by , 11:30 AM EDT, July 25th, 2006

Adam Engst of TidBITS feels there is a glaring omission in the Mac software arsenal: a collaborative group document editing and management system that works on a network, through the Internet, and on an isolated Mac. The need for this application, dubbed GroupEdit by Mr. Engst, is so great that he is looking for someone to write it.

Mr. Engst has tried combinations of applications and Web-based services, but so far nothing completely meets the needs of editors and writers. He says "Despite the utility of these tools, they haven't been designed with the needs of a group of decentralized professional writers and editors in mind. Or more to the point, they haven't been designed by professional writers and editors who spend their lives immersed in creating and editing text in collaboration with others. These tools understand the basic concepts, but miss completely on key aspects of implementation - they see the forest, but miss the trees."

Mr. Engst, along with Macworld's editorial director Jason Snell, have put together an RFP, and are willing to pay for the product's development. The RFP is available online, and they are actively looking for proposals now.