DNN News Feeds 03.03.03 Beta

August 7, 2006 — jmcwilliam

(Originally posted on my DotNetNuke.com Blog) The latest release of the DNN News Module version 03.03.03 (Beta) has been released to all of the News beta testers. Here is a list of the fixes in this latest update:

  • 17 Category Edit. Publishing format drop downs should go in the following order: RSS 2.0, RSS 1.0, RSS 0.91, RSS 0.9, Atom.
  • 18 DNN3.1.1 Error occurs when trying to add a feed, category or channel
  • 19 Edit Newsfeed. After addition of the url as a source there is a page: “Server Error in ‘DNN’ Application. Runtime error.”
  • 27 All pagination shows ‘Page 0 of 1′ results when there are no results.
  • 32 Edit Newsfeed: After clicking “Cancel” btn existed feed in the module is disappears and then after clicking “Update” btn feed again appears.
  • 33 Feed List: ‘Return’ btn should be instead ‘Cancel’ btn.
  • 36 Edit Channel. It’s impossible to add a new channel without category.
  • 37 Edit Channel: Portal type should default to whatever is selected in the Channel List when clicking “Add new channel”.
  • 38 Localization: missing keys or existing keys but not used in the code.
  • 40 The first channel entered has an ID of 0.
  • 42 Default view. The page should be of the same size as default when trying to change a module title.
  • 44 Edit Newsfeed. After loading first file, then channel and repeat that actions 2 or more times, channel do not displays.
  • 45 DNN 4.3.2 IE. Edit Newsfeed. The page size exceeds the browser’s window
  • 47 Channel Edit. It’s impossible to return at the ‘Channel Edit’ page after editing categories.
  • 48 Edit Newsfeed>Advanced Settings: confusing symbols in the fields
  • 49 Channel List > Settings: a popup window to confirm the delition doesn’t appear when click ‘Delete’ btn.
  • 50 Channel List > Feed List > Settings: a popup window to confirm the delition doesn’t appear when click ‘Delete’ btn.
  • 51 Category List > Edit Category: a popup window to confirm the delition doesn’t appear when click ‘Delete’ btn.
  • 54 Category List, Category Edit > Module Help: Module Help is empty.
  • 55 (IE6.0) Channel Edit: impossible to edit categories if name or category isn’t specified
  • 72 News are not displayed in RSS module
  • 79 Channel Edit: unexpected prompting message “Category name is required” appears when selecting the fisrt category in the drop down list.
  • 80 Category List, Edit: ‘Update, Return’ btns should be instead ‘Save, Cancel’ btns.
  • 81 Channel List: test page appears after clicking on ” [2], Next, Last “
  • 82 Feed List: empty page appears after clicking on ” [2], Next, Last “
  • 84 Channel List, Feed List: the next page is not displayed, if eleventh channel (feed) has been created.
  • 85 When you add more than one instance of the News Module, if you change the Newsfeed Settings for one, it changes the other instances as well.

This list represents updates between the 03.03.02 and the 03.03.03 beta. There have been many bug fixes beyond this list as well between version 03.03.02 and the last public announcement I made regarding 03.03.00. I have updated Gemini (support.dotnetnuke.com), which was long overdue, and added the remaining known issues with this version. You should expect to see an updated 03.03.04 version before too long. I am expecting this next version to be solid enough to be considered a release client. It will of course have to go through the standard core review and release process first, which it has not yet done.

I would also like to welcome Peter Brems to the team. Peter sent in the contributor agreement and will be added as an official member of the team shortly. Thanks again to everyone that has helped out with the testing.

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Creating One Application and Doing it Well

August 5, 2006 — jmcwilliam

(Originally posted on my Flatburger.com Blog) I just wanted to expand upon what Bill said about FlatBurger not building and selling modules or applications in the following post:

http://www.blogger.com/ResourceCenter/Blogs/tabid/5576/EntryID/224/Default.aspx

As Bill said, as a result of us working with many partners, we have seen first hand the demand for the creation or improvement of certain modules. Take this Blog module for instance. Hans-Peter Schelian (www.schelian.com), the creator of this module, has done an amazing job, and on top of that, he has been generous enough to give it away for free! He has done this for several other modules as well, and is a true role model for open source development. We use the module, and certainly appreciate it.

That said, however, we have heard many customers and partners ask for something better. While this blog module is quite functional, it does not compete well with popular blogs out there such as TypePad or Blogger. We have actually had partners tell us that they have had potential customers not accept a DNN solution as a whole because of this lacking functionality.

To fill this need, a module developer will need to focus on making a blog that can compete with the best of the best blogs out there. Doing so would create a module that people would not only be willing to pay for, but also grow the number of people willing to use DNN as a solution to fill their needs. Too often module developers develop a large suite of modules, but do none of them particularly well. Even if they do develop the best DNN module for that particular category, little happens to advance the cause of DNN as a whole. DNN does not advance as a whole until each module is competitive with the best applications in their category outside of DNN.

Each person or company only has so many hours in a day. Most of the DNN module developers I talk to know this all to well. The key here is to focus your energy on a single module, and do it very well. FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! It is because of the need for focus that we will never create modules to sell ourselves. Doing so would detract from our ability to focus on providing the services and support to the community, which is the core of our business. Because we are focused on that, any module we would create to give or sell to the consumer would be lacking, and would ultimately not really be worth the effort. It would also compete directly with the community we are trying to serve.

From hosting providers to enterprises to small organizations to my mom (who is now using DNN and loving it), we talk to a lot of consumers about what they need. During the course of this we can recognize trends and patterns in what consumers are demanding. We can help to consolidate the voices of the consumers to make it easier for the development community to meet those needs.

Organizing the community wide development effort to some degree has its advantages for all involved. If 10 developers read this blog entry and decide to go off and create a new blog module, we have only met 1 need. If instead, through communication with each other, we coordinate to figure out who is going to focus on what, and instead come up with 10 killer solutions, the impact on the DNN community, and all of us, is substantially amplified.

So, I invite consumers and developers alike to contact us. Tell us what you need. Tell us what you have or will have in the near future. Login and post a comment to this blog and let everyone know. You can also reach me personally at jmcwilliam@flatburger.com.

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