IE Collaboration on the Horizon?
A couple of months ago Onfolio launched its shared search technology which facilitated collaboration and planning amongst a small collective. A new startup, Pluck, is hoping to steal some of that fame and perhaps expand on the promise.
Pluck has spawned into existence to extend and enhance the abilities, and shortcomings, on Microsoft Internet Explorer. Using a plug-in approach similar to Onfolio, Pluck raises the bar by adding additional features to the mix. Pluck provides four key functions: Content Sharing, RSS Reading, Bookmarking, and Search.
Though new to the game, and not quite as polished as Onfolio, Pluck seems like it could be a serious contender in the long term. As News.com reports:
Pluck was founded last year by Andrew Busey, who helped build Mosaic, the Internet's first browser, and Dave Panos, the creator of IBM Lotus SameTime, an early Web collaboration application. Pluck is the latest company attempting to generate business by marketing software that aims to augment IE. An increasing number of companies have sprung up in this market over the last year, such as Onfolio, which sells a content aggregation application that works with Microsoft's browser.
Unlike Onfolio, which charges $30 to $80 for different versions of its browser-based tools, Pluck is distributing its software free of charge from its Web site and hoping to drive profits through paid listings. The company is using a similar sales model to the one employed by search giant Google, in which companies bid for specific terms and have their ads appear when users complete a search or access content relevant to their business.
The Austin, Texas-based company estimates that so far it has attracted several thousand people who have begun using a test version of its software.