Adobe's "Acrobat.com"

We've been using Google Docs (free) for quite some time now and it's been very good for us as an agency - easy to share files and collaborate. But it is certainly not very "pretty." We also use WebEx (not free) for online meetings/trainings. We've been happy with WebEx, although there is a set up that teachers have to be able to do on their desktop computer - but it's pretty simple.

Today I had a look at Adobe's new Acrobat.com site (still in beta, but free for now). It lacks the spreadsheet feature that we use a lot in Google Docs, but the word processing feature (dubbed "Buzzword") is gorgeous! The whole system allows you to share docs, collaborate, video conference and share your desktop very similar to WebEx, but you are connected to your documents at the same time. The whole thing is done in Flash, so it is wonderfully elegant and seems much peppier than Google Docs. One caveat though, you HAVE to be online, no offline option yet.

I'm excited about this new beta.... Not because it will replace what we currently use (for the moment at least), but because it will force the online developlers to take a hard look at creating a better end-user experience. I doubt it will be free for long, but it appears to be a game changer....

You can log in with your existing Adobe username and password - I was up and running in seconds. Did I say the user interface is elegant? More of what we Mac users have come to expect...