Anthony Malloy

Mena from Six Apart has, in the light of the response to MT’s new licensing scheme, asked how we use Movable Type. As I track-backed the original post I should respond.

I initially used MT exclusively for my own blog. My partner then became interested in blogging so I added her to my domain and over a year or so have added three other friends who wanted a simple yet powerful way to publish on-line.

Without my offering hosting on my server and the use of MT none of these four would have become involved in blogging. The new structure is simply too expensive for my situation so I will look elsewhere for a tool that allows me to continue to offer blogging to my friends and family for free.

Thanks Mena for taking the time to listen to your customers and users, I continue to wish Movable Type and Six Apart well.

Rob and I need your help.

It will cost you $30 but you’ll end up with a signed CD a month before its release date, beer, pizza and a twenty minute live set in our lounge room.

Let me explain.

Deborah Conway is releasing a new album and as a special offer if you purchase 25 albums from her site in one hit they (she and her husband Willy) will personally deliver them, sign them and perform a 20 minute live set.

This is pretty much our idea of heaven.

Now Rob and I could just buy 25 CD’s between us, $750 is pretty cheap to have Deb singing for you, but then we’d be left with 11 and a half CD’s each to get rid of. So drop us a line or leave a comment and let us know you want a CD – buy a new Deb Conway CD, get an invite. I’ve even added a ‘Deb Count’ to the front page.

Even if you can’t make the performance you will get a pre-release CD, signed and all. And if you don’t like Deb, give it away as a present!

Go on, you know you want to.

Okay, so it’s more we want you to. We’ll be your best friends….

UPDATE 18/5

Wow! 13 so far and, believe it or not, an email from Deb herself! 12 more to go people otherwise my family are all getting the CD for Christmas.

ANOTHER UPDATE 19/5

21 – thanks everyone who has ordered so far, we’re that (insert mental picture of Tony holding two fingers very close to each other) close. If you’re out of Melbourne, no matter how far, we’ll send you the CD’s so that’s no excuse.

Four more to go, four more…

Also there are some more up to date entries on the ‘Diary‘ page. Once we hit our mark the front page will be updated again.

I love my footy, I love my hockey (both here and there) so you can imagine how happy I was when SEN 1116 started here in Melbourne, 24 hours sports talkback (even thought they don’t know what hockey is).

The joy is double now that they are streaming on the net. It’s Windows Media and you can find the stream at http://203.166.224.163/sen_1116.asx without having to open their site.

I have Greg Stafford‘s number. It’s 10 and it’s on the back of his long sleeve jumper from last year.

Thanks to the wonder that is Ebay I finally got a game worn #10 jumper to match my #10 signed by Sheeds himself. Greg, you’re a marked man. Next family day I’ll be there with said jumper and Sharpie for your signature too.

And if you needed any more reason to support the mighty Tigers who could go past the fact they have put a basket at their front door in the sunshine so Moggie, the club cat, can rest the day away?

Movable Type have reacted the backlash against their new personal use licensing and I would now scrape in to their first level of licensing, but have no option to let anyone else on my server. The fee has been reduced too 0 it’s now only USD$69.95 for 5 authors and five weblogs but that’s AUD$100+ for not much more than adding comment registration.

For me it’s the end of the road for MT.
Continue reading “Moving Along”

I was going to try and write a paean to our new god, Richo, but I couldn’t do any better than Mark Fuller in The Age today.

For 12 years [Tiger fans] have waited for a day like yesterday. That perfect day, when the imposing frame, the stunning athleticism, the unstoppable lead, the powerful mark and the raking kick would align like the bolts in some enchanted keyhole, and Matthew Richardson would play like a god.

Enchanted keyholes aside, we were there; we chanted, we sang, we clapped until our hands were red raw and in years to come will be able to say we were there the day Richo came of footballing age.

Well some company has acted quickly to take advantage of Movable Type’s goodwill suicide attempt.

Pmachine have offered 1000 free copies of their top of the line CMS application – Expression Engine for those ‘tired of the limitations of [their] current publishing system’. Fantastically quick marketing.

It retails for what I would have to pay MT to continue upgrading but offers many more features, such as mobloging, better image support and allows me to continue to offer blogs to friends.

Thanks Pmachine for the free copy. Instant good will.

I’ve been a user and believer in Movable Type for almost two years now, it’s been a wonderful product that has let me, and many others, make our own homes on the web. We’ve all been patiently waiting for Version 3, the ‘professional’ version, of MT that has been a long time promised. Part of that promise was that MT 3 would be available in a free version.

Movable Type 3 was released today and what should have been a cause for great excitement in the blogging world has left many people angry and confused. The free version of Movable Type is there, but it’s not what any of us were expecting. You are now only allowed one, and only one, author and that author can run at the maximum 3 blogs. There’s no new features of any great worth, and the one that Six Apart, the makers of Movable Type, are promoting is merely a commentors white list. Unlike Typepad there is no photo functionality and no lists in version 3, regardless of whether you choose the paid or free version.

I currently run 5 blogs off my install and if Rae, Marita, Trish and Jen are to keep their blogs I would have to purchase a Movable Type 3.0 Personal Edition Volume License I and that will set me back a fee of USD$119. And that’s too much for me.

Six Apart have to make a living; no one can deny them that but the prices for licenses and their licensing agreements will not be affordable for most of the people who have used MT in the past. I can’t believe that a company so savy in it’s product developement could make sucha a monumental business bludner and blow away every bit of good will it had built up in one stupid blow. It’s rather telling that they have removed the word ‘personal’ from their description of Movable Type as a ‘Personal Publishing System’. The price seems especially high when you take a look at several competitors, such as WordPress, Textpattern or even Melbourne’s own Mambo Open Source – all of which are available for free.

I know I don’t have to upgrade but over time the feature list of MT 2.6x will shrink in comparison to what others have to offer, vulnerabilities will be exposed and development of plug ins will focus on the later versions, leaving us with an underpowered, outdated and feeble application.

Movable Type has made it’s move, unfortunately I think many people, myself included, will simply watch it go.

Today we are happy.

Why?

Because we get to sleep in our own bed after a week.

Why?

Because mum won’t be in it.

Why?

‘Cause she’s gone home.

Why?

‘Cause Dad will be home in a day or so.

Why?

‘Cause he’s amazing and has made a rapid recovery that belies his age.

And that’s why we are happy.

A blog entry today got me thinking.

Whenever you’re accosted as you wander the street by charity workers they always seem to have an English accent. Regardless if it’s Greenpeace or selling raffle tickets outside the footy, they all seem to be back packers from the UK.

So my question is this? Are the streets of London over run by Australian tourists asking if the good citizens of that noble city could spare a couple of minutes?