Category: Weblogs

BloGTK apparently works

I am using the Movable Type blogging system option in the Account and Settings section. In my first post, I had something that made the BloGTK parser choke, but it seems to be working now. BlogGTK is an offline editor written in Python which works under Linux.

More on my move from MovableType to WordPress

My old Movable Type syndication feed is now working again, with the help of people from the IRC freenode channel. Comments seem to be working as well, since Ralph of Makes me Ralph commented on my photo of oregano that I posted a few days ago.

It has been interesting watching the reactions to the new Movable Type (MT) licensing scheme. My decision to change weblog software was triggered by my web host deciding to no longer allow Movable Type. I like the stability and longetivity of my provider, and worried that changing providers would result in a much slower system. I also hated the idea that my new host might dissallow Movable Type at some point. However, I probably would have found a new provider, if I hadn’t read the MT 3.0 license (in its first incarnation) and decided that it was time to go with a GPL solution. When I first started using MT back in August 2003, I donated to the company and had a ball setting up a weblog for myself, my husband, and loading my site into MT and using it as a content management system.

I loved Movable Type, but I must be fickle: I love WordPress too. I like the fact that I no longer have to wait for long rebuilds of my database. I like the fact that I can change the underlying code legally. I like the user interface. I like how easy it was to install. I like the support on the forum and on IRC. Certainly, it has a few rough edges, and I would not recommend it for non-techies, but then I always thought that non-technies were better off with TypePad than Movable Type. I still feel that way.

WordPress

It is almost looking like home again. WordPress has one nice feature, which I didn’t realize until I watched Jack pull up my site in his browser on his PC. If WordPress detects that you are a user with update capability for the particular weblog, it displays an “Edit this” link. I had a small edit link for my Movable Type weblog posts, but it desplayed to everyone.

Technical Difficulties

I moved to Lunarpages in August 2003 and bought a year’s worth of service because they supported Movable Type, the weblog software I was interested in using. A few months ago, they decided, without warning or notice, that they would no longer allow new Movable Type installations. They cited security and performance concerns, though without the sort of details that would actually allow these concerns to be addressed.

They stated that grandfathered MT installations would still be allowed, so I figured that I had until August to find another host. Yesterday, they, without warning, took away my access to the main script that runs my weblog. Needless to say, I am not pleased.

When I went to the Movable Type site to pull down the 3.0 release so I could at least run it on my desktop, I found that they have made drastic changes to the license. They have increased the price, and limited the number of authors and weblogs that can be used by an instance of an installation. Their product Movable Type was definitely in competition with their Typepad service, and the terms of the new license seem calculated to reduce its attraction as an alternative. I am now looking at WordPress, a GPL weblog platform. I practiced installing it on my desktop, then migrated it to my web host. It seems easier to install than Movable Type, but perhaps I am just a lot more practiced at installing web software now.