forum

Apr 27 2009

Server Encore

You provided me with some positive feedback and suggestions on last week’s server software feature, so this week we’re going to go another round.

Qwiki Wiki

Wiki brought simple, easy collaboration to the web. While most Wiki software is free, not all is easy to install. I’ve grabbed Qwiki Wiki for its ease of installation and use. Upload your files and edit one config file and you are on your wiki way.

SimpleForum

Continuing our theme of simplicity comes a find by our own MacManX. SimpleForum is a great, easy to install alternative to server-space hogging, hard to install forum systems.

MT Plugin Directory

Movable Type is the mainstay of power-bloggers. Don’t settle for the out of the box installation. One of the best features of Movable Type is customization and one of the best resources to customize MT is the MT Plugin Directory.

Jeff Schuler’s RSS Templates

Here’s another MT resource. Jeff has posted a collection of templates that will take your Movable Type RSS feeds to the next level.

That’s it for part 2. I expect to see some rocking sites. Join me again next week when we get back to Mac software.

Brian

By admin • Articles, Freeloader Friday Download of the Week • Comments Off • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 27 2009

Getting Things Done

Getting this done is important. Sometimes we get so mired in work that we don’t take time out to look at our tasks and be sure we’re spending time on important things. Hopefully this week’s free picks will help fix that.

Remember the Milk

Naturally, our first stop is a new AJAX powered Web 2.0 solution for task management. If you can get past the cow and the odd name, you’ll find RTM to be a very aesthetically pleasing and useful way to track tasks.

rtm Getting Things Done

There’s email reminders, iCal integration and more. The user forum is active and the developers very responsive to feedback. Of course, the service is free.

TaskToy

While we’re on the subject, there’s another great AJAX web-based solution. This one is perfect for those of you that want to get directly to business, and are less interested in the eye-candy interface of RTM. TaskToy supports email reminders and RSS subscriptions. Its a good, clean way to keep track of those tasks.

GanttProject

In a nod to the old-school, we have to feature this cross-platform Open Source project. GanttProject makes tracking projects easy, with advanced charting and scheduling features. This free solution is ideal for directing large projects with multiple collaborators.

SproutLiner

This AJAX solution allows for a more free-form approach to organizing thoughts and lists. This web-based services (also available for install on your own server) allows you to make instant, flexible lists defined by columns and rows you create.

sproutliner Getting Things Done

SproutLiner allows you to include any combination of check boxes, drop-down lists and freetext that you need to organize your information. Best of all, its AJAX implementation means no page reloading.

voo2do

Lastly, there’s voo2do. This web-based todo tracker is much like the first two. While the colorful interface might overwhelm you at first, you may find the feature set to fit your style. Tasks, notes, projects and deadlines are organized for easy access, and a history feature records what you’ve been up to.

That should be enough productivity tools to waste your afternoon. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go prioritize my task list.

Brian

By admin • Articles, Freeloader Friday Download of the Week • Comments Off • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 27 2009

Crystal Ball 2006

It has been a great year for freeware, as we’ll see when my annual Freeloader Friday Best of 2005 comes out later this month. But this week, I thought I’d peak over the fence at some early-development freeware that is likely to make it big in 2006.

Now, the disclaimer. This week’s picks are not beta – not even alpha software. So be prepared for some unpredictability. That said, they work fine for me.

Flock Developer Release

Firefox has reignited the browser wars, and given new life to the browser. An enterprising bunch of developers are building off the stable and fast core of Firefox, creating a browser for the future. They call it a “social browser”. Others are calling it the perfect browsing companion to the latest web services.

flock Crystal Ball 2006

Flock is a Firefox base, with integrated services. With Flock, you can manage your Flickr account and post directly to your blog without loading a page. In place of bookmarks, your Flock Favorites are synced to your del.icio.us favorites. And this is just the Developer’s Preview. Because it is based on Firefox (1.5 to be specific) it supports – with a little tweaking – Firefox extensions.

There are lists (here and here) of Flock-compatible extensions, and a free utility that can convert many Firefox extensions here. I think we’ll be hearing a lot about this project in the coming months.

bbPress

bbPress is a classic example of Open Source itch-scratching. When the folks at WorkPress needed a new forum system, they didn’t like the existing options so they came up with their own system. You can see it in use in the WordPress support forums. Now the project has gained a life of its own, and has been released as Open Source.

bbpress Crystal Ball 2006

Available only as nightly builds (not even a 0.1 version yet) the project is functional and as customizable and cutting edge as WordPress itself. It is light and fast, supporting user management (including banning), search and multiple forums. Even better it features a unique tag-cloud for quick navigation to topics by tag (for an example, see the WordPress support forums). bbPress is the only modern forum alternative I’ve seen. And yes, it even uses AJAX to update content.

Note: bbPress, like its cousin WordPress requires PHP and MySQL. My host: 1and1 has PHP/MySQL hosting starting at $2.99/month.

That’s it for our look into the future. I hope you liked what you saw. While release dates and features are still blurry, one thing is clear: things are changing on the web, and so is free software.

Brian

By admin • Articles, Freeloader Friday Download of the Week • Comments Off • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 »