Common World inc. has been servicing and training IT administrators and their staff on the award winning software FirstClass for over a decade now. Common World provides professional services for education and businesses around the Midwest. Common World has the experience and knowledge to take care of all your FirstClass
needs. Below are some current announcements and important news items.
Follow us on Twitter
FirstClass SP3 to be released soon |
Updates have been coming out quick. FirstClass SP3 is due out soon. FirstClass is an integral part of your organization's Collaborative environment. This Service Pack release is focused on identifying target users and then ensuring that the software creates the benefits that they value most. This is just the first of many releases that will be relevant to your current and future needs. Client Export
Rich Text Signatures
New Reply Options
Better handling of external Calendar invites
Single multi-language installer Various Kanji and Extended character bug fixes for Japanese and other non-English language clients Archive Server
Mobility
Internet Services
Directory Services
|
OCT 31, 2011 |
FirstClass Client v11.017 Released |
Client 11.017 has been released. It is an important client update for anyone running the FC 11 server. This fixes any issues our customers have had with previous versions. We are currently updating all our customers sites with the new installers. They will show in your clients downloads are within the next day. If you have any questions please let me know. With this release we are now resuming and promoting all servers to get updated to version FC 11. |
Sept 14, 2011 |
FirstClass Social Workplace Mobile for Android |
The long wait is finally over. FirstClass Social Workplace Mobile for Android has been released to the Android Market! NOTE* The Social Workplace Mobile application requires that you have an active account on either a FirstClass 11.0 or OpenText Social Workplace 2.0 based server with mobile access privileges enabled. |
Sept 6, 2011 |
What is the proper version of the client to run? |
I have had a few questions come in about client use. I wanted to address them and then send it out to all my customers. What is the proper version of the client to run? Always run the latest client version of the running core server version. It is possible to run other client versions than the server, but it is not recommended. For FirstClass server v11 we only recommend FirstClass Client v11.013 and beyond. There are known issues with Client v11.006 and previous versions. See below for more info. It is a requirement for anyone administrating the server to run the same version of the client as the server. FirstClass 10 server --> Recommended Client v10.014. Previous versions will work with a loss of features. Client v11.x will work but features in the newer client may not function proper. FirstClass 11 server --> Recommended Client v11.013. Client v10.014 is the only other working version for a FC 11 server, but with a loss of features. Running previous clients (v9.1, 9.0, 8.0...) can cause formatting issues in the body of a message. The latest servers have advanced html rendering and utilize UTF8 which older client version do not support. The current installer v11.006 has known issues that have effected some of my sites. (note - as of this post, FC Client 11.013 is beta, but i can send it to you) As of this time, OS Lion does not work well with previous FirstClass Clients. The next version release of the FC Client should have an update to counter the changes in Lion and all should be well. So far beta Client v11.013 has been running well with Lion. If there are issue with FirstClass on Lion an option is to use the Web Log-in. It will be slower and a loss of some function, but all areas and major features are there to communicate well until the finished update is out. Find the current Versions of the FirstClass Cleints at our website http://www.commonworldinc.com/ClientDownloads/ If you need access to this early release beta software please let me know. |
Aug 16, 2011 |
FirstClass Clients and the new Apple OS Lion |
There are known issues with the FirstClass Clients and the new Apple OS Lion. I would not recommend upgrading to Lion when it first comes out. I will keep you posted on any updates and when it is safe to update the OS. We are not sure about the Server side of things yet, but we see no reason to update the Server OS at this
time. To be safe, any new Server purchase should be downgraded to Apple OS 10.68 Snow Leopard. If you have any questions please let me know. |
July 13, 2011 |
FristClass v11 is out - time to update |
FirstClass v11 is out. Im suggesting to everyone to update to the current version this summer. My schedule fills up quick so please contact me to schedule any dates. This is a major update and we also ask all our RA Contract Customers to contact us so we can go over the server update, any needs, and then schedule the time for the remote upgrades. For a full list of all FirstClass v11 features visit our website - Find out whats new FirstClass v11 if you are updating, make sure to push the latest clients out to your staff. You can find the latest clients at our website http://www.commonworldinc.com/ClientDownloads/ We are also scheduling training dates - if you have not had training in the past couple years you should contact us. There is a lot you may be missing. We are suggesting for user and power user training this summer. If you need us for your inservice training time, book it now before someone else does! mone on training here http://www.commonworldinc.com/firstclass/Training I am still scheduling dates for consulting and speaking. I cover FirstClass, social media, other 'free' solutions, true collaboration, best practices, productivity, and how to build a good culture to communicate better. These meetings and 'talks' have been very useful and important to many people. Im getting great feedback. Its not only about software or knowing about a feature - its how you and your staff can use it to better communicate. Im not only a tech fixing a problem in these meetings. im your consultant helping you understand and build a better culture with better practices with better solutions. Its amazing how much difference it can make to any organization. Contact me for more info. Here are some quick notes on FC v11:
Other FC v11 changes and upgrade features to notice
Note on FC v10 and FCv11 update
For a full list of all FirstClass v11 features visit our website - Find out whats new FirstClass v11 |
June 26, 2011 |
FirstClass and Google |
In the last couple years the #2 topic to come up in any meeting has been - moving to Google. I have put together a quick list of some thoughts and notes on the subject of moving from FirstClass to Google. (see the link below) I have had a lot of meetings with other schools that are looking into Google. In these meetings we go over the pros and cons of FC vs GMail. We also go over the true costs of Google as 'free' vs FirstClass. Most importantly, we go over all of the hidden features and solutions that are not obvious and may not be running on their server. Most of the schools that I have talked to really appreciated knowing all the aspects of FristClass before they made their decision. Let me know if you are interested in a meeting to make sure your administration knows all the facts. We can schedule a meeting in the next month with ease. There would be no cost. Follow this link for more info --> LINK |
June 4, 2011 |
Summer Schedule |
Its that time again - time for my clients and schools to play out their summer. Contact me to schedule on-site meeting time. (Training, consulting, and planning) All server updates for our RA clients will be preformed off-site (unless stated other wise) We highly recommend a meeting with key staff and administration to go over features and other solutions you may be missing. We have seen that when managers, principals and key staff are involved in these meetings usage of the server increases and excitement of FirstClass goes up. Contact me, and lets get some time scheduled. We have had very good feedback from these meetings. Contact me, and lets get something scheduled. OpenText Channel Partner Rob Rickard Common World inc. Box 365, Wauzeka, WI 53826 v 608-807-1324 f 608-807-1325 |
May 27, 2011 |
Mobile Clients |
The full FirstClass Mobile Blackberry Client is out! It includes a Mailbox, Conferences, Documents, & Communities, but does not include Calendars and Contacts. Calendars and Contacts must use the current Blackberry apps, which require syncing to FirstClass. The Android Client is almost finished and will be out in June (we hope). It includes a Mailbox, Conferences, FirstClass Documents, Communities, The Pulse, My People, Flagged Items, & Community Invitations A Mobile Client for the iPhone/iPod/iPad has been out, and it has been very popular. It includes a Mailbox, Conferences, FirstClass Documents, Communities, The Pulse, My People, Flagged Items, & Community Invitations Follow this link for more info --> LINK |
May 8, 2011 |
FirstClass News Letter to RA Clients |
Latest news letter sent out to RA Contract Customers:
Follow this link for more info --> LINK |
May 8, 2011 |
Spear Phishing on the rise |
We have seen an increase in Spear Phishing type emails coming in to our customers servers. Spam protection has been doing well, but with the increased activity some 'zero day' messages are making it though. Some staff of our schools have been fooled by these messages. I wanted to send out a 'heads up' to you on this so you can keep an eye on activity at your site. You may want to pass this information on to your staff to be on the look out for these types of messages. It may be a good idea to also draft up your policies and practices of how you will contact them and when and where they need to authenticate. A popular way they have been tricking staff has been to format the email as if it was coming from the tech department. The email explains that their mailbox quota has exceeded the limit. It then asks them to go though steps to fix the issue...
For the most part our FirstClass school and organizations have been catching on to this. Staff normally never use a web browser to authenticate so the request seems strange to them. Our other schools and organizations that use a web based servers are more prone to trust these emails coming in. Google users seem to be the most prone as the this Phishing scam is targeting them with graphics and services like Google. Follow this link for more info --> LINK |
April 7, 2011 |
Training and Consulting on FirstClass |
I have decided this year to hand out crazy discounts on our time to our most loyal customers. To show my appreciation, most of our RA Contract Customers will receive an on-site meeting and pay only our standard travel fee for the day. If you are not one of our RA Contract Customers, we will be offering a heavy discount to all on-site time in April and May. Please contact me for a full quote and to schedule dates. If we have not had a meeting with your district in the last couple years, I suggest to schedule time with your leadership staff to go over FirstClass features and solutions you may be missing. I promise you this meeting will be well worth the time. For the last few years I have been pushing for meetings like this with out clients. The schools, organizations, and small businesses who have scheduled the time have been 'blown away' with all they didn't know. Communication is so important to your organization. FirstClass is all about communication. I can help you really use it to communicate better. I can help you be more productive with better practices and if needed build new custom solutions. You already own FirstClass, contact me and find out all it can really do. Popular topics to cover:
Our FirstClass Training page --> http://www.commonworldinc.com/firstclass/training |
March 9, 2011 |
