GigaOM site Web Worker Daily has an interesting post about a nifty tool call BitNami which eases the pain of installing several Open Source packages.
If you’re only half-Geek like me and you’ve ever attempted a WordPress install, you’ll know that it is a simple thing as advertised, but only after you’ve done the install once or twice. You need to put aside any squeamishness you may have about creating a database on your host, and editing config files, to get through the install and begin the fun part of building your blog.
I’ve admired Joomla as an effective CMS for quite some time, but have not had the guts to try an install and implementation myself — but with BitNami, I may work up the courage.
Web Worker Daily reports:
“Bitnami is a relatively new effort to do something about this. They’ve created a series of “application stacks” that enable wizard-driven installation of popular open-source software across Windows, Linux, and Mac. Each stack is fully self-contained, including all the necessary servers and management tools, as well as the application in question, and each installs to a separate directory so that it can be isolated from the rest of your computer. “
I love it that Open Source continues to become more and more democratic, empowering the non-techies to take advantage of cool web publishing tools and engage in freedom of expression. Truly, it’s a librarian’s utopia.