Dimdim
Encyclopedia
Dimdim was a software company that provided a web-based platform for realtime, rich-media collaboration and meetings. Dimdim provided free web conferencing service where users could share desktops, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via webcam. It has been compared to the WebEx
2.0 web conferencing solution. Dimdim was acquired by Salesforce.com
on Jan 6, 2011.
, Nexus India Capital and Draper Richards.
community edition has also been made available to developers under the GNU General Public License
(GPL), giving them the option to install and host Dimdim in their own networks. The most recent open source version, released in December 2008 and hosted at sourceforge.net, is V4.5 "Liberty". However, no installation instructions were provided, and the software had several arbitrary limitations, leading some to describe it as "crippled". Distributions of the system for the installation to several OSes, Virtual Machines and the corresponding documentation are available in several archives on the SourceForge.net
Dimdim site.
Dimdim can be integrated with the e-learning platforms Moodle
, Claroline
and Docebo, the collaborative suite Zimbra
and the CRM
software SugarCRM
. Unlike Dimdim's web-hosted services, the Dimdim open source server does not restrict the number of attendees or simultaneous meetings allowed.
Dimdim has come under heavy criticism lately by a large section of the community for not releasing an open source version after the 4.5 version. It has been accused of using open source as a means of publicity but never actually being committed to the community. The lack of a proper public repository and no communication between the developers and the community further questions the intent.
As of December 2010, at Dimdim's website, there was no download available for the open source version and the only way to download it was from SourceForge.net. Dimdim's acquisition FAQ states that the company would no longer be contributing to the open source project. As of January 2011, an open source fork called miDmiD had been started.
Dimdim formally exited beta in December 2008 with the launch of version 4.5.
The most recent upgrade of Dimdim 5.5 was received with much criticism and numerous complaints of it being an alpha product. Various major changes took place in the interface of the system and its integration API with other systems.
. Free meetings were made available for up to ten users. Professional meetings with collaboration tools for up to 50 users were also made available for US$25 per month, and webinar hosting for up to 100 users or 1,000 event attendees was available for US$75 per month.
WebEx
WebEx Communications Inc. is a Cisco company that provides on-demand collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing and videoconferencing applications...
2.0 web conferencing solution. Dimdim was acquired by Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com is an enterprise cloud computing company headquartered in San Francisco that distributes business software on a subscription basis. Salesforce.com hosts the applications off-site...
on Jan 6, 2011.
Investors
Dimdim was financially backed by Index VenturesIndex Ventures
Index Ventures is a venture capital investment firm based in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices in London, Jersey, and starting in 2011, Silcon Valley. The firm was founded in 1996 by Neil Rimer and Giuseppe Zocco. Since its inception, the firm has raised four main venture funds and a growth...
, Nexus India Capital and Draper Richards.
Open source
Dimdim was made available primarily as an enterprise edition and as a Virtual Machine appliance, but an open sourceOpen source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
community edition has also been made available to developers under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
(GPL), giving them the option to install and host Dimdim in their own networks. The most recent open source version, released in December 2008 and hosted at sourceforge.net, is V4.5 "Liberty". However, no installation instructions were provided, and the software had several arbitrary limitations, leading some to describe it as "crippled". Distributions of the system for the installation to several OSes, Virtual Machines and the corresponding documentation are available in several archives on the SourceForge.net
SourceForge.net
SourceForge is a web-based source code repository. It acts as a centralized location for software developers to control and manage open source software development. The website runs a version of SourceForge Enterprise Edition, forked from the last open-source version available...
Dimdim site.
Dimdim can be integrated with the e-learning platforms Moodle
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
, Claroline
Claroline
Claroline is a collaborative eLearning and eWorking platform released under the GPL Open Source license. It allows hundreds of organizations worldwide ranging from universities to schools and from companies to associations to create and administer courses and collaboration spaces over the web...
and Docebo, the collaborative suite Zimbra
Zimbra
Zimbra Collaboration Suite is a groupware product created by Zimbra, Inc., located in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was purchased by Yahoo! in September 2007, and subsequently purchased by VMware on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. The software consists of both client and server components...
and the CRM
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
software SugarCRM
SugarCRM
SugarCRM is a software company based in Cupertino, California. They produce the web application Sugar, also known as SugarCRM, which is a customer relationship management system that is available in both open source and Commercial open source applications.Sugar's functionality includes sales-force...
. Unlike Dimdim's web-hosted services, the Dimdim open source server does not restrict the number of attendees or simultaneous meetings allowed.
Dimdim has come under heavy criticism lately by a large section of the community for not releasing an open source version after the 4.5 version. It has been accused of using open source as a means of publicity but never actually being committed to the community. The lack of a proper public repository and no communication between the developers and the community further questions the intent.
As of December 2010, at Dimdim's website, there was no download available for the open source version and the only way to download it was from SourceForge.net. Dimdim's acquisition FAQ states that the company would no longer be contributing to the open source project. As of January 2011, an open source fork called miDmiD had been started.
History
An alpha version of Dimdim was released in fall 2006, followed by a private beta launch in fall 2007. The company's first public beta was in April 2008. Version 4.0 beta was released in July 2008.Dimdim formally exited beta in December 2008 with the launch of version 4.5.
The most recent upgrade of Dimdim 5.5 was received with much criticism and numerous complaints of it being an alpha product. Various major changes took place in the interface of the system and its integration API with other systems.
Revenue streams
As of 2010, Dimdim provided for hosted meetings, similar to GoToMeetingGoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is a Web-hosted service created and marketed by Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems. It is a remote meeting and desktop sharing software that enables the user to meet with other computer users, customers, clients or colleagues via the Internet in real-time.- Technology...
. Free meetings were made available for up to ten users. Professional meetings with collaboration tools for up to 50 users were also made available for US$25 per month, and webinar hosting for up to 100 users or 1,000 event attendees was available for US$75 per month.
See also
- Web conferencingWeb conferencingWeb conferencing refers to a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations. Most vendors also provide either a recorded copy of an event, or a means for a subscriber to record an event. The service allows information to be shared simultaneously, across geographically...
- Comparison of web conferencing softwareComparison of web conferencing softwareThis page is a comparison of web conferencing software available for various platforms.- Comparison chart :- Terminology :In the table above, the following terminology is intended to be used to describe some important features:...
- Collaborative softwareCollaborative softwareCollaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...