Articles - Page 165

<hr /> If there’s a song lyric that captures the ethos of Switzerland, this one comes to mind from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozl3L9fhKtE">Fleetwood Mac</a>: “You can go your own way…”This classic was spinning on turntables and jukeboxes in the mid-1970s, but the Swiss have been rockin’ to the beat of their own drum for over 500 years – back when the country first established its venerated stance on neutrality. With a rich history of non-conformist geopolitical leanings, it’s not surprising that Switzerland is embracing open source software (OSS) with greater purpose and intention, while much of the West remains hesitant – particularly in government circles. Just how serious are the Swiss about OSS? Last year, the country passed what it calls the <a target="_blank" href="https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/news/new-open-source-law-switzerland">Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks</a> (EMBAG for short), a law requiring public sector entities to provide their software as open source. This applies to any code or applications they’ve developed (or had developed by a third party) provided it doesn’t compromise any rights or create security issues. While many of the tenets are still being implemented, the Swiss government and its contractors must release their software code under an OSS license, promising an entirely new level of transparency around government practices. A year after the law’s final adoption, EMBAG continues to challenge existing perceptions of OSS across the EU, and might just be the model for the future. That may sound wildly ambitious to some – foolhardy to others – but it also makes perfect sense. Like the Swiss, OSS is steeped in a deep legacy of democratic and social idealism, embodying the spirit of freedom and community.But in a world where trust can be easily exploited, is it a good idea for government agencies to be so open about their software?I recently caught up with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-bolt-lesniak/">Mathias Bolt Lesniak</a>, an open source evangelist at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.toujou.com/">toujou</a> (a SaaS website building platform based in Norway) and Project Ambassador at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/typo3-association/">TYPO3 Association</a>. We’ve spoken previously about his involvement with the <a target="_blank" href="https://typo3.org/project/press/press-releases/open-website-alliance/english">Open Web Alliance</a>, a cabal of the world’s leading open source CMSs – <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/drupal">Drupal</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/joomla">Joomla</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/TYPO3">TYPO3</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a> – which assembled in the wake of the <a target="_blank" href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/cyber-resilience-act">EU’s Cyber Resilience Act</a>. The Alliance perceived this emerging policy as a threat to free and open source software like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management systems</a>, assigning responsibility for safety and security considerations regardless of how their CMS software is being utilized or customized. Their efforts culminated in an open letter to the EU about a myriad of issues – including the financial implications – and reinforced the benefits of open source. As an expert in OSS (or “FOSS” when it's free), Mathias had some thoughts on the evolution of Switzerland’s law and what it signals about the future. While other countries in the EU are also investing in the promise of open source, governments abroad are less bullish about the prospects. WordPress, the open source CMS goliath, continues to <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/about/features/">power over 43% of all websites</a> on the planet. Despite this staggering reach, there’s much work to be done to advance OSS principles in all corners of the globe, particularly in the public sector. But EMBAG just moved the ball further down the field – and if the Swiss don't miss, it could change the game. <h3 id="the-long-road-to-open-source">The long road to open source</h3>The adoption of EMBAG was certainly a legal milestone, and more than a decade in the making. Over that period, the Swiss government was embroiled in lengthy political and legal battles. There were numerous questions about existing agreements and the weight of international law. But in the end, the Swiss government achieved cooperation, applying radical changes to its e-government practices – specifically as it relates to the free reuse of its open source code.Unlike other legislation efforts, EMBAG also breaks new ground by mandating the release of broader government data. While this precludes personal or highly secure information, its Open Government Data (OGD) model goes beyond transparency – easing the friction around reusing data for other applications and encouraging greater innovation and collaboration between government agencies. <h3 id="an-alignment-of-democratic-ideals">An alignment of democratic ideals</h3>I asked Mathias about the promises and pitfalls of EMBAG, and where the potential of success – or failure – might exist. He had some strong observations on the role of governance in the equation, and how that could influence the overall trajectory. “My primary reaction, of course, is that this is great,” he said “I'm really looking forward to seeing the results of it, because this is a project that can go really well, or it can go not so well. I think it depends on the governance aspect of how it's actually implemented. Switzerland, of course, is one of these places that has a really strong democratic tradition – and democracy is what I usually point to when I talk about the positive things open source can bring into countries. It's a kind of ‘learning ground’ for democratic practices. And Switzerland, of course, has had this amazing, direct democracy for hundreds of years.”As Mathias codified, one might say that the Swiss were “culturally prepared” for a shift towards OSS, making it an ideal stage for employing such a groundbreaking piece of legislation. Other countries like France have professed a predilection towards open source, but none have gone this far with their public sector standards.  <hr /> <h4 style="text-align:center" id="“democracy-is-what-i-usually-point-to-when-i-talk-about-the-positive-things-open-source-can-bring-into-countries.”">“Democracy is what I usually point to when I talk about the positive things open source can bring into countries.”</h4> <hr /> The cards might be stacked against any country willing to dive this deep with open source. According to Mathias, there are several things that might help ensure positive outcomes as Switzerland looks to successfully execute this policy.“One of the things I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing is the Swiss building expertise around open source systems, as well as their small to medium supplier market,” he observed. “Open source has this ability, because it gives people the possibility to learn and use it outside of the originally intended use case.” Mathias also sees a runway for expanding the reuse of government software by other entities within Switzerland as well as outside the country. To his point, the Swiss have long cultivated a reputation for superior products and technologies (watches come to mind). As he sees it, there may be a heightened demand for Swiss OSS that far exceeds its current charter – perhaps even a “Swiss standard” for government software. To that end, Mathias sees the adoption of EMBAG as a clear signal that Switzerland recognizes the true potential of open source, widening the aperture well beyond its peers in the EU and abroad. <h3 id="the-struggle-with-security">The struggle with security</h3>Despite the palpable pros, open source has wrestled with the central challenge of trust. And it makes sense: you open your code to the world, and the question of security naturally follows. Accountability is also a major point of friction, as any issues with code or functionality often belong to a community, which can present barriers to solving critical problems.To be fair, all software is vulnerable – and we’re seeing just how vulnerable on a daily basis. Hacks and threats are becoming commonplace, and large open source systems like WordPress provide a much larger surface area for exploits. That said, proprietary software is target-rich and bountiful for likes of ransomware. Just take a quick peek at <a target="_blank" href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/acknowledgement">Microsoft’s security update guide</a> and you’ll get a long and troubling list of vulnerabilities that have cropped up over time.No software should ever be deemed completely secure. But relative to proprietary platforms, open source can hold its own – and in some instances, might even be considered a safer bet. One example: because OSS isn’t controlled by a single vendor, anyone can monitor, locate, and remediate vulnerabilities. This can be a force multiplier for security and governance.At the end of the day, does this build enough trust for public sector agencies to open their code? Do the rewards outweigh the risks?“I think it definitely builds trust,” Mathias said. “Any country that adopts open source so fully is really a sign that its government understands all of the good stuff that you can do with it.”<h3 id="why-is-the-u.s.-less-bullish-on-open-source?">Why is the U.S. less bullish on open source?</h3>The European market teetered on the brink of recession throughout 2023. There were certainly a few bright spots, but by in large, the entire continent struggled as the U.S. boomed, losing pace in the race for AI and suffering setbacks in areas like electric vehicles. According to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/europe-regulates-its-way-to-last-place-2a03c21d">Wall Street Journal article</a> published in January, there is one field where the EU still leads the world – and that’s regulation. This has been a benefit in areas like controlling carbon emissions and advancing data privacy. But its penchant for draconian rulemaking has also stymied its economic agility when competing with China and the U.S.Of course, it’s not all about competition. There is this thing called humanity, and countries like Switzerland seem interested in policies that protect citizens and serve the public interest while promoting digital sovereignty and stoking innovation. Many would claim that doing good and driving economic growth aren’t mutually exclusive, but some EU companies are proving the opposite. <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/umbraco-publishes-annual-impact-report-reinforcing-commitments-to-sustainability-and-community">A great example in the CMS world is Umbraco</a>, which is investing deeply in sustainability and DEI strategies while activating growth (it also happens to be an open source platform).We’ve already established that open source can overcome questions about its security and stability – and based on <a target="_blank" href="https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/open-source-software-the-nine-trillion-resource-companies-take-for-granted">research from Frank Nagle</a> at the Harvard Business School, 96% of commercial programs include some form of OSS in their mix – making it absolutely critical to the global economy. Now, the Swiss are advocating open source for government at the highest level.So why has it been slow to catch on in the U.S. public sector?Well, for starters, there’s certainly support for it. Just a few years ago, the <a target="_blank" href="https://thenewstack.io/how-the-u-s-air-force-deployed-kubernetes-and-istio-on-an-f-16-in-45-days">U.S. Air Force began deploying applications</a> on F-16s utilizing a hybrid cloud strategy via Kubernetes – an open source system for pushing, scaling, and managing containerized apps. The U.S. federal government also requires agencies to release a percentage of its custom code as OSS. That said, there are no mandates like the one Switzerland has introduced – and very little incentive for public sector agencies to invest heavily in open source. I asked Mathias about this marked difference between the U.S. and Europe, and what the underlying factors might be.“I think there's a difference in tradition,” he said. “The U.S. and Europe have different ways of funding for open source projects, to be very black and white. Europe has much more of a government-centric funding model, where the public sector supports projects. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sovereigntechfund.de/">German Sovereign Tech Fund</a>, for example, is a government construct for capitalizing open source projects. And in the U.S., it seems that it's much more reliant on private capital. I think both of those can work as funding solutions, but governments are going to be motivated by public service to a much larger degree than private funding.”That said, the EU's well might be running dry on public funding for OSS. In July, the European Commission <a target="_blank" href="https://fossforce.com/2024/07/is-the-european-commission-dropping-support-for-important-open-source-funding/">neglected to include</a> any Next Generation Internet (NGI) programs in its budget for 2025. NGI has been fiercely committed to building a trustworthy internet by funding over a thousand open source projects through its NGI Zero Commons Fund. If this disappears, many OSS projects may come to a halt.<h3 id="opening-up-the-open-source-promise-">Opening up the open source promise </h3>While EMBAG is providing a template for other EU nations – and the world – it’s still early days. There are aspects of the policy that still need shaking out. But as Mathias observed, the news is sparking great interest around open source and its potential for continued growth.There are clear benefits for the Swiss as they embark on this journey. Aside from the foundation of greater openness and transparency, OSS eliminates inhibitors like vendor lock-in and other compromises that come with selecting proprietary software. More importantly, it drives efficiency by enabling the reuse of code and improving productivity through collaboration. As Mathias sees it, open source can provide governments with greater choice and control –  the essential ingredients for accelerating time to mission and supporting the needs of citizens and communities. Being able to share and reuse OSS code can help activate the potential. “Selecting open source doesn't have to mean you select a single model or one open source piece of software to rule them all,” he explained. “You can also create and fund a collaboration between different projects so that they can reuse the same kind of code. And I think that's an opportunity that is much more relevant when the government is participating. We share information openly, and that’s something that can benefit existing platforms and the development of new platforms for things like government ID.”Mathias is also predicting unexpected ways that open source might deliver greater impact and value.“Governments have an opportunity to support some of areas that are often forgotten, or that receive little focus from open source developers, and one of those is UX,” he said. “For example, many open source systems have been built by developers who build them in a ‘developer way.’ The first thing they think about is functionality and not UX, and governments have the possibility to fund that missing layer of making open source so usable that everyone will adopt it. If that happens, we might see open source platforms that are being compared beyond their feature sets.”We’ve had numerous discussions in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/">Boye &amp; Company CMS Experts Group</a> about Gartner’s persistent “overlooking” of open source platforms on its MQ reports. We know revenue is an obstacle (among other requirements), but there’s also a latent undercurrent of negative perception around OSS when it comes to enterprise software decisions.As the Swiss swing for the fences and once again “go their own way,” perhaps more OSS solutions will attain a new level of respect in the minds of market watchers. Of course, that shift will require a deeper understanding of the true nature of open source:It’s less about code – and more about culture.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24---sold-out"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a> - SOLD OUT</h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

The Swiss Don’t Miss on Open Source: How Switzerland's EMBAG Law is Evolving the OSS Landscape

matt-garrepy

I love answering questions and sharing what I know with others but I also like reading opinions from people and one site I frequent daily is <a href="http://www.quora.com/">Quora</a>. For those unfamiliar with the service, Quora is a question / answer site similar, I suppose, to <a href="http://stackexchange.com/">StackExchange</a>. I personally find the Quora visual experience more intuitive (not that StackExchange is bad, simply a preference of mine) and find myself answering questions on the go in the <a href="http://www.quora.com/Content-Management-Systems-CMS">CMS category</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/photo-2012-08-21-9-32-24-am-620x465.png" alt="quora" />
I find navigating Quora to be easy to do on my smartphone and even on my iPad as you can see from the screenshot above. I love that I can manage topics, have people follow me and that I receive notifications when people either vote up my answer or reply to it. This keeps me engaged in the topics and I'm quickly able to find open questions that nobody has answered  so I can see if I can assist.
You also earn and can spend points within the system. Here's an explanation as to how the credit system works on Quora:
<blockquote>
Credits make content you care about on Quora more prominent. This prominence can help questions get answered, or get more attention for answers and posts. You'll spend credits to add a question, ask someone to answer, or promote content. You'll earn credits when people vote up your answers or follow your questions.
</blockquote>
The credit system is brilliant for one simple reason: I can use credits to promote a question I have so more people see it but in order to get credits, I need to work for them. It's a smart way to keep people interacting and sharing their knowledge.
Sites like Quora add a huge amount of value to the web. They bring subject matter experts together in an effort to provide a service that I think is essential to the way the web should work. The web has always been about knowledge gathering and questions via similar services such as Twitter for instance, tend to get buried quickly if you are following a large quantity of people. Quora focuses on doing one thing and doing it well, getting people to share what they can and helping people find answers. It's a hugely useful resource and if you haven't tried it out, I strongly recommend you take advantage of it and share what you know.
Just thought I'd share it for those who haven't heard of it. ?
Check it out here: <a href="http://Quora.com">Quora.com</a>

Why Quora is An Amazing Platform for Knowledge Gathering

mike-johnston

Wix has introduced eCommerce stores to its online website builder and with it come some beautiful new templates to go along with this new offering. If you've never used Wix before, it's a very slick platform that lets you build a pretty advanced website through the browser. These types of website builders, as they are called, offer solid functionality without having to mess around with hosting, security, etc.
The new eCommerce platform runs on HTML5 and the templates look amazing. Here's a video demo of the new eCommerce capabilities:
[[wix-store]]
 The other wonderful part of this eCommerce solution is that Wix doesn't take a dime of your sales in commissions so for those looking for a good alternative to traditional ecommerce solutions that charge hefty fees, this is a great choice to consider.
<a href="http://www.wix.com/">Check out Wix.</a>

Wix adds eCommerce Stores to it's Online Website Builder

One of Kentico's partners, Discover IT has released a web store application that allows Kentico CMS to be integrated with Sage 50 accounting system in real time.
<blockquote>
“Integration with Sage 50 Accounts allows businesses in the UK and US that are rooted in the Sage software to use their current accounting system, while leveraging the power of the Kentico e-commerce solution and Kentico’s online marketing features,” said Petr Palas, CEO and Founder of Kentico Software.
</blockquote>
There are plenty of customers out there with deep roots in software such as Sage and ERP/CRM solutions so being able to offer an integration is a great way for Kentico to distinguish themselves and make their platform more appealing to those customers. It's good to see the folks at Kentico are on the right track.
Features of the integration include:
• real-time customer ID management • product lists and details retrieval (tailored to user) • real-time price list retrieval (tailored to user) • real-time stock level retrieval • real-time updates • sales order processing • online payments and invoicing • customer management of their account and orders
Sage 50 integration is offered alone or as part of a full Web store by Discover IT. It currently works with Sage 50 version 2007 upwards, Kentico CMS version 6 and upwards, and is offered with B2C and B2B options.
For more information about Sage 50 integration or for a demonstration, <a href="http://www.ecommerce-connect.co.uk/">http://www.ecommerce-connect.co.uk</a> or to check out Kentico, <a href="http://www.kentico.com">visit their website</a>.

Kentico Integration with Sage Now Possible Thanks to Discover IT

The upcoming DNN World 2012 conference is fast approaching and is slated to take place between October 10th and 12th in beautiful Orlando, Florida. The organizers for this event have put up a call for speakers to submit ideas for a series of Ignite sessions (5 minute quick presentations) and submissions are due by the end of August.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dnn_header-620x180.png" alt="DNN World 2012" />
Here's a video that was put together regarding this upcoming event:
[[dnnworld]]
The theme of DNN World 2012 is “Cloud Convenience, Social Solutions”. At the conference you will learn how DotNetNuke can enable you to deploy highly collaborative, revenue generating web sites and online communities based on the latest and most advanced development techniques.
This years sessions look to be pretty interesting for those looking to consider this CMS or those that are currently looking for new ways to put it to use. Some of the topics to be covered include:
<ul>
<li>An Introduction to DotNetNuke in the Cloud</li>
<li>
The Services Framework: Security and Development Patterns
</li>
<li>
Advanced Google Analytics for Social Sites
</li>
<li>
Module Development w/ DotNetNuke 6.2 Services Framework
</li>
<li>
Use DNN for your Facebook Page Apps
</li>
<li>
Linking SharePoint &amp; DotNetNuke with the SharePoint Connector
</li>
<li>
Building Social Applications
</li>
<li>
Scaling DotNetNuke in the Cloud: A Guide For Developers and Site Administrators
</li>
<li>
Responsive Web Design in DotNetNuke
</li>
<li>
Building a Mobile Application for DotNetNuke
</li>
<li>and many more.</li>
</ul>
Check out more about this event: <a href="http://www.dotnetnuke.com/News/Events/DotNetNuke-World-2012.aspx" target="_blank">DNN World 2012</a>

DNN World 2012 is Coming, Will You Be There?

A new release of SocialEngine has been released. This version promises a boost in speed of approximately 60% for your SocialEngine powered social network. Most of this speed is due to a gzip performance change.
There are a couple of other minor changes as well including an improvement to translation performance (you can now translate using CSV files or PHP) as well as some bug fixes.
For those considering using SocialEngine, you might want to read the comments on our <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/socialengine-review/">SocialEngine Review</a> first and on the blog post below. It sounds like customers aren't too happy with the company / products lately, so keep that under consideration.
If you currently use the system and are happy with it, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
Learn more about this release here: <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/social-engineblog/?p=721">https://www.cmscritic.com/social-engineblog/?p=721</a>
[note color=”#DEF1FF”]For those looking to start a social network, check out our list of social networking software (which has links to the ones we've reviewed as well).[/note]

SocialEngine 4.2.6 Released, Makes your Social Network 60% Faster

Liferay has always been a company focused on finding new ways to improve the overall experience for their users and recently, they launched the Liferay Marketplace, a place where users can download enterprise apps and themes. At launch, there were already over 70 Liferay developed apps and themes in the marketplace.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/liferay-marketplacejpg-620x652.jpg" alt="liferay marketplace" />
<blockquote>
Liferay Marketplace supports multiple goals we have wanted to deliver over the last few years,” said Brian Chan, Liferay's Chief Software Architect. “It greatly enhances our customers' abilities to extend their existing web solutions in a manner that saves them on time and the costs associated with solution upgrades. Also, in keeping with Liferay's longstanding commitment to creating value for the open source community, Liferay Marketplace aims to make it easier for a larger community of developers to share and distribute innovations as easily consumable modular applications.
</blockquote>
In concert with the launch, Liferay has opened the marketplace to outside developers and welcomes them to begin working to put together apps for submission. The next planned phase of the marketplace will bring with it built in transaction and payment processing. This is great news for end users and can only help to build the already burgeoning community that surrounds Liferay's suite of products.
Check it out at <a href="http://www.liferay.com/marketplace">http://www.liferay.com/marketplace</a>

Liferay Marketplace Launches, Offers Over 70 Apps and Themes

Every day I read the latest headlines to see what new CMS releases are happening and to get the latest updates from the industry and lately, I've been seeing new terms being thrown around by various vendors to describe their products.
It seems to me that some analyst firms and CMS vendors keep coming up with new ways to confuse potential customers. A good example is the term Digital Experience Management.  What exactly is Digital Experience Management? It could describe a myriad of things. For instance, it could be interpreted as a suite of tools that allow you to experience virtual reality or perhaps a new web browser that renders the web in a unique new way, how is a potential customer supposed to “get” what they are selling when the term used to describe the product doesn't really tell them what the product does?
We see this type of marketing conundrum everywhere nowadays. Everyone seems to feel the need to create a new buzz word to describe their products in order to differentiate themselves and that would be fine if the products were actually substantially different from others on the market. The problem is, they are not. Take, for instance, the latest announcement from Ektron and Hubspot. They are forming an alliance to come up with a new content management system / marketing combo but instead of calling it a CMS with a marketing suite or a Customer Experience Management system or any of the other terms that already exist, they've chosen to go with a new buzz word, Digital Experience Management.
Do we really need to start throwing new terms around when there's already CXM, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/what-is-a-cms/">CMS</a>, WCM, ECM, etc? All these new terms do is create further confusion for customers trying to understand the products in the market. I know quite a few customers that, when shopping for a product, will simply get frustrated and go with the one they understand rather than try to weed through foolish terminology to find out what something actually does.
In my opinion, it would be far more beneficial if we stuck with a single phrase to describe these systems. As much as some people find the term “content management system” confusing, it serves its purpose. People get it. They understand the term because it's been used for years to describe a particular type of product. Digital Experience Management can mean anything. The same applies to the term “customer experience management”. It's not a clear term that describes one thing.
Some will argue that the same can be said for the term content management system, and that's true to some degree but, in my opinion, it's the best we've got for now, so why not stick with the one that customers understand? Creating new terms seems like a desperate move for content management system vendors who have failed to properly position their products and are trying to differentiate themselves with new words rather than being innovative with their products.
What do you think? Do you find the terms descriptive? Do you prefer Digital Experience Management or Content Management System? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comments below.

Are CMS Vendors Suffering from an Identity Crisis?

Best Video Experience

Give your audience the best video experience

#000000

Accrisoft has released a new version of their content management system. Version 8.0 of Accrisoft Freedom brings a number of new features to the platform. The folks at Accrisoft have put together this quick video to highlight some of the new features from this release:
 [[accrisoft]]
Some of the main features in this release include: major enhancements to the Email Marketing, File Manager and Statistics modules. It also features a refresh of the user interface, and the addition of three modules to their social package.
To learn more, visit their website: <a href="http://www.accrisoft.com/" target="_blank">Accrisoft</a>

Accrisoft Freedom 8.0 released

A new version of PHPFox has been released. Version 3.30 became publicly available on the 1st of this month and includes some new features for this popular software for <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/list-of-social-network-software/">social networking</a>. For those who are unfamiliar with PHPFox, check out our <a href="/phpfox-review/">PHPFox Review</a> to learn more.
On with the changes!
<h2>Timeline</h2>
The timeline feature includes an update on the users profile. Admins can control if the Timeline should be forced on all users or whether they will have the option to enable Timeline on their own profiles. If  optional, it can be enabled by visiting: Profile &gt;&gt; Edit Profile. This is somewhat similar to the way Facebook Timelines work and is a pretty cool addition.
Here's how it looks:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3_3_0-timeline-620x472.png" alt="social network" />
 
<h2>Theater Mode for Photos</h2>
By blending Facebook and Google's photo viewing capabilities, the PHPFox developers have come up with a new feature called Theater Mode  that looks great and, in my opinion, is the best of both worlds for your users when they are viewing photos on your social networking website. 
Here's how it looks:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3_3_0-photo-theater-620x284.png" alt="social networking" />
 
<h2> Membership Comparisons</h2>
Perhaps your social networking website is set up with membership levels. You can now add a comparison chart to showcase the differences between the two quickly and easily.
Here's how it looks:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/roi_instagram-1080x1080_bilznk.png" alt="social networking" />
<h2>New Sharing Features</h2>
Perhaps you've uploaded a great photo and (since the point of social networking is sharing) you want to share it on a friend's wall. Now you can, as this capability has now been included in version 3.30.
Here's how it looks:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3_3_0-share-item-on-wall-620x474.png" alt="social networking" />
This is just a sampling of the changes in this release. The development team at PHPFox have really been working hard on making their software more and more powerful and it shows with this release. There aren't many products on the market that stay on top of the trends as well as these guys do so if you are looking for a solid piece of software to run your social networking based site, you can't go wrong with PHPFox.
You can learn more about PHPFox's great social networking suite (or to try their demo) visit their website: <a href="https://www.phpfox.com/">PHPFox</a>

PHPFox Social Networking Software Updated to Version 3.30

This is just a quick note to those of you running on Drupal's popular open source CMS. Version 7.15 was just released and updating is recommended. This release deals with bug fixes only and is a recommended upgrade.
A full list of the changes between 7.14 and 7.15 can be found in the <a href="http://drupal.org/node/1708292" target="_blank">Drupal 7.15 release notes</a> but here's a a quick list of the major changes in this release for those who are interested:
<ul>
<li>Introduced a ‘user_password_reset_timeout' variable to allow the 24-hour expiration for user password reset links to be adjusted (API addition).</li>
<li>Fixed database errors due to ambiguous column names that occurred when EntityFieldQuery was used in certain situations.</li>
<li>Changed the drupal_array_get_nested_value() function to return a reference (API addition).</li>
<li>Changed the System module's hook_block_info() implementation to assign the “Main page content” and “System help” blocks to appropriate regions by default and prevent error messages on the block administration page (data structure change).</li>
<li>Fixed regression: Non-node entities couldn't be accessed with EntityFieldQuery.</li>
<li>Fixed regression: Optional radio buttons with an empty, non-NULL default value led to an illegal choice error when none were selected.</li>
<li>Reorganized the testing framework to split setUp() into specific sub-methods and fix several regressions in the process.</li>
<li>Fixed bug which made it impossible to search for strings that have not been translated into a particular language.</li>
<li>Renamed the “Field” column on the Manage Fields screen to “Field type”, since the former was confusing and inaccurate (UI change).</li>
<li>Performance improvement: Removed needless call to system_rebuild_module_data() in field_sync_field_status(), greatly speeding up bulk module enable/disable.</li>
<li>Fixed bug which prevented notifications from being sent when core, module, and theme updates are available.</li>
<li>Fixed bug which prevented sub-themes from inheriting the default values of theme settings defined by the base theme.</li>
<li>Fixed bug which prevented the jQuery UI Datepicker from being localized.</li>
<li>Made Ajax alert dialogs respect error reporting settings.</li>
<li>Fixed bug which prevented image styles from being deleted on PHP 5.4.</li>
<li>Fixed bug: Language detection by domain only worked on port 80.</li>
<li>Fixed regression: The first plural index on a page was not calculated correctly.</li>
<li>Introduced generic entity language support. Entities may now declare their language property in hook_entity_info(), and modules working with entities may access the language using entity_language() (API change: http://drupal.org/node/1626346).</li>
<li>Added EntityFieldQuery support for taxonomy bundles.</li>
<li>Fixed issue where field form structure was incomplete if field_access() returned FALSE. Instead of being incomplete, the form structure now has #access set to FALSE and field form validation is skipped (data structure change: http://drupal.org/node/1663020).</li>
<li>Fixed data loss issue due to field_has_data() returning inconsistent results. The fix adds an optional DANGEROUS_ACCESS_CHECK_OPT_OUT tag to entity field queries which field storage engines can respond to (API addition: http://drupal.org/node/1597378).</li>
<li>Fixed notice: Undefined index: default_image in image_field_prepare_view()</li>
<li>Numerous API documentation improvements.</li>
<li>Additional automated test coverage.</li>
</ul>
Grab the release from <a href="http://drupal.org/drupal-7.15" target="_blank">Drupal.org</a>

Drupal CMS version 7.15 is out

“I get to build a wiki? Awesome! This is going to be a blast!” – These are not words you would normally here from anyone tasked with such a chore and for good reason.  Up until recently, the process of putting together a wiki or intranet has been a relatively daunting task and while there are certainly good tools on the market to do so, not very many of them are geared towards making the user experience a pleasant one. [pullquote align=”right”]If you've never had a reason to make a wiki, find one just so you can have an opportunity to use this product. It's that good.[/pullquote]This was the case as I saw it, until I discovered Papyrs. Papyrs is the brainchild of Wim Cools &amp; Diederik van Houten and is a unique tool in that it is inexpensive (or free depending on the plan you choose) , incredibly easy to use and offers drag and drop wiki / intranet building. It can be used for a myriad of purposes as well and certainly isn't confined to just wikis and intranets but we'll get into that more later in this Papyrs review.
First, let me show you how the tool looks so you can understand why I'm so excited about this product. First off, you need to sign up for an account, a process that is just as simple as the tool and requires you to enter info into three boxes:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-620x294.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
Once you've completed this, your account is created and you will be directed to your new site:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-1-620x431.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
Once you arrive at your new site, you can immediately get to the fun part, the building! To do this, simply click on the Page drop down and you'll see a number of menu options.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-2.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
As you can see, you have a number of actions you can take with the page, ranging from editing to page settings or making a copy of the page to use elsewhere if you so choose. Clicking on Edit Page will allow you to get straight to work and will activate the editing controls.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-3-620x492.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
Now that you've chosen to edit, you'll see that each of the available areas within the page where content resides have been activated for you to begin modifying. There are a few things you can do here. First, you can simply click the edit link shown in the screenshot above which will activate the applicable editor (in this case, it would open a window for you to upload or remove the images within this content panel). You can also simply delete the whole thing with the trash can icon. Let's say you want to add a new type of content to this part of the page, doing so simply requires you to drag and drop the applicable widget right into the box from this handy toolbar:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-4-620x62.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
There are plenty of widgets to choose from including ones for discussions, media, even form capture widgets and they are all very easy to setup once you add them to the page. For instance, to add a text box, I simply drag and drop it where I want it and begin entering my text. It's that simple.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-4-1-620x435.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
Once you've added the widgets where you wanted them and clicked save, you are ready to go! That's how easy it is. Let's say you want to modify who has access to your page to either modify or view it. That's where the page settings come into play. Click on the Page drop down and then Page Settings and you'll be directed to a page such as this:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-5.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
From here you can modify the title, who has access and which permissions they are granted and you can even invite additional people via email. Perhaps you want to make a copy of your new page so that you can build a new one without re-entering similar content. Simply click on Page-&gt;Copy Page and you're good to go.
Papyrs, of course, has versioning as well and keeps track of all changes to a page so you can quickly revert back to a previous version if you need to.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-6.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
To manage your pages, simply click the Pages icon (shown below) and you'll be directed to a list of all pages on your site.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-7-620x114.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
Selecting the next icon will show you all activity throughout your site in an easy to read activity stream. You can also use this area to post status updates or add links for your team members.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-8-620x414.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
The final icon, a set of gears, will take you to the settings page for the site. From here you can perform a variety of tasks such as:
<ul>
<li>Setting up your profile:</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-9-620x784.jpg" alt="papyrs review" />
<ul>
<li>Inviting team members to contribute the site:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-invite-620x452.jpg" alt="papyrs review" /></li>
<li>Configuring and choosing a theme:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-theme-620x639.jpg" alt="papyrs review" /></li>
</ul>
And that ladies and gentlemen is Papyrs.  As I mentioned, this has to be one of the easiest tools I've used in quite some time for wiki building and I had a blast messing around with the interface and adding content. It's not often that I get to say I'm wowed by a new wiki/intranet product but today, I can certainly say that I truly think Papyrs is a brilliant piece of software. I enjoyed the interface, didn't find any bugs to mention and generally had a good time writing this review and sharing my excitement about this new product. If you haven't heard of or tried Papyrs, you should.  It's not just limited to Wikis and Intranets. Papyrs can be used for a number of purposes including: document management, team collaboration networks, contact management and much more.
Check it out and get building today: <a href="http://www.papyrs.com/" target="_blank">Papyrs</a>

Papyrs Review - Drag and Drop Wiki Building That's a Blast to Use

A departure from the normal CMS and software related posts I normally do but I recently managed to acquire a <a href="https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16gb" target="_blank">Google Nexus 7</a> Android tablet, one of few that are available worldwide and I thought I'd take a few minutes to share my opinion of this new Android tablet in this Nexus 7 review. The Nexus 7 Android tablet contains a quad core Tegra 3 processor, 16G of storage (in the model I have anyway), 7” 1280×800 HD display (216 ppi), 1 GB RAM and the usual wifi and Bluetooth connectivity options. It has a front facing camera as well which can be used for apps like Skype or Google+ Hangouts.
What makes this Android tablet unique is the amount of power that you get the for overall cost of the tablet. Weighing in at around $260 if you buy it new here in Canada, this is a crazy cheap 7″ tablet. Obviously, it was brought to market to help compete with Amazon's already popular Kindle Fire tablet. What makes the Google Nexus 7 different, however, is that Google has made it available in Canada and other countries straight from launch. The Kindle Fire, however, is still not available in Canada and some other countries which I consider to be a huge mistake on Amazons' part.
If buying the tablet new, you get a $25 credit to Google Play (the Android store) which can be used on any of the following: books, movies, music, apps or games. This makes the value of the Nexus' $260 price tag feel even better. &lt;informercial voice&gt; But wait! There's more! &lt;/infomercial voice&gt; you also get a free digital copy of the movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399103/" target="_blank">Transformers: Dark of the Moon</a> as well as a free ebook edition of <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Robert-Ludlums-TM-Bourne-Dominion/dp/1455510300/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1343662634&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank">The Bourne Dominion</a>. Not bad for $260 is it?
Now, I know a lot of people love hacking their devices and I'm certainly one of those people who frequents places like the amazing  <a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1673" target="_blank">Nexus 7 development forums @ XDA </a>but in this case, I chose to keep the tablet stock so I could experience things as Google intended them. I would strongly recommend that if you do end up getting a Google Nexus 7, you bookmark the above forums as there are tons of great threads on apps, accessories and usage that I frequent and found helpful.
On with the Nexus 7 review!
<h2>Battery Life</h2>
First off, let's talk battery life since this tends to be what most people concern themselves with first when it comes to these types of devices. This tablet has been running with WiFi connected and an intermittent Bluetooth connection to my phone (a Samsung Galaxy Note) for <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk" target="_blank">Tablet Talk</a> for about 2 days now. I am at 41% battery life and haven't charged the tablet at all.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/screenshot_2012-07-30-09-03-29-620x992_zjzcjt.png" alt="Nexus 7 review" />
I'd consider that pretty good given that I've spent that time checking email, updating apps via the Play store, web surfing, reading news and playing some seriously sweet games like <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.DefiantDev.heroescall.THD" target="_blank">Heroes Call THD</a> (highly recommended if you are a fan of games like Diablo). I'd consider this pretty decent for an Android tablet and certainly have no complaints here.
<h2>Interface</h2>
The interface is, in my opinion, pretty attractive. I'm a fan if minimalism so I don't have a ton of widgets on the home screen and like to keep things simple. I'm a huge fan of how smooth Android feels. Moving between menus and the home screens is literally just like they planned and I can understand why they called the interface “Project Butter”.  It certainly impressed me.
The fact is, to me, everything simply feels faster and more fluid on the Google Nexus 7.  It feels the way a tablet should feel and the integration of Google's amazing array of services is something I've been longing for for quite some time. The interface is so smooth that it makes me want to use it, even if just to flick between screens every once in a while.
Here's how my home screen currently looks:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot_2012-07-30-08-10-28-620x992.png" alt="Nexus 7 review" /> 
Another impressive feature with the interface is the improved Google Search and the introduction of Google Now. Google Now brings with it a number of “cards” that show up when you click in the search bar.  These cards can give you anything from the local weather to sports scores and traffic details.
Here's an introduction video explaining how Google Now works:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pPqliPzHYyc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Here's how the Google Search with Google Now integrated looks on my Nexus 7:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot_2012-07-30-08-57-06-620x992.png" alt="Nexus 7 review" />
As you can see, it shows my last web searches (these come from my desktop but since I have web history enabled, I get them on my device as well), the current weather conditions (can be configured to use AccuWeather or Google for forecasting) and the Traffic conditions for my commute home.
The notifications pull down has changed as well with Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.1) and is much more visually appealing. For emails, it shows excerpts and if you take screenshots like I did for this review, they show up as well.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot_2012-07-30-09-05-03-620x992.png" alt="Nexus 7 review" />
As you can see in the screenshot above, the words Screenshot Captured appear, followed by a preview of the screenshot and a share button which, when clicked, allows you to share via a number of services (depending on what you have installed). In my case, I have the option to share via Bluetooth, DropBox, Evernote, Facebook, Flipboard, Gmail, Skitch, Google+, Picasa, Skype or Twitter.
Using the tablet day to day, I've found Android 4.1.1 to be fluid and well implemented. This is something that was definitely missing in previous versions of Android but I'm happy to say, I think they are making the right amount of progress and are definitely distancing themselves from the competition with this latest release.
<h2>Hardware</h2>
The Google Nexus 7 was designed in collaboration between Google and Asus. The latter has been a top tablet manufacturer since they started to get popular and I'm glad to see that Google chose Asus as their partner for the Nexus 7.
The screen on the Nexus 7 is a 7″ 1280×800 HD backlit IPS display designed using scratch resistant Corning Glass, which, in my opinion, is nicer than those found on the Galaxy devices. Having said that, there are some who would argue that Super Amoled Plus is better. I've personally always found IPS more appealing to my eye but it's something you are going to have to try for yourself. I'd recommend taking a look at a Nexus 7 and then a Galaxy Tab and seeing which suits you more. I also like the idea of running on Official Google hardware myself, but that's just me and others may feel differently.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tablet-gallery-front-620x390.png" alt="Nexus 7 review" />
I find the colors to be clean and bright enough to satisfy my needs and haven't had much issue seeing the screen outdoors. In direct sunlight, of course, it certainly isn't easy to see but I don't normally try to read my tablet under the blazing sun so this doesn't bother me at all.
Build quality feels excellent. The tablet is light (weighing in at only 340g) and the 7″ form factor really is exactly what I've been looking for in a tablet. The back of the Nexus 7 is covered in a nicely textured rubber that makes it easy to hold and grip and doesn't make me nervous about putting down on a counter. With other devices such as my previous Asus Transformer Prime, I was always worried about scratching the tablet whenever I put it down.  With the Nexus 7, I don't think about it at all given the rubber backing.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tablet-gallery-back-620x390.png" alt="Nexus 7 review" />
The Nexus 7 has volume rockers on the right side below a power button (which You can see in the screenshot above) and a micro usb charging port on the bottom with a headphone jack. So far, I've got no complaints with the way things are laid out.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this Nexus 7 review, this tablet packs a powerful quad core Tegra 3 processor and it's definitely proving itself to be no slouch, as far as I'm concerned. I haven't found any instances where things have become slow and I'm a fairly heavy user. It's also the top of the line as far as current processors are concerned so I'm not feeling unsure about future performance either.
Overall, I have to say that I love this tablet. The Nexus 7 is exactly what I was hoping it would be and much more. I've had a hard time putting the thing down and, when paired with my phone, it makes for the perfect setup for my needs. If you were on the fence before reading this, I hope I've convinced you to try one out. Obviously, given the worldwide shortage of these devices, there is definitely a demand for them and I think you can see why. If you get the opportunity, pick on up. You can also order from the Play Store here: <a href="http://www.google.com/nexus/" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/nexus/</a>
Questions about this Nexus 7 Review or the tablet itself? Drop me a comment and I'll do my best to answer them. Have one yourself and want to share your experiences? I'd love to hear your thoughts below.

Nexus 7 Review - An Amazingly Good Tablet for an Amazingly Good Price

DotCMS 2.1 has been released today and with it come a number of improvements to the java based, open source CMS. Specific changes include an improved site search, scheduled workflow tasks, content improvements, remote widgets and an integrated help system.
<h3>New &amp; Improved Site Search</h3>
First off, DotCMS 2.1 offers an improved upon site search using ElasticSearch to allow the creation of independent indexes for different search sections on your website. The new site search indexes all popular office document formats, pdfs, pages and content. You can even back up and restore indexes as needed.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/1-620x158.png" alt="dotcms site search" />
<h3>Workflow Tasks Can Now Be Scheduled</h3>
You can now schedule a Workflow Action to automatically execute if the task remains on that step for a certain length of time.  This allows you to create automatic review dates for content, escalate content stalled in workflow or perform any other workflow action on a timed basis.Workflow search has also been improved upon for those wanting to search for old tasks.
<h3>Improved Administration and Management</h3>
Two of the more valuable additions to the administration and management of the CMS:
<ul>
<li>You can now get Index Details and Cluster Statistics by hovering your mouse over the Cluster Health Bar under CMS Maintenance.</li>
<li>It is now possible to get a list of users currently logged in under the CMS Maintenance section.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Content Improvements</h3>
<ul>
<li>Via a REST URL you can now retrieve and search for content. Results can be XML or JSON. http://www.dotcms.com/docs/2.0/ContentAPI</li>
<li>dotCMS now ships with a 508/WCAG Accessibility Checker. This functionality is built directly into the WYSIWYG editor. Look for the green check mark icon in the WYSIWYG editor.</li>
<li>Binary Content – Will now attempt to use Hard Links for file storage.</li>
</ul>
Remote Widgets
<ul>
<li>dotCMS Widgets can be delivered into 3rd party and remote systems using a high performance restful API, as either code snippets or as full blown applications.</li>
</ul>
Integrated Help System
<ul>
<li>dotCMS has started a Help System built into the backend.</li>
<li>Users will be able to get documentation help on areas of dotCMS linked directly from the dotCMS backend.</li>
</ul>
A full list of changes to this section can be found in the <a href="http://dotcms.com/about/press-release/dotcms-releases-2-1" target="_blank">release announcement</a>.

New DotCMS 2.1 Release Offers Easier Administration and Manageability

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