It's been a while since I've posted to this blog, and there's really no excuse I can give except this: I got bored. Of course, there was plenty of work to be done, but I really just got tired of DotNetNuke. My solution to break free from this crushing boredom? Switch platforms!
I'd been toying around with the idea of learning a new framework, and I really thought that I wouldn't want anything else until there was a legitimate CMS built on top of Microsoft's MVC platform. While I still believe that MVC will be the future of Microsoft's web stack (sorry WebForms!), I finally faced up to the fact that there won't be a mature contender in that category for a bit longer. So, my other options?
Umbraco
I had really liked the concepts behind Umbraco when I tested it out a few years ago, but it was far from perfect and lacked much of the drop-in functionality of DNN. It's still not perfect, but two years of dealing with DNN's obvious design deficiencies finally got the best of me. After giving it a few days of solid examination, I'm sold. Unless I have a compelling reason to use DotNetNuke, Umbraco will be my new framework of choice.
Drupal
I recently built a site for a local political candidate in Drupal. They had already purchased hosting and instead of trying to get the money refunded, I decided to see why it was so popular. It turns out, Drupal is a lot of fun to design for, giving you as much freedom as Umbraco. The administration terminology took a little time to get used to, but with the right modules, it's easy to use.
WordPress
I've also had the opportunity to build two sites in WordPress, and I am constantly amazed at the level of thought given to the user experience. I don't use the words 'stupid simple' often, but WordPress is the yardstick I would measure that concept by. You'd think something as simple as a feedback form would be installed by default, and getting a backup script installed took a little shoehorning. Overall, though, I have trouble recommending anything else to someone just looking to turn a key and blog.
As technology has taken over the world, the hard and tiring lives of the people have turned into an easy and carefree life. Every task is now much easier to perform than it was in the older days when technology was not introduced.