"Most of the engineers and developers I know are fond of using web frameworks and would switch to using one when they have the option. But, for many developers it's not as simple as just choosing one and developing with it. They have to get leadership to buy into a different system from the one they are already using. So, let's look at web frameworks from 4 of the big decision points for managers. "

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The last few seconds before projects and Internet hosting companies officially support PHP 5.2 via GoPHP5.org.

Therefore, the listed software projects have all agreed that effective February 5th, 2008, any new feature releases will have a minimum version requirement of at least PHP 5.2.0. Furthermore, the listed web hosts have agreed that effective February 5th, 2008, they will include PHP 5.2 (or a more recent version) in their service offer.

If your PHP-based software or Web server still does not support PHP 5, I would conclude they are living in the past. I personally would be looking for something with a better vision of the future...

Packt is pleased to announce a new book titled Zimbra which is a compact, friendly Administrators Guide containing plenty of step-by-step instructions as well as useful references and checklists. It shows readers how to install and configure Zimbra for use with the web client, Outlook, and mobile devices.

Zimbra is open-source server and client software for messaging and collaboration: email, group calendaring, contacts, and web document management and authoring. This book shows readers how to install and configure Zimbra for use with the web client, Outlook, and mobile devices. Readers will learn about Zimbra Collaboration Suite architecture and get an overview of its Administration. The book covers setting up users, using Zimbra as your main email server, and security, spam, and virus issues. It wraps up by looking at some Zimlets – Zimbra mashups – as well as backing up and managing performance.

"When did software get annoying? There was a time when a new release of a popular program was so exciting and useful that we couldn't wait to try it out. Now, some software seems like it's deliberately designed to irritate you, with everything from persistent update and registration requests to sunset policies that cripple perfectly good applications. Marketers have taken over product design, and the products are the worse for it."

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August 2007

New Website Launched that Promises to ease the Software Installation Process

InstallationWiki.org is a new website designed to provide users with comprehensive, free guides to installing software. Launching on August 6, 2007, the website will largely be driven and populated by content supplied and edited by experts, and hopes to bridge the gap between software experts and software users.

Quality, relevant and free information on installing software is often difficult to find, especially when new versions and editions are being released on a regular basis. The aim of InstallationWiki.org is to provide people with a one-stop source of information for installing whichever piece of software they’re working with.

The Installation Wiki will provide myriad benefits for a variety of individuals; acting as a resource for software users, whilst supporting the software community through gaining exposure for their respective programs.

There are 139,834 open source projects under way on SourceForge, the popular open source hosting site. Five years from now, only a handful of those projects will be remembered for making lasting contributions--most will remain in niches, unnoticed by the rest of the world. For every Linux, Apache, or MySQL, dozens of other open source efforts fizzle out.

That's a dilemma for the many companies that are expanding their use of open source. Corporate developers and other IT professionals must get better at divining the winners and ignoring the losers. The wrong picks can lead companies down a rat hole of support problems and obsolete software.