EtherPad out of private beta

http://etherpad.com/

by anuraggoel • 17 years ago

91 35 17 years ago

etherpad.com

pclark• 17 years ago

Nifty. Pity there aren't more syntax options (just JS)

Here's a test URL to toy with: http://etherpad.com/qtUr4Iw3mr

lionhearted• 17 years ago

Very cool - thanks for making it easy for the rest of us to try :)

I've used Google docs to do collaborative work with people and it's served me pretty well, but Etherpad seems like a solid option.

seano• 17 years ago

and http://etherpad.com/ljwzgV6xks

exfswlkrji2• 17 years ago

It just sits there saying "connecting..." So does that mean no other user online, or my Javascript is broken, or my net connections is down, or they are slashdotted, or what?

aaroniba2• 17 years ago

This probably means there's an incompatibility with your browser/ISP/firewall combination. If you click the "reconnect" button, it will submit diagnostic info to help us debug, or you can mail support @ etherpad.com for help.

cellis• 17 years ago

Is this like chat reimagined or am i just crazy?

anuraggoel• 17 years ago

No and no. Chat is linear. EtherPad bends the space time continuum.

mlok2• 17 years ago

I agree with you. (Although I've just had a chat-like experience on it.) (And somehow it reminds me of the unix talk command)

pg• 17 years ago

When you want to test out Etherpad and don't already have text you want to edit, you tend to use it like chat. But even then you can do things you can't do with chat, because you can see what the other person is typing and start responding before they finish (like in a real conversation). I've suggested to the Appjets that they might want to make a variant of Etherpad aimed at chat.

DaniFong• 17 years ago

Like in the old unix talk :-)

I used to prefer this mode, but some of my friends hated it.

rokhayakebe• 17 years ago

That would be great. Plenty times we are required to quickly chat with someone, but we dont want to add them as IM contacts (think interviews). This would be a great solution for one time chats.

nirmal• 17 years ago

Is EtherPad out of beta functionally equivalent to EtherPad in beta?

misuba2• 17 years ago

Yes.

flatline• 17 years ago

Looks pretty neat. I'm still trying to find the Emacs keybinding option...More seriously, some basic formatting options may be nice, for actual document production vs., as some others mentioned, a fancy chat system.

My first thought was that a version control repository and editing system could be built on top of this that would actually allow two people to see each others' edits simultaneously but compile only their own revisions until a commit occurred.

greml1n• 17 years ago

Ah, so it is a web-version of something like SubEthaEdit? (http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/)

I think the private, for-pay service in your FaQ sounds like an interesting potential replacement.

initself• 17 years ago

The volume on the screencast is way too low.

gacek• 17 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonedit

However, their site is currently down. And yes, that was an offline app, so etherpad is much better.

axod2• 17 years ago

It'd be interesting to know what changed from last time, if I remember right it was something to do with database overload?

Don't mean to pry, but it'd be cool to know what the original issue was...

CalmQuiet• 17 years ago

It seems to response quite quickly at this point - as quickly as the demo shows in the etherpad.com demo video. Those of you who tried pclark's test/toy link: try signing up and selecting a color for your editing. Pretty slick!

I'm wondering what their business model is? No ads yet. Will this just showcase their hacking abilities?

exfswlkrji2• 17 years ago

Corporate versions with security and active directory authentication. Rich text, images, spreadsheets in a paid-for version. Branded versions to include in your own site.

Since it generally requires at least two people who need to communicate then at least one of them is likely to be prepared to pay.It's not just an eyeballs=advert web2.0 thing.

aaroniba2• 17 years ago

Yes, exactly.

ruddzw2• 17 years ago

I had the chance to use EtherPad as part of a job interview while it was in private beta. It was supposed to use Skype and EtherPad to get the full effect. Skype broke, but EtherPad worked great. The ease of getting code to the interviewer, and (I imagine) the ability to see the way I wrote the code were really helpful.

If you're doing a phone screen interview in the future, I highly recommend using EtherPad.

terpua• 17 years ago

Wow, great use case. I wonder if EtherPad can focus on such a niche and charge for it (with other relevant features).

ruddzw2• 17 years ago

They actually know about the use case: it's one of their 5 suggested use cases: http://etherpad.com/ep/about/product#uses5

But you're right, marketing specifically to software shops could be a good way to make a profit.

keltecp11• 17 years ago

FANTASTIC!

ThomPete• 17 years ago

For those of you interested there is a great interview with Etherpad by Phill Windly at IT-Conversations http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail3985.html

mindaugas• 17 years ago

I can't believe it's Javascript !!!

Seriuosly - Excelent job!

cosmo7• 17 years ago

Ow! My eyes!

Seriously, hire a designer to smooth out your site, it's well worth it.

pchivers• 17 years ago

Ow! My eyes!

Please design a new favicon. The current one looks like an ode to mid-nineties shareware sites.

cracki• 17 years ago

there's subethaedit as others mentioned, and there's also gobby:

http://gobby.0x539.de/trac/

agnokapathetic• 17 years ago

Anyone know when AppJet with Comet support be released?

misuba2• 17 years ago

Strictly speaking, AppJet already supports Comet, but the full support that's used in EtherPad is part of the next major version of the AppJet platform. From the sound of the ITConversations interview linked above, the new platform won't be out until a bit after Enterprise EtherPad.

Tichy• 17 years ago

The simplicity argument kills the discussion for me. It can't be right that to achieve columness, one has to wade through cascades of ever more esoteric articles explaining how to hack CSS.

mlok2• 17 years ago

There is an alternative here : http://collabedit.com/

(seen in a slashdot comment on this page : http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/21/1626208 )

EtherPad out of private beta

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