The latest CMS news from around the world
We try to stay hip to the funk with what's going on in the world with new CMS releases and other related news. But if we happened to miss something that you think should be here, then feel free to suggest it!
Content Management News and Events
Jan
9
Creating Drupal Themes
Usually designers don’t usually get their hands dirty with any real programming, but we tend to have to learn how to build out a template within any particular CMS. Sometimes this is quite easy, and other times it requires a lot more than we thought! The Drupal Blog brought to our attention a new training series from Lynda.com. This is an invaluable series for those that want to get started with this somewhat complicated system. It looks like some of the courses are free, and some require the $25/month subscription to the service.
Jan
8
Movable Type 5 Released
Big news for the 8-year-old blogging/cms software MovableType: the long-awaited version 5 has been officially released! The release focuses much more on websites in whole and not simply just blogs. In addition to the cool revised interface design, some cool new features are listed below:
- Websites for grouping blogs together,
- Themes with full support for custom fields, static files, templates, categories, folders, etc for blogs and websites.
- Revision History for entries, pages, and templates.
- Custom Fields for all objects.
- User Dashboard for quick access to the most used blogs and websites.
Their blog post explains all of the new features with little charts and stuff, so you should check it out. As usual, the release has a commercial version and an open source version.
Dec
29
Kentico CMS 5.0 Released
Our friends at Kentico have released a new version of their ASP.NET CMS that focuses on enterprise-level performance and scalability, widgets, user personalization and many other improvements. If you’d like to learn more about it see their blog post and check out their demo.
Dec
22
Pixie 1.03
Pixie, the small, simple website editor who received a runner-up position in the “Most Promising Open Source CMS” has just updated to version 1.03. One of the big changes in this version is that theme developers can now specify their own index.php file as part of a theme. Learn more.
Dec
20
WordPress 2.9 Released, New Features
WordPress 2.9 has been released, and boy is it an exciting one. Here are some of the new features that you’ll notice upon installing it: 1.Trash/undo feature, don’t delete it permanently, just trash it and then you can bring it back if need be. 2. An improved image editor where you can crop, rotate, and resize images. 3. Batch plugin updates, and 4. Easier video embeds through oEmbed technology. Learn more. Download.
Dec
4
ExpressionEngine 2.0 Beta Released!
We’ve had the pleasure of downloading and installing the ExpressionEngine 2.o Beta. A day that we never thought might come. While we’re not going to call it bug-free, the maker’s of EE are staying on top of the problems and fixing them as fast as they can as part of the public Beta. The new interface is a beauty to use, and our favorite new feature is the media/file manager, makes us wish every CMS had something like that. Check out all the excitement for yourself.
Nov
22
Symphony to Become Business, Offer Support
A lot is happening around the Symphony CMS camp, with a new website on the way and the announcement that Symphony will become Symphony CMS Limited, a UK registered company dedicated to making the platform as good as it can be. One this this will bring is the ability to bring in the Symphony developers for official support and other uses. Learn all about the future of Symphony.
Nov
9
PacktPub CMS Awards
For the first time in four years, WordPress has won the overall “Best Open Source CMS” Award, with MODx and SilverStripe coming in a close 2nd place. The “Most Promising” award goes to “ImpressCMS” and Plone taking the “Best Other Open Source CMS” again. Of course, Drupal and Joomla both won a host of awards, but that’s old news, right? View Packt’s award page for more details.
Nov
2
New Article: New CMS’s Worth Checking Out
We just posted a new article on the site talking about new CMS’s that are targeted at designers that are worth checking out. Some of these are paid, others are totally open source and free. Read the article!
Nov
1
EEInsider Gets the Scoop on ExpressionEngine 2.0
Finally! A release date and some real information! ExpressionEngine 2.0 will officially launch on December 1st. We’re finally getting a dump of information from EllisLab, and most of it can be found right now on EEInsider.com, all posted during their EE2 Week. For those that are interested, here’s the rundown:
- EE2.0 Pricing and Details: Learn about what licensing will look like for EE2.0
- EE2.0 Screencast: See the updated UI and get a preview of the new features.
- Front End Development with 2.0: Learn about templates, field types, and the publish page.
- Veerle Pieters: An interview with the woman who designed the 2.0 interface.
Much much more can be found at EEInsider, get all of the information there!
Oct
30
WordPress News
WordPress 2.9 is on its way, with a final release expected around the end of November or the beginning of December. This release will feature image editing, post thumbnails, adding the trash status, and easier media embeds, along with a bunch of other technical stuff.
In addition, this version will start to bring about changes that will make WordPress more of a CMS. Custom post types will soon be available, that will start to open up more possibilities than “post” and “page”. It’s shaping up to be a really nice release that everyone can look forward to. Get the run-down here, and be sure to help test it out.
Oct
15
Packt Publishing CMS Award Finalists
Nominations closed awhile ago, now you have until October 30th to get your final votes in in these categories:
- Best Overall Open Source CMS: DotNetNuke, MODx, SilverStripe, WordPress, XOOPS
- Hall of Fame: Drupal, Joomla!
- Most Promising Open Source CMS: ImpressCMS, Manhali, Pixie, Pligg, Redaxscript
- Best Open Source PHP CMS: Drupal, Joomla!, MODx, TYPOlight, WordPress
- Best Other Open Source CMS: DotNetNuke, dotCMS, mojoPortal, Plone, WebGUI
Oct
14
Concrete5 News
We haven’t heard much from the guys at Concrete5 for awhile, but recently versions 5.3.3 and 5.3.3.1 have been released. These feature new design controls, improved user search, bulk user editing, update support for marketplace addons, and improved mail and user profile support. Be sure to read the post about updating if you’ve already got a site running on c5.
Oct
12
First Radiant Release Candidate
Radiant CMS has released their first ever release candidate, after being out for more than 2 years. Version 0.9.0 boasts a new slicker looking design and some small refinements that make Radiant even better. There are now two levels of tabs, the top level includes: “Content”, “Design”, and “Settings”. It makes use of hot-keys for saving, and now makes use of status messages that pop up when you submit a form. Check out the pretty screenshot!
Oct
11
New LightCMS website, and features
Element Fusion has released a new website for it’s designer-centric product: LightCMS. In addition, they are now allowing for “reseller pricing” where you can set the price that you want to charge your clients and they’ll handle all of the billing for you. All you’ve got to do is log in to your account and request a check. Read more if you’re interested.
