily]

Highrise, the popular web-based contact and correspondence app from 37signals, has a new dedicated Tags tab in the dashboard. This will help users filter and sift through their contacts and notes much more quickly, especially since the company built in the slick ability to select multiple tags with which to filter. Clicking one tag in the cloud begins the process, while clicking another will switch to filtering by just that tag. After clicking a tag, however, the upper right of the tag cloud (pictured) will offer a 'Multiple tags' option. Once clicked, each subsequent tag you select will add to the filter, not replace it. This is a very smart way to offer the best of both worlds for everyone, no matter how they work and use tags to sort their correspondence.

Users of Backpack by 37Signals might enjoy having the ability to put a Backpack widget on their Mac's Dashboard. If you think you'd dig that, head on over to Chipt Productions and download their Backpack widget.

Chipt have done a great job of minimizing the user interface of Backpack down to a very small and manageable box, while still retaining critical functionality. You can select Reminders, Lists or Notes, and choose which page to view if you have multiple pages.

To enable the widget, you'll need to get your Backpack API key from your account settings page (it's at the bottom) then click on the little i at the bottom right of the widget and enter your Backpack username and API key. Once you've done that, you're good to go.

Earlier this month, 37signals added a One Bar feature to allow users of their Basecamp project management and Highrise correspondence tracking services to sign into both sites at once. Fortunately, after issuing a major update to Backpack, their wildly popular web-based PIM app, they have added Backpack to the One Bar signin. This will save some time and simplify switching between these services, and the only requirement of One Bar is an OpenID, an increasingly adopted service that allows you to tie website logins to one single ID and password for the ultimate in web security and convenience.

After all that teasing, 37signals has flipped the switch on a major upgrade to Backpack, their incredibly popular web-based PIM service that can store and organize lists, notes, pictures and files. As if features like sharing / collaboration and mobile phone access weren't cool enough, this major release takes Backpack productivity to entirely new heights.


One of the most interesting on the list of new changes is a much-updated UI, from a movement of the toolbar to the top of the pages (pictured) to the much-requested ability to drag and drop any list, note, pictures or file from one page to another. While the toolbar's new location initially feels like a good move, we find ourselves missing the authority of the previous design, as the buttons to create new lists and notes stood out a bit better.


Almost as drool-worthy as drag and drop abilities, users can now also search across all their Backpack pages. A new searchbox mounted in the upper right (directly underneath the 'Make a new page' button) should satisfy most users who use Backpack for more than a few tidbits of info. Searching seems pretty zippy, and your search term is highlighted among the listed results.

Continuing the healthy list of changes are other welcome new features, such as multiple photo galleries per page and RSS feeds for shared pages so you can keep an eye on changes made by everyone else. Altogether, this is a great update and we're very satisfied with the new features. With accounts ranging in price from 'free' up to $14/month, we recommend Backpack more than ever for anyone from casual users who need a simple web-based locker for storing bits and pieces of their daily adventures, to power users with a serious case of GTD or project management on their back.

Yea, that's right, we used an exclamation point (!) in a post headline - that's how excited we are that 37signals just released a new preview post and video demo of one of the most-requested Backpack features ever: moving items to different pages. Especially appealing to the GTD crowd, the ability to move items between pages will blow open the doors on Backpack's usefulness for everything from keeping useful tidbits of info handy (even on your mobile phone) to managing projects and robust todo lists. Anything will be draggable from one page to another - notes, files, pictures and lists - and you can even drop an item on the 'Make a new page' button. Items dropped onto a page will be placed at the top of said page, easy to find and organize at a later date.

If you can't wait for the new Backpack to debut (though a scheduled maintenance alert warns that the service will be down tomorrow night at 10 pm Central Time), 37signals has even provided a demo video (in QuickTime) of the new feature in action. Note, however, that the Backpack in the video is running in a slower development mode, so the live version should apparently function with a bit more zip once they flip the switch.

On behalf of Backpack users everywhere, 37signals, we at Download Squad would like to thank you for answering the call.

If you're a fan of 37signals productivity tools, as the DLS crew is, you may appreciate a newly added feature from the clever kids with the funny name.

Basecamp and Highrise now offer a single sign-on that allows you to eliminate one of those constantly open tabs we all live with, saving you precious RAM and system resources that can be put to better use. If they'd only add Campfire to the single sign-on party, we'd be ecstatic.

Let the 37signals hype machine begin again! After a few Basecamp updates and the release of their slick new Highrise contact management app, Backpack seemed all but lost to the depths of web app limbo. But wait! As if from a great fog, 37signals has published the first preview in a series that proves the revolutionary PIM web app is anything but lost! In this first post, the company has begun showing off some upcoming changes with a new 'items anywhere' feature. No more will your Backpack pages be laid out for you with lists at the top, followed by notes, files. etc. - you will be able to lay out your items in whatever way fits your workflow best. How this will affect other features like emailing items into your pages, and whether this could usher in the much sought-after ability to move items from one page to another, still remains to be seen. It's definitely good news that 37signals prefixed this post with 'Preview 1,' though there is still the down side of no ETA for the arrival of this much-welcomed update to Backpack. Guess we'll all have to stay tuned.

Thanks Dave!

Okay, confession time. Despite being an early adopter for most things, I hadn't caught the basecamp train and got on board. Why you ask? I had no good use for it, though it is an excellently crafted application. I love software, and thus I checked it out, but for some reason I didn't see how its use would fit into my busy life, until now.

Becoming a self-employed web developer threw my daily routine out the window in a big way, and my preciously corporate sanctioned work-flow as well, giving me a new set of problems. One new problem I've had is process tracking, central information storage and updating, and project management. If this sounds like three problems, you're right, but they are tightly connected.

Having many projects and lots of information to track, share, and modify, basecamp handles with ease and makes me work less and takes care of these problems without taking too much of my time. I am finally "with it" when it comes to project management.

Developing software is no picnic (as you know), but now at least I know where the utensils are. Try eating potato salad without a fork, and you'll get the idea. If you haven't checked out basecamp (by 37 signals) it is worth it, there is a free account, awesome simple tutorial videos, and a great application to help you track life and work.

If you are with it, and use basecamp religiously (or casually), do you have tips for a basecamp beginner like me, or ideas to get more out of basecamp? We're all ears.

Who wants to spend time and energy on accounting? Most people would rather wash the car or even scrub toilets. That might change soon thanks to Less Accounting.

The whole goal behind Less Accounting is to make book keeping as simple and easy as possible. The team behind Less Accounting, Less Everything, believes that users will never again use Quickbooks. In fact, they're so bullish, they see themselves changing the accounting landscape as much as 37Signals changed project management with Basecamp.

So how does it rank in real-life? Less Accounting provides users with three main categories, Money In, Money Out and Watch Money. Money In allows users to easily drop in sales leads, notes, proposals, invoices, and deposits made. Money Out has areas to input Expenses and Mileage. In the Watch Money category, users can get an account summary with bank account activity and view all paid expenses and deposits. It does not tie into your online banking; it's merely another tool to use for cross referencing. Through Watch Money, Sales reports can also be generated, as well as reports for both paid and unpaid invoices.

Everything is pretty straightforward to use, and the design is clean and very attractive. A few things that were missing in the beta test included some kind of tutorial or walkthrough of the application, and it wasn't very evident where data could be exported from reports, which I later came across on the top right navigation which might blend in a little too much. Aside from that, it wasn't too earth shattering. I would like to maybe see this application tie into 37Signals for contact and project management the same way that Freshbooks does, now that might be something to get people going on this.

Highrise is an online contact manager built by the famous 37 signals, founders of the ever popular Basecamp project management tool. It was quietly launched yesterday to the public.

Highrise tracks leads, clients and vendors, allowing users to stay on the ball with who gets spoken to, when, and about what. This allows for members of a team to easily decipher the next plans of action. Notes, calls, and tasks can each have reminders set to them for easily remembering to follow up. When signing up for Highrise, each user will get a unique email address, when items are sent to this email, they will automatically become tasks, taking the extra steps out of lining up items to be completed. HIghrise is at its most effective when an entire company works with this online tool. Employees can share vendor, clients, lead, and co-worker information to see what has been previously communicated, and what was acted upon.

Rates vary with Highrise. There is a free plan with 2 users and space for 25 contacts which is great to try out the software and see if it could fit in with your current operation. Then users can choose to upgrade to a basic plan that allows for 400MB of file storage and 5000 contacts for $24/month. If that isn't enough, $149/month can get you unlimited users, 20GB of storage, and up to 50,000 users.

Highrise is a great compliment to the other online software packages that 37 signals offers, as data is communicated effortlessly between all of them.

If you're a Basecamp user living in the Chicago or NYC areas, and if you have an interesting story to tell about the way you and your organization use Basecamp, then 37signals wants to talk to you. They're looking to shoot a series of interviews which will be promoted on the 37signals site, discussing how exactly you use Backpack. Who exactly are they looking for? Well:

"We're looking for customers from all walks of life and all industries. From educators to designers to writers to marketers to performers to lawyers to anyone who considers Basecamp an integral part of their business."

If you're interested, their blog post has the original announcement and contact information. No deadline for these interviews has been set.

In my ongoing search for the ultimate software system for use with the Getting Things Done methodology, I've recently come across a real winner. Tracks is a web application that was built from the ground up for the purposes of implementing a GTD system. Written in Ruby on Rails, Tracks offers the familiar Projects and Contexts organization system made popular by David Allen's Getting Things Done system, coupled with the sparse graphical design and easy functionality made popular by well-known Ruby on Rails applications like Backpack, Basecamp and Ta-Da List. Now I should mention that Tracks is not affiliated in any way with 37 Signals (the maker of the other three web applications I mentioned), but it's clear that the Tracks developers are inspired by what 37 Signals have done. Plus, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Rails was released by 37 Signals as a framework with which to get productive with Ruby very quickly.

The installation of Tracks is unfortunately not for the faint of heart; if you're someone that would shy away from installing a web server on your local machine, or don't have access to a Ruby-enabled web hosting account, installing Tracks probably isn't for you. If you are, there are a number of sets of instructions available.

For the rest of us, our best bet is to find a hosted solution. Since Tracks is by its very nature multi-user, it appears to have been a relatively straightforward task to build a hosted solution, and allow users to pay a monthly fee for access.

My favorite of these hosted offerings is called GTDTracks. GTDTracks is extremely affordable, at $1.49/month, and they offer regular backups and upgrades. I'd much rather about getting my stuff done than messing with upgrading a web application that I know very little about, so this option appeals to me a great deal. Plus, they take care of what is arguably my biggest fear with online hosted services, which is the question of how to get your data out if you decide to move on to something else. GTDTracks has a policy of allowing users to cancel their account at any time with no penalty (so you're not on the hook for more than a buck and a half at any given time), and you can take your data with you, exported as a plain text file that can be imported into another installation of Tracks, or simply mined for the data it contains.

Using Tracks is very straightforward - simply create Contexts and Projects as needed, then create Next Actions (essentially tasks) and associate them with the project and context they relate to. Due dates can be set through a convenient calendar widget. One nicely done element of the application is the Done page - one way to get inspired to get things done is to see what you've already accomplished. The Done page shows items that were completed in the last 24 hours, last 7 days and last 28 days, as well as a link for everything older than that.

You remember the video, right?

I got my wish. Eleven days ago I posted about a new online productivity suite that I was dying to try. Well it's late on Halloween evening, and I've just spent the last hour playing with the various features in Scrybe that enticed me when I first saw the demo video. And so far, I think we have a winner on our hands.

After playing around with the user interface for a bit, which is sort of fun in and of itself, I decided to test the killer feature that puts Scrybe in a league of its own when it comes to online calendars and productivity applications: offline use and synchronization.

What can I say? It just works. I turned off my wireless adapter, put my browser into offline mode, logged in, and proceeded to add and change data in my Scrybe account. Everything worked as you'd expect - it felt like being online. Then I turned my wireless back on, put my browser back into online mode, logged into my account, and everything was there, as expected. Okay, so far, so good. So then, I moved over to another computer, and logged in to Scrybe. And, as expected, everything was there, as well. Perfect!

So what is there to complain about with the beta release? So far, surprisingly little. My one peeve is that the Scrybe window defaults to a specific size, which is slightly too long for my laptop's native resolution of 1280x800, and awkwardly short for my two available external monitor's resolutions at 1440x900 and 1280x1024. Given that Scrybe is written in Flash, as TechCrunch notes, it seems strange that they would have chosen not to make the interface fluid like, for example, Google Calendar. Certainly it should be possible. Let's hope this is on Scrybe's radar for future enhancements. For more thoughts on what it means that Scrybe is written in Flash, check out Ryan Stewart's thoughts at ZDNet.

I'm sure as time goes on bugs will be found, and fixed (oh, the beauty of online apps), but for now Scrybe is giving us a seriously strong first draft to play with. In terms of functionality, this beta release of Scrybe is almost feature complete, based on what they showed in the demonstration video. The only feature that did not make the cut for this version is the bookmarking / web clipping functionality. According to Scrybe this will be added in a few weeks, to be followed by the mysterious sharing functionality that is alluded to at the end of the first video.

Although I could take this time to walk through the functionality in Scrybe again, it's really no different than what we saw in the demo video, and I described in our first post about the system. That is to say that so far, everything works as I'd hoped it would.

Right now the only way to get a beta account is to sign up at Scrybe on their main page. Unfortunately for all of us excited users, Scrybe is doing a phased rollout of their beta program. Although this is frustrating for those of us that would like accounts and can't get them immediately, I think they deserve credit for deciding to do things right. Faizan, CEO and co-founder of Scrybe tells us "We could have launched with a bang and gotten another mega spike on Alexaholic, but the purpose is to control the hype and improve the product with focused users." That's a very refreshing perspective. For more information about the beta rollout, check out the Launch Details page on the Scrybe site.