Six Apart Says Goodbye to VOX

Still remember VOX? Or, maybe you haven’t heard VOX before. It’s another blogging service by Six Apart (the company behind Typepad and also Movable Type). This service was launched back in October 2006. And, I was lucky to be one of its early users. When this service was introduced for public, I got an invitation to try. And yes, it was in 2006. Some people wanted to try it.

I didn’t update my VOX-powered blog regularly, and my last post was in 2007. Ouch! That was three years ago. Few days ago, Six Apart announced that the service will be closed on September 30, 2010. Six Apart has some notes regarding the update:

  • Vox is no longer accepting new user registrations.  If you have an existing Vox account you can continue to sign in to manage your account and view posts from your neighborhood.
  • On Wednesday September 15th, you will no longer be able to create new posts on Vox or upload new photos or videos. You will still be able to sign in to view your blog and manage your account.
  • On Thursday September 30th, your blog will no longer be available at Vox.com, and you will no longer be able to sign in to Vox.

Continue reading »

Movable Type Motion Demo Site

Movable Type Motion Demo siteAfter I heard about Movable Type Motion, I installed it, and it worked without problem. I haven’t explore its features, including its template tags, settings, etc. If you’re curious about MT Motion administration page, how to deal with settings and configuration, you probably want to install it by yourself.

But, if you only want to explore its interface — as community member, there is Movable Type Motion demo site available. You can signup using its native registration system, or sign in using third party authentication like OpenID, Facebook Connect, Yahoo! mail, or even Google account.

Six Apart Launches Motion, New Free Social Application for Movable Type

Just got the news from Six Apart’s Twitter status:

Motion, a new free social application for Movable Type (think FriendFeed meets Tumblr & Pownce) is now in beta! http://icanhaz.com/MTMotion

Movable Type Motion Screenshot

After acquiring Pownce, Six Apart launched a new social application called Motion. Go to Motion application page at http://movabletype.com/motion/ for more details. This works together with Movable Type Pro. On its product page, Six Apart explains:

We looked at the most compelling social sites across the web, from Twitter to Tumblr, Pownce to FriendFeed, and more. And then we built an application around open standards to offer you the best features of each of these services, on your own site. (source)

I haven’t learned further about this new application, but this might be a solution for those who want to run a community-based website/blogs, or even a personal blogger. And, what makes it even better is that it also works — can be integrated — with other publishing platform. Read the FAQ page.

If you’re interested about Motion, here are some resources/pages to get started.

Pownce, Textpattern 4.0.7 and WordPress 2.7-RC1

Here are some news I noted for this few weeks.

Pownce is acquired by Six Apart, a company behind Movable Type, Typepad, and also VOX. I got the invitation in July 2007. After that, I did not use it regularly. What’s next? Well, the news says that Pownce will be taken down on December 15th:

We’ll be closing down the main Pownce website two weeks from today, December 15th. Since we’d like for you to have access to all your Pownce messages, we’ve added an export function. Visit pownce.com/settings/export/ to generate your export file. You can then import your posts to other blogging services such as Vox, TypePad, or WordPress.
For our Pro members, we’ll be emailing you soon with more information about your Pro account. (source)

Let’s wait about this acquisition. Integration with other Six Apart’s products like VOX or TypePad? That sounds interesting.

Now, about TextPattern. TextPattern 4.0.7 was released last week with some feature enhancement. The tag parser looks great.

Last but not least, WordPress 2.7 Release Candidate 1 is available. I tried it on this blog, and it looks great! I like the new dashboard, the designs, element placement, and more. Blog management should be fun. I feel that. Great!

Seven Years of Movable Type

Movable Type celebrates its 7th anniversary this month. Happy birthday Movable Type! Even now I’m not using Movable Type, I used Movable Type for few years. I want to make few posts related to Movable Type. I think I used Movable Type when it was Movable Type 2.6x.

  • Dec 22, 2003 — Why: Migration from one to another. I write about why choosing Movable Type, at that time.
  • May 14, 2004 — MT 3.0 is ready, I am not. I was lucky to be one of the Movable Type 3.0 beta testers. And, it was the first time Movable Type introduced a new pricing scheme.
  • May 16, 2004 — WordPress vs. MovableType. Since I tried many blogging tools before, I wrote a small comparisons between two leading platform.
  • Aug 15, 2004 — Removing .php in permalinks. Movable Type already had a built-in permalink structures. And, I tried to make it nicer.
  • Aug 26, 2004 — Upgrading to Personal License. Hey, I purchased a Personal License. And I think it was the first time I received a comment from a person at Six Apart. It was Mr. Anil Dash.
  • Oct 06, 2004 — MovableStyle. I mentioned about Movable Style.
  • Oct 16, 2004 — Why I still use Movable Type? Here, Movable Type probably is not popular among other blogging engines. But, I still use it. So, I wrote some reasons why I sticked to Movable Type.
  • Jul 26, 2005 — Post to MT (3.2) from del.icio.us. As del.icio.us (now delicious) user, I wanted to post my delicious links directly to Movable Type. And, it was soooo easy. It’s still easy right now.
  • Sep 22, 2006 — Combining entries from two weblogs (Movable Type 3.3x). One of the best features from Movable Type is that it support multiple weblogs. Was it difficult to combine multiple weblogs and display them in the order we wanted? No, it’s easy.

The stories continues…

I learn many things from Movable Type. Not only Movable Type, but also the company behind it: Six Apart. There was a joke between Ikhlasul Amal (he’s still using Movable Type now). He said that Six Apart should here hire me for Indonesian market. Hehe!

Okey, need to stop writing. Happy birthday Movable Type!

Sandbox is now available for Movable Type

For WordPress users, Sandbox is probably one of the theme tools. Using Sandbox we can customize the theme without getting bothered with WordPres template tags, which are in PHP. We only need to deal with the CSS file.

Remember about last year Sandbox design competition? Okey, if you like working the Sandbox, and you want to have it for your Movable Type installation, here is a good news: Movable Type users can have the Sandbox for their template. It is available via plugin. This plugin is coded by Beau Smith — he works for Six Apart.

Continue reading »

Upcoming WordPress 2.7

WordPress 2.7 Composing Post Screen

I just downloaded new files for the upcoming WordPress 2.7, and gave it a try. You do not need to worry, because it will not be available in the next few weeks (Schedule: November 10, 2008). So, you do not need to upgrade near the future. I’ve wrote an initial post about WordPress 2.7 before. Here are some changes I found. This is not final, many features/designs might change later.
Continue reading »

TypePad AntiSpam is here

typepad-antispam

Right, I have enabled TypePad AntiSpam plugin in this blog. It’s another antispam plugin created by Six Apart — a company behind blogging applications like Movable Type, TypePad, and VOX. I heard about this plugin few days ago, and it seemed promising, at least TechCrunch found it useful. :) Actually, I’m happy with my antispam plugin installed in my blog. Currently only have Akismet and WP-SpamFree (read my post about this). It works great, and I’m happy. WP-SpamFree has caught more than 2,100+ spams, and it seems Akismet does not need to do its job at all. Okey, it does but only a little — I only had less than 5 comments in moderation because WP-SpamFree thought that they’re not spam.

I’m curious about this new spam plugin. This plugin works for WordPress 2.3.x, 2.5.x, Movable Type, and Typepad (of course!); and it’s built based on WordPress Akismet plugin by Matt Mullenweg. The installation process is very straight forward. After having the API Key. Using WordPress, we can have API Key for our Akismet plugin by creating an account at WordPress.com. For TypePad AntiSpam plugin, we can get an API key by registering at TypeKey. The registration is free. Since I already had a Typekey account, it tooks few seconds to get my API key.

Continue reading »

Movable Type 4.15 Dashboard Design

WordPress 2.5 did a major redesign on its user interface — also known as Dashboard. And, it looks great. But, this time, I will not talk about WordPress. It’s Movable Type. Right now, Movable Type is on its latest stable release (Movable Type 4.1 — it’s free). For the coming release (Movable Type 4.15) there will be some changes on its dashboard interface too. Also, there are some other new — and improved — features. Here are some highlights:

  • Single template listing. If we’re using the latest stable version, managing templates is easy, but we might feel not comfortable and easy in finding the template-related elements. For example, we want to know the URI structures for archive templates. We will go to “Design” tab, choose “Templates”, “Archive Templates” and click on the desired template structure options. The coming design will be more effective. On the “Design” page, we will be presented with a list of templates avaible in the system. All there.
  • Related to the first point, there will be changes on the navigation menu. We can work faster now.
  • Discussion should be better as Simply Threaded comment plugin — developed by Arvind Satyanarayan — will be included in the distribution.

Look at these screenshots (based on Movable Type 4.15 Beta 3):

For complete details about the coming release, please refer to Movable Type What’s New page.

MovablePress

This week, I decided to switch from Movable Type to other blogging platform. This site (orangescale.net) is no longer uses Movable Type. For me, it’s not an easy decision. I have been blogging using Movable Type for years. I still remember when I use Movable Type 2.66 in 2004 (wow, it’s 4 years ago!). When WordPress released its very initial package in 2003, I also installed it. I watched this two leading blogging platforms. Probably, few years ago, WordPress was just a small piece of software compared to Movable Type.

When Movable Type released it’s 3.15 version and changed its pricing scheme, I stayed with it. When I heard many Indonesian bloggers complained about how hard to use Movable Type, I stayed with MT. When some friends were curious about Movable Type, I tried my best to assist them. For some friends, I am (probably) identical to Movable Type. Probably. When Six Apart released another packages, I upgraded without any problems. Of course, the upgrade process not always run smoothly, but with some actions, the problems were solved. The point is: Movable Type (for me) is a great product. Not only because it has a great capability to support my blogging activity, but because it also teaches me about how to design a blog, how to get the most from a blogging platform, etc.

I love Movable Type. At the same time, I also deal with WordPress. I worked together with Fashionese Daily, Asia Blogging Network, and other WordPress-powered blogs. I felt a different experiences. I have to admit that designing a blog using Movable Type is an easy process. I do not have to deal with many PHP codes. I found the definition of “fully customized designs”. This is from designer’s perspective. But, blogging is not only about designing themes/templates. It’s also about posting experiences, content management, etc.

Now, here I am. I use WordPress as my blogging platform for this site. So far, I enjoy it. :)

Modify your Movable Type Styles using MT Design Assistant

For Movable Type-powered bloggers, designing blog might be easy and/or extremely difficult. You will need to deal with many template part called “modules”, “many types of templates”, etc.

But, if we use the default template system without touching the stylesheets and another template types, we probably will find benefits from the Design Styles menu. Go to Design – Styles. There are some ready-to-use styles we can use directly. If you need more styles, you can always get from MT4 Style Library.

Movable Type 4: Select Style

All designs provided under Design – Style menu depend on stylesheets. So, the document structures are identical. Or, … we can say “the same”. Some elements in the sidebar can be maintained using widgets. Remember, we’re talking about the HTML structures from Movable Type default templates.

I think, the HTML structures are great for modification only using the stylesheet. Once, Six Apart hold a contest. It was about modification Movable Type design only by editing the stylesheet. You can see the archive at The Style Contest homepage.

For some bloggers, using Movable Type default templates is fine. But, what if they only want to change part of the design like font family, sizes, colors, etc. Reading many lines in the stylesheet might be confusing, right? To make this process easier, there is a handy tools called Movable Type Design Assistant. What does it do? Quoting from Movable Type Design Assistant main page:

  • Lets you choose from a starting point based on common MT blog designs
  • Helps you become familiar with MT’s default template set
  • Assists in making style changes to your blog via CSS
  • Offers live previews of edits you make to your styles
  • Helps you customize individual sections of the page just by clicking
  • Shows you how to apply your custom style to your blog

Movable Type Design Assistant

The step-by-step information are provided there. It’s very simple, but definitely useful. Visit MT Design Assistant at http://movabletype.org/design/assistant/

Hello Movable Type Open Source

I just upgraded my Movable Type installation to the Open Source edition. The upgrade process itself is very easy. I just download the the package, upload to the server — overwrite the existing files — and run the upgrade script. Well, once you uploaded all files, you will be prompted to a page telling you to run the upgrade script. The upgrade process went smoothly.

Why switching to the Open Source edition? My primary reason is because I can run this blog without any problem. I do not need the commercial plugin, or any other paid plugins. So, why not? :)

Update: I think I spoke to soon. After upgrading, it seems that something went wrong. The individual entry pages (entry permalink) are broken. I use the dynamic publishing method. Got to find the solution. Ouch!

Update again: It seems that my PHP — and also smarty — syntax inside my template do not work. I removed those lines for now. So, some features will not be available for now. It might not MT’s fault, probably I do not write clean code. Will work later on that.

Movable Type Open Source 4.1. It’s free for everyone.

Download MTOS, Free!

That’s right, Movable Type Open Source is available for download now. Actually, this open source package was released few days ago. I am sure it’s a good news for Movable Type users who have problem with the licensing schema, especially individual bloggers. If you go to movabletype.org, you will see big link there. Just download it, no registration, no license agreement to accept, no filling-in-forms. Just hit on the link, and you will get Movable Type.

So, what does it mean? Okey, quoting from Movable Type Open Source page:

This open source version (or MTOS for short) will be free for anyone to modify, redistribute and use for any purpose that they choose.

You will have the all features Movable Type has. All great features are there. Actually it’s not all, since some features are only available for paying costumers. But, I think for individual bloggers, it should not be a problem. Seriously. Also, there are some new features offered in this released. So, if you want to try Movable Type, you do not need to worry about the licensing issue.

Movable Type Open Source is Available!

Six Apart just announced the release of Movable Type Open Source — MTOS for short.

Movable Type Open Source (MTOS) is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2. So, if you’re a fan of open source application, it is a good news. Previously, when Six Apart whispered this open source package, many people wondered how this open source version will be different from the other MT packages. Six Apart said that all features in MT 4.0 can be found in MTOS edition — it has the same functionality. Anyway, what it’s all about? Here are some points you should know:

  • MTOS is our abbreviation for the open source version of Movable Type. It’s a full-featured version of Movable Type which you can download, use, modify, share, and explore completely free of charge.
  • Movable Type has always had all of its source code freely available for review, from its first release.
  • There’s no change for any of the commercial versions of Movable Type or any of the products built on top of MT.
  • MTOS will be community-supported, while paying users will always have exclusive access to our professional support team.
  • MTOS is complemented by the paid software products we sell on top of the MT platform, such as our Enterprise Solution, Community Solution and personal and commercial licenses which include support.
  • The nightly builds are always available.
  • The package also available from SVN repository: http://code.sixapart.com/svn/movabletype/branches/boomer

More info about MTOS can be found at http://www.movabletype.org/opensource/. Great!

LiveJournal sold by Six Apart

You probably have heard that LiveJournal — a blogging service — is owned by Six Apart. Right, in January 2005, LiveJournal was acquired by Six Apart from its founder, Brad Fitzpatrick. Few days ago, Six Apart decided to sold LiveJournal to SUP (pronounced “soup” in English) — a Moscow-based company.

Try to search using Google about this acquisition, you will get more information.

Movable Type Troubleshooting: Base class package ‘Data::ObjectDriver::BaseObject’ is empty

In my previous article, ghaghah shared his comment about MT4 installation process. I seemed that he was a little bit frustrated because he never got MT4 installed properly. I asked him about what kind of error message, because the installation process is pretty simple: upload the files, give the correct file permission for all .cgi files, and run the installation wizard. Just like any other web-based application installation.

He told me that he got these error message:

Got an error: Base class package "Data::ObjectDriver::BaseObject" is empty.
(Perhaps you need to 'use' the module which defines that package first.)
at lib/MT/Object.pm line 10
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at lib/MT/Object.pm line 10.
Compilation failed in require at (eval 12) line 3.
...propagated at /usr/lib/perl5/5.8.8/base.pm line 91.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at lib/MT/Config.pm line 9.
Compilation failed in require at lib/MT/ConfigMgr.pm line 256.

Okey, I have to admit that I never had this kind of error when I installed MT. At first, I thought that something went wrong during the upload process. But, I was wrong. I uploaded all files, and did the standard initial process before installing MT. I got that error.

Continue reading »

Few things to consider before upgrading to Movable Type 4

MT Article Series Icon: Upgrading

Are you running a Movable Type-powered blog? If so, what version you’re using right now? MT 3.x? If you feel that the current version (MT 3.x) work for you, are you ready for the other great features offered by Movable Type 4? When I did MT4 fresh install, and read the buzz about great features offered by MT4, I really wanted to upgrade to the latest version. Why? I have many reasons, but the main reason is that I want to have those new features. Well, let’s take a look at some articles related to MT4:

Continue reading »

Movable Type 4 Article Series (Upgrading)

MT Article Series Icon: Upgrading

I have been using Movable Type as my primary blogging software for few years. And this September, I have upgraded to the latest version of Movable Type: Movable Type 4. So far, I like it alot! It works for me, that’s the most important point. I do not want to bring other blogging applications into debate here. But, it’s more about my personal experience with a blogging applicaton called Movable Type.

Movable Type 4 (again) comes with many great improvements and it’s very feature-rich. I already listed some features I like. If you want to read the completed and detailed features just head to Movable Type 4 features list.

Continue reading »

Comment Authentication in Movable Type 4

Movable Type 4 has a built-in comment authentication. Other blogging platforms have it too. Most of them using their internal authentication system (site registration) or using other service like OpenID. The most common reason is probably to deal with spams — (probably) bloggers’ biggest enemy.

Let’s see what comment authentication Movable Type 4 has. By default, MT 4 has five types of authentication: built-in registration (visitors need to signup to a blog he/she wants to post comment to), OpenID, LiveJournal, Typekey and Vox.

Movable Type 4 Registration Settings

To give more freedom for users to authenticate themselves before posting a comment, there are another options that can be obtained using OpenID-based plugins:

  1. WordPress OpenID. This plugin was created by Byrne Reese (Movable Type Product Manager). In short, you can authenticate yourself using your WordPress.com account. (only if this method/setting enabled by blog owner)
  2. OpenID connector for AIM and AOL logins by Minh Nguyen

Continue reading »

Hello Movable Type 4!

Few days ago, I questioned myself: upgrading to Movable Type 4 or not. Today, I come to a decision: upgrade my blog to Movable Type 4. I jumped from MT 3.35 to MT 4 without problems. The upgrade process run smoothly. Some initial findings after upgrading:

  • For the public template output, I need no additional plugins. In my previous installation, I have some plugins helped me produce outputs I wanted like combined entries. In MT 4, I do not need any plugins to do it. Great!
  • All template tags work without any issue. I made some changes on the way I use template tags. It does not mean that the old template tags could not work together with MT 4, but it is more about using more effective template tags.
  • I really love the new interface. To make my MT dashboard more interactive, I installed some plugins. They are: FeedburnerWidget and GoogleAnalyticsWidget by Apperceptive. Using these plugins, I can see some useful information without logging in to Feedburner and Google Analytics web interface to check some statistics. They’re all there.
  • I want my dashboard display shortcuts to some pages for each blog in the system. My Blogs plugins by Arvind Satyanarayan did job very well.

I also made some changes on the design. Well, actually, I just modified my previous stylesheet and added some more blocks in the sidebar. I want to share some other information about the upgrade process but I think I’d better write them in separate posts.

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