I've had some success with using a wiki (I like Dokuwiki as easy to set up. It needs no separate database support.) However, this doesn't have all the features you want, but does have the huge advantage of simplicity. I'm using it at the moment to keep track of Google summer of code work. JN On 07/06/2011 10:36 AM, Bruce Miller wrote: > I know that this is a Linux technical list, but I hope that readers will forgive > me for coming here to seek more general advice from a local source of advanced > technical expertise. > > I want to set up a web-based collaboration and "project management" facility for > a late middle-age engaged couple living 250 km apart to track plans for their > wedding and for redecorating a newly-purchased old house. > > The trap lies with the fiancee: she is very bright and relatively > computer-literate. But she has spent her entire computing life in a > Windows-based world and has the typical resistance to new ways of doing things. > Given the long-distance relationship, softening these tendencies will take time > and a gentle approach. If she sees "complication" in a new tool, she is at risk > of quietly "never getting around" to using it. The fiance is a civil servant > with policy rather than IT responsibilities. He is not an IT professional but, > during a long period on medical disability, he learned at least advanced > intermediate Linux skills. Returning to work has led to some decline in those > skills, but he is generally a quick learner and is used to following > instructions and troubleshooting when things do not go perfectly. > > I hesitate to use the words "project management," because it conjures up images > of complexity which might require a maintainer working full-time to manage the > software. That is overkill in these circumstances. > > The scope of what I envision is roughly the following: > - two indexed tables, one for the wedding, one for the redecoration project; > - indexes on action dates, completion dates, person responsible, questions for > answer; > - desirable, but not mandatory: e-mail notification when one party posts a > change. > > The obvious traditional and amateur approach is a spreadsheet or a flat database > file. An obvious locale is Google Apps. However, when I added "collaboration" to > a Google search phrase, all I got was information on the fee-paid business > service. Does the free implementation of Google Apps allow sharing? Or is there > a more appropriate web-based service for this task? Does anyone know a simple > web-based tool for this kind of task which would be better than the traditional > office productivity tools such as spreadsheet or a database? I personally have > never used even online note-taking, note sharing apps (like Evernote, for > example, or its Linux-based competitors) and have no idea whether they might (or > might not) hit the sweet spot of functionality and simplicity. > > All ideas would be welcome. > -- > Bruce Miller, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada > bruce [ at ] brmiller [ dot ] ca; (613) 745-1151 > > > In archaeology you uncover the unknown. In diplomacy you cover the known. > attributed to Thomas Pickering, retired US diplomat, born 1931 > > _______________________________________________ > Linux mailing list > Linux [ at ] lists [ dot ] oclug [ dot ] on [ dot ] ca > http://oclug.on.ca/mailman/listinfo/linux