WordPress theme generator is an online theme generator that enables you to create custom unique WordPress themes for free. It does not require any knowledge of web programming languages like HTML, PHP, or JavaScript. It provides you with options to change the colors, settings, layout based on your needs. You can customize the tag cloud, archives and search and menu layout.

It enables you to preview the theme live, save and download your WordPress theme as a zip file. It lets you design a complete WordPress theme with widget support in an easy and fast way, without any knowledge of programming languages.

©2010 MyTestBox.com :: web software reviews, news, tips and tricks. All Rights Reserved.

The advertising market might have taken a hit these months but that doesn’t stop developers improving the advertising software they built so far.
One of these developers is OpenX and they just launched a new version of their popular AND free ad server software: the version 2.8.

We have reviewed this open source ad server software some time ago (when it was at the version 2.4) and we found it pretty compelling and easy to use (the review is here).

Now, with this new release, OpenX is pushing forward to more features like the new plugin framework which allows you to customize OpenX in any way you want (built your own plugins, use third party plugins or have an OpenX consultant do it for you – just like Wordpress).
A new feature OpenX introduced was the OpenX Market Plugin which allows you to flow your inventory directly into OpenX Market to maximize your revenue. This Market is now integrated natively in the ad server software.
eCPM was optimized even more and now you can further maximize your advertising revenue by using an entirely new eCPM-based revenue optimization system for ad serving prioritization across your remnant CPM, CPC and CPA campaigns.
The scalability of the software wasn’t forgotten: raw data storage has been overhauled by a re-architected distributed statistics technology (bucket logging) to provide significantly improved scalability and reduced storage requirements.
The OpenX team didn’t forget also the user interface. They have tweaked again to make it even more easier to use.

To get started download OpenX ad server software or use their ad server free hosted solution (no download required).

©2010 MyTestBox.com :: web software reviews, news, tips and tricks. All Rights Reserved.

If Zimplit was one of the simplest content management systems (see the next post below) around and it’s open-source PHP based, AxCMS.net isn’t among the simplest and is not open-source based.
But is has one thing in common with Zimplit: it’s free.

AxCMS.net is Microsoft .NET technology based and you would expect to cost some money. Well, it’s not.

Since 2001 it had 8 major releases and now it’s at the version 8.5,  Axinom being the developer and providing also the funding.

This version has many improvements (like any new software release):
# Multilanguage:  new languages can be easily added by the editor
# Multilanguage:  improved user interface for translations
# Export and import of page contents, categories and user profiles in XML
# New and improved interactive controls with Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Flash
# Newsletter service: bounce-management, attachments, parallel HTML- and „Plain Text“
# Tracking / reporting: track (user-)individual links specifically to evaluate click rates.

For developers:
# Extended and  improved online documentation: http://en.help.axcms.net
# AxCMS.net service for implementing Asynchronous Business Processes
# Custom logging: trace any actions with contextual meta-information
# Search and indexing is now possible in “custom fields”
# Lists can now be adapted  to meet individual needs (filters, columns, “bulk operations”)

According to Axinom, AxCMS.net web content management system is a high end solution, for websites in a price range of 5.000 to 500.000 USD…which, basically, rules out the part time web developer used to built websites in Wordpress.

Axinom, the company, has offices in UK, Germany (the headquarter), Estonia (the developers playground), Switzerland (the money vault) and, of course, USA.
It has a worldwide network of partners (plannig to have over 200 this year) and it is Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and International Microsoft Vendor.

You can signup for a demo acount on their website.

©2010 MyTestBox.com :: web software reviews, news, tips and tricks. All Rights Reserved.

Dimdim, the world’s open source web conferencing company, today launched its new Dimdim 4.5 edition and simultaneously released the complete source code to the open source community.

With this release, Dimdim officially exits its beta phase while introducing significant new customer-requested features designed to enable businesses, organizations and consumers to cut the costs of their expensive legacy conferencing products while enjoying improved performance, openness and ease of use.
So, if you pay for WebEx conferencing software (or other software like this) now it’s a good time to take a look at DimDim. After all, this isn’t the best economic times we’ve seen so cutting costs where we can should be a priority for all of us.

Dimdim also introduced the new SynchroLive Communication Platform that automatically scales its performance to ensure all live communications are synchronized; whether sharing the desktop, webcam, PowerPoint, whiteboard or web pages. SynchroLive ensures superior performance, security, and always-on reliability, enabling a whole host of collaborative activities that have never been possible before. SynchroLive Co-Browsing is one example of this innovation at work: it is now easy to share your web browsing experience with multiple people.

Simply start a Dimdim room and send anyone your room’s URL. Now as you scroll through any web page SynchroLive lets your guests see what you see as you navigate, scroll and click through web pages at will. For example, a meeting host can view a YouTube video and every attendee will immediately see this video play in their browser. Simultaneously attendees can chat, talk, and see the presenter live using just their browser.

DimDim has three options:
- free (complete feature set and maximum 20 people in a room)
- Pro $99/year (complete feature set including unlimited number of meetings and no software download, maximum 100 people in a room and custom branding)
- Enterprise $1998/year (complete feature set, maximum 1000 people in a room, custom branding and simultaneous meetings)

WebEx, for example, starting price is $59/month. Quite a difference.

Synchronized with the release of Dimdim 4.5 is the launch of “Liberty”, the latest Open Source Community Edition based on the new commercial hosted version. Dimdim has released Liberty’s complete source code under a GPL3 license with no limit to the number of attendees, meetings or mashups that can be created. To ensure setup is as easy as possible, Liberty is also available as a downloadable VMWare Virtual Appliance.

DimDim has also integration with:

* Zimbra: Dimdim now offers a free zimlet for Zimbra’s open source email system
* Moodle: Dimdim is integrated with version 1.9 of Moodle’s Course Management System
* SugarCRM: Dimdim is integrated with the leading open source customer relationship management system
* Claroline: Dimdim is embedded within with the collaborative learning environment

Checkout the free edition here.

©2010 MyTestBox.com :: web software reviews, news, tips and tricks. All Rights Reserved.

The interface for Elgg v1.0, the free open source social networking platform, underwent a radical overhaul due to the overwhelming users request for theming.

The team has created two basic themes to help those interested in theming get to grips with the components of an Elgg theme. Check them out here!
Elgg themes are developed as plugins which makes them distributable, customizable and powerful (they can also be enabled and disabled easily).

Here’s a short tutorial  on how to get started in theme creation.

There’s a dedicated place on Elgg website for theme development and it can be found here.

Elgg is a pretty new free open source social networking software and recently they launched its first version 1.0. It competes with a plethora of other free social networking platforms like Dolphin, PHPFox, PHPizabi, AroundME, Wordpress MU+Buddypress  and others.
It is PHP/MySQL built and it seems it’s gaining momentum in this crowded space.

Download it for free from here.

©2010 MyTestBox.com :: web software reviews, news, tips and tricks. All Rights Reserved.

There are over 50 new features in the latest version of Dimdim, the web meeting software. This open-source web program has always been about letting you host an online meeting where the attendees won’t need to download anything. It has a free version allowing meetings with up to 20 people, and also pro (100 people, custom branding, for $99 a year) and enterprise versions (1000 people, more than one meeting happening simultaneously, $1999 annually).

With this software you can use your computer and webcam to chat, talk, show slides, and share whatever’s on your computer’s desktop with colleagues and co-workers all over the world. It works on Macs and Linux machines as well as Windows. The makers are hoping businesses will take advantage of their service as a way to beat the high cost of sending employees on out-of-town trips.

The new features are too numerous to list. They are based on feedback from Dimdim users.

Here are the highlights:

 

• Recording – Record your meeting, then share the link in the same way you share the latest YouTube video, via link or embedded on your website. Now those who miss your meeting won’t have an excuse for not knowing what was covered.

 

• Multiple presenters – Give any of those in attendance the ability to share their desktop or a presentation, or use the whiteboard or broadcast via webcam. Easy to do at a click of your mouse button.

 

• Teleconferencing – Dimdim uses VoIP technology, so you can use it to make conference calls anytime, with unlimited calling time for free. Or users can dial-in to a meeting via a traditional phone.

 

• Private meetings – Only those who know your meeting room name and have a special meeting key can attend meetings you designate to be private. There is also a lobby feature where those who want to attend can gather, allowing the host to admit them individually. These features make Dimdim more secure than before.

 

• Mac desktop sharing – apparently this feature wasn’t available to Mac users in previous versions, but it is now.

 

• Easier to use – The new menu system and streamlined user interface makes many tasks quick and intuitive. Private chat, inviting others to an on-going meeting, rejoining a meeting if your connection is lost – all of these are accomplished with one or two clicks.

 

• Notification panel – This area alerts the host about important tasks such as admitting new arrivals from the lobby.

 

• Questions from participants – Dimdim already had a “mood” indicator, but they’ve added “Question” as one of the choices so users can quickly let the host know if they want to ask something.

 

• Hide Participants – As the host, you can choose whether participants can see a list of the other attendees. If you want to hold an open sales meeting and don’t want the attendees to know how many participants are there, or you need to keep their identities private, this feature is perfect for you.

 

• 2-way video chat – You can allow participants to share video from their webcams in the pro and enterprise versions of Dimdim, if users have the video chat option turned on.

 

• Still no install – The makers of Dimdim want you to know that you don’t have to install anything to attend or to host a meeting – unless you want to be able to share your desktop with those at the meeting. That feature requires their screencasting plug-in. All other features, including the new ones, are available right from their site. All you need to do is sign up.

You can download the free version here

©2010 MyTestBox.com :: web software reviews, news, tips and tricks. All Rights Reserved.

PHPMotion is a truly free open source media social networking platform supporting video and audio social networking.
It’s downloadable from www.phpmotion.com website after you had registered to the software support forum.

Latest stable version was 1.2 but I tested and evaluated version 2 beta which worked without any crashes and with only small inconveniences.

The product installation was quick however you must have lot of open source modules pre-installed to your server, including LAME MP encoder, Libbogg and Libvorbis, Mencoder and MPlayer, FFMpeg-PHP, GD Library 2, etc. which was taking a week of my time to get those running afterwards to find out that my service provider does not support background processes and MP3, MPEG files download.

So you should consider the hosting service where those modules are already installed. PhpMotion website lists four of hosting ready service providers, where the starting price $2.99 was per month.

The administration panel allows setup the site basics and paths for ffmpeg, flvtool and mencoder, maximum sizes and parameters for conversion, auto approval, commenting options and several limits.

General system messages where customizable so I assume that the system can be setup to use any language.

It also shows general statistics, such as how many videos have in the system separated by private and public and how many videos were played today many plays. It also shows member statistics, such as how many joined today, waiting approval and how many suspended members; group and video comment statistics.

I was lacking the true site statistics about number of visitors and bandwidth usage per day, week, and month.

The member’s panel allows approving, suspending and deleting members.

Administrators are able to manage advertisements in top, bottom, left, right and in home page which all should be entered as HTML code.

The module also manages media approval, media categories and comments.

There was a possibility to send HTML or text newsletters to all site members.

The system shows biggest groups and you are able to set groups as featured and videos as featured with both have also separate management option.

Featured audio was not yet implemented.

Pictures can be set to be approved and the approval process will be done by the site administrator.

Videos and comments can be also flagged.

I found also that there was additional look for the site already available called Zer0One Darkbase which I installed to my service. However this was not working with version 2, so hopefully more web designer will be interested to develop their own themes to newest version.

Site outlook can be customized easily by modifying the CSS files and HTML templates.

Usability

The main page shows most recent and most popular videos.

After the login you will be redirected to the page where selections are: Continue to watch video now, Listen my audio now, Go to my favourites, Complete/Update my profile, Upload/manage my videos now, Upload/manage my audio now, My friends and Privacy notification settings.

Profile features where not customizable by the administration module so user is limited to picture, basic information like gender and birth date, location information and boxes for “More about me”, “Interest and hobbies”, “Favorite movie”, “My type of music”, “More about my high school”, “College/University”, “Work Place” and personal website/blog.

Those information boxes were not customizable using the administrations module, which could have given site owners more customization possibilities to separate target groups.

When uploading new video, besides the title, tags, category and description, there was a possibility to specify the location recorded and does this video allow comments, embedding and will it be a private or public video.

After the upload video goes to be processed in background instead immediate play so you should wait until this process completes.

As video upload process started from description screen, audio upload starts from uploading the file first and then you are able to enter (or modify) the artist, track, description and tags; play length, year published, Album and location recorded. As for the videos, musicians are able to specify the comments, embedding and public options also to your audio files.

After the upload all audio files will be processed again which was odd as there should be not much converting to be done for MP3 files.

The videos section lists featured, most viewed, most recent and most discussed videos. User can bookmark the video to Blink, Digg, Furl, Deli and Google, report abuse, Add to your favorites, Download video, Add to your playlist, Create new Playlist and Share with friends.

Creating a new playlist had a bug because the dialog didn’t close even the playlist was successfully created.

Add to playlist worked fine without any pop up window, the selection of playlists opened in the main screen same way as Share with Friends, where the friend email address should be entered.

Allow comments and Allow embedding parameters in video uploading seems to be not working as I tested the beta version, so everything where open even I restricted so.

When creating a new comment, instead of showing my comment immediately I just got a message that my comment was successfully created and was showing when I next time visited the page.

Each video page lists a member other videos somehow I wasn’t able to get anything listed in Related videos box.

Rating a video was done by clicking appropriate star in rating scale and took me little bit to figure out.

Audio page can be sorted also by Featured, Most played, most recent and most discussed. You can filter your search result using tags, which where classified as popular and more tags.

Audio files can be also bookmarked in Blink, Digg, Furl, Deli and Google, you can report abuse, add to favorites and download audio file.

There wasn’t any Playlist options yet implemented to Audio files but I was able to add comments. Commenting and embedded code options used when uploading the audio file wasn’t working yet, also related audio box was always empty. Member other audio was showing properly.

The Categories tab was listing videos by category, having also options to sort them by featured, and most viewed, most recent and most discussed.

Somehow the upper menu in this page where changing from my media options to group options as when selection Groups tab it was again media options.

Hopefully this was a bug…

The group’s page starts with group listing which can be sorted by Featured, Created today and all. Members have also the possibility to create a new group.

When creating a group you have option to set group as private or public and each group will have their own URL.

The group members should be able to upload videos to the group however I wasn’t able yet to upload group video, neither to create a group comment.

Private groups where not listed in the group search page.

There is a possibility to jump group member profiles from the group page however member list was implemented as Combo Box, which could be not suitable for groups having huge amount of members and report this group as abuse to the site administrator.

From People tab I was able to search member profiles by First name, Surname, username and country.

From upload tab I was able to upload only new videos at the moment, but not yet audio files.

Conclusion
PHPMotion was well developed media networking platforms and even in beta, worked well. The audio possibilities besides video will allow it to be truly a media portal rather than an Youtube clone (like Clipshare).

And the main issue is that it’s free, however you should consider suitable hosting provider and website designer for your site.

From the feedback in their forum, the most issues have been media type and download configuration issues rather than bugs. Sure, there are those small issues to fix before they can launch their product.

I didn’t miss any functionality and even was considering it as a platform to launch music and video download portal for mobile phones. Even this site does not work as XHTML-MP compatible WAP pages, adding a web trigger for WAP push message should work on this platform. However, those videos must be converted to mobile 3GP format in this case and I wasn’t aware any freeware UNIX modules to do so yet.
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Veiko Herne is lifetime entrepreneur, currently working as Independent Consultant with over 30 years experience in IT and starting his activities in Internet since 1993. After establishing and managing one of the most successful IT companies in Estonia after the collapse of Soviet Union, he later managed worldwide interest to his analytical financial accounting and HR management software packages from New York until September 11th. He is currently living in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
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©2010 MyTestBox.com :: web software reviews, news, tips and tricks. All Rights Reserved.