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Click here to be taken to Wikipedia - Open Source Software or Wikipedia - GNU / GPL Public License information.
GNU GPL and Open SourceThe GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a popular and widely used free software license. Under this philosophy, the GPL grants the recipients of a computer program the rights of the free software definition and uses “copyleft” license (a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to remove restrictions on distributing copies and modified versions of a work) to ensure the freedoms are preserved, even when the work is changed or added to.
Through the use of software with the above GNU GPL license, the Association can automatically disregard several of the limitations placed on Community and Non-Government sectors around funding and the cost of implementing IT infrastructure and resources.
“Open Source” is essentially the same as GNU GPL, and incorporates the exact same principles.
There are also many other Open Source products freely available that the Community Sector can save significant money on, and in most instances it is more reliable and has greater functionality then the more commonly used products i.e., Microsoft Office etc. Part of this service will be to educate the sector on what is actually available, allowing for best-practice decisions to be made inline with Organisational efficiency and effective service delivery.
What is Joomla!?Joomla! is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla! the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla! is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.
Visit the Joomla! web site.
What's a content management system (CMS)?A content management system is software that keeps track of every piece of content on your Web site, much like your local public library keeps track of books and stores them. Content can be simple text, photos, music, video, documents, or just about anything you can think of. A major advantage of using a CMS is that it requires almost no technical skill or knowledge to manage. Since the CMS manages all your content, you don't have to.
What are some real world examples of what Joomla! can do?Joomla! is used all over the world to power web sites of all shapes and sizes. For example:
• Corporate Web sites or portals,
• Corporate intranets and extranets,
• Online magazines, newspapers, and publications,
• E-commerce and online reservations,
• Government applications,
• Small business Web sites,
• Non-profit and organizational Web sites,
• Community-based portals,
• School and church Web sites,
• Personal or family homepages.
The core Joomla! framework enables developers to quickly and easily build:
• Inventory control systems,
• Data reporting tools,
• Application bridges,
• Custom product catalogues,
• Integrated e-commerce systems,
• Complex business directories,
• Reservation systems,
• Communication tools.
The Solution – A Unique Model of Information Technology Service Delivery for the Community, Non-Government and Corporate SectorsJoomla! is designed to be easy to install and set up even if you're not an advanced user. Many web hosting services (different to Web Consultancy or Web Design) offer a single-click install, getting your new site up and running in just a few minutes.
The real benefits for clients, is since Joomla! is so easy to use, as a Web designer or developer, you can quickly build sites for your clients. Then, with a minimal amount of instruction, you can empower your clients to easily manage their own sites themselves.
Often, even if a service could afford the cost for initial web site development, the cost of ongoing maintenance or updates was unrealistic. Subsequently, under this proposed model, Community or Non-Government Organisations with a small IT budget will not need to spend large amounts of money either in site development, or in ongoing support or Web Consultancy to maintain or add content to a web site; instead other staff can be trained to quickly and effectively add content with a very limited IT knowledge. The editor used with Joomla! looks very similar to Microsoft Word, and can be heavily customised.
If clients need specialised functionality, Joomla! is highly extensible and thousands of extensions (most for free under the GPL license) are available in the Joomla! Extensions Directory. The Association already has a large library of extensions (and documentation) downloaded and ready to use. These extensions have been identified as valuable resources for the aforementioned sectors, and include, but are not limited to:
• Electronic newsletters,
• Document manager,
• Flash animated photo and movie gallery,
• Google analytics (providing comprehensive web statistics for your site),
• Events registration and events calendar,
• Search Engine Optimisation tools (SEO),
• Text reader support (facilitating access for people with a disability),
• Web store,
• And many more… all for free. Click on the link to view other free and commercial web site extensions available through the Joomla! extensions directory.
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