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	Issue TOC Print full article Print this page Download as PDF E-Mail this URL Discuss this article Flame the author     In this article Introduction More Than Instant E-Mail IBM Lotus Instant Messaging 3.0 WiredRed Software e/pop Professional 3.0 Sun Microsystems Sun ONE Portal Server: Instant Collaboration Pack 3.0.1 Other Products Reviewed Executive Summary | Web Links Report Card

Sun's Instant Collaboration Pack integrates with, but does not require, a Sun ONE Portal Server. But unless you value excellent moderator and access-control abilities above all else, the other products we tested might suit your organization better.

Portal server integration adds single sign-on and access-control capabilities. You can specify which users in the directory are permitted to use IM; otherwise, anyone in the directory can use it. We tested the product using Active Directory. However, on its own, the Instant Collaboration Pack is one of the best values of the products in this roundup on a feature-for-feature basis. In this release, there is no conversation logging, and access logs are limited and must be searched manually. Sun recently released version 6.0 (the vendor skipped a few version numbers), which is said to have improved logging, but this release was in beta during our tests, so we stuck with the shipping version.

The client software is a pure Java applet that can run in a Web browser but can also run separately if you use the Java Web Start program. We found no real difference using either method. That's the only positive comment we can make about the interface. This IM program's unique way of showing chat/IM conversations, in one tabbed window, reminded us of Opera's and Mozilla's tabbed browsing. You'll love it or hate it. Furthermore, the built-in sounds reminded us of a bad Atari video game, and the alert message tone will scare you the first few times.