Developer

I recently went through dozens of Content Management Systems (CMS) to see which one I could use for what purpose in future projects. The only thing they all have in common is that they are open source and free for commercial use.

The diversity and range of potential of those programs is immense. If you are only equipped with the thought of "getting some content online", better resort to Notepad or FrontPage; it will save you a lot of time and headaches.

However, if you are in for a bigger project or you already know the basics of CMS, PHP, databases and generally how web applications work, AND you have a clearly defined objective (that's the most important part of all), read on.

Some years ago when I had to develop web sites which went way beyond FrontPage with its server extensions, it was the (second) dawn of PostNuke and its forges (PHP-Nuke...).

Testing PostNuke and PHP-Nuke back then, I opted for PostNuke due to its larger community and developer base and I grew into an expert with modding modules to meet my own requirements. (Anyone remembering GameZone HK?) But that was back then.

While the past few software upgrades of OTRS went smoothly, I discovered a log entry sent to the domain's root which claims it could not find the PostmasterID in /{home}Kernel/Config.pm. That sounds familiar.

Here a quick review based on the information from their web sites (no actual testing was done by me). All are not happy with Windows XP Home as server so if you intend that, no need to read on.

Cybera
Due to Windows XP Home limitations (who would use the Home edition in a business/commercial environment anyways), Cybera is less than happy to work (with).

CybOrg
Might be too complicated for you (among other stuff, CybOrg prefers a Linux server though it runs Win32 clients).

ZybaCafe
Same like CybOrg, ZybaCafe's looking for a Linux server. It's a very powerful program.

Open Kiosk
Different from the 3 others here, Open Kiosk actually takes over the entire machine and you can allow from one central point what applications what client can use. No need to do individual setups per workstation(client). The workstations can run both Windows and OpenBSD (Linux). It says it requires Windows 2000/XP Server.

Ever needed to compare two or more files for changes and synchronize the whole files or worse, parts of it? Such task can take hours if doing it manually. For *nix users, there are command line applications but often users are just plain scared of them with the tons of parameters and yes/no queries.

Being lazy in IT means being smart as one always comes up with an easier way. Try the free, open-source WinMerge and you'll be amazed at the performance boost when handling large files. A roughly 150kb configuration file took me just one (!) click to correctly compare and adjust.