Computer Geeks and Garden Gnomes
First and foremost before I begin my ranting it is worth mentioning that there are many very helpful and considerate people out there in the cyber wilderness who devote much of their time to providing open source and free scripts of all variations from PHP, CGI and Java to name but a few. They provide dedicated support, do not insist on payment, and spend much of their free time helping you avoid having to part with your hard earned cash to get free programs and scripts up and running on your websites. Now, that having been said I have just spent an enlightening couple of days installing several PHP and CGI scripts, mainly because whilst I have some experience of installations, the only true way to become fast and efficient with all this geeky stuff is to install, de install and test a variety of applications and programs yourself. After two days and over a hundred scripts I am left drained. Half of the scripts I just dumped immediately due to poor or non-existent documentation and bad layout of files. It amazes me that some quite intricate scripts are left high and dry without any installation documents at all. In other words, the author spent days programming and putting together complicated scripts, to fail miserably on poor or non existent documentation. Aside from this, some sites you visit in order to download this material insist on blitzing you with numerous pop ups – the end result of which is neither good for the person visiting the website or the website owner. Both part very quickly. Perhaps I am intolerant but any sign of boxes leaping up in the air and blind adverts and I am gone. I know I am not alone. Add to this the frustration of taking the time to read through endless documents and CGI scripts on websites only to find that when you click on a link for more information or a download you find it is dead, the site under maintenance or what was advertised as free is not actually free. Either that or you go to the extreme of getting a script working only to find the writers advertisement popping up all over the place to the extent it warrants dumping the script. Yes I know you can remove it for a fee but why didn't you tell me that before I installed it? Even quite clear documentation often omits what is to the writer an obvious requirement but not something that he or she chooses to share with their hapless user – classic example might be forgetting to mention that an SQL database is needed. Hardly a minor omission. At the height of one frustrating and particularly badly written install attempt I imagined myself as John Cleese with a garden gnome under my arm hunting for the writer. Anonymity on the internet does has its advantages in this case. Now, I know you will be cynical and say that most of this is down to the fact that many script writers are hoping you will pay them to install their scripts for you, indeed many do offer installation services. This really is a bad way of advertising your services. There are plenty of people who will have trouble with the easiest installs and if you wrote clear and concise documentation which any user can see is genuinely comprehensive, you are more likely to secure customers as a result of failed installs. During this laborious exercise we went through scripts of all kinds some of which include; online photo albums, content management systems, member login and authentication scripts, virtual postcards, email programs, hosting scripts, live helper, communication, e commerce, shopping carts, quiz and chat programs to name but a few. We also purchased 3 scripts. Only one of those free scripts was simple to install and marginally better than the free versions available. Paying money does not necessarily mean better service. In fact one photo album provider charging around $30 dollars per script provided bad install information and less than helpful advice, immediately deleting anything that mentioned install problems from his forum. It has been an experience. If none of this has meant anything to you and you have no idea about scripting or installing scripts then consider yourself fortunate and leave it to the geeks if you are able. For those of you that regularly dive into scripting for your websites – here is a useful tip that saved us no end of time and frustration. The minute you come up against bad scripting, bad documentation or difficult to install scripts – trash them, ditch them and move on. There are plenty of others. Leave the tricky badly written stuff to the real hardcore freaks. Birmingham UK Com. For some free E Books visit:
http://www.birminghamuk.com/shop/upload/.
Related Articles:
Linux for Home Users
Hey Guys! Don't raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing the word Linux. It is as user friendly as windows.
Delivered Innovation Sponsors Saper Law Offices ‘Open Source Symposium’ In Chicago
Leading SaaS application developer () Delivered Innovation to sponsor full day conference bringing members of the open source community together for detailed discussions involving the legal and intellectual property implications of producing or using open source software.
UBmatrix to Open Source its Industry Leading XBRL Processing Engine
Intent on accelerating adoption of XBRL and making it a more fundamental piece of the enterprise IT fabric, UBmatrix to open its source code to developers on SourceForge.net
Sun Enhances MySQL Enterprise With New Query Analyzer Tool to Boost Database Application Performance : Paid Subscription Service Provides Enterprise
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAVA) today announced a major new version of its MySQL Enterprise(TM) subscription service to help corporate users dramatically improve the speed and uptime of their MySQL(TM) database applications. MySQL Enterprise subscribers now have access to Sun's new MySQL Query Analyzer tool for monitoring query performance to accurately pinpoint and correct problem SQL code
Open Source Bridge Conference Announces Speakers for Inaugural Gathering of Open Source Citizens | Yahoo! Developer Network, Mozilla, WebTrends, and G
Open Source Bridge, a new conference designed to increase collaboration in the open source development community across a broad range of disciplines, announced today its confirmed list of speakers, featuring topics that range from the Linux kernel to Configuration Management to MySQL to the Android mobile platform and everything in between.
Sun Microsystems and Zmanda to Deliver Comprehensive Database Backup & Recovery Solutions for MySQL Enterprise Customers: Enterprise-Wide MySQL Dat
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAVA) and Zmanda, the open source leader in backup and recovery software, today announced they are partnering to deliver a comprehensive, global data backup and recovery solution for MySQL Enterprise subscribers. A 30-day trial of Zmanda Recovery Manager Enterprise Edition -- the first open-source backup and recovery solution designed specifically for MySQL(TM) databases -- is available now at . Starting April 1, MySQL Enterprise customers will be able to purchase ZRM for MySQL directly from Sun worldwide. Zmanda and Sun have also agreed to joint-selling and co-marketing activities in support of MySQL, the world's most popular open source database software. ...
Open Source for America Welcomes Continuent as Its Latest Member in Advocating Open Source in the U.S. Federal Government
Continuent, Inc. announced today that it has joined Open Source for America, a broad cross-section of more than 50 companies, academic institutions, communities, related groups and individuals that serve as a unified voice for the promotion of open source in the U.S. Federal government sector.
Stormy Peters of OpenLogic to Discuss Legal Concerns of Open Source at LinuxWorld 2007
Stormy Peters, Director of Community and Partner Programs at OpenLogic, will be speaking at LinuxWorld 2007 on various open source legal concerns, and the tools and methodologies Global 2000 companies have adopted to address these concerns. A survey of CIOs shows that more than 80% of enterprises are already using or intend to use open source software. As adoption of the technology grows, legal concerns around its usage demand more time from management and attorneys. In her talk, Stormy addresses their concerns and the ways they deal with them.
KnowledgeTree and CorraTech Partner to Provide Global Open Source Document Management Services
KnowledgeTree and CorraTech partner to promote popular open source document management software in North American and Western European markets.
CorraTech Aligns with SpikeSource to Deliver Integrated Business-Ready Open Source Applications
CorraTech and SpikeSource form an alliance to deliver a fully supported, integrated suite of open source business management applications. The initial release of OpenSuite™ will include CRM and Enterprise Collaboration solutions.
Is Open Source the Right Solution for Your Higher Ed Campus?
Edu1world has launched the first web 2.0 professional community devoted to sharing information on open source software solutions for higher education. The vendor-neutral edu1world Open Source Community connects successful open source users on campuses worldwide with colleagues looking for guidance on a wide variety of products and providers. Thought leaders in the open source software industry are encouraged to join and share their knowledge. Participation is free for employees of higher ed institutions; vendors and consultants may also join for a nominal monthly fee.
KnowledgeTree Document Management Software Announces Adoption of GPL v3 Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) License
Adoption of OSI-approved GPL v3 License Strengthens Open Source Community Participation In Leading Open Source Document Management Project
credativ Announces OpenLogic Partnership and Broadens Reach for Open Source Support
credativ, a global open source service and support company, announced today a partnership with OpenLogic, Inc., a provider of enterprise open source software solutions. Together the companies are able to offer credativ's in-depth third level support to OpenLogic's customers throughout Europe and North America.
Open Source Development
Open source applications are available absolutely for free, which is like a boon for the open source developers programmers, as with these open source applications, they can take over the open source development in the customized way for different businesses as per the requirements.
Saugatuck Study: Open Source Changes Software, While Software Changes Open Source
Research and analysis indicate that software prevalence has changed the nature of "open source"