Articles - Page 241

Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Here's Why CMS Is Your 'Unsung Hero' in 2025

janus-boye

WordPress 2.9 has officially been released to the public today. With a number of awesome improvements, this makes for one of the best upgrades to date.
Some of the key improvements from the user standpoint include:
Global undo/”trash” feature, which means that if you accidentally delete a post or comment you can bring it back from the grave (i.e., the Trash). This also eliminates those annoying “are you sure” messages we used to have on every delete.
Built-in image editor allows you to crop, edit, rotate, flip, and scale your images to show them who’s boss. This is the first wave of our many planned media-handling improvements.
Screenshot of image editor: Batch plugin update and compatibility checking, which means you can update 10 plugins at once, versus having to do multiple clicks for each one, and we’re using the new compatibility data from the plugins directory to give you a better idea of whether your plugins are compatible with new releases of WordPress. This should take the fear and hassle out of upgrading.
<a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Embeds">Easier video embeds</a> that allow you to just paste a URL on its own line and have it magically turn it into the proper embed code, with Oembed support for YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv (and more in the next release).
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You can see the full announcement of this releases on <a href="http://wordpress.org/development/2009/12/wordpress-2-9/">WordPress.org</a>

WordPress 2.9 has officially been released

mike-johnston

Two new releases of the extremely popular open source content management system, <a href="http://drupal.org">Drupal</a>, are available for public consumption. These new versions cover both the 5.x series and the 6.x series.
You can preview the <a href="http://drupal.org/node/661600">Drupal 6.15 release notes</a> as well as the <a href="http://drupal.org/node/661598">Drupal 5.21 release notes</a> to see the full list of changes.
From the announcement:
Drupal 5.21 and 6.15 were released in response to the discovery of security vulnerabilities. Details can be found in the official security advisory:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://drupal.org/node/661586">SA-CORE-2009-009</a></li>
</ul>
To fix the security problem, you can either (1) upgrade Drupal or (2) patch Drupal.
We strongly recommend you do a full upgrade (which is also detailed in the security announcement) as the patches do not contain the additional bug fixes that went into the releases. Applying the patches will leave your site in an unversioned state and confuse the update status module, which will keep reminding you to upgrade to 6.15 or 5.21. Please read the announcement for details on the patch.
If you still prefer to patch Drupal, apply the <a href="http://drupal.org/files/sa-core-2009-009/SA-CORE-2009-009-6.14.patch">http://drupal.org/files/sa-core-2009-009/SA-CORE-2009-009-6.14.patch</a> file to your Drupal 6.14 codebase or <a href="http://drupal.org/files/sa-core-2009-009/SA-CORE-2009-009-5.20.patch">http://drupal.org/files/sa-core-2009-009/SA-CORE-2009-009-5.20.patch</a> to your Drupal 5.20 codebase.

Two new Drupal CMS releases are now available

A release candidate for what will become WordPress 2.9 has become available on <a href="http://WordPress.org">WordPress.org</a>.
WordPress 2.9 will feature a significant number of changes to the popular blog / cms platform. You can see a full list of features and enhancements on the <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_2.9">WordPress 2.9</a> page.
The development team is in need of people to test out plugin compatibility.
You can grab a copy of it here: <a href="http://wordpress.org/wordpress-2.9-RC1.zip">http://wordpress.org/wordpress-2.9-RC1.zip</a>
Screenshot of the new Admin Interface:

WordPress 2.9 release candidate 1 available

After a lengthy 14 months of development time, the final version of <a href="http://community.impresscms.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=446">ImpressCMS 1.2</a> has been released.
ImpressCMS started as a fork of XOOPS CMS and has had a pretty successful history so far. Having won an award in 2009 for Most Promising Open Source CMS, this system has done very well since its inception.
Some of the features in this release include:
<ul>
<li>Imagemanager, with online editing</li>
<li>Fully customizable Profile module, with social networking features</li>
<li>Content module</li>
<li>Autotasks</li>
<li>AJAX Redirect – no more redirect page!</li>
<li>HTMLPurifier configuration</li>
<li>Captcha configuration</li>
<li>Themes for the admin area</li>
<li>Separate home pages for each group</li>
<li>Textsanitizer plugins</li>
<li>Installer – new look, using AJAX and you can install modules while installing your site</li>
<li>Search results page</li>
<li>Adsense management</li>
<li>Centralized Ratings and Mimetype management</li>
</ul>
A full change log can be found here: <a href="http://wiki.impresscms.org/index.php?title=Change_Log#Impresscms_1.2">ImpressCMS 1.2 Changelog</a>
Alternatively, you can read the announcement here: <a href="http://community.impresscms.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=446">ImpressCMS 1.2 release announcement</a>

Final version of ImpressCMS 1.2 has been released

Vivvo is offering up some pretty sweet deals just in time for the holidays. So if you are on the fence about whether to upgrade or purchase Vivvo, now is the time to do it.
Right now, if you are a Vivvo Standard license holder and want to upgrade to Professional, you can do so for only $39.95. That's $60 off the regular price of $100.
Also, they are offering this wicked deal: With every purchase of Vivvo CMS License – you get another one completely FREE, with 6 months of free support and upgrades package! This applies to both standard and professional versions.
Not sure?
Check out our <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/vivvo-cms-review/">Vivvo Review</a> or <a href="http://www.vivvo.net">their website</a> to learn more. Hurry though, the offer ends December 31st 2009.

Vivvo offers up holiday specials for it's popular CMS

Software Update Gives Designers Enhanced Control Over Layout and Styling Of Dynamic Content, Delivers Enhanced Event Calendar, Blog, Spam Filter and Accessibility Compliance
Systems Alliance Inc., a software development firm and systems integrator providing high-value IT and business consulting services, today announced the release of Enhancement Pack 6 (EP 6), a software update for the company’s <a href="http://www.siteexecutive.com/">SiteExecutive Web content management</a> (CMS). EP 6 introduces a new application layout editor and event calendar application, SiteExecutive Developer Edition, and enhancements to a number of other SiteExecutive components and capabilities.
 
New Applications
 
Designers will be especially pleased with the new application Layout Editor, which provides a graphical user interface for arranging and styling dynamic content. This simplifies the process of defining and applying cascading style sheet (CSS) values to various content elements using reserve classes, providing designers with much greater control and flexibility, while also speeding the development of complex, dynamic Websites.
 
The new Event Calendar Application extends the functionality of the existing SiteExecutive Event Calendar Module. It addresses client requests for enhanced event and calendar management, search and display capabilities, including:
<ul>
<li>Better categorization – it’s now easier to create and maintain event categories, making it easier to associate event content with other site content</li>
<li>Improved SEO – URLs, title and browser tags are now search engine friendly</li>
<li>Smarter layout and design – layout editor and extensive set of reserve classes enhances visual integration of calendar and event content with site graphics</li>
<li>Greater scalability – database enhancements enable better performance for sites with multiple event calendars and large numbers of events</li>
</ul>
With EP 6, Systems Alliance is introducing enhancements to the SiteExecutive API which will accelerate development of custom applications, modules and integration with third-party applications and data sources. To support the adoption of the new API, Systems Alliance has also revamped its API and Extensibility training program, which is now offered as a three-day course. All clients who complete the training will be offered a free SiteExecutive Developer’s Edition license for use on local workstations only.
 
Other Enhancements
 
EP 6 includes a number of additional client requested enhancements, including:
<ul>
<li>Better blogging – the SiteExecutive Blog Application is now easier to deploy and configure using the new Layout Editor and reserve classes</li>
<li>Improved SPAM filtering – the SPAM filtering built into the SiteExecutive Advanced Forms module – reduces SPAM form submissions – has been enhanced to reduce false positives and now generates automated notifications alerting Website administrators of possible SPAM submissions.</li>
<li>Smarter navigation – enhancements to the SiteExecutive Site Map and Site Info modules provide greater control over the range of content types displayed, enhancing site navigation and usability</li>
<li>Accessibility compliance – EP 6 provides two enhancements for boosting site accessibility and SEO performance:</li>
<li>Assignment of table header tag &lt;th&gt; at cell, row or column level</li>
<li>Assignment of “default language” html code at the site, folder or page level</li>
</ul>
A complete list is available from the <a href="http://www.siteexecutive.com/support/support-center.html">SiteExecutive Support Center</a> (requires login). 
About SiteExecutive Web Content Management Software SiteExecutive Web content management software reduces the complexity, cost and effort of building highly effective Websites for organizations of all sizes. It gives non-technical personnel the means to create and publish Web content and deploy Websites in real-time, while enforcing compliance with organizational processes, branding guidelines and industry best practices. To learn more, please visit: <a href="http://www.siteexecutive.com/">http://www.siteexecutive.com</a>.

About Systems Alliance Systems Alliance, Inc., founded in 1993, is a Maryland-based company that provides business and technology consulting services to leading corporate and public sector clients, including Asurion, Condé Nast, Johns Hopkins Institutions, Random House, Inc., Baltimore County Government, and Maryland Department of Transportation. Systems Alliance has local offices in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Michigan. To learn more, visit <a href="http://www.systemsalliance.com/">http://www.systemsalliance.com</a>

Systems Alliance Releases Enhancement Pack 6 for SiteExecutive Web Content Management System (CMS)

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Inspirit, a Sao Paulo based-technology developer and global distributor for Digital Intelligence, with offices in Santiago (Chile) and Miami (USA), announces the release of the Si4 CMS Content Management System platform, which permits access control via smart card / tokens and integration with major social networks.
Si4 CMS facilitates publication, maintenance and control of content and news, product and service lists to be integrated with e-commerce and with business project campaign control projections, including the creation of rules for control and access levels.
Major publishers, universities and companies across several industries are already using the Inspirit platform. Its functionality provides users with a greater level of security in managing information and system access through pre-defined rules.
Supplied as software as a service (SaaS), Inspirit CMS can be integrated with social networks, in addition to guaranteeing an increased level of content indexing, including security at the user authentication level.
“Si4 CMS makes the company independent of outside teams in the publishing, management and control of content. The user may easily modify or publish any information. With the newly released features, users will have greater confidence in the development of their content and more control over what is being produced,” said Francisco Monteiro, director of Inspirit.
Commenting on the results achieved by Inspirit during Web 2.0 Expo New York, Monteiro said that the Si4 CMS platform attracted the interest of visiting companies because of the features offered, such as the ability to include specific content channels, such as products, services, capturing market demand, sponsors, announcements, events, and forums. The company is also celebrating the first business arising from the event. “In order to deal with the various user profiles, the technology allows for the creation, management and delivery of specific value-added content, knowledge-based management, advanced search systems with relevance and specific bases, systems for communication with users, internal and external access levels, and management of the created communities and social networks,” explains Monteiro.
More info: <a href="http://www.inspirit.com.br/english/fabr_soft.asp?cod=28">http://www.inspirit.com.br/english/fabr_soft.asp?cod=28</a>

Inspirit Introduces Content Management System Platform Integrated with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn

ExpressionEngine fans will be excited to learn that they have released a public beta of the upcoming 2.0 release.
According to their website:
We’ve setup a <a href="http://expressionengine.com/public_beta">Public Beta</a> section with all the information you need to get started right away.
This includes a video tour by community super hero Ryan Irelan, F.A.Q., free 30-day full version trial of ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB, the User Guide, all First Party Add-ons, and links to Tech Support and the Bug Tracker.
For compatible 3rd party add-ons, check out <a href="http://devot-ee.com/add-ons/ee2/">Devot-ee.com</a>, a stellar community run site dedicated to EE add-ons.
A full changelog containing a glimpse of what can be expected is available here: <a href="http://expressionengine.com/public_beta/docs/changelog.html#v200pb%20">http://expressionengine.com/public_beta/docs/changelog.html#v200pb </a>

ExpressionEngine users get a first look at 2.0 with new public beta

As information transparency, compliance and accessibility needs are further heightened by the recent banking and economic turmoil, pTools today announced that it has developed an automated document migration and transformation solution with partner company Riverdocs.  The solution solves the problem of document accessibility and transparency and is aimed at financial services and government agencies.
By making documents more searchable and readily available, the solution guarantees compliance with accessibility and transparency legislation. Organizations can now seamlessly transform PDF, Microsoft Word, and all Microsoft Office documents into compliant html web pages in pTools without the need for manual migration. Documents of 100 pages or more that can take three to five days to manually convert, let alone publish, can be tackled in a matter of hours and made available to online systems. You can use iFilter to do keyword searches on your files and create an index of pdf files you wish to convert.
pTools was involved in development of the document Transparency Initiative at the Irish Stock Exchange earlier this year and Managing Director Tom Skinner commented: “We continue to build our Enterprise Content Management suite of applications and solutions and, together with Riverdocs, we can now provide an instant solution to exchanging document information online in a manner that traditionally required dedicated investment in technical skills and resources. This makes large scale document conversion and publishing easy.”
The solution solves the long standing problem of easily representing documents online as searchable, useable and accessible web pages. Issues of document retrieval, lost attachments, and inability to search are all handled by transformation to HTML and automated publishing to browser.
An immediate benefit of this approach is that it eliminates the need for manual migration. While other services offer conversion, this solution differs in that documents are also automatically publishable for web.  By simply dropping a PDF or document into a folder in pTools content management software, the document is transformed into web pages in the pTools application using the Riverdocs service.
Commenting on the development Peter Acton, Managing Director of Riverdocs says: “Riverdocs and pTools have a natural technology fit that results in a single solution for customers. For CMS users it’s a trouble free solution to an age-old problem and it really solves all the issues for people trying to easily access information that’s embedded in Office documents and PDFs. The savings in time and effort are significant and the results in controlling and sharing information accurately can’t be underestimated for financial services and government.”
The development is part of the ongoing extension of pTools suite of applications and is already in deployment with customers in Ireland and the UK.  Key benefits delivered by pTools Riverdocs document transformation solution include:
<ul>
<li>Rapid conversion of Pdf and Microsoft Office Documents to managed web pages</li>
<li>Managed, controlled and auditable access to documents and web pages</li>
<li>Managed approval and sign-off of documents and web pages</li>
<li>Fulfilled governance and compliance document transparency guidelines</li>
<li>Guaranteed accessibility web content compliance and fully text searchable</li>
<li>Reduced document and policy circulation costs and risks</li>
<li>Increased document and policy efficiencies</li>
<li>Guaranteed synchronisation of circulated information</li>
<li>Improved information search and retrieval</li>
</ul>
The solution helps Financial Services and Government Organisations synchronise and share information in manner that is fully controlled, traceable and secure. Most of all it’s easy to adopt and deploy and results are immediately quantifiable and measurable for all.
Learn more at <a href="http://ptools.com/More_pTools/News_Events/Document_Transparency_Made_Easy_with_pTools_and_Riverdocs.html">pTools</a>.

Document Transparency Made Easy with pTools and Riverdocs

KnowledgeTree®, an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) provider focusing on affordable <a href="http://www.knowledgetree.com/">document management software</a> that is easily installed and used by business professionals, today announced the release of version 3.7 of its commercial edition, version 1.1 of its Microsoft® Office Add-in, and an alpha release of KnowledgeTree Explorer CP (cross platform).
<a href="http://www.knowledgetree.com/products/whats-new">KnowledgeTree 3.7</a>, deployed on Zend Server, features improved performance – tests indicate KnowledgeTree runs up to 40 percent faster through the inclusion of Zend Optimizer. It also introduces the first iteration of KnowledgeTree’s new Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) interface, which is compliant with the 0.61 draft of the specification.
By using Web services and Web 2.0 interfaces to enable rich information to be shared across Internet protocols, CMIS enables greater interoperability among ECM systems.
“KnowledgeTree continues to offer a simple, easy-to-use document management system that does not strain IT resources and is up and running in no time. By embracing open standards and other strategies that enable seamless integration with widely accepted platforms, such as Microsoft IIS and Kofax Capture, KnowledgeTree is answering the needs of the enterprise user,” said Daniel Chalef, CEO of KnowledgeTree.
Significant features and enhancements of the 3.7 release include:
<ul>
<li>Thumbnail and Instant View Functionality: New nail and Instant View document preview functionality allows users to see, search and scroll through documents before downloading them from the KnowledgeTree repository.</li>
<li>Support for Microsoft IIS 6 &amp; 7 on Windows 2003 &amp; 2008 Server: 
The KnowledgeTree installer now enables administrators to install to an existing Microsoft IIS Web Server. This native support benefits organizations that have chosen to standardize on IIS.</li>
<li>Server-based, MSI, RPM and DEB installer packages: 
These allow easy installation and maintenance of the stack using standard package management technologies on Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems.</li>
<li>Setup Wizard: The wizard automates installation, configuration and upgrades, making it easy for both non-technical and experienced administrators, and completely removing the need for command line interaction.</li>
</ul>
Also featured in this release are updates to the Microsoft Office Add-in, which integrates KnowledgeTree seamlessly with Microsoft Office 2007. KnowledgeTree has added a date field, a rich-text field, and the ability to select multiple items to the document properties feature.
Finally, an OpenSearch interface enables users to share search results generated within KnowledgeTree with other applications and helps search engines and users communicate requests and syndicate results.
KnowledgeTree Explorer CP is a cross-platform version of the popular desktop tool that allows drag and drop functionality to the repository. With cross-platform capabilities, users can enjoy this feature from Linux and Mac desktops. An alpha period for KnowledgeTree Explorer CP will give customers the opportunity to test and comment on the offering.
“We continue to enhance KnowledgeTree so that it works the way enterprises do while meeting their evolving business needs. With more than half of our existing customers deploying on Windows Server – IIS 6 and 7 support and the Microsoft Office Add-in have become important features as KnowledgeTree grows its business,” said Evan Person, 
director of product management, KnowledgeTree.
KnowledgeTree offers commercial on-premise Plus and Premium subscriptions as well as a software as a service offering, KnowledgeTreeLive. The company’s free community edition, which released version 3.7 on November 16, has been downloaded over 700,000 times from SourceForge, the world's largest open-source development website.

ECM Provider KnowledgeTree® Releases Version 3.7 of Its Document Management Software

Roger Wyatt, President and CEO of Tynken Interactive announces Signal, a breakthrough in technology that allows teachers to post class notes, homework, schedules and a myriad of other content to their web pages by simply sending an email.
All users need to do is type a code in the subject line, and the system directs the contents of the email to the appropriate section of their web page.
“What is really great about this is that it turns the system on its head. What I kept hearing is that the majority of teachers don't have the time or desire to be web designers, and that they are therefore stuck either doing nothing or spending time learning new software” said Wyatt. “Now all they have to do is send an email, and the system does it for them. This saves a significant amount of time, and makes better, faster classroom communication very easy. First we completely changed the way teachers interact with their web applications. Now we are bringing about a second revolution – allowing them to post to their sites using only email”
“I had been talking with teachers about some of their issues. One of the main ones was not having the time to learn software to maintain a teacher web page. In fact, only 10% of the teachers in any school create a teacher page when given the opportunity. They all said the same thing – “I don't have the time to learn a new system”. Now they don't have to. This new system is unbelievably powerful. It is set it up to allow posting of just about anything – scores, schedules, menus, etc – in addition to class notes, homework, and the other class information” said Wyatt.
“And there is no need for training – they just send an email for the instructions and the system emails them the user guide – all 1 page of it. So the technology coordinators don't need to spend any time training the teachers in using the application – there's no training required. And there are built-in safeguards. For example, if the teacher forgets to put a due date on the homework assignment, the system will not post it, but send an email asking for the due date before posting.”
This breakthrough was an extension of the work that Tynken had been doing on their groundbreaking content management system that takes communication in general at educational institutions to a new level. Named Frequency, the new platform had been years in development, and came out of the gate looking vastly different from other CMS.
“The last revolutionary development in user interface was 5 or more years ago with tabbed navigation. We knew there was a better way for users to get things done. Our interface is so intuitive, you won't believe how easy it is to put information on the web” says Wyatt. “Tabs are now very old-school, and it is about time”. Incorporated into Frequency is Wavelength, a platform for teachers, parents and students to share information and gauge learning progress. The tools available include class notes, homework  assignments, class library, digital lockers, electronic homework submission, personal student calendars, sticky-note messaging, discussion boards and chat sessions.
“Knowledge is power, for sure, and communication is the key to obtaining and retaining that knowledge” says Wyatt. “We wanted to develop a web platform that is so easy to use that the focus is on what is being communicated, not how”. As a result, Frequency is getting rave reviews from customers. David Deweese, Technology Director for Marlboro County Schools in South Carolina said “Frequency is great; it makes a lot of sense. We've found other systems to be too restrictive; you can do so much more with 
Frequency. And the best part? It is easy to use. If you know Word, Excel or Powerpoint, you can use Frequency. It is intuitive”.
Tynken Interactive is currently focusing on serving private and public schools in the Southeastern United States. For more information visit www.tynken.com

Breakthrough in Technology Changes Classroom Communication Forever

I've often wondered why new content management system developers do not first look at how to import from the various popular systems on the market in order to make transitions easier between systems. As an example, let's say you are creating a new CMS that is primarily aimed at the blogging market. Would it not seem like an intelligent first step to figure out how you can make importing from popular platforms a first priority?
Take a recent endeavour where a colleague of mine was attempting to migrate from his WordPress based website to Joomla! in order to make use of some different options. Try as he may, he could not find a reasonably easy way to move his content from one to the other.
Some may argue that WordPress and Joomla! are two platforms designed for separate purposes but that's not necessarily true. Both are content management platforms (whether naysayers agree or not, WP is definitely powerful enough to be classified as a CMS). Yet moving content between the two is frustrating and requires third party unsupported applications and even then, is not foolproof.
Joomla! isn't the only culprit either. Don't assume that we're out to get the Joomla! folks, they've done a great job on their system and it shows in it's wide spread adoption but, like everything, it has it's flaws. Look at most content management platforms today and you'll see importing is normally not an easy feat.
Why is that?
Shouldn't it be a first step in attempting to gain wide spread adoption? Wouldn't it make sense to work on enabling people to quickly and efficiently move their content to your new platform in order to take advantage of new or unique features?
The argument that it's “too difficult” or “time consuming” to develop an importer doesn't fly with me either and to be honest, seems like an excuse to simply not implement something that has an obvious need. While it's true that there are a number of different formats that are used to store data, there has to be a happy medium somewhere.
So we raise the question.. why is this so often excluded?
In this day and age, making it easy for a customer to adopt your system should be a primary first target followed by making it easy to use. Making it easy to mport data just seems like a logical first step.

Commentary: Why is there such a lack of importing tools for CMS?

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In an interesting development for those who work with or test Drupal and it's modules, Drupal.org is now offering installation profiles for use.
Installation profiles can now be automatically packaged with Drupal core and all of their required dependencies. When you download the distribution, you just unpack it into a web root directory, visit install.php, and you're done.
You can read more about this <a href="http://drupal.org/node/647374">here on Drupal.org</a>

Drupal installation profiles now available on Drupal.org

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