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starman · Apr 21, 2005, 01:38 PM

Ok, I have this problem. I posted in the Lounge that I wanted to find another host because godaddy.com's broken and won't allow me to install MovableType 3. So I decided to try and find a decent blog app for OS X. RapidWeaver is the best I've used so far, but still needs improvement (you type your blog in a SHEET????). Is there something out there that's not on versiontracker.com? Even the top rated apps under "blog" aren't free-form blog apps, they either tie into livejournal or blogger.com. Any help? Should I start writing my own? (hehe, I could blog about writing my blog app)

Mike

Randman · Apr 21, 2005, 01:43 PM

iBlog with .mac works fine.

starman · Apr 21, 2005, 02:24 PM

The latest reviews of iBlog were horribly scathing. I don't use .Mac anyway as my main site anyway.

Mike

mitchell_pgh · Apr 21, 2005, 03:19 PM

I've used pMachine Pro. Works well.

starman · Apr 21, 2005, 09:59 PM

Ironic that I post this and now there's a sticky about blogging software.

If I could only find a decent piece of software to blog with!

Mike

starman · Apr 21, 2005, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

I've used pMachine Pro. Works well.

"It is with some sadness that I announce the official retirement of pMachine Pro."

cc_foo · Apr 21, 2005, 10:48 PM

I�m very new to blogging. I wouldn�t have started if I hadn�t found ecto. Look on VersionTracker.

starman · Apr 22, 2005, 12:23 AM

Originally Posted by cc_foo

I�m very new to blogging. I wouldn�t have started if I hadn�t found ecto. Look on VersionTracker.

ecto only works with blogging server APIs, none of which work with godaddy.

Mike

CaptainHaddock · Apr 22, 2005, 05:01 AM

Originally Posted by starman

ecto only works with blogging server APIs, none of which work with godaddy.

Mike

It's probably not the reply you wanted, but if you want to have a blog, you probably should go with a real ISP - one that actually gives you Apache accounts with Perl and PHP and all the other good stuff. Then you can install Wordpress or Movable Type or whatever you want and use Ecto.

I'm sure you can search these forums and find recommendations for web hosts. Personally, I use Server Logistics (serverlogistics.com). Reasonable prices, good service, and it's all hosted on Xserve G5s.

Diggory Laycock · Apr 22, 2005, 06:20 AM

WordPress.

I use the web interface to post - but you may want to use MarsEdit.

wataru · 12:06 AM

I like nanoblogger, but it might not meet your needs.

starman · Apr 22, 2005, 08:15 AM

Well, godaddy HAD these things before, then they removed them.

Then dreamhosting (I think is the name) just removed support which broke something big on March 29th.

I keep searching, but the problem is that ISPs don't tell you what they DON'T support.

For example, Kung-Tunes uploads what you're listening to up to your web site. There's a script I have that uses fopen() to grab XML from an external site (amazon) and shows the album cover on your site. Godaddy doesn't explicitly say "we don't support this" on their web site, as well as other sites. They broke the ability to use fopen with external sites. I have yet to find ONE site that tells you what they DON'T support. So even if I find a site that supports movabletype, it might not support something else. It's very hard to find the "perfect" ISP.

I'd host the damn thing myself, but Comcast doesn't allow web servers to run on your system.

Mike

JKT · Apr 22, 2005, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by starman

The latest reviews of iBlog were horribly scathing. I don't use .Mac anyway as my main site anyway.

Mike

You don't have to use .Mac - it just has good support for .Mac if you have it. You can post your blog anywhere.

FWIW, I don't really use any blogging software so can't really comment on the quality of the app itself.

threestain · Apr 22, 2005, 09:08 AM

I've found iBlog really quite good when I was using it - very easy to use indeed. I don't have .Mac so was just posting it up to my ISP webspace. Only trouble is extracting the CSS sheets to fiddle, but all is simple when you know how!

starman · Apr 22, 2005, 09:29 AM

Well, I went with WordPress. It's very good, but still limited compared to MovableType. I find that server-based blogging is better than client-based. I'll try ecto again (was WordPress one of their supported APIs?).

Link in my sig.

Mike

mdc · Apr 22, 2005, 10:57 AM

do you know what dreamhost removed? i am with them and i am running movabletype on their servers without any problems.

they even have a one click install of :
WordPress Weblog (latest) - wordpress.org
phpBB Forum (v2.0.14) - phpbb.com
Advanced Poll (v2.03) - proxy2.de
osCommerce Store (v2.2m2) - oscommerce.com
MediaWiki Wiki (v1.4.0) - wikipedia.sourceforge.net
available in your control panel.

the fopen() thing, i am not sure about.

but if you want to you could try their 777 promo code for the 1 year of their cheapest hosting and get a year for $9.24.

no, i am not associated with dreamhost. no i am not giving you my referral code so i get money (eventually). i am just really happy with them. and plus, $9.24 to test out their hosting for a year (with a free .com domain) is not too shabby.

Luca Rescigno · Apr 22, 2005, 11:14 AM

I have a blog on Blogger. I just use the web-based tools for making posts and insert my own images from my own web server.

Am I weird? How hard can it be? Don't most blogs allow you to post without having special software on your own personal computer?

starman · Apr 22, 2005, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by mdc

do you know what dreamhost removed? i am with them and i am running movabletype on their servers without any problems.

they even have a one click install of :
WordPress Weblog (latest) - wordpress.org
phpBB Forum (v2.0.14) - phpbb.com
Advanced Poll (v2.03) - proxy2.de
osCommerce Store (v2.2m2) - oscommerce.com
MediaWiki Wiki (v1.4.0) - wikipedia.sourceforge.net
available in your control panel.

the fopen() thing, i am not sure about.

but if you want to you could try their 777 promo code for the 1 year of their cheapest hosting and get a year for $9.24.

no, i am not associated with dreamhost. no i am not giving you my referral code so i get money (eventually). i am just really happy with them. and plus, $9.24 to test out their hosting for a year (with a free .com domain) is not too shabby.

They got rid of (thinks) some form of fopen() which broke some software that a lot of people were using. Sorry for being vague, I found it last night and have the link at home.

Yeah, I'd like to take their server for a test drive. I'll look into that later.

Mike

Millennium · Apr 22, 2005, 11:44 AM

I use iJournal myself, but that requires a LiveJournal account, and this may not be your cup of tea.

starman · Apr 22, 2005, 12:27 PM

dreamhost.com just killed fopen() Wednesday:

http://discussion.dreamhost.com/show...b=5&o=14&part=

Subject Re: Dreamhost's policy on remote file access [re: Gary]
Posted by Gary (DH New User )
Posted on 04/20/05 03:52 PM

Just minutes ago, the change was apparently finally implemented. All the external RSS feeds i was displaying died and my currency conversion, which uses an external XML file, quit working as well. This is totally unacceptable. If there is not some other way to grab the content of an external file, I'm afraid I'll have to change hosts.

ashtoash · Apr 22, 2005, 12:30 PM

ExpressionEngine is the only blogging software worth a nickle. It costs money but it's damn good. The "moblog" feature lets you setup sending through email (with password) or even sending pictures straight to the weblog page from your mobile phone.

ashtoash · Apr 22, 2005, 12:39 PM

Use MagpieRSS - fopen() is ABSOLUTELY a stupid way to do a feed.

Don't be a drama queen. You either don't know how to setup RSS, or something isn't setup right on your part:

HERE IS WHAT DREAMHOST SAID ABOUT RSS FEEDS***********************************

Nope, definitely not - the policy change is for that very specific function only, not for the generic act of "grabbing the content of a remote file and doing something with it". RSS, Atom, etc. tools are fine, policy-wise.

Basically, we're just trying to thwart a recent onslaught of security problems.

************************************************** ****************************************

Originally Posted by starman

dreamhost.com just killed fopen() Wednesday:

http://discussion.dreamhost.com/show...b=5&o=14&part=

Subject Re: Dreamhost's policy on remote file access [re: Gary]
Posted by Gary (DH New User )
Posted on 04/20/05 03:52 PM

Just minutes ago, the change was apparently finally implemented. All the external RSS feeds i was displaying died and my currency conversion, which uses an external XML file, quit working as well. This is totally unacceptable. If there is not some other way to grab the content of an external file, I'm afraid I'll have to change hosts.

Millennium · Apr 22, 2005, 12:49 PM

I'm with ashtoash on this one. Grabbing URLs via fopen() was always one of the shadier PHP methods anyway, and I'm glad to see it being put out to pasture. There are other ways to get objects via HTTP if you need to, and they tend to be much more secure.

DeathMan · Apr 22, 2005, 12:50 PM

You're running a BSD machine already. Why not turn on apache, get yourself a static IP and do it yourself. then the only operation you'll have to complain about is yourself.

starman · Apr 22, 2005, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by DeathMan

You're running a BSD machine already. Why not turn on apache, get yourself a static IP and do it yourself. then the only operation you'll have to complain about is yourself.

Comcast doesn't allow that. Believe me, I'd LOVE to do it myself.

Mike

mrmister · Apr 22, 2005, 03:01 PM

ecto is pretty great.

mdc · Apr 22, 2005, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by starman

ecto only works with blogging server APIs, none of which work with godaddy.

Mike

^ ecto

ashtoash · Apr 22, 2005, 06:45 PM

Comcast offers static IPs, and you can do this. However I think it's a bad idea. First the upload won't be that great, and it interfers with your normal browsing/downloading, and second you make yourself reponsible for your new "hosting" server. I run about 40 dedicated servers now, and 2 datacenter cages. Hosting on your home machine is a bad idea, especially if your not a unix sys admin, and even if you are and think it's "cool" to run your own it's just a bad idea to expose your home system to "hosting"... Granted It might be easier for me to say this considering i wouldn't have to ever open my wallet....

It's also very easy to slow down your home connection or DOS your home ip off the net with a "slightly" faster connection.

nategom · Apr 22, 2005, 07:32 PM

You might have a look at MarsEdit from Ranchero. It's not free, but it's pretty nice. I use it to add entries to my WordPress blog. Setting up WP was a bit of a chore, but only because I was a total newbie when it came to setting up MySQL and other stuff on my site. Getting MarsEdit to work with WP was a problem at first, too, because the build of WP I'd downloaded lacked one, crucial file...which is always the case with these things.

jclarkv · Apr 22, 2005, 08:50 PM

I use MarsEdit (http://ranchero.com/marsedit/) and Conversant (http://www.free-conversant.com/).

jclarkv

snowleopard · Apr 22, 2005, 11:32 PM

i use blogwave studio and post to .mac. prog seems ok so far.

MacDog · 12:17 AM

Originally Posted by Randman

iBlog with .mac works fine.

iBlog is the single most horrible blog app available!

Moveable Type is supposed to be quite good, but much more difficult to set up. I prefer WordPress � you upload the files to your site, edit 3 lines of code to configure your MySQL database info and you're done. With iPowerWeb as my hosting service, setting up MySQL database was as easy as entering a name and password.

macgeekjay · Apr 23, 2005, 09:13 AM

You want easy!? Use Rapdiweaver! I know it's not billed as blogging software but it feels like the missing iApp when it comes to publishing a site! Try out the demo at least!

Rapidweaver

As for hosting, I'd try Globat -- 5GB storage, 75GB transfer and 24/7 PHONE support!

starman · Apr 23, 2005, 09:53 AM

As I said above, I tried RapidWeaver. Needs improvement.

Also, I said that I got WordPress working. I'm sticking with that for now.

Mike

rockhaus · 10:19 AM

blogwave studio from www.littlehj.com is developed out of Korea by an incredibly nice and helpful one Youngho Kim. The only problems I've had with it are .Mac and iDisk, but as far as blogging software, I feel it is extremely good. It is quite flexible, non web-based, and despite other's opinions here, yes, you can customize.

http://homepage.mac.com/rockhaus/blogwavestudio

your question is "what works good with OSX?" because you obviously have an ISP.

i suggest, with some trepidation, you attempt a free .Mac trial anyway, and a free trial of blogwave studio from www.littlehj.com.

ps. iblog stinks. my original iblog ate itself.

issandr · Apr 23, 2005, 11:44 AM

try www.blosxom.com but you'll have to run ıt from your mac's apache server to generate the html. frankly, gettıng a apache/perl/php enabled server ıs totally worth ıt or otherwıse go for blogger and redırect your domaın name

gregjsmith · Apr 23, 2005, 05:41 PM

iBlog ain't so bad, i've done some interesting thing with it. I has the best template support for this sort of "offline" blogging app. But it has a lot of limitiations compared to software that can be controlled by a sever (of course if they don't come out w/ ver 2 anytime soon I may switch over to MT or WP). Also see my review of BlogWave Studio.

If you did decided to use iBlog, you can convert your posts to MovableType/Wordpress pretty easily.

macgeekjay · Apr 23, 2005, 07:36 PM

Starman--

What need improvement in Rapidweaver? They released an update just a few weeks ago and have another release coming up! I've found Dan and Simon (the two developers) to be Very fast at adding features that I've requested.

Just a thought.

jamil5454 · Apr 23, 2005, 07:43 PM

simplog

frege · Apr 23, 2005, 10:59 PM

I know this is slightly off-topic but I'm trying to get started blogging and someone earlier mentioned redirecting. I've registered with DynDNS and I can't figure out how to tell it to redirect my domain name to my school webhost. I would rather use my allocated school webspace than pay for webhosting. Can anyone direct me to some detailed instructions on how to set up redirecting your domain using a dynamic DNS service?

Thanks very much,
Frege

tomfrog · Apr 24, 2005, 08:07 PM

I use a combination of
Blosxom ( http://blosxom.com/ ), with
TextWrangler ( http://www.barebones.com/products/te...er/index.shtml ) and
Markdown (http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/).

Markdown lets me write entries in plain text, and TextWrangler keeps track of my server login and password (through sftp). blosxom will generate an rss feed for you automagically.

My ISP supports PHP and perl, so the static content is served using PHP and the dynamic and rss feed through blosxom.

(you can see the results at http://celticmusic.ca/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi )

wil

theholc · Apr 24, 2005, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by starman

Even the top rated apps under "blog" aren't free-form blog apps, they either tie into livejournal or blogger.com. Any help? Should I start writing my own? (hehe, I could blog about writing my blog app)

Mike

Tinderbox is a powerful tool for blogging and more. Very customizable and free form. Templates available too for starting points.

http://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/
http://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/FAQweblog.html
http://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Exchange.html

driven · Apr 25, 2005, 12:12 AM

I use blogger.com. It's entirely web-based so I can blog from anywhere. I can either use their web-host or mine (I use my own). Also: I can send an e-mail to my blog's special e-mail address and create a blog entry. (This is kind of handy for making entries from my Treo when I'm mobile!)