2008/10/28 Bob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > On Tue, 2008-10-28 at 20:05 +0100, xavier dutoit wrote: >> * CiviCRM: I did a long write-up on it. It has many great features. >> >> Do you mind sending it (or a link) to it ? I'm afraid I missed it and >> can't find it in the archive. >> >> X+ > > http://lists.flossfoundations.org/pipermail/foundations-software/Week-of-Mon-20081020/000029.html
Thanks, I'm going to digest it ;) > I have already explained that OffstageArts is a two-tier application > with the client launched off the web via Java Web Start (no server-side > Java required). And the server is a plain jane PostgreSQL database. > Hosting for OA (or any other system with similar architecture) will be > provided over the Internet by running a server with: > a) A PostgreSQL server > b) An SSL tunnel adapter, used to conect to the server. It both > encrypts communication and prevents random people from hitting the > PostgreSQL port. This adapter can be SSH, if you like. (This scheme is > probably more secure to remote vulnerabilities than a PostgreSQL > database with phpPgAdmin in front of it). > > Because this kind of hosting is much simpler than LAMP hosting (and > doesn't require the host to know or care which version of OA is being > run), it will actually be very cheap to provide. I'm aiming for an > on-line service to be able to offer it for $10/mo per database. In this > way, NPOs won't have to install anything, not even on their cheap LAMP > hosting. Very interesting architecture. I like your outside of the box thinking. Don't you think it makes it harder to customize for "normal" users ? One of the benefit of the Civi approach (or any script language on the sever) is that you can easily copy a template file and put it into your custom folder, and tweak it the way you want (that's html with a bit of template language, that mostly everyone can adapt). When you update, you just have to copy your custom templates on the updated install and that's done, that's reasonably easy to do. I understand that you can probably do the same with OA, but I suppose it needs to change the java (or templating) code, recompiling, and keep your changes under a code versionning system to sync with the evolution of the core, right ? Another "native" feature of a web app is that it's very easy to send links to a specific donation, contact, issue. You just copy the url and email it to your teammate (that sounds stupid, but that's probably the most used feature). do you have something similar with java ? >> Moreover, being able to integrate with their existing website (eg. >> SSO, or donation widget, or registration to event/mailing list...) is >> something that makes it easier for them to adopt a donor DB. CiviCRM >> integrates with drupal and joomla directly (unfortunately, I don't >> like neither of them ;), and some NGOs have choosen this to manage >> their contacts because of that. > > OA will have web components to it for these purposes. They have not > been written yet, and can obviously be written in any platform that > makes sense. But just because you access your back office data from a > desktop front-end does not mean you can't also have customer-facing web > portions. I think the goal for an NGO is to increase the number of customer-facing feature (eg "donate now" widget, or register to this event, or register to the mailing list XYZ, or pay your membership, or self-customer care so they can update their contact details, or add a new contact, or display on their web the list of the members, of the sponsors, of the volunteers ...) For an NGO that wants to be transparent, that wants to engage their members and contacts and increase the interaction with them, the number of these features that needs to be web aware is likely to grow, with a bigger and bigger overlap with the back office features. > There are many ways to integrate this kind of stuff with a website. Absolutely, but having a different core technology means that the web components are an extra development. IMO a risk of being left behind and not as well feature rich, nor updated and tested. X+ _______________________________________________ software mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.flossfoundations.org/mailman/listinfo/foundations-software
