Joomla 2.5 to be released soon

The release of Joomla 2.5, a popular open source content management system, is expected to occur within the next few weeks. This release gives Joomla! fans a reason to celebrate and those new to the CMS a chance to consider Joomla! for thier next project. Like clockwork, the Joomla community is preparing the way by educating the masses on the new features and enhancements included in this version. I'm not an expert on the Joomla! development process, but I'm going to do my best here in summarizing the information that I've gathered so far on Joomla 2.5.

Joomla! Logo The general availability of the official Joomla 2.5.0 release is due on January 24, 2012. Also, in case you missed it, Beta 1 of Joomla 2.5 was released just as the holidays were getting in full swing. You can also expect another beta and a release candidate from the Joomla developers between now and Release 2.5.0.

For those new to software development, the beta and release candidates of software typically is not suitable for production sites and should be used only for testing purposes. Testing the pre-release software isn't only a great way for you to get to know Joomla 2.5 better but it is also a great way to help the developers identify and fix bugs in the software.

Axceler Introduces FileLoader For Microsoft SharePoint 2010

WOBURN, MA – May 3, 2011 – Axceler, the leader in Microsoft SharePoint administration and migration software, today introduced FileLoader for SharePoint 2010, a new SharePoint product that enables IT managers to quickly and easily move files originally stored in Windows file shares into SharePoint 2010. Using FileLoader for SharePoint 2010 brings many of the benefits of SharePoint to Windows file shares, including: one standard platform for sharing files, improved version control, workflow capabilities, document retention abilities, improved search results, tighter security, and better access control. When used with the leading SharePoint administration product, ControlPoint, to analyze and manage SharePoint usage and security, FileLoader for SharePoint 2010 can help bring rogue data files into a broader SharePoint governance initiative. FileLoader for SharePoint 2010 will be demonstrated for the first time at an upcoming webinar, Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 2 PM and is available immediately from Axceler.com.

"Many enterprises are seeking the benefits of SharePoint 2010 but have large amounts of content stored in Windows file shares without any sense of organization or structure,” said Michael Alden, President and CEO, Axceler. “One of the most common reasons companies delay a migration to SharePoint 2010 is because of the need to move key content from file shares that may have been around a long time. Enterprises also ask for the ability to analyze and structure this content to work with the new Managed Metadata Service capabilities of SharePoint 2010, and we are excited to expedite the migration to SharePoint 2010 with this product.”

FileLoader for SharePoint 2010 finally gives organizations control over their vast number of shared documents and files. Unique to FileLoader is its ability to create Microsoft Excel ‘control files’ that represent the file shares, allowing administrators and users to work together to clean up their file shares and apply metadata. The benefit is that managers can reorganize folder structures and distribute responsibility of content to stakeholders who know the content best.

Coveo Releases Version 6.5 of Its Enterprise Search Platform

The Coveo Platform 6.5 was released today and includes real-time, personalized and interactive business analytics and dashboards.
Coveo’s new, easy to configure dashboard widgets provide users with immediate access to 360-degree views of the information they need, across any number of repositories. Coveo dashboards help departments – from sales and marketing, to operations, and customer support – make better, more informed business decisions based on the most recent information.
The Coveo Platform includes two layers: the Unified Indexing Layer and the Access Interface Layer, which, when combined, let users access information from all enterprise systems through a variety of interfaces – from a Desktop Floating Search Bar to personalized and interactive dashboards.
Coveo provides Enterprise Search 2.0-powered information access solutions. Coveo’s more than 700 global implementations contribute to the success of, among many others, CA Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Children’s Hospital of Boston, Sony Ericsson, and Yum! Brands.

salsaDev: A new way to find related information

This is a very cool product from salsaDev which takes us one step closer to the Semantic Web. The salsaAPI 2.0 helps turn unstructured text into smart content. The video below explains it much better than I or even the press release I've attached below. My thanks to Stéphane Croisier (Jahia and also a salsaDev Board Member) for recommending that I take a look at this product.

SalsaAPI 2.0: the next-generation content intelligence engine

Geneva, November 10, 2010 – salsaDev SA is happy to announce it just closed its Series A Financing round exceeding $1 Mio, with institutional and private investors. salsaDev is simultaneously releasing its new product, salsaAPI 2.0 (api.salsadev.com), leveraging the 2nd generation of its flagship technology. salsaAPI automates text analysis and semantic indexing on large volumes of information, helping organizations reach the next level of content intelligence.

The salsaAPI 2.0 offers a powerful RESTful API to index various sources of raw content, automatically enrich it with additional metadata and match it with texts of similar meanings. The product combines a comprehensive set of features into one single offering, including text analysis, intelligent search & discovery and content mining. As opposed to several competitors, the product can be used online or onsite and can be easily embedded within any 3rd party sites or applications.

Indexing for the Enterprise: Retrieve Your Documents 100% of the Time

“Seek and you will find” would be great for workers if their software would consistently deliver the information they need, where and when they want it. Too often, the bridge between what’s needed and found is incomplete, especially as organizations grow, the amount of stored information increases, and more people are involved. A sea of documents, disparate legacy and line-of-business systems, and the paths each document travels during the business lifecycle makes some searches as efficient as sifting through dark file folders in a dim basement while wearing sunglasses. Service, reputations and profits can suffer irreparably when documents are demanded and can’t be located.

The challenges aren’t always the result of inferior technology. Often they arise from poorly devised indexing plans.

Ideally, employees would determine what they need and have it delivered to their cerebral desktops. Not only is this impossible, but security considerations necessitate filtering what each user is (and is not) allowed to access. Web-based enterprise content management (ECM), supported by an enterprise approach to indexing, delivers information workers need to succeed, unearthing relevant files within seconds. To ensure specific, meaningful, and consistent search results rather than extensive, irrelevant lists of files (or none at all), you should follow these basic indexing rules.

Acquia Search now does more

Some of the most enjoyable Drupal moments for me was the time I spent in 2009 testing Acquia's Search for Drupal. Acquia Search is a plug-and-play service within the Acquia Network, built on Apache Solr and available for any Drupal 6 site.

I think Acquia Search is probably one of the most significant services provided on the Acquia Network and the feature that will continue to attract businesses to not only Acquia but also Drupal. Acquia Logo So although I'm no longer on the Acquia network, I'm pleased to hear that new features have been added to this Apache Solr implementation.

Some of the more significant features being added to Acquia Search include:

Attachment Indexing - Utilizing the Apache Solr Attachment module you can now search the text in document files such as PDF and Word documents. This is big! Even cooler, those documents can searched locally or remotely.
Multi-site Searches - Search multiple Drupal sites at once.
Update to Solr 1.4.1 which fixes a number of bugs.
Wildcard Searches

The Chris Pliakas presentation on Search Lucene in Drupal

While I was at DrupalCon last week, Chris Pliakas sent a tweet out that he used screenshots from CMS Report in his Apache Lucene presentation. I'm always flattered when this site gets noticed for something we're apparently doing right. In this particular case, we're using the contributed Drupal module Search Lucene API for our search engine as well as for faceted search and content recommendations (recommended links).

If you had talked to me a few years ago, I would have told you that the Search module that comes with the Drupal CMS is all a site like mine needs. After I became a beta tester for the Acquia Network along with their implementation of Apache Solr called Acquia Search, my opinion quickly changed. I'm now convinced that an enterprise quality search engine is truly something that can make or break your website. If you're a smaller Drupal site that feels like Solr or Acquia Search is overkill or not in your cost range, Search Lucene API may be the answer you've been looking for all this time.

The actual name of Chris' DrupalCon presentation is: Build a Powerful Site Search with the User-Friendly, Easy-to-Install Search Lucene API Module Suite. The video of his presentation can be viewed at Archive.org and has been embedded above. Screenshots from CMSReport.com can be seen in the time frame from 19 minutes to 21 minutes.

Open Source Search Developers and Industry Experts to gather in Prague for Inaugural Apache Lucene EMEA Conference

European Conference Announced For 18th-21st May; Showcasing Customers, Developers, Technology and Search Innovation

San Mateo, CA (April 22nd 2010): Lucid Imagination, the commercial company for Apache Lucene and Solr open source search technologies, today announced details of the first conference in Europe dedicated to Lucene and Solr. The event will be held in Prague, Czech Republic, May 18th-21st. Full details can be found at http://lucene-eurocon.org/. The conference, presented by Lucid Imagination, is running as a not-for-profit venture, with net proceeds donated to The Apache Software Foundation.

Apache Lucene EuroCon builds on the accelerating marketplace adoption of Lucene/Solr open source search technology, challenging legacy technologies from costly, proprietary platforms. Technologists and executives alike recognize that they need search applications tailored to fit their business needs and their marketplace. Attendees will learn how Apache Lucene/Solr open source community innovation is overtaking conventional technologies, unleashing new and innovative search-enabled applications that deliver competitive advantage, scalability, and cost economies.

“Europe has emerged as a key hub of activity within the Lucene/ Solr developer community,” says Eric Gries, CEO, Lucid Imagination. “Companies are facing explosive growth in the volume and diversity of data, fueling demand for enterprise-ready search capabilities without the costly lock-in of proprietary commercial search. This conference will be essential for search application developers who want to build on their expertise for Lucene/Solr search-enabled applications.”

Bitrix Introduces the D.I.G. Engine : Enterprise 2.0 Search Technology

ALEXANDRIA , VA. – Bitrix, Inc. (www.bitrixsoft.com), a technology trendsetter in business communications solutions, introduces D.I.G. technology – an advanced search engine developed specifically for enterprise intranets and websites that enables high-performance data search in texts, media content and documents with smart ranking, sorting and display. The engine is available in the company’s flagship products – Bitrix Intranet Portal and Bitrix Site Manager.

"Information is a gateway to new business opportunities, while information retrieval is a key to this gateway. We are proud to present our perfected search technology and provide customers the ultimate tool for fast and accurate locating of required data across an organization’s digital assets," said Yury Tushinsky, CTO of Bitrix, Inc.

D.I.G. is designed to meet five basic principles to achieve best value and easy user adoption: accuracy, performance, content coverage, security and flexibility. This ready-made search tool intelligently implements an idea that is both simple and brilliant – thorough digging, smart display.

CMS Report's Top Ten Stories of 2009

The level of interest in content management systems astounds me. Each year, I continue to see at CMS Report an increase of visitors looking for information on content management. Our stories tend to focus on open source CMS more than proprietary applications and evidently that's the subject matter that our readers want to read.

Below are the top ten stories of 2009 that were posted here at CMSReport.com. As you can see, stories involving Drupal, WordPress, Joomla!, Alfresco, and Nuxeo took center stage. These stories might not have been the ten I would have personally picked for this list, but I'll respect the numbers behind their ranking.

The interest in Nuxeo took me by surprise and I'll be adding the CMS to my top 30 CMS Focus page as time allows. As always, our thanks to all those who continue to return to this site to read the stories, join in on the conversation, and even submit articles. As I've said before, I'm not sure we would be doing this if it wasn't for the interest shown by others visiting the site.

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