Browsing by Author "de Alwis, Brian"

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    Combining Power and Simplicity in a Groupware Toolkit
    (2009-03-02T20:27:23Z) de Alwis, Brian; Gutwin, Carl; Greenberg, Saul
    Many tools exist for the development of real-time distributed groupware, but most of these tools do not provide an appropriate balance of power and simplicity necessary for prototyping or research. To better support the middle ground in groupware development, we built a new toolkit called GT/SD. It provides solutions to problems of real-world network performance without sacrificing the simple programming approach needed for rapid prototyping. GT/SD builds on the successes both of earlier groupware toolkits and game networking libraries, and implements seven ideas that help solve problems of rapid development, network delay, quality of service, and testing. We introduce the design and the benefits of GT/SD, and demonstrate the toolkit through several examples.
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    Gone but not forgotten: designing for disconnection in synchronous groupware
    (ACM, 2010) Gutwin, Carl; Graham, T.C. Nicholas; Wolfe, Chris; Wong, Nelson; de Alwis, Brian
    Synchronous groupware depends on the assumption that people are fully connected to the others in the group, but there are many situations (network delay, network outage, or explicit departure) where users are disconnected for various periods. There is little research dealing with disconnection in synchronous groupware from a user and application perspective; as a result, most current groupware systems do not handle disconnection events well, and several user-level problems occur. To address this limitation, we developed the Disco framework, a model for handling several types of disconnection in synchronous groupware. The framework considers how disconnections are identified, what senders and receivers should do during an absence, and what should be done with accumulated data upon reconnection. We have implemented the framework in three applications that show the feasibility, generality, and functionality of our ideas. Our framework is the first to deal with a full range of disconnection issues for synchronous groupware, and shows how groupware can better support the realities of distributed collaboration.