We're looking for people who would like to Beta test Plum.NET, which is a lightweight add-on to ASP.NET 2.0. If you're interested in testing Plum.NET then contact me *OFFLIST*. We're looking for testing in both the freebie and paid versions of Visual Studio 2005.
Plum.NET is simpler in scope and much more powerful than Plum for ColdFusion, mainly because most of the functionality we built into Plum for ColdFusion is already handled by the combination of .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005. Plum.NET works directly through Visual Studio 2005, so it does not require its own IDE or other tools to function. Also, Plum.NET works with versions of SQL Server 2005 only (including the free Express version). For these reasons, Plum.NET will not require the lengthy rounds of design changes and cross-platform issues that we experienced with Plum for ColdFusion. Plum.NET will be a paid product that affords the developer a free license for development use. Most likely, pricing will be set at $495 per domain. Here's the description of Plum.NET so far: * An intuitive and flexible AJAX-enabled CMS (Content Management System) Point all your content to a single display template, or create dedicated pages for specific purposes. You can define multiple content regions on a page, and each region can consume multiple content items. Content regions can be mixed with form controls on the same page. * Page-oriented content editing interface Authenticated users who are authorized to do so may add, edit, and delete content directly from consumer-facing web pages. Just mouseover the page to display the content control menu bar. To add a new content item to a page, click Add to pop down a tree control displaying all content items on the page organized by content region, click the region to which you want to add content, and you're automatically taken to the content add form with all the important meta data already specified for you. Similar for editing and deleting content items. * Full-text searching capability integrated with the CMS Requires zero setup and configuration time, so you can search site content as soon as you open the Plum.NET project. * Content workflow and access management Contributors submit content items for approval, publishers approve for publication or reject for revision, and old content is deactivated. Access to content is controlled through an intuitive user role mechanism: Contributors can edit their own work from creation throughout the submission-revision cycle; Publishers and Administrators can edit anyone's content at any time, and have complete control over the publishing lifecycle. * Content scheduling Embargo content until a specified date and time, display content during special promotion periods, retire content after a specified date, or allow content to display indefinitely. * A custom sitemap provider integrated with the CMS Content pages automatically appear in your site's navigation controls as the pages are created. * A WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor integrated with the CMS Graphically edit content as if you were using a desktop publishing application, upload images, and choose images from an image library for inclusion in content items. * Pre-built external cascading style sheets integrated with the HTML editor Rich CSS definitions make building great looking content fast and easy, and custom styles can be chosen from the WYSIWYG editor. * Static content generation built into the CMS Completely eliminate server burden by pre-generating static content pages. When a content page is requested, Plum.NET substitutes the static HTML page if it exists. Original content remains in the CMS for future revisions, if necessary, and the content remains searchable, so the fact that your site is serving ultra-efficient static content is entirely transparent to the site's functionality. * Pre-installed and configured Roles Provider, Membership Provider, Profile Provider, and custom SiteMap Provider Everything your website needs for full functionality, right out of the box. * Pre-built user registration, login, and self-management pages Any configurations set for the user membership provider in web.config are automatically implemented on the user registration pages, login pages, and user profile self-management pages. * An administrative user management interface Users create their own profiles through the consumer face of the site, but Administrators can edit and delete user profiles using the administrative interface. * A complete starter website with starter content All the standard pages you'd expect on a website: About Us, Contact Info, Link To Our Site, Terms of Use, Privacy Statement, Feedback, etc. Use them as-is or modify as you see fit. * Pre-built database Built on SQL Server 2005, the Plum.NET database will run on any production version of SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services * Pre-built master pages and content display templates Use the supplied consumer-facing and admin-facing master pages as a starting point for your own, or use them as-is. The content display templates you get with Plum.NET are great examples of using Plum.NET's CMS features in the real world. * A formalized directory structure No guessing what goes where, and there's a place for everything you need in a website foundation. * Plum.NET is packaged as a Visual Studio 2005 project type Just choose New -> Project, press Ctrl-F5, and you're up and running! Add new features and functionality of your own without restriction. * Free Developer license Run Plum.NET on any port on http://Localhost for free as long as you want. Installing a domain license is a simple as pasting a single string into your Web.Config. Respectfully, Adam Phillip Churvis Certified Advanced ColdFusion MX 7 Developer BlueDragon Alliance Founding Committee Get advanced intensive Master-level training in C# & ASP.NET 2.0 for ColdFusion Developers at ProductivityEnhancement.com
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