Τετάρτη 15 Ιουνίου 2011

Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org

Underlying Philosophy

Before we examine the specific features of Microsoft Office and OpenOffice, it may be helpful to step back to compare the philosophical differences between the two packages, and how these differences might impact how you purchase and use them.
With commercially licensed software like Microsoft Office, a product is developed by a single company; sales help fund product testing and development, marketing and sales, as well as salaries and shareholder dividends. In contrast, open-source software like OpenOffice is developed collaboratively, often by volunteers, and freely distributed, allowing anyone to use, redistribute, adapt, or improve the code — all free of charge.
The open-source philosophy is not just limited to software, and can attract loyal adherents who believe that information should be shared freely. Likewise, some consumers feel more comfortable with a for-profit model they feel rewards ingenuity and innovation. If you have deep convictions in either direction, we suspect that we're not going to change your mind here. However, each model does offer tangible advantages:
  1. Open-source applications often cost nothing. OpenOffice is free — and who doesn’t love a bargain? Bear in mind, however, that Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 are available to eligible U.S.-based nonprofits and libraries for a minimal fee ($20-30 depending on the version and edition through TechSoup, for instance).
  2. Updates to open-source applications also cost nothing. As an open-source product, OpenOffice updates are free; the same is not always true of Microsoft updates. Microsoft, however, gives Office to nonprofits as part of a philanthropic program, meaning that it is possible (although not likely, given the length of Microsoft’s commitment to philanthropy) that if the donation program ended, you would have to pay to update the suite down the road. If you currently hold a valid license of Office with Software Assurance, you may be able to upgrade to the newer versions for no cost. Read more about Software Assurance benefits here.
  3. You can do what you like with open-source code. You can study OpenOffice and adapt it to your needs. You can improve the program or build something completely new with it and release your changes to the public. If this is important to you, Microsoft doesn't offer anything comparable.
  4. Commercially licensed software offers a company behind the code. Microsoft depends on the sales of Office and its other software to remain profitable, giving it a strong incentive to offer the features, support, and interface that will make it attractive to users and competitive in the market. Microsoft has built a vast pool of talented developers, a mature platform, and polished user interfaces, and Office’s success has provided it with a large user and support base. Although OpenOffice has a formal relationship with Oracle, the mandates for open-source applications like OpenOffice are a bit fuzzier and tend to be driven by tech-savvy programmers. In practice, this has resulted in a somewhat less polished interface and more limited documentation.
  5. Open-source has code beyond a company. Because its source code is available to all, OpenOffice is not solely dependent on its current crop of developers and current corporate sponsor. If all these people were to disappear, the code would still exist and other people could pick of the project. The same is not always true for closed-source, commercial projects. That being said, it doesn't appear that Microsoft is in any danger of going bankrupt in the foreseeable future.
  6. Open-source tends to use open standards. OpenOffice's native files, called OpenDocument, adhere to publicly agreed-upon, readily available standards. (While OpenOffice can also read and write Microsoft files like Word's .doc and Excel's .xls, these are not its default file types). Thus, any other software that supports these standards can read and write OpenOffice documents. Popular open standards, like HTML, HTTP, and URL, tend to take on a life of their own; closed standards risk going the way of the Betamax... though, again, the risk of Microsoft formats faltering seems.

Usability and Interface

Microsoft Office is nearly ubiquitous in office settings these days, making its interface the de-facto standard for how office suites operate. However, Office 2007’s new “ribbon” interface is different enough from the Office 2003’s interface that the average user may require additional training and support when making the transition. Even Microsoft Office “super-users” may find the upgrade frustrating, as features they learned inside out have moved.
Office 2010 keeps with the ribbon interface, with only slight modifications. It has also implemented several important interface improvements, such as adding the File menu back into the tool bar, which makes it easier to find the controls to open and save documents. The pretty, modern interface lends additional polish to the suite.
OpenOffice 3’s interface, in contrast, is very similar to Office 2003, making it an intriguing option for those who are concerned about a wholesale move to the ribbon interface. Anyone who has used Word or Excel 2003 will feel comfortable in Write and Calc. A move from Microsoft Office 2003 to OpenOffice 3 might be compared to a move from Office 2000 to Office 2003: there are small differences, and users who have learned things by rote may require some training, but the concepts are all the same. In fact, many regard OpenOffice 3 as simpler, and thus easier to learn, than Microsoft Office 2010. OpenOffice 3 is also about as polished as Office 2003 — perfectly functional, but not as sleek as Office 2010.
Some of the more advanced features differ more between any version of OpenOffice and Microsoft Office. For instance, the available templates are substantially different between the two suites, so those accustomed to using pre-packaged layouts for documents or charts may need to make some adjustments.

System Requirements

For most computers that you would actually want to use, both OpenOffice 3 and Microsoft Windows 2010 will work fine. While OpenOffice is said to run a bit slower, particularly when opening up complex documents in Microsoft's proprietary formats, the difference is negligible if you've purchased your computer in the last couple of years. Both platforms also offer comparable support for Macs.
OpenOffice 3 offers better support for older computers than the latest version of Microsoft Office. For instance, Office 2010 notes its minimum spec is a Pentium 700MHz with 512 MB of RAM, while OpenOffice lists 256 MB of RAM (although 512 MB RAM is recommended). While Office 2010 requires Windows 7, XP, or Vista to run fully, OpenOffice will run on Windows 2000 or 2003. What's more, OpenOffice will run under Linux, and Linux runs much more effectively on old computers than Windows 7 or XP. This makes Linux and OpenOffice a practical combination even on older computers, especially those that require few other applications (as you might find in a public computer lab setting.)

Support

There's more support for Microsoft Office than anyone could possibly take advantage of: Official support from Microsoft itself, authorized support from people who have earned Microsoft licenses, professional call centers, dozens of books, and countless websites offering tips and guides for modifying, configuring, and using Office software. OpenOffice's support is more community driven, and generally free, with a documentation project and discussion forums led by volunteers. It's easier to find Microsoft Office training and support, but it's likely to cost more though there are some free resources specifically for nonprofits.
One final consideration: because OpenOffice has much looser licensing requirements, you needn’t worry about installing unlimited copies around your office or for friends or partner organizations. When you buy or receive a version of Office 2010, however, you may only install it on a specified number of computers within your organization, so you'll need to keep track of exactly where it's been installed.

Document Sharing

In general, both Office 2010 and OpenOffice can create files that can be read by others, with some caveats. In the case of Office 2010, this is because Microsoft has established de facto file standards such as .doc (and .docx) for Word documents and .xls (and .xlsx) for Excel. Partners that are running Office 2003 or older versions may need to convert the files Office 2010 creates from the new file formats (docx) to the older ones (like .doc) to be able to open them. This isn’t done automatically in the older versions, although Microsoft offers a free utility to do it for you.
OpenOffice, on the other hand, uses open standards for its native files, but can both read and write files in Microsoft's format. In fact, OpenOffice users can choose to automatically save out files in Microsoft 2003 formats by default. OpenOffice has invested a lot of effort in ensuring that Writer, Calc, and Impress users can share documents with Microsoft users and has succeeded in all but a few specific cases … as long as you’re trying to share documents in Office 2003 or prior. OpenOffice can open and save Office 2003 documents with a high degree of fidelity, with only a few exceptions. If you’ve created Word documents that make extensive use of columns, header formats, and embedded images, the file is likely to show up in Writer with minor formatting issues that have to be adjusted by hand. This isn’t likely to be prohibitive for a document or two, but could be a time consuming for a whole library of templates and collateral.
The two applications are also incompatible when it comes to macros or spreadsheet pivot tables. Both applications support both features (pivot tables are created with a feature called Data Pilot in OpenOffice), but you will not be able to use the macros or pivot tables created in one application with the other. You may also have some minor issues with translating charts from one spreadsheet program to the other.
Interestingly, OpenOffice can open substantially older versions of Microsoft Office files than Microsoft Office itself can, or even some corrupted files that Microsoft Office can’t open. For an IT department, OpenOffice is worth having around just for that.
However, OpenOffice does not have complete support for the new file formats created by Office 2007 and 2010. In our tests, simply saving an Office 2003 document into the Office 2010 file format and then opening that same document in OpenOffice resulted in a substantial loss of formatting fidelity, particularly from Word to Writer. As these file formats are fairly new, one would expect the OpenOffice community to improve their support over time. OpenOffice also cannot save to the new 2007 and 2010 file formats; however, as Office 2010 is able to open the Office 2003 file formats, this is not a substantial limitation.
Both applications now provide the ability to export any file to an un-editable PDF format – ensuring that viewers can see the document exactly as you intended.

Remote Access

Microsoft Office 2010 also introduces new web-collaboration features. You can save any Office document to Microsoft’s “SkyDrive” — the company’s online server — and access it via Microsoft’s new Web Apps, which provides online stripped-down versions of the office applications. Here, you can view the complex formatting of your offline versions, although not necessarily edit it. For instance, Web Apps will allow you to apply heading styles that you’ve created in a desktop version of Word, but not to edit those styles or create new ones.
Microsoft is also moving (slowly) toward supporting real-time online collaboration. Currently, multiple users can edit documents simultaneously in the Web Apps version of Excel but not Word or PowerPoint. However, this is likely to change over time. Interestingly, Microsoft has just announced a version of Web Apps called Web Docs that integrates with Facebook. Presumably, this will allow easy document collaboration among Facebook contacts.
OpenOffice doesn’t offer any of these features, continuing to operate on a pure desktop model. You can certainly email files to yourself or others, but you can’t edit them directly on the web, or collaborate with others in real time.

Security

Microsoft Office and OpenOffice are both reasonably secure as long as you follow standard security procedures: install updates and patches as soon as they're released; maintain firewalls, antivirus, and antispyware; and so on. However, while OpenOffice let everyone know about possible security issues (allowing users to protect themselves and hackers to potentially exploit issues), Microsoft keeps security issues close to the vest — possibly preventing hackers from finding out about them, but also forestalling users' ability to take protective measures beyond the standard security updates Microsoft provides automatically. It's like the dilemma that arises each time police officers are faced with a serial killer: Should they alert people and possibly make the perp move on to another community, or should they keep their investigation quiet and zero in on the guy? There are strong arguments for both approaches.

Email Integration

For many folks, one of the big advantages of Microsoft Office is its integration with Microsoft Outlook, an email and calendaring software package (among other things). These features not only allow you to send a document directly from the Microsoft Office (for instance, you can send a Word document in an email directly from the Word interface), but to preview Microsoft Office documents directly in Outlook without opening the application.
OpenOffice supports emailing documents but not previewing. You can easily email a document directly from the OpenOffice interface, using your default email method (including through Outlook). You can also install the open-source package Thunderbird to use as your email browser, but the integration is not nearly so tight as Microsoft Office and Outlook, and you’d have to install yet another application (like Sunbird) to handle calendaring.

Specific Features: A Comparison

So let's get on with it, you may be saying. I want a head-to-head comparison of the feature differences between the two suites. This is very difficult, primarily as the applications are so fundamentally similar. Each suite has been copying the best enhancements and innovations of the others for years, so you need to be doing pretty complex things before you find either suite lacking.
In general, Microsoft Office has a greater depth when it comes to very advanced features. For instance:
  • Grammar checking. Microsoft Word has a built-in grammar-checking tool. The Open Office community has provided a few add-ons that you could install to provide grammar checking, but they’re generally considered to be less robust than Word’s default options.
  • Document-viewing options. The options to view documents are not as powerful in Open Office’s Writer as they are in Word. You can only choose to see a “Web View,” which doesn’t show all the formatting that you’ve included for a printed document, or a full-page layout that shows the entirety of the page including headers, footers, and margins. Word gives you several more choices, including a nice view that preserves the page layout without showing margins or headers.
  • Conditional formatting. Both spreadsheet packages offer conditional formatting (the ability to automatically format cells based on the properties of the data within them), but Microsoft offers a lot more flexibility and control in this realm.
  • Microsoft Office’s “Smart Art” diagrams.Word, PowerPoint, and Excel all introduced a new feature in the 2007 version: Smart Art, a useful feature that allows you to easily create diagrams in a many common formats (like pyramids, cyclical diagrams, org charts, and more). OpenOffice doesn’t offer anything that comes close to the diagramming power
On the other hand, OpenOffice tends to be somewhat simpler to understand, and can output to some more useful file formats. For instance:
  • A single interface for the whole suite. OpenOffice provides an overall gateway to easily get to any of the individual components. Using Microsoft Word, you need to open each application separately.
  • File size. OpenOffice’s native format generally creates much smaller files than Microsoft Office. When saving files out into Microsoft’s file formats, however – for instance, to create files that can be opened in Word – the file sizes are similar to Microsoft’s.
  • HTML production. HTML purists tend to favor Writer's markup to Word's, though few people with knowledge of HTML use either editor in producing web pages. For simple tasks, Writer’s Web Wizard makes it incredibly easy to produce pages with HTML, PDF, and images.

Final Considerations for Specific Situations

What do we recommend? If you still haven’t made up your mind, we’ll leave you with a few specific scenarios for when one package might work better than another:
  • Your office is happily using donated Microsoft Office 2007 licenses. Are you able to get Office 2007 and 2010 for free or very little money? Is your staff happy with it and comfortable using it to get your work done? Then we don't see a lot of upside in changing for the sake of change. Upgrading from Microsoft Office 2007 to 2010 is a relatively easily transition.
  • Your office is happily using donated Microsoft Office 2003 licenses. This is a little more complex. To upgrade, you’ll need to move to the new Microsoft ribbon interface, a sizable change that will require a learning curve and possible training for your staff. OpenOffice will be more familiar (and completely free), but you’ll lose some very advanced features, and the ability to seamlessly open highly formatted documents, charts, pivot tables, and macros. Is your staff actually using these features? Do you have a sizable repository of complex document, spreadsheets, and presentations that you need to frequently open and edit? For instance, it may be challenging to move your accounting staff — which may in fact be creating complex spreadsheets with macros and charts — off of Excel. In this circumstance, it likely makes sense to take a careful look at what your staff is actually doing with Microsoft Office to decide whether the extra transition and cost is worth it for the sake of more advanced functionality.
  • You have a small, technically comfortable staff, philosophically aligned with open-source tools. If your staff would prefer open-source over Microsoft for philosophical reasons, and can roll with small changes in interface and less formal support, OpenOffice is a completely viable alternative that doesn't sacrifice productivity.
  • Your staff depends on sharing highly formatted documents or complex Excel functionality. Do you create a lot of highly formatted Word documents, pivot tables, or use a lot of macros? Do you share these files with other organizations? Then it may not make sense to move to OpenOffice.
  • You need to provide basic office software on old computers. If you are looking to support only basic functionality and need to use older computers — for a public computer lab, for instance — then a Linux/OpenOffice combination is hard to beat.
Both Microsoft Office and OpenOffice are strong platforms that will support office productivity. You might want to consider installing both office suites to allow your users a choice. Personally, we like having choices. If you've read this far, the same may apply to you.
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MS Exchange 2007 VS IBM Domino 8 (

IBM Lotus Notes & Domino 8  VS Microsoft Exchange & Outlook 2007
How does MS Exchange 2007 & Outlook 2007 compare  to IBM Lotus Notes & Domino 8?
Advantages & Disadvantages of MS Exchange 2007 & IBM Lotus Domino 8
What is better IBM Lotus Domino 8  or Microsoft Exchange 2007? How?
Independent Unbiased Comparison IBM Lotus Domino 8 & MS Exchange 2007

IBM Lotus Notes & Domino 8 VS Microsoft Exchange & Outlook 2007 Introduction:
If you have reached this page you are more probably considering to build or upgrade the e-mail system for your organization. Either way you are probably looking for the best e-mail system that meet your organization needs. We are offering and are preparing many comparisons regarding e-mail systems. At this page we are comparing between the two most common  e-mail systems in the market today. Microsoft and IBM are the two major vendors for E-mail Solutions today. Other e-mail Solutions Comparisons can be reached from the menu in the left side. At this comparison we will focus on the competitive information of Microsoft Exchange 2007 & IBM Lotus Domino 8. It will has a high over view of MS Exchange 2007 Versus IBM Lotus Domino 8.

Feature
 IBM Lotus Domino  VS       MS Exchange 2007
      Company
            IBM
               Microsoft
Supported Platform
Support Windows 2003, IBM AIX, Linux (on Intel), Linux (System Z), IBM i5/OS, IBM z/OS, and Sun Solaris.
Only Support 64-bit Windows Platform in production.
ITComparison Team Comments -: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :- IBM Lotus Domino 8 is the definite winner when it come to the number of platform it support. Exchange 2007 support only Windows 2003 64-bit version which limit a lot of organizations who is running at different platform than Windows. Even if you are running windows 2003 you will be forced to buy window 2003 64-bit edition, as the 32-bit addition is not supported in production any more.
Complementary Products
Sametime instant messaging, IBM WebSphere Portal, Tivoli Directory Integrator, Websphere Application Server are only examples of the IBM Complementary products IBM Lotus Domino Customers are applicable for.
Microsoft does not offer any specific complementary product with Exchange 2007, but offer extra paid products that can integrate with Exchange 2007.
ITComparison Team Comments -: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :- IBM Lotus Domino 8 is the definite winner when it come to the number of Complementary products. Microsoft will charge you an arm and leg to get features equivalent to the free complementary products IBM Lotus Domino 8 customers applicable for.
Virtualization Support
Hardware & Software virtualization support
Does not support Virtualization
ITComparison Team Comments


-: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* We are not sure what is Microsoft idea of not supporting Exchange 2007 in any type of virtualization at the moment and not even releasing a date when it will be supported. Yes, it might work but won't be supported by Microsoft.

* In the other hand IBM support Lotus Domino in both hardware virtualization (Power Series) & Software Virtualization (VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3)

* As Virtualization becoming to be the market trend at the moment due to the fact of it saving money, space, hardware, and easy provisioning it seems a real catch when Microsoft does not support it when exchange 2007 requires a lot more roles and more hardware which could been virtualized and allow good  saving on the hardware cost.
Upgradeability & Integration:
In Place Upgrade from earlier versions
Integrate with earlier versions
Earlier versions Application Support
             
                  
              
             
              Yes


               Yes


               Yes
                 
                
         
         
               No


       Yes, but not 5.5


                  No
ITComparison Team Comments

-: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* IBM Lotus Domino 8 can do in place upgrade of earlier versions of Domino, where Exchange 2007 can only do a complicated migration of earlier versions. It even requite upgrading Exchange 5.5 to 2000/2003 prior to migration.
* IBM Lotus Domino 8 can integrate with earlier versions of Domino, MS Exchange 2007 can do the same with Exchange 2000/2003, but not with Exchange 5.5.
* Applications written to work with earlier versions of Lotus will most likely work with Lotus Domino 8, where applications written for earlier versions of Exchange will more than likely not work with Exchange 2007 which is a huge waste of investment. 
Solution Type
  Complete Solution
Messaging only       Solution   
ITComparison Team Comments -: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* IBM Lotus Domino 8 offers e-mail, Contacts, Calendaring, team spaces, forums, Integrated IM & Presences awareness, and development tools.

* MS Exchange 2007 only offer a messaging solution and if you need any further functionality you have to pay for an extra product.
Composite Applications:                Yes                   No
ITComparison Team Comments -: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* IBM Lotus Domino 8 has NSF-based composite application that includes both NSF and Eclipse components that offers an easy way to make applications that integrate into Lotus Notes without extensive coding. In the other hand, Microsoft does not offer any equivalent to that.
Clustering Type:
   Application Level             OS Level
ITComparison Team Comments -: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* IBM Lotus Domino 8 Cluster is on the application level which make it more flexible and give a higher availability than Microsoft Exchange 2007 Cluster which is OS Level cluster and highly dependant on the OS Clustering capability of windows 2003.
Replication Reliability:
              High                  Low
ITComparison Team Comments
-: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* IBM Lotus Domino has implemented replication for ages to be one of the most reliable and efficient replication methods available.
* MS Exchange 2007 is the first Exchange version to support replication. The replication was not reliable in the RTM release and got a bit better with SP1 but still not the best. In addition, Exchange 2007 replication is not efficient and requires a large amount of dedicated bandwidth which can be expensive.
Software Release Approach: Fully Tested - Ready for Production     Half-Raw till SP1
ITComparison Team Comments



-: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* IBM has release Lotus Domino 8 as a solid product fully tested and ready for production, but was a bit late to market.
* Microsoft as usual early to market with half raw product at the RTM version of Exchange 2007 with many bugs and features missing few examples:
- Public folders Management GUI
- Replication was not working unless implemented directly by Microsoft with some secret hotfixes.
- Single Copy Cluster was not working unless installed with certain hotfixes in certain orders which was not mentioned any where on Microsoft website and not applying the fixes will make the cluster resources jump from a node to the other.
Note: these were few of the issues Microsoft fixed with SP1, but even SP1 had its own issues that Microsoft admit in the release note of SP1 and the installation of SP1 has not been smooth for many customers.
Maintenance:    Install & Forget Time-Consuming
ITComparison Team Comments
-: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* Microsoft as usual has kept their product maintenance quite time-consuming doing updates for exchange, operating system fixing failures and recovering data stores. It seems they are trying to help administrators look busy to keep their jobs.
* IBM has kept again the Install & Forget approach. After Domino has been installed you only need to visit the box if you need to add or enable a feature. It does not mean administrators will lose their job, but will have an easier life.
Microsoft Office Integration
Yes, but require a free connector
      Out of the Box
ITComparison Team Comments -: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
* As Microsoft Office is a Microsoft product which as expected  integrate better with Microsoft Exchange 2007 and without the need for any extra packages, though IBM has released a connector for Lotus Domino that will provide a quite good integration with office. In the other hand, IBM has their own mail Client Lotus Notes which is a great one.
Security:
offers advance security features including: local encryption, digital signatures, Server & user defined level SPAM control, and granular access control.
Although Microsoft has put a lot of effort into building some spam protection and enhancing their security features in Exchange 2007 they still struggle as usual with many security leaks, virus propagation and security holes.
Encryption:
up to 4096 bit RSA encryption keys and 128 bit symmetric keys
offer some type of encryption, but optional.
Costs:
Initial License costs for only messaging system (non redundant):
Initial License costs for only messaging system (redundant):
Initial License costs for full solution:
Full Solution including hardware, licenses, and software cost.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
              

 A bit more   expensive


           
          
        Cheaper



         Cheaper


       
         Cheaper


            
             Lower
     

  A bit cheaper






 More Expensive



  More Expensive


 
 
 More Expensive


  
   Higher
ITComparison Team Comments



-: IBM Lotus Domino 8 VS MS Exchange 2007 :-
Exchange 2007 get to be cheaper only if you calculate the initial licenses for non redundant setup. In all the other calculation and TCO Exchange 2007 will be in a loss situation. Exchange 2007 require newer 64-bit hardware and more servers (at least 6 server in case of redundancy) where Lotus Domino can reach full redundancy with two servers only, this is due to the new roles Exchange 2007 came up with. More servers means more licenses and clustering with Exchange require windows enterprise licenses which not required with Lotus Domino. All this give Domino an initial setup advantage when you look at the full setup cost. In addition, if your setup require features like forums, portal, and instant messaging you will have to pay for an extra three separate products with Exchange where all of these are integrated into Domino server for free. All that Make Domino the TCO winner.
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Drupal Vs Joomla and other CMS

A very common question from Beginners is whether I should choose Drupal or Joomla or other CMS?
I had to make this tough decision 2 years back and I thank myself everyday for choosing Drupal over other CMS. I am glad I did not quit when I found some things difficult.
Drupal has a superior architecture and very SEO friendly. It can cater to your needs, it can be used for a simple FAQ site or a very large million visitor site.
Here are some Key pros and cons of the two systems.
Drupal
* Rock solid & high quality platform
* Real multi-site-feature (only one installation for several sites)
* Any Kind of user groups & user permissions, OpenId compliant in Version 6
* Can run membership and community sites, not only CMS etc
* Powerful templating system. Any XHTML or CSS template can be easily converted to Drupal.
* Drupal needs a little time investment to realize all the huge possibilities of Drupal
* Clear, high quality code and API (easy to integrate with other solutions etc)
* Flexibility and no known limitations
* Many high profile sites use Drupal (e.g.: MTV UK, BBC, the Onion, Nasa, Greenpeace UK, New york observer. )
Joomla
* If you are not techy its good to start
* Easy install & setup with your mouse
* Easy learning curve
* Cannot integrate other scripts etc. to your site
* Generally you cannot create high-end sites, without investing huge amount
* No SEO out of the box, URLs are not search engine friendly.
* Server resources utilization is more compared to drupal
* Only one site per installation
* No Single Log-in to several sites
* No User groups & permissions
* More intuitive administration user interface
* Some polished modules for things like calendars, polls, etc.
* Modules cost you money
System Requirements:
  • Drupal can work with MySQL and Postgres while Joomla is known to support only MySQL
  • Drupal can work with Apache or IIS while Joomla is known to support only Apache
  • Joomla support SSL logins and SSL pages. Drupal not known to support it.
Site Management
  • Drupal has free add on for Workflow management. Joomla not known to have one.
  • Drupal has inbuilt Translation manager. Joomla has a Free ad on for the same
  • Drupal has more   granular priviledge managment
Interoperability:
  • Drupal has iCal support [Add on] , Joomla not known to have one.
  • Drupal is XHTML Complaint. Joomla not known to be one.
  • Drupal has excellent versioning and Audit trail which Joomla lacks
If you are still not satisfied, I suggest you read the following
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Κυριακή 12 Ιουνίου 2011

How To Cure Game Addiction

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DNN Story 2007 - Video Game Addiction

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FRAG Video Game Addiction Documentary

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History of GUI Operating Systems

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The Timeline and History of Video Games

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Worst PC games of all time

Let’s face it, bad games are brilliant. As long as you didn’t do anything stupid like actually spend money on one, there’s hours of fun to be had just savouring the failure.
Great games? They need no help. Mediocrity is never enjoyable. A true stinker on the other hand, a bad idea executed hilariously poorly, is a thing of beauty. The only real problem is where to draw the line. Here are 15 of the worst games ever made.

1. Animal


In-game advertising makes everyone cross, but what if the game itself was the advert? Yo! Noid, One Step Beyond, Spot… there were several of these bad ideas (although Spot was actually fun) but Animal was both the worst and the most inexplicable. A point-and-click adventure starring the poo-like Peperami mascot and voiced by Adrian Edmondson at his most shrieking. Really? Well, yes, and one of the most boring point and-click adventures you can imagine at that. Tedious puzzles and a completely forgettable world aside, it put its cards on the table early on by constantly insulting you for playing it. You deserved its scorn. The scorn of a game about a sausage mascot, which you’d actually gone out and bought with real money. Think on that and realise you’d never scrub away the shame, even if you used a wire brush.

2. Limbo of the Lost


There’s a puzzle in this adventure where you need to give someone a bottle of green water. No problem, right? You’ve got a green bottle. Oh, but water’s blue, isn’t it? Never mind. Just add a bit of yellow saffron! When people talk about Limbo of the Lost, they usually focus on its minor faux-pas of being a commercial game that blatantly stole all its graphics from games like Oblivion and Wolfenstein, but that’s unfair. It’s so much worse than that, on a level so twisted, it borders on genius. The kind they keep in a padded cell to stop him picking fights with Batman. One minute you’re stumbling through empty caves (stolen from Painkiller), the next exploring Death’s house (stolen from Thief 3), the next solving a murder mystery in a game whose plot is never actually explained. It’s so insane, it could actually have been funny, except for the fact that it’s torture and will make you want to cry.

3. Hellboy


Normally, when developers come down to show off their hard work,it’s considered polite to watch,ask some questions, and hold off on the gallows. Hellboy had an entire room of journalists rolling in laughter from the first line of dialogue. The only problem: it’s not a comedy. After apparently vanishing, it hid in shame for years, aside from a demo with some of the worst voice over work this side of House of the Dead, until a reader finally tracked down a copy for its long-overdue scourging. Luckily, it came long before the movie, so not too many people ever fell prey to its awful controls, combat that made Resident Evil embarrassed, and those awful, awful graphics. Firing it up to make sure, just for the record, that it really was that bad, I managed to get to the end of the first level before microwaving the disc. For this, I deserve many, many gold medals.

4. The You Testament


Aside from classic gods and fantasy, games typically avoid religion in the name of an easy life. The You Testament… goes a different direction. So bad, yet apparently so sincere, philosophers could argue for years about whether it’s actually the best troll ever, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a game about following Jesus around, and occasionally punching him in the face by accident. Sometimes he turns the other cheek, sometimes he threatens to kill you dead. That’s what you get when the combat comes straight from a wrestling game. Later, you gain religion-themed superpowers, like terrain manipulation and seeing the world in wire frame mode. No, really. The best thing about all this craziness? There’s a sequel. Same basic game. About Mohammed. Talk about actual giant, steel-plated balls.

5. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors


Released during that now so long-ago period when nobody cared about Doctor Who, this is a pitch-perfect example of how not to do a tie-in game. Playing not as the Doctor or a companion, but rather some rubbish alien called Graak, this most tedious of games was all about stamping around the infinite possibilities for boredom in the Doctor’s TARDIS on a fanfic-level quest to rescue his various personalities from the Master via the power of minigames and sheer bloodyminded endurance. Admittedly, it was more interesting than 2D platformer Dalek Attack, but only just. The only good thing in it was Anthony Ainley’s full-motion video pantomime introduction and ending videos, which some fans think of as setting up the failed American reboot. At least modern Doctor Who games are awesome, right? Right? Oh.


Frogger: Helmet Chaos 50

We must bring order to the helmets!


Platform : DS, PSP
Publisher : Konami
Year : 2005

If ever there was a title that came straight out of the random grab-bag-o-nouns, it's this one. Pretty much lost me after "Frogger."



Zeitgeist 49

David Hume could out-consume Schopenhauer and Hegel.


Platform : Playstation, PC
Publisher : Taito
Year : 1998

Man, nothing says "fun" like a German philosophical term for an era in the dialectical progression of a people or the world at large. I wonder if it has tits!



Twin Eagle: Revenge Joe's Brother 48

No, Joe.


Platform : Arcade
Publisher : Taito
Year : 1988

It's bad enough to name a helicopter Revenge Joe, but it's even worse when you claim it has a brother. And it's doubly worse when you consider that this is actually the first Twin Eagle game. Revenge for what?



Jumpman 47

A super-power it ain't.


Platform : Apple II, Commodore 64, PC
Publisher : Epyx
Year : 1983

From the Totally Out of Ideas department comes Jumpman. Let's see...there's a man, and he jumps...



ASO: Armored Scrum Object 46

FYI: Unnecessary Abbreviation


Platform : Arcade
Publisher : SNK
Year : 1986

Why would they name a bland vertical shooter after some sort of futuristic Rugby ball? To make our list, of course.



Wild Woody 45

I just figured out my porn star name.


Platform : Sega CD
Publisher : Sega
Year : 1995

Wild Woody was also the the star of this game, a bright yellow No. 2 pencil that threw sticks of dynamite. Welcome to the mascot graveyard.



Tech Romancer 44

Your eyes are like deep pools of Dihydrogen Monoxide.


Platform : Dreamcast
Publisher : Capcom
Year : 2000

This dorky Don Juan gets all the ladies with his smooth moves, great hair and modded Palm Pilot.



Princess Tomato in Salad Kingdom 43

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.


Platform : NES
Publisher : Hudson Soft
Year : 1990

And then pretty much just skip the salad course, because this vegetable-themed adventure game had no meat. On the other hand, you gotta see the melons on that tomato.



Beyond the Beyond 42

Way past the far out.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Sony
Year : 1999

Sony goes one step beyond in their top-shelf RPG. Beyond what, you ask? Don't ask. Really.



Silhouette Mirage: Reprogrammed Hope 41

Palette timid waffle.


Platform : Playstation, Saturn
Publisher : Working Designs
Year : 1999

We love the
random word generator, too! Opted congestion substances source! Think wind recorder disrupt!



Um Jammer Lammy 40

While my guitar gently screams WTF.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Sony
Year : 1999

This sequel to Parappa the Rapper took a confusing premise - you're a psychedelic lamb who plays guitar - and turned it absurd with this awkward title.



PenPen TriIcelon 39

Attack of the lion-penguin-monkeys.


Platform : Dreamcast
Publisher : Infogrames
Year : 1999

You're a mutant penguin racing in the TriIcelon, which is just like a Triathlon, but colder. Believe it or not, we reviewed this one and STILL have no idea what the hell it's about.



Spanky's Quest 38

To save Alfalfa?


Platform : SNES
Publisher : Natsume
Year : 1992

See, Spanky is a monkey. Spanky the monkey. SPANK THE MONKEY. Hey thanks, you're a great crowd!



Cacoma Knight in Bizyland 37

Mind your bizness.


Platform : SNES
Publisher : SETA U.S.A.
Year : 1993

Sounds like an adventurous RPG, but the only thing getting bizy in this Qix ripoff is you.



M.U.S.C.L.E. 36

B.A.D. A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.


Platform : NES
Publisher : Bandai
Year : 1986

Video games are chock full of bad acronyms, but Mattel and Bandai's old wrestling game - Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere - wins by submission.



Sticky Balls 35

Pass the vaseline.


Platform : Gizmondo
Publisher : Gizmondo Games
Year : 2005

The platform might have been a front for
a mafia scam, but the games were real. Real filthy, that is.



70's Robot Anime Geppy-X:
The Super Boosted Armor
34

Wow.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Aroma
Year : 1999

We cheated a little on this one, since this side-scrolling robot shooter was a Japanese-only release, but with a title like that, it just had to be on the list.



Punky Skunk 33

God save the queen.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Jaleco
Year : 1998

Talk about low effort game naming. He's a skunk, he's extreme, and he loves The Misfits...so...hmmm...what to call him...



Klonoa: Door to Phantomile 32

Doctor, it hurts when I pee...


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Namco
Year : 1997

That's because you've caught Klonoa, Jimmy, but don't worry, a shot of penicillin will clear that right up.



Awesome Possum Kicks Dr. Machino's Butt! 31

He does. Right in the butt.


Platform : Sega Genesis
Publisher : Tengen
Year : 1994

Fun fact: This is one of the first games to actually use digitized voice. Not so fun fact: Here's a dialogue snippet: Awesome Possum: "I'm awesome!"
Dr. Machino: "You’re not so awesome!"
 
You got that right.



Catechumen 30

Even Jesus can't save it.


Platform : PC
Publisher : N'Lightning
Year : 1997

A catechuman is a person receiving instruction in the Christian religion in order to be baptized, making the concept for this first-person shooter nearly as bad as its nigh unpronounceable name.



World Soccer Winning Eleven 5: Final Evolution 29

The future is long-winded.


Platform : PS2
Publisher : Konami
Year : 2002

One ball, two numbers, seven words, fifteen syllables. How hard is it to just call the thing 'soccer'?



Panic Restaurant 28

Worst...service...ever.


Platform : NES
Publisher : Taito
Year : 1992

"Waiter, there's a fly in my soup."

"AAAAHHHHH!!!! A f*ckin fly?! NOOOO!!! WHYYY! Now everything is ruined! Quick, call the police! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"



Ninja Hamster 27

Ja wohl, mein hammenfuhrer.


Platforms : Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC
Publisher : CRL
Year : 1987

Let the turtles be ninjas and let the hamsters just be hamsters, please. And is it me, or is that rodent wearing a Hitler moustache while doing a little Sieg Heil salute?



Iggy's Reckin' Balls 26

He sure is and they sure are.


Platform : N64
Publisher : Acclaim
Year : 1998

Iggy the ball stars in this oddly misspelled racing game. We're just glad he's not "wreckin" balls, because that sounds terribly painful.



Booby Kids 25

I dare you to squeeze their cheeks.


Platforms : NES
Publisher : Nihon Busson
Year : 1987

Though the Japanese are traditionally obsessed with panties, they switched gears in this top-down action romp. Should have been subtitled Tits for Tots.



Yo! Noid 24

Avoid the Noid.


Platforms : NES, Arcade
Publisher : Capcom
Year : 1990

Plenty of companies have used video games as thinly veiled advertising vehicles. Chester Cheetah had two games, and those talking M&M's had four. But none had a title as stupid as this one from the doomed Domino's Pizza mascot.



Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf 23

Fore, bitch!


Platforms : NES, Arcade
Publisher : SNK
Year : 1988

No sport promotes fighting like golf does. Wait a second - no it doesn't, and there's no fighting in Fighting Golf either, just golf. WTF?



Astro Fang: Super Machine 22

Makes thousands of julienne fries!


Platform : NES
Publisher : A Wave
Year : 1989

It's a racing game, it's a can opener, it removes stubborn stains and it melts away those extra pounds like magic! But wait, there's more! No, there's not!



Divine Divinity 21

You can say that again.


Platform : PC
Publisher : CDV
Year : 2002

Bringing the term "God complex " to retarded new heights, this recent RPG's titular redundancy is truly unholy.



Eggs of Steel: Charlie's Eggcellent Adventure 20

The yolk's on us.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Atlus
Year : 1998

Another one from the Over-Pun archives. Help Charlie the Egg save the giant factory! Ugh. We always knew too many eggs were bad for you.



Barkley: Shut Up And Jam! 19

I want QUIET! AND SLAM DUNKS!


Platform : Genesis
Publisher : Accolade
Year : 1993

Part command, part suggestion. We keep waiting for Kenny Smith to scream this at a babbling, incoherent Sir Charles during a TNT broadcast.



Tongue of the Fatman 18

Starring Ron Jeremy.


Platforms : PC
Publisher : Activision
Year : 1989

There's nothing like getting a little tongue from the fatman, which is precisely what this bizarre yet nauseating fighting game delivered. At least it didn't have John Madden in it.



Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together 17

Have you hugged an ogre today?


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Atlus
Year : 1997

Solidarity with ogres was definitely a key issue for whomever came up with the title for this turn-based strategy game. Either that or they were on ecstasy.



Rosco McQueen - Firefighter Extreme 16

Flame on.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Psygnosis
Year : 1997

Rosco is hot stuff in his his most extremely flaming video game yet! And when he whips out his hose, you'll burn with the desire to play with it!



Tobal No. 1 15

One is the loneliest number.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Squaresoft
Year : 1996

Especially in this case, since nobody outside of Japan ever saw another Tobal game. Maybe they should have taken a clue from George Lucas and started with No. 4...



Wargasm 14

I think George Bush gets these.


Platform : PC
Publisher : Infogrames
Year : 1998

Do you love the smell of napalm in the morning? Like, really, really love it? So do the overstimulated dorks behind this atrocious strategy game.



GOLF Magazine Presents 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples 13

I wonder what this game is about?


Platform : Sega 32X
Publisher : Sega
Year : 1994

Sponsor? Check. Number of Holes? Check. Quality of Holes? Check. Pro Endorsement? Check. Our attention span? Checked out three holes ago.



XEXYZ 12

RLY TRRBLE NME


Platform : NES
Publisher : Hudson Soft
Year : 1989

This side-scrolling shooter takes place just after a nuclear holocaust. The survivors must have mutated a second tongue, because they named their new nation XEXYZ.



No One Can Stop Mr. Domino! 11

Especially if you tip him over.


Platforms : Playstation
Publisher : Acclaim
Year : 1998

Artdink has made lots of weird games, but this is their most threatening. Mr. Domino knows where you live, bitch!
   

Totally Rad 10

Like, awesomely bad name, dude.


Platform : NES
Publisher : Jaleco
Year : 1991

In this platformer, regular Californian dude Jake is given magical powers to go save the bodacious babe, Allison. The resulting lesson: never, ever, let the marketing department name your game. Gnarly.



James Pond II: Codename RoboCod 9

A wet pun.


Platforms : Genesis, Game Boy Advance
Publisher : EA
Year : 1991

Fishing for compliments? Hehehe. Searching for sole? For sole - get it? Hey, you're still a great crowd!



Psybadek 8

D'oh!


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Psygnosis
Year : 1998

"Psydeck" would have been fine, but they just had to add an extraneous "ba" to screw it up. In case you wondered what would happen if you asked Homer Simpson to name your hoverboard video game, now you know. Saxamaphone.



Nuts & Milk 7

Two great tastes that make no sense together.


Platform : NES
Publisher : Hudson Soft
Year : 1984

Hey! You got your nuts in my milk! Hey! You got your milk on my nuts! Mmmmm.



Huygen's Disclosure 6

Dutch physicists have all the fun.


Platform : PC
Publisher : Microforum
Year : 1999

Spoiler Warning: Each point of an advancing wave front is in fact the center of a fresh disturbance and the source of a new train of waves; and the advancing wave as a whole may be regarded as the sum of all the secondary waves arising from points in the medium already traversed. Sign us up!



Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja 5

Dumb names vs. your quarters.


Platforms : Arcade, NES, Apple II, PC, Amiga
Publisher : Data East
Year : 1988

If you were worried about these dudes taking on the Dragon Ninja, don't. They're bad in a good way. Unlike their title, which is bad in a terrible way.



Pesterminator: The Western Exterminator 4

I'll be back...with Raid!


Platform : NES
Publisher : Color Dreams
Year : 1990

This lame side-scroller was based on Kernel Kleanup, a mascot of the real life
Western Exterminator Company. They should be squished for this horrific naming transgression.



Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam 3

Gundam, spam, eggs, and gundam.


Platform : Playstation 2
Publisher : Namco
Year : 2005

A gundam is a giant robot, and there are plenty of them battling it out in this game. There are plenty of them battling it out in the title, too. Malkovich malkovich.



If It Moves, Shoot It! 2

And if it lives, shoot it again!


Platform : PC
Publisher : Broderbund
Year : 1989

Excellent advice, but we have some, too - don't let your title double as the instruction manual for, like, a thousand other games.



Irritating Stick 1

And we have a winner. Please pass the ointment.


Platform : Playstation
Publisher : Jaleco
Year : 1999

While it's refreshingly honest that the game actually tells you that it's irritating before you buy it, as a name, it's terrible. It's so bad, in fact, that we bought a copy about five years ago and haven't opened it because we don't want to. Because it's irritating.
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