The powerful Open Source CMS Drupal has released its latest version onto the world. Drupal 6 adds a host of new features, including an easier installation process, built-in OpenID support and updates to the theming structure.

As far as content management systems (CMS) go, Drupal is easily one of the most powerful, especially for scaling large sites with multiple authors. But that power has always come at a slight cost to usability - especially for new users. We've been playing with Drupal 6's various release candidates (we haven't installed the final release on our test set-up yet) and have been extremely impressed at the changes made in streamlining and simplifying the installation and overall management system. Is it as easy as WordPress, well no -- that's not really Drupal's aim -- but it is much more intuitive than Drupal 5, which in itself was a step-up from Drupal 4. New users should check out this 12 minute screencast on Drupal's site, it walks you through the entire process.

If you are looking for a scalable, customizable CMS solution to host either a large site or lots of different sites, you owe it to yourself to give Drupal a look.

[via CMSWire]

One of the main issues with open source software that people have (and a reason they don't use it) is that it's hard to install and configure. There is a new project called BitNami that is trying to take the sting out of the open source adoption process. They bundle many popular Open Source software packages into a 1-click setup file. Theoretically, all a user has to do it download the package of their choice and copy it on to their system or web host.

There are some very hard-hitting packages to chose from including WordPress blogging software, phpBB bulletin board software, Drupal CMS, and MediaWiki, among others.

To check out their packages. Head over to BitNami.org and download the application you are interested in. You will probably have to FTP the packages up to your web host. More detailed instructions can be found on BitNami.org.

The BitNami project is looking to add new packages to their site and are taking suggestions. One app on their list that excites us in particular is SugarCRM, an immensely popular Customer Relations Management application.

We say "way to go!" to the BitNami project and hope this radical step will broaden the user base and drive more people to utilize these fantastic tools.

The field of Content Management Systems (CMS) mirrors what my grandfather always said, "Cream rises to the top." Scores of open source products jockey for position among the field and only a very few rise to the occasion. Joomla (formerly Mambo), Typo, and Drupal stand out among the field and, of those, Drupal mostly wins the overwhelming support of the FOSS community. Drupal can be seen in action at sites like OurMedia, SaveThe76Ball, and Spread Firefox, all of which receive regular traffic poundings.

Michael Stutz of Linux.com has taken Drupal 5 for a thorough test drive and put together a medium-depth look at installation, changes to the new version, Drupal's new CSS caching engine and other wide ranging upgrades.

It's an impressive overhaul, over 500 developers submitted 1000 patches to the popular framework. The final verdict? Drupal is easier but, still not easy. Stutz writes, "Installing and running Drupal is fairly easy now, but configuration of a first-class site still takes work and ultimately a programmer's hand -- you have to know your PHP and CSS, and you have to spend time learning how it all interacts in Drupal." Fortunately for the brave souls tasked with developing first-class CMS backed websites and web applications, Drupal's community is strong, and very helpful.

[Thanks Dolores!]

There's no shortage of CMS or "portal" building tools out there. Drupal is one I've come to trust and its feature set is hard to beat. But many require a certain amount of heavy lifting or at least tweaking to get running. Enter Geeklog-- a so-called "portal in a box," or to hear them say it, "The Ultimate Weblog System." I don't know about ultimate, but I will say the installation and configuration process is pretty darn simple. The most cumbersome aspect will be creating a SQL database (wish I had a nickel for every time I've said that). After you've got your database mojo, it's a straight shot to unpack and install and start working.

Geeklog is no slouch in the added functions, as there are apparently a large number of plugins and add-ons. It's not all sunshine and roses, as there are limited templates and the usual quirks and gotchas. Linux.com has an excellent review, and brief guide to getting started. Geeklog might not be everything you've been looking for, but if you want something quick and dirty (and at some point, don't we all?), it might be a good fit. I should mention they're working to improve the tool by using bounties: a small sum paid to developers (courtesy of sponsor AOE media GmbH) for implementing user-requested features. So with any luck, Geeklog will flourish in the coming months.

[thank Dolores for sending this in!]