I spent much of my weekend playing with the beta version of the new Windows Live Writer, and I do have say – they have won me over again.  This program is sleek, it gets the job done and really – it is hard to believe that it is put out there by Microsoft for free, because there is no close competitor to Windows Live Writer out there. So lets take a look at why you might want to switch your blog updating to this magnificent tool.

The biggest improvement by far is how they got rid of the sidebar, and moved everything to the top of the program window.  I often write with a browser open on the left – and Windows Live Writer open on the right, so I need all the screen real estate I can get.  This new look gives me more space to write – and hides more of the features I don’t really need or use.

It supports a number of different blogging platforms – including WordPress, so that is always a positive. Another feature I like is that they moved the tags, categories and set post date all to the top, so it is easier to remember to set them. In the previous versions of Windows Live Writer, these were dumped in on the bottom of the window and often overlooked.

Want to give it a shot? You can download and try out the Windows Live Essentials beta of Windows Live Writer.  Just be careful during the install, because it will also ask you if you want a ton of other products you might or might not want to install just yet. I give it two thumbs up, a nice improvement on an already nice blogging program.

• Dotclear – Great Blogging Alternative
• Easy Blog Publishing with Zomplog
• Eggblog, the Free PHP MySQL Blogging Script
• Beautiful Blogging with Textpattern
• Database-less Blogging with Flatpress
• A Wiki/Blog Hybrid in WikyBlog
• Habari = Next Generation Blogging Script?
• WordPress Sucks? Try Nucleus CMS
• Small, Yet Powerful Blogging with Pritlog
• Media Publishing Made Easier with Loudblog
• LifeType is Your Blogging Solution?
• Flexible Blogging/CMS with Serendipity
• The King of Kings is WordPress

Have any other blogging script suggestions you would like for me to check out?

Designed for speed and ease of use, WikyBlog has a unique AJAX enhanced tabbed interface that enables users to view and edit multiple files within the same page. Custom templates, file attachments, a flexible user privilege system, and Google Maps number among its many features.

To check out more features WikyBlog provides, visit the features list.  The install process does not look too complicated.  From what I could find, you just need to upload, create your database, and configure.  They do note you might need access to mod_rewrite and a .htaccess file too.  That should not be to hard to get setup on today’s usual shared hosting plan.

Want to give it a shot for yourself?  Check out the live demo on OpenSourceCMS.com.

All in all, WikyBlog looks nice if you are looking for a change, however the navigation interface confused me some.  Almost like they are trying to do too many cool navigational tweaks.  However, I would still suggest giving it a shot if you need a new way to manage and collaborate on your own blog.. err.. wiki… umm… WikyBlog!

The Nucleus CMS install process isn’t rocket science, so that is defiantly a good thing.  Any basic Linux hosting account should make a good home for it. 

You can check out more screenshots of Nucleus CMS in action here.  You can also play with the demo too, if you what to try some of the features out for yourself.

Here is a little more about Nucleus CMS from the developers:

Thanks to an international community of sophisticated developers and designers, Nucleus CMS remains simple enough for anyone to learn, and expandable enough to allow you to build almost any web site you can imagine. Nucleus CMS lets you integrate text, images, and user comments in a seamless package that will make your web presence as serious, professional, personal, or fun as you want it to be.

The must for any blogging platform, skins and plugins are both there.  So this means you have even more possibilities when it comes to customizing Nucleus CMS to meet your own needs. 

You can download Nucleus CMS for free, so why not give it a shot?

Installing this script should be no problem with any shared Linux-based hosting.  They only require 1 MB of free web space, PHP 4.3 or higher and MySQL 4 or higher.  After installing, you can upload your content via the web site or FTP and then you can add and edit lots of meta information for that media. 

You can also install templates and plugins to customize your experience even more.

You can check out the demo on OpenSourceCMS if you want to give it a try.  If you are looking for a sleek and easy to use content management system for publishing a podcast, Loudblog is definitely worth checking into.

They have ping and trackback, RSS, blogroll, permalinks, and come reading for moblogging too. 

How easy is it to install?  The installation process looks pretty straight forward.  Should be good to go on any Linux-based hosting setup with MySQL database support.

LifeType also has a very interesting history, as described by their about page:

The LifeType project started in February 2003 when its leader, Oscar Renalias, needed a set of dynamic scripts for his personal web page. Even though he did not know about the idea of weblogs back then, the outcome of the first iteration of the project already resembled one. A few weeks later Francesc, another one of the founding members, suggested that developing a blog with support for multiple users and blogs could be a better idea, and so pLog 0.1 was released on the 2nd of September 2003 featuring most of the features that are still part of the core features nowadays: multi-user and multi-blog from the ground up, template engine, localizable and extensible via plugins.

It seems it was also known as pLog for some time, but they had to drop the name due to trademark concern with Amazon.

Here are a few more links you may wish to have handy:

• LifeType Templates and Styles – The styles for LifeType are fully customizable, so you can fix it up to suit any design need you might have.
• LifeType Plugins – As with other blogging scripts (like WordPress) LifeType comes with the ability to add a number of different plugins too.

If you want to give it a whirl before you install, you can try out the admin and user interface demo over at OpenSourceCMS.

LifeType’s biggest feature is that they support multiple blogs and users in a single installation.  You can download LifeType via their web site, and if you have had any experience with it, I would love to hear your feedback.  Is it really the state of the art blogging solution it claims to be?

To check out the demo, click here.  So what does set Habari apart from the crowd?

Habari is being written with a firm understanding of the current state of blogging. Most other blogging packages have been around long enough that their responses to things like comment spam and Digg site overloads are bolted on after the fact; whereas Habari is being written from the beginning to take these things — and more — into account.

Here is some video of it in action.  You can check out the official site for a few more screenshots too.

Download Habari, and give it a shot.  If you run into any issues, you might double check with your web host that all the requirements are met.  The only bad side is they have some pretty oddball must-haves in there.

Looking for another blogging script alternative?  The neat thing about FlatPress is that they say it needs no database management system to work.  Now, how the heck do they do that?  You don’t need MySQL because FlatPress stores all of its content on text files.  Some of the other features included are:

• Standard-compliant (XHTML valid)
• Plugin support
• Widget system
• Easy to customize with themes (powered by Smarty)

As you can see, it has all the usual bells and whistles most bloggers are looking for.

Looking for help using FlatPress?  They have a very nice wiki available with tons of useful links and helpful information.  They have forums too.  To see FlatPress in action, go check out the FlatPress blog.

To get a good idea on what you can do to theme it, check out their test blog here:

+ http://themes.flatpress.org/

You can download FlatPress for free, and give it a shot.  If you are looking to support one of the many other free blog scripts out there, using FlatPress would be a great way to get started.

Some of the features of Eggblog are:

• easy to use web-based administration to add, edit and delete news articles
• easy to use web-based configuration to manage your web site settings
• WYSIWYG easy-to-use text editor for publishing or editing news articles
• download themes to easily change the style, layout and colors of your site

I also like the forum feature, which is simple – yet unique. You can check it out (with examples) on Eggblog’s own web site. Check Eggblog out in action here:

The installation process looks pretty easy.  You download it, edit the configuration files, and then you are done.  They also have an installation guide to help you along the way.  The server requirements are lightweight too.  You only need to have a fairly modern version of PHP, MySQL, and the PHP-GD library.  There are a number of different themes you can use too, just in case your not happy with the default one.

If you want to check out a demo of the script in action, be sure to visit this page for the login details.  Eggblog might not have all the features that a script like WordPress might have, but it is a nice alternative if you want to move away from the fold. Facebook Fan Page Come join the fun on the Mitchelaneous Facebook Fan Page!

© Mitch Keeler 2011 | Check out my firefox help site and my hosting podcast too!

  ]]> http://www.mitchelaneous.com/2008/11/27/eggblog-the-free-php-mysql-blogging-script/feed/ 0 http://www.mitchelaneous.com/2008/11/26/dotclear-great-blogging-alternative/ http://www.mitchelaneous.com/2008/11/26/dotclear-great-blogging-alternative/#comments Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:13:59 +0000 Mitch http://www.mitchelaneous.com/?p=2148 There are a lot of blogging tools out there under the sun.  One that does not get much credit, but I think is pretty nice is Dotclear.  An open-source web publishing software, Dotclear has been around since 2002.  The project’s purpose is to provide a user-friendly tool allowing anyone to publish on the web, regardless of their technical skills.

Some of the features included in Dotclear are:

• Automated install
• Fully customizable themes
• User-friendly administration
• Naturally optimized for search engines

You can read more about the many features of Dotclear over on their features page.  Did I mention they promise you can get it up and running in a minute too?

One minute install from Dotclear on Vimeo.

If performance is your main concern, Dotclear is fast.  It promises to be as responsive as possible, no mater the quantity of the blog.  Need some help to get it going?  They provide a pretty nice documentation guide to go along with as you customize it to fit your own needs.

Since it will not cost you a thing, Dotclear is definitely worth checking out.