Setting up a virtual office with web tools

During the six months I've been writing for Weblogs Inc, I've only met with coworkers twice. But that doesn't mean we don't communicate. Bloggers make liberal use of email, chats, and other tools to keep in touch with one another. But the truth is, there's a whole world of tools out there that are making it easier than ever for teams to collaborate on projects, be they websites, software design, or entrepreneurial ventures.

Alex Iskold at Read/WriteWeb has a great tutorial on using software to set up a virtual office. Some of the software is commercial, while other programs are freeware. And while Iskold gives his recommendations in each category, he also lists alternate programs you might want to check out.

The article covers communication tools (Skype), project management software (BaseCamp), presentation tools (GoToMeeting) for showing coworkers what's on your display, Calendars (Google), Code repositories for software developers (CVSDude), accounting software (Quickbooks), and a backup system (ElephantDrive).

What do you think? Do you work in a virtual office? How does it compare to your old office job? Is it easier or harder to get work done? How important are Web 2.0 tools to your collaborative efforts?

Tags: basecamp, cvsdude, elephantdrive, google calendar, GoogleCalendar, gotomeeting, quickbooks, skype