Playing with Blog Engines
I. Introduction
September 8, 2007 - The last couple of days marked my late but definite introduction to CMS and Blogging software, as well as server-side scripting: web 2.0 is here to stay!
It all started with the need to publish in a dynamic fashion. Naturally, I first went to see what’s on the market, and boy, the market had plenty to offer, rendering the choice difficult to make. After two attempts with b2evolution (failed installation process) and Nucleus (correct module implementation failure), I turned my eyes to the two main competitors, each one of them claiming to be the most powerful tool available today: Movable Type 4 and, a little bit later, Word Press 2. Which will it be?
I intend to play a little with both of them, at least for the time being: they are indeed powerful tools in the hands of a blogger, and the competition between them is as tight as it can be.
In the Playing with Blog Engines series, I’ll try to do my best and document my journey and experiences in working with these blog engines. And let me assure you, I’m not exactly what you wold call the ideal user: tech-savy? nope; willing to learn? up to a point; willing to try? yeah, but be careful with my time. Some of the posts to come might even prove to be models of embarrassing stupidity but hey, you know how it is with the later and the hydrogen…
Enough said now, it’s time to roll on!
II. Spell checker
September 8, 2007 - I wish Movable Type 4’s WYSIWYG post entry interface featured a spell checker. I’m not a native English speaker, so it is almost inevitable that I occasionally make spelling errors. Nevertheless, I like my entries to be clean, so I’ll recommend Orangoo to anyone in need for a good online spell checker.
III. Browser compatibility
September 10, 2007 - Initially, I used Opera 9 as my default browser, but I have noticed a problem in the Movable Type 4’s Create Entry area: text just kept flowing to the right side of the composer, requiring me to manually break the lines - an absolutely no-no, as anyone would say. A short test with IE 7 showed that the problem relied in the browser domain, so I woke up this morning and downloaded… Firefox, of course! What else did you think? Now everything works in the assigned parameters, and I am quite happy about it.
Oh, by the way, I had totally forgotten this built in feature of Firefox 2, but it was a real pleasure to see it back in action: the automatic spell checking, working as I write, and eliminating the need for another opened tab… Way to go!
IV. Where’s my calendar?
September 10, 2007 - There is something that escapes me… How many degrees in computer science do I need to insert a Calendar widget on my blog, in the sidebar? Tried looking for answers in the Movable Type 4 forum, but I’m even more confused… Install widget, insert widget, or insert code?!
I suppose this is because I still don’t have a clear idea on how this all structure works, I mean how templates, styles, modules, and widgets connect together. One thing I know is that the learning curve is much slower compared to other blog engines, and it better worth spending my time on forums in search for answers to what I believe they are trivial questions.
***
2 hours later… Following the well established - although less documented - way of trial and error, I managed to include the single line of code in the right place, so the Calendar widget displays now exactly where I intended to. Phew! That was - ahem! -interesting… But it’s where it should be, and that’s the important aspect. I suspect I also started to get an idea on how elements interact in this otherwise beautiful piece of CMS.
V. Have this I wish tonight
September 12, 2007 - Wish I was smarter… or richer, or both, if possible. Was I smarter, it wouldn’t take me so long to figure out how the hell to get rid of something and put something else in its place, like it happens to be the case with the Powered by Movable Type 4 Logo, where I’d like to put the Sign In widget. Was I richer, I probably wouldn’t have this trivial preoccupations; or if I did, what easier way to make it happen that to pay someone else to do it?
Well, I guess I’ll have to leave it for the morning, with a clearer had anyway… Who knows what little detail I might have overlooked tonight, after a full day of setting up and tweaking two other blogs (but they were Word Press 2 this time).
VI. Waste of time
September 18, 2007 - I’m sorry, really sorry, but I reached the conclusion that Movable Type 4 is not for me. Despite the stylish and business-like interface that I really appreciate, figuring out how things work - I mean simple tasks like inserting a plug-in at the right place - tends to be unnerving, frustrating, and above all, extremely time consuming. If I’m dumb, I’m dumb - my fault; but do I need to be a freaking genius to figure out how to make a damn logo disappear (cause it won’t if I just delete the corresponding lines in the template) or how to add a bloody widget?!
Four hours for the calendar thing, and another four to read and unsuccessfully install Media Manager plug-in - it sure ain’t worth the trouble. I set up a couple of Word Press 2 blogs in this time, and done it nicely and quickly, without unnecessary headaches. I know this feeling I have, and can’t be wrong about it: it’s the same I experienced after who knows how many failed attempts to embrace Linux. Some things just won’t work fine for me. And I haven’t even tried to touch the look of the template… I don’t think I’m curious anymore.
Movable Type 4 might be way smarter than Word Press 2, but I must just be one of their wrong customers. My needs are simple, and above all I want to use my time blogging about what I want, and not trying to make my blog to look how I want.
This being said, a little back-up will follow today, and it will also precede the uninstalling of this marvelous but too strange piece of blog engine.
Thanks for the experience, MovableType 4, but time’s up: no more playing! And good bye!
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