Technola : Public Interest Law & Technology Updates & Commentary : Matthew Burnett & Kate Bladow : Tech Advice for the Non-Profit Legal Sector

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) offers LSC-funded legal aid programs free annual memberships that include

• access to 700+ legal tutorials;
• site license use of CALI Author, the tool used to create CALI's legal tutorials; and
• discounted registration for the Conference for Law School Computing.

With reduced training budgets, these free memberships could be a great way for legal aid staff to review important legal concepts and develop training materials for self-study. - K

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The ability to visually represent data is an important tool for advocacy, fundraising, and reporting. Below are a few free online tools that will allow you to quickly create graphs, charts and other visualizations.

• Google Docs – Google Docs has Charts and Widget features that allow you to create graphs and charts that can be shared and embedded into websites.
• ManyEyes – This online tool (and community) allows you to easily upload data sets that can be made into a variety of charts and other visualizations, but requires that you publish your data online. It’s also a great place to find visualizations of census and other public data.
• DabbleDB – Allows you to create simple online databases as well as graphs and charts based on your data. It’s free if you share your data or $8 per user a month if you don’t.

Other online tools for creating graphs and charts include Swivel, iCharts and WidGenie. Google Docs, Many Eyes and DabbleDB were also covered in the “50 Tech Tips for Tough Economic Times” session at the 2009 EJC conference. [H/T to Laura Quinn for inspiring this post.] -M

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Our thoughtful colleague at Pro Bono Net Tory Messina pointed out this gem: a review of ten free case law websites by Robert Ambrogi.  - K

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TechSoup is offering a free free webinar, "Basics for Beginners: Getting Started with Social Media Tools," on Wednesday, April 15th at 9 AM PST.  The presenters are John Haydon, social media coach for nonprofits, and blogger and internet marketing consultant, Chris Garrett. To learn more about this session (and register), visit http://www.techsoup.org/go/web2basics

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TechSoup is hosting a free webinar on Thursday March 26^th at 9:00 a.m. (Pacific) on “Mobile Technology for Advocacy and Activism.” This session will explore how to use mobile technology, including voice, SMS, applications, and the mobile web, for activism and engagement. You can register online here. -M

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Alyssa Gregory reviews 30 websites that provide free stock photography in her recent post on SitePoint, an online information provider for web developers and designers. -M [Thanks, Ken!]

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If you work on web-based projects, you often want to know how your site renders in multiple browsers, but don't want to actually install them on your machine. Here are a few great free tools that allow you to do just that:

• Xenocode Browser Sandbox - Runs any browser from the web with no installation.


• LunaScape - Puts the "big three" browser rendering engines into one tool and allows you to easily switch between them.


• BrowserShots - Allows you to quickly run page tests on nearly every browser and version available.

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In mid-January PC Magazine released their "Best Free Software" review for 2009. Included in the list are over a hundred new picks, sorted by category, as well as some old favorites (labeled "Hall of Fame"). If you haven't yet seen the 2008 list, it's available here. -M

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TechSoup's Kami Griffiths will interview Colin Carpenter and Lori Pottinger from International Rivers about their flash video, "We All Live Downstream", which was chosen as runner up in the Adobe-TechSoup 2008 Show Your Impact contest. Learn about the process  for developing a flash video and how to produce a similar video for your organization. Register online here. -M

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Do your staff know where they can turn to brush up on their spreadsheet and word processing software skills? What about to learn more about that new Web 2.0 stuff that can help them network and learn from each other? Yes, you may have told them before, but they have a lot of other important things on their minds--their clients. So I'd encourage you to remind them.  A few resources that you can point out:

• LSNTAP.org. As I've said before, LSNTAP is one of the first places that the legal aid community should turn to for technology training. Rumor has it that their 2009 Training Calendar will be announced shortly, but in the meantime, your staff can watch their recorded trainings.
• TechSoup.org. TechSoup has and is continuing to host free technology trainings for the nonprofit community. Check out a list of their scheduled and archived trainings.

A huge thanks to Mike Monahan, the Director of the State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project, for inspiring this post. (And reminding me to remind you to remind your staff.)  - K

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Today, Robert Ambrogi announced that bloggers can get in free to LegalTech New York. They even get reserved seating--a front-row table with electricity! - K

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Clearinghouse Review has just published their yearly review of Supreme Court decisions concerning access to the federal courts online, including links to statutory authority and case law cited in the footnotes of the article. For those of you that subscribe to Clearinghouse Review, a print version of this article will also be published in the January-February 2009 issue. -M

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On Tuesday, December 9th at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, TechSoup Global will be hosting a free webinar on stopping spam. Kami Griffiths will interview Eytan Urbas from Mailshell to help nonprofits understand how they can save money and keep their inboxes secure. You can register online here, and send questions to kami@techsoupglobal.org. -M

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SitePoint has made their book The Art and Science of CSS available for free. You can either provide them with your e-mail address or follow them on Twitter. (And anyone who spent time with me at the NLADA Annual Conference should know which one I would recommend!) - K

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On Tuesday, November 18, 2008 TechSoup Talks is offering a free webinar on "Reducing Your Paper Usage." Anna Jaeger from TechSoup Global's GreenTech Program will interview Steve Adams from Protus, the maker of MyFax, a paperless fax solution. The webinar will be held from 10-11am Pacific. You can register online here. -M

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A key responsibility for system administrators is to keep unauthorized people out, and it's not an easy job. The security landscape changes rapidly, and hackers start to use new tactics even before their current methods fail. News stories of data theft from multi-million dollar companies are becoming more frequent.

While legal aid organizations are not high-profile targets, their system administrators still need to keep their guards up. Legal aid organizations collect a lot of valuable information, including social security numbers, evidence and arguments for court cases, and names, phone numbers, and addresses of domestic violence survivors, who are likely trying to avoid being found. And as we all know, legal aid programs don't have a whole lot of extra money to spend on fancy security systems.

Fortunately, there is a free option: SNORT. SNORT is an open-source network intrusion prevention and detection system. System administrators give SNORT a set of rules to follow, and SNORT analyzes your network traffic based on those rules. It alerts you to probes, attacks, and other things that aren't quite right. A special Free Friday bonus: Emerging Threats, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Office, has a set of SNORT rules available for free.

Granted, the total cost of ownership of this software is not free. There is a significant learning curve; however, there are additional free resources to help system administrators learn how to use the tool and a large user community, including Snort User Groups, that system administrators can turn to with questions. - K

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For those of use who don't have a paid web designer on staff, MailChimp is trying to help make our HTML emails a little prettier. They have made several HTML email templates available for free. Programs that want to experiment with e-newsletters or fundraising e-mails can use these templates to add a little panache without any expense. - K

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The folks at Boing Boing have teamed up with Safari Books Online (a new Boing Boing sponsor) to offer one of three O'Reilly tech titles free for 30 days:

• JavaScript: The Definitive Guide;
• Learning Perl; or
• Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML

Note: Accessing your free book requires that you sign up for a Safari Books Online account. -M

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On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, Grassroots.org is hosting a free webinar on the Grassroots.org Toolbox. This session will offer an introduction to the free tools and services offered by Grassroots.org to enhance your nonprofit's web presence. Learn more and register to attend this webinar here. -M

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In October and November, the Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP is offering a free webinar series on "Understanding Census Bureau Data on Language and English-Speaking Proficiency." The webinars will cover key Census concepts as well as finding language-related data and will be led by Census Bureau experts.

The webinars will be held on October 30, November 6, November 13, and November 20 at 2:00 pm Eastern; however, the sessions will be recorded and posted online for reference. To sign up, email CRT.LEP@usdoj.gov with the subject line "Census Webinar" by Tuesday, October 21, 2008 and provide your name, phone number, email address, agency or organization affiliation, and whether you require access to the captioned broadcast or a copy of the presentations and web links for use with a screen reader. - K

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Idealware, an organization we've mentioned before on technola, is offering a free webinar--Online Communications on a Shoestring. The session will look at how websites, e-mail blasts, and social media can help your organization serve its mission. This webinar will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm (Eastern). You can register online here. - K

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It's always helpful to have a few interesting fonts on hand to spruce up a report, distinguish your PowerPoint, or to help ensure that your marketing materials attract attention. Most fonts cost money, but not at dafont.com, where all of the fonts are absolutely free. To load a new font on your machine, first download the font and unzip it. Next, if you're using Vista, simply right-click on the font file and select "Install" (same goes for Mac OS X, but double click and select "Install font"). If you're using XP, just save the font file to C:\Windows\Fonts. After the font is is installed, you can select it from the drop-down list as you would any existing font on your machine.

And remember: just because you can use a fancy font doesn't mean that you should. Accessibility is important, so be sure to use fonts that are legible. -M

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Rather than highlighting the usual free software and tools, this week I wanted to point out a great article published this month on Idealware by Peter Campbell (blog), the director of Information Technology at Earthjustice, which is likely to save you both time and money when making your next major software purchase (i.e. case management system or CRM solution). Also, while a RFP may not be appropriate, many of the issues that Peter discusses in the article also apply to not-so-major software and hardware purchases. -M

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SurveyGizmo, an extremely full-featured online survey tool, is offering nonprofits a free 30-day trial of their Enterprise account. After that you have to either pay or switch to a free account, but as a nonprofit you can save 50% on their annual Pro or Enterprise accounts.

Remember also that the TIG-funded Poverty Law Survey Tool is available for free to nonprofit legal services programs. -M

[Thanks to Yann Toledano for the SurveyGizmo tip via TechSoup.]

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My mother-in-law subscribes to a wide variety of magazines, which are kept within arms reach of the couch. Since one of my favorite vacation activities is cozying up on a couch with a blanket and not leaving for long periods of time, I made my way through a several of them, including the Good Housekeeping September 2008 issue. This issue focuses on ways to save money and listed several free upcoming health screenings:

• September: Vascular disease sponsored by the Society of Interventional Radiology
• October: Depression sponsored by Mental Health America
• November: Memory sponsored by Alzheimer's Foundation of America
• February: Heart disease sponsored by Sister to Sister
• May: Skin cancer sponsored by American Academy of Dermatology
• On-Going: Asthma sponsored by American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

While these aren't necessarily LSTech, I am using them to highlight a technology resource that advocates can use to help their clients and themselves - the websites of national and international associations that educate the public about medical conditions. You can use these websites to learn more about a condition that your client is suffering from, ascertain whether a condition supports an argument that you'd like to make, or even learn how to recognize symptoms in your clients. - K

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Many in the legal aid community have fallen in love with Battlestar Gallatica, Doctor Who, and other recent sci-fi shows but may not have a social network that let's them know when there is a new must-see miniseries. So in an effort to help, technola presents Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. (Yes, for those of you who are really, really into sci-fi, this was released a while ago, but I was only able to watch it last weekend.)

Dr. Horrible is a short, three-part "supervillian musical" created by Joss Whedon (the producer of Firefly and Buffy) and his brothers during the television writers' strike. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. For those of you who loved Firefly and Serenity, I highly recommend taking a look. - K

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By now, you should know that you can't just wander around the Web picking any ol' image to use as you please. You usually need to have permission first, and in a lot of cases, that permission costs money.

But don't fret, you can still find free images online. In fact, any work created by the US Government can't be copyrighted, and Uncle Sam has been kind enough to make several public domain image collections available for the public to use. For example:

• The Library of Congress American Memory Collection. This collection contains images from America's history - the Civil War, the Depression, World War II, settlement of the Great Plains, and so on. Ansel Adam's photographs from the Japanese-American Internment Camp, Manzanar, which are at the top of the list, are worth a look.
• The National Archives Charters of Freedom. This collection contains images of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.
• The National Archives Picturing the Century. This collection contains images from National Archives collection that represent events and circumstances during the 20th century.

And there are many more--.govWatch lists what they consider the top thirteen and does a later post on the newly updated NASA collection.

Of course, before using any of these images check that they are in public domain. Especially on the National Archives site, you can run up against some donated works that do have copyright restrictions. - K

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Creating a quality website with little or no knowledge of HTML or other programming languages is no longer the challenge that it once was. With the evolution of blogging platforms, wikis and other web-based content management systems, you can now build a web presence for your organization or projects with little more than some extra time on your hands. Here are a few free hosted solutions that will put you on your way to a website without having to write a lick of code:

• Blogs: In addition to the popular weblog platforms such as Wordpress and Blogger, check out the tumblelog offerings, which land somewhere between weblogs and micro-blogging sites like Twitter. My current favorite is tumblr, which is extremely easy to use, allows you to post from your mobile device, offers a really nifty Firefox plug-in, and (with a little bit of effort or a free theme) is fully customizable.

• Wikis: Most hosted wikis don't make for particularly good general purpose websites, but wetpaint is an exception. Wetpaint's innovative social publishing platform allows you to effortlessly post and edit text and multimedia content in a wiki-like environment, as well as to easily customize the overall look and feel. If you're looking to build a website to support an online community, and can put up with a few Google ads, wetpaint is a good option.

• Other options: If the blog or wiki platforms above aren't the right fit for your project, consider Google Sites and Roxer. Google Sites, which we've showcased before in a Free Friday post on project management solutions, is somewhat of a hybrid. It supports collaboration (like a wiki) and fairly robust permissioning, but has a more traditional website feel. Roxer, while not big on collaboration, is one of the most innovative hosted website solutions that I've seen. As its website claims, "now anyone can create beautiful websites online in just minutes." It truly takes WYSIWYG to an entirely new level.

Also be sure to check out the recent webinar by LSNTAP and Pro Bono Net on building program websites. In addition to great suggestions on finding the right platform and host, it provides helpful tips and resources on layout, design and incorporating multimedia. Also, for those states using the LawHelp template, ask your Circuit Rider about program sites, which are free to legal aid and public interest organizations. -M

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Upfront, I'll admit that I'm not a Mac expert. I'm capable of using one and have even owned one. (Although I no longer own it -- it met a sad fate, which will get covered as the topic of a different post.)

But today on Free Friday, I wanted to take a minute to point those of you who use Macs to a post on the Mac Lawyer Blog - Top 10 Free Programs for Attorneys Using Macs, which provides a great list of software to cover all of the basic tasks that you need to do.

And while you're there, take a few minutes to look over the other posts. Ben Stevens, the blog's author, has a great collection of posts about being a Mac law firm and transitioning from PCs to Macs. - K

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High on my list of helpful software to have on hand is a screencasting program, which allows me to easily capture or record anything that's happening on my computer and save it or send it to others. Screencasting is particularly useful for creating trainings, ad hoc tutorials and how-tos, but it's also great for reporting bugs and capturing usability issues if you work on development projects. Here are a few free screencasting software options to consider:

• Jing Project: Jing allows you to capture images or record video of your screen and then upload it (for free) and share it with others online. It's a project of TechSmith, makers of Camtasia Studio and SnagIt, and the folks behind screencast.com. I use all of these products and am a big fan of TechSmith's clean, user-friendly approach to software design. (Windows, Mac)
• Wink: Wink is another great free (but not open source) screencasting program. While it doesn't include free online storage or sharing functionality, Wink is more full-featured than Jing and supports exports to PDF, HTML, and SWF (Flash) formats. (Windows, Linux)
• CamStudio: A final contender in the free and open source category is CamStudio, which outputs AVI files and allows you to convert them to SWFs. The only limitation to CamStudio is that the current version doesn't play well with Firefox when you try to view the converted SWF files. (Windows only) -M

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It's likely that every one of you spends a good portion of your day writing -- or perhaps avoiding writing -- briefs, reports, e-mails and so on. So today, technola points out some free tools and resources to help you put words on the page.

• Garbl's Writing Resources Online - If you are looking for a writing resource, this is the place to go. Garbl's lists cover everything from punctuation to overcoming writer's block. He even points out a few word games, like The Engima Device.
• Manage Your Writing - Kenneth W. Davis posts weekly tips on how to write better. These little reminders are mostly about the process of writing, which Davis recommends that you manage like you would projects or people.
• OneLook Reverse Dictionary - If you ever know the meaning of the word that you want but don't know or can't remember the word, this is the dictionary for you. You describe the meaning, and it will provide you with guess. It's like having someone available at all times to play the "oh, you know the word . . . it means angry, but starts with an 'i'" game.
• 50 Awesome Open Source Resources for Online Writers - Christina Laun put together a list of free online writing resources. If your desktop word processor isn't working for you or you are looking to try something new, perhaps something on this list will fit your needs. (If your writing or researching includes looking at any XML, I second her recommendation of Notepad++.) - K

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VerticalResponse, a web-based bulk email tool, is offering a free program that allows nonprofits to send out up to 10,000 emails per month. What's more, you can purchase additional email credits at a 15% discount. Before you sign up, however, be sure to check out the recent idealware review of VerticalResponse, which discusses a couple of limitations that you should be aware of. -M

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Given the popularity of instant messaging and the ubiquitous packaging of instant messaging services with web-based email accounts, it's likely that you use more than one IM client. In order to avoid having to sign in to several different clients, you can instead use an IM client that supports multiple instant messaging protocols. Here are a few free instant messaging "aggregators" worth considering:

• Pidgin: This is the client that I use at work. It's simple to set up and supports nearly every protocol out there (although some protocols, such as Skype, require a plugin). Pidgin does not support voice messaging or webcams, but if you can live without those it's a good option. (Windows, Linux)
• Meebo: A web-based instant messaging client, meebo supports most common protocols, including Yahoo! Messenger, .NET Messenger Service, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, and Jabber. You can also create public or private rooms (which can be embedded on your website), and there's even a handy Meebo Firefox extension. (Windows, Mac, Linux)
• Trillian: I mention Trillian because it's fairly popular and the free version is comparatively full-featured. It supports most common protocols, but for voice messaging and webcam support you'll need to upgrade to Trillian Pro ($25). (Windows only) -M

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So last week, we pointed out something that might have brought a few of you pain. But this week, I promise you, we've got something pleasant for the long summer days -- free books.

• Google Books - Google gives you access to books, books, and more books. Books in the public domain or ones where the publishers have given permission are available for download in PDF and many other books have a free limited preview. This means that for free you can read all of Justice and the Poor by Reginald Heber Smith, check out the limited preview of Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life by Steven Keeva, or, if you are into a little light reading, delve into Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott or An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers by Godfrey Harold Hardy and E.M. Wright.
• BookMooch.com - This site lets you trade books that you own, have read, and don't want anymore for books that other people own, have read, and don't want anymore. This seems like a great site for compulsive book buyers who live in small studio apartments or those who are trying to cut back on the number of book buying binges they have. Caveat - This isn't completely free. You do have to pay for postage and handling for sending your books to others.
• A History of Free and Open Source by Dr. Peter Salus - While I'm pointing out free books, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out this one. It's available for free from Groklaw, a website that reports on legal events related to free and open source software.

And if the sites listed above don't have that book that one special book that you need, perhaps one of these will.

• Computer Research Repository
• Elfwood (Science Fiction and Fantasy)
• ManyBooks.net
• CliffNotes.com
• WikiBooks

Happy reading! - K

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You've probably heard the news. The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) intends to require a technology plan as part of its 2010 grant competition. Perhaps this news has made you happy in that you now have a good reason to get started. Or perhaps it just made you cry, rant and rave, quake in your boots or giggle hysterically. How are you going to get this done on top of everything else? And what's a technology plan anyway? Don't worry. Here's a list of free resources to help you along.

• Statewide Technology Planning Manual - The resource for technology planning in the legal aid community. LSNTAP drafted this manual to help legal aid programs develop technology plans without hiring a consultant.
• Path to Successful Technology Planning - A free webinar on June 5, 2008 from TechSoup.org. TechSoup.org is a technology community that provides free technology resources and support to the nonprofit community. They also run TechSoup Stock, which provides discounted or free technology products to nonprofits. In addition to the training, or if you can't attend, make certain to check out TechSoup.org's technology planning center.
• How to Cost and Fund ICT - A technology planning guidebook. It gets to the point of a technology plan - finding out what your technology costs and how you are going to get the money to fund it - and provides some great worksheets and checklists for you to use as a part of the process. I'll admit that I've only scanned this document and haven't read it thoroughly, but Beth Kanter and Marc Osten, its authors, are known for providing high quality content.

I hope that this gives you a handle on what technology planning involves and a few resources to get your plan started. - K

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You've found the perfect training to solve that nagging problem. Perhaps it's for that attorney who keeps asking you the same Word formatting questions, the sys admin who needs to brush up on their skills, or even your officemate who hums off key. But it's incredibly expensive. Why, oh why can't you find cheap, but good, trainings?

Well, here's technola to your rescue. Today, I present a few free training options.

• LSNTAP.org. If you are in a legal aid program and don't know about the Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (LSNTAP), you've likely been hiding under a rock. But just in case you haven't heard, LSNTAP regularly holds and records technology trainings on a wide variety of subjects: MS Word, LegalMeetings, document assembly, Internet trends, website best practices, and so on. Check out their training calendar and their archived trainings. LSNTAP also holds monthly Tech Noodling Roundtables. While not really a training, it is a great opportunity for legal aid techies to interact with their colleagues and get some support.
• Lynda.com. Most of the technology training content that Lynda.com provides is available for a low monthly subscription fee ($25); however, you can check out chapters of many of their titles for free. For example, you can get a brief overview of XML, learn the basics of search engine optimization, introduce yourself to the basics of computer privacy and security, and figure out how to navigate PDFs.
• YouTube.com. Yes, YouTube has plenty of material that couldn't even be remotely classified as "training." But it does have useful material, too. For example, the officemate mentioned above might want to check out Singing Lessons with Nikki Scrase. Or perhaps you want to introduce your office to social bookmarking. Instead of creating your own materials, you could just point them to Social Bookmarking in Plain English.

So there are a few sites where you can find free trainings. But there are many more. Let us know in the comments below if you've got a favorite free training site. - K

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This week's Free Friday takes a look at mind/concept mapping software. Whether you're looking to visually map ideas, concepts or arguments, here are a few free software solutions to help you get the job done:

• Bubbl.us: The best thing about Bubbl.us is that it's entirely web-based, so there's nothing to download and it's easy to share and collaborate with others online. Features include the ability to email your mind map, save it as an image, and embed it on your blog or website.
• The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE): VUE is a project at Tufts UIT Academic Technology, which provides a visual environment for structuring, sharing and presenting digital information. All software in this category allows you to structure ideas, concepts and information, but VUE shines it its ability to easily integrate digital content, whether stored locally or on the web. It also excels at presentation. VUE has good user documentation and a nice screencast overview.
• FreeMind: A more traditional mind mapping tool, FreeMind is a Java-based open source software. Its other potential uses include keeping track of projects, tracking research and as a knowledge base. Features include support of HTML links, one-click navigation, export map to HTML, an XML storage format and easy integration with many wikis. FreeMind doesn't support online sharing/collaboration or do well with rich graphics. -M

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While free access to case law has been available for some time through sites like

• The Public Library of Law: Developed by Fastcase, the Public Library of Law contains cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals and all 50 states (since 1997), as well as federal statutory law and codes from all states, regulations, court rules, and constitutions. Other features include RSS feeds for recent state and federal decisions, a user guide and web tutorials on finding cases and statutes.
• AltLaw: A project of Columbia Law School's Program on Law and Technology and the Silicon Flatirons Program at the University of Colorado Law School, AltLaw features full text search of the last few decades of appellate and Supreme Court opinions. For most Circuits, coverage is limited to the last 40 to 50 years and West Reporter Citations are not available for the most recent cases. State law and district court cases are not currently available.
• PreCYdent: PreCYdent emphasizes their search, which "ranks results by "authority", using mathematical techniques, such as eigenvector centrality, similar to those used by advanced Web search engines, as well as proprietary techniques we have developed that are specialized to the legal domain." The current version contains only U.S. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases. PreCYdent also allows you to register and upload legal documents.

Other great resources for online legal research with a poverty law focus include LSNC's Legal Research Tools and Legal Research on the Internet, a resource by the Shriver Center. -M

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That's right, it's Free Friday, a new technola feature that highlights free - as in free beer - tech tools and resources. This week, a few free web-based project management tools to help keep those milestones in check:

• Project2Manage - A free, web-based project management solution that offers multiple levels of permissions for different clients & users, unlimited projects and the ability to post messages, manage tasks, develop to-do lists and create milestones.
• Google Sites - Google Sites is another great free project management option, particularly given its seamless integration with other Google apps, like Google Calendar and Google Docs. Here's an example (from Google) of a project management site using Google Sites.
• CentralDesktop - While only a limited version of CentralDesktop is free, this may be a good choice if you want to get your feet wet with a web-based project management solution with a lot of bells and whistles. The free version is limited to 2 workspaces, 5 users per workspace and 25MB of total storage space.
• ZOHO Projects - Like CentralDesktop, only a limited version of ZOHO Projects is free. Compared to CentralDesktop, you get more storage (100MB) and more users (unlimited), but less projects (only one). -M

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