A Reason to Update?
(Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.)
The other day a friend of mine familiar with Joomla dropped the update bomb on me. "So, you know they're up to 1.5.x and 1.6 will be out soon." Yeah, I know. I didn't want to admit to him that I'm still powering up the site on circa 2007 Joomla, specifically - "Joomla! 1.0.13 Stable [ Sunglow ] 21 July 2007 16:00 UTC."
I don't know how the program gets a name such as Sunglow, or why there's an exclamation after Joomla. I guess the original developers were truly excited about it. I wonder if they still are after 33 or so releases since 2007 (post-Mambo) (http://guidecms.com/all-cms/j/joomla/news). Why not give it names such as Joomla! 1.0.13 Stable [ DAMN it's GOOD ] or Joomla! 1.0.13 [ WE FIXED IT ]?
Other names for update releases include: Sunset, Sundial, Sunburst, Sunshade, Sundown, Sunbow, Sunfire... Why the sun plays into the naming convention who knows. But with the release of 1.5, the naming convention changed to Swahili names such as Khepri (an Egyptian God), Mapya, Endeleo, Takriban and Karibu - various ways of saying [ THE PROGRAM IS STILL COOKING ]
(http://docs.joomla.org/Joomla!_Codenames).
Click the orange dot where it says "Yeah, it's old" to read the rest.
The current release, 1.5.15 (yeah, I'm that far behind the upgrade
scale) is named "Wojmamni ama mamni" - I'm not making that up. It's
based on a number system in the Taracahitic Yaqui language (Uto-Aztecan). I didn't realize there were Uto-Aztecan programmers
around. Maybe they know something about 2012 (that is, if they've been
sharing data with those Mayan programmers out there, but I pretty much
doubt it).
The names, however, do not correspond with Joomla's origins - Joomla,
itself, is an English spelling of the Arabic word jumla and means "all
together," "as a whole" and, no kidding, "sentence" (as in phrase). It was chosen from a variety of platform names submitted by
members within the open source community. Joomla is also a derivative
of Mambo, but that's another story in itself (I'm sure Mambo has some interesting release names, too).
So though my Joomla is "old" in open source software terms, there are
slight modern touches - chunky "Web 2.0" titles, social media tools and
widgets (someone please friend me on the Google thing - my icon is
lonely) and a lightbox mambot to give my photo galleries an elegant
display. I know if I update to wojmamni ama mamni security issues may
be tighter - but honestly, I'm a freakin' writer - if someone wants to
hack this site I think I'd find it flattering (but that's not an
invitation...).
On the other side of this to update or not to update question lies
WordPress, an open source platform I've grown to love over the years
and work with now on a daily basis. And while I have thought of
switching allegiance to it for my site - it's the templating of the
thing that drives me nuts. And it's not because it would take Doctor
Who to create a theme, it's because I'm so danged picky - I have to
shop around. I have that urge to look at every template available -
free and otherwise - because I just haven't thought of a design for
myself as yet. Trust me, it took ages to get something going for this
site... I have a fondness for the cat face on this site, though I admit
my color choices are weak (you should see my house). I'm tempted to
create a template with bright, neon colors glaring out from the screen
with retro icon graphics - all of which go together so well - think
steampunk meets a flower child of the '60s. Ahem.
So Joomla - WordPress. Hmm. Tough decision. I've worked with Joomla so
long I find it easy enough, and WordPress is even easier. WordPress has
great SEO potential - Joomla is a tough player when it comes to
pleasing Google. Templates for both are plentiful and there are some
amazing beautiful ones to choose from. If you want to create your own,
Artisteer (http://www.artisteer.com/) is a good way to get started for
either program.
I have to wonder, though - why update at all? If it ain't broke why fix
it, right? But what if the update breaks it, then what? What if you
don't mind that your site chugs along and spits out undecipherable code
on occasion or some Russian hacker finds it easy to sneak into your
backend (that's so dirty, isn't it?) and do nasty things to your site.
Or what if your registered users all turn out to have alien names such
as skkalbugsl with email domains such as @upyours.com or
@youvebeenspammed.com?
So am I talking myself into upgrading my ancient Joomla platform? Not
really, because I'm feeling really lazy about it. But I know I need to
do it anyway - or maybe settle on the new WordPress that's out -
2.whatever.whatever. At least everytime you log in to your, ahem,
backend, and you get that nagging update now link - with a simple click
or two you'll be done with it completely.
Joomla, however, to update to the next level - Oy, such a production.
But for now... I'm sitting still and waiting another month or two to
see what's next. Joomla is currently up to 1.5.15 [Wojmamni ama mamni]
as of this post with a slated release of 1.6 (perhaps they'll use
Cymraeg as their next codename creation language - imagine - Joomla!
1.5.15 [pymtheg ar hugain] ("15" in Cymraeg) as yet to be determined.
WordPress is currently seeking to merge with WordPress MU, the
multiuser step-child of WordPress, but that release is probably way off
in the future (http://ocaoimh.ie/wordpress-mu-merge-gpl-and-support/). In the meantime, beta testing for 2.9 WordPress has
begun and a public release of it is slated for late November/early
December.
Yeah... I think I'll wait a while longer.
No one has commented on this article. |
