As freelancers we are often in our element working as hired guns. Being the single point of contact from pitch to project-end certainly has its advantages. There are occasions though, that need may arise to put together a collaborative group of designers and developers – a freelance posse if you will.

For those who have suddenly found themselves in the position of Project Coordinator, it can feel a lot like being pushed into the deep end of the pool. Without an effective collaboration structure in place, you will soon be drowning in emails and out-of-control task lists.

Fortunately, there are currently several programs and software available for working collaboratively, each with their different strengths and weaknesses. FreelanceSwitch requested that I review one of these choices – activeCollab from a51 development.

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You know you want one.

You can already imagine yourself walking into a client meeting and pulling out your new, slick toy. Hear the ‘oohs and aahs’ as you swivel the screen and disengage your tablet’s stylus. Hoisting the plastic pen like a techno-geek’s Excalibur, you ready yourself to unleash your chicken scratches on an eagerly awaiting world.

Reality-check time. A tablet PC can easily cost twice as much as a regular laptop. Do you really need the functionality of a tablet? Are you going to use it enough to justify the additional costs? For the good of freelancers everywhere, I decided to find out — by purchasing my first tablet PC, the Asus R1F. Continue Reading