When Google won't do
Google Analytics is perhaps the most popular and, arguably, most comprehensive of the free services available for tracking visits to your website. But if you find it lacking in some ways, or if you just want a backup, there is an open source alternative currently in beta that you might want to try called Piwik.
Here at thriftmac, we have been using Google Analytics, but recently it stopped working for no apparent reason. It looks to be fixed now, but meanwhile all the stats for those days are missing. This reinforced the need for a backup, and this is how we discovered Piwik.
Although it is still in beta, it seems to work quite well. There are tons of stats covering all the main bases such as number of visits, referrals, browser usage and so on. The main disadvantage, aside from not being as comprehensive as Google Analytics, is that you have to set up your own database. It’s actually a simple procedure, but if you don’t know how it can be a bit daunting.
The big advantage is that Piwik is a continuation of a previous open source project called phpMyVisites — so development is active and likely will remain stable for years to come.
Posted Thursday, July 3, 2008 in Open-source
Open source blossoms on the Mac
The MacForge Mac open source project index sponsored by MacTech magazine now has more than 50,000 projects. It can be a bit daunting to sort through all these projects — there are 2,000 in the chat category alone — but it may be worthwhile if there is something specific you’re looking for. It’s also good to know that open source is thriving on the Mac. With this many projects in the works, we’re bound to have lots of cool stuff come to fruition. MacTech has more
Posted Wednesday, March 12, 2008 in Open-source
Komodo Edit goes open source
Komodo Edit — a powerful text editor aimed at programmers — is now free and open source. It features tabbed windows, regex search and replace, and the ability to organize files into projects.
At first glance Komodo Edit looks to be a good freeware alternative to more established editors such as BBEdit. It doesn’t match it feature for feature, but it may fill a certain niche.
Get more info at ActiveState.
Posted Saturday, March 8, 2008 in Open-source
Cross-platform goodness
Transmission is the thriftmac app of choice for torrents not just because it works well, but also because it has that nice polish Mac users have come to expect. What’s surprising is that this is in spite of it being cross-platform.
For example, take the cross-platform Firefox. For the most part it’s a satisfying alternative among web browsers. But many people prefer Camino, even though it’s built on the same engine, simply because of its more Mac-like appearance.
And then we have Transmission, which manages to supply both Mac beauty and brawn. Theocacao was curious to know how they did it, and has posted an insightful explanation.
Posted Thursday, January 31, 2008 in Open-source
The future of Adium
Developers of Adium, the best freeware multi-protocol instant messaging application, have big plans. Among them are audio/visual capabilities. Infinite Loop has details. Watch out, iChat.
Posted Tuesday, October 30, 2007 in Open-source
Nvu, meet KompoZer
One of the staples in the thriftmac collection is Nvu, an app for WYSIWYG web authoring. To call it a freeware version of Dreamweaver is a bit of a stretch, but it gives you a rough idea of how it works.
Apparently, as explained at Mozilla Links, development of Nvu stopped after it reached version 1.0. Unfortunately, that left it with a bunch of bugs. And, of course, no software deserves to forever languish at 1.0. Enter KompoZer. The name is lacking in, shall we say, elegance, but at least it takes Nvu to new levels with squashed bugs and better handling of CSS.
I’ve always believed the best way to build a website is with a good text editor and a solid education in XHTML and CSS. But if you feel that WYSIWYG is the way to go, and you’ve been struggling with Nvu, it may be time to move on to KompoZer.
Posted Thursday, October 4, 2007 in Open-source
Celebrate software freedom
Now here’s something every thriftmac reader should get behind: Software Freedom Day is coming up on Saturday, Sept. 15.
Already more than 200 teams have been organized to educate the public about the benefits of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Events are planned for every continent in the world.
While much of this is oriented toward open source operating systems, such as Linux, Mac users are lucky to have access to many open source programs on their own platform. To get an idea of just how many FOSS apps there are for the Mac, check out Open Source Mac.
Get the full scoop at the Software Freedom Day website, and look to see if there is even planned near where you live. Chances are there is.
Posted Thursday, September 6, 2007 in Open-source
Will the real Eudora please stand up?
For many longtime Mac users, Eudora was the first e-mail program they ever used. And in some ways it became a standard by which its successors have been measured.
Eudora is now open source, which means it is still alive, but its anyone’s guess as to whether it will ever return to its former glory. Applelinks has details on the latest twists, turns and permutations for Eudora.
Posted Thursday, September 6, 2007 in Open-source
Who needs NBC anyway?
With all the fuss about Apple’s dispute with NBC over putting their TV shows on iTunes, it’s easy to forget that this is just one of many options for watching TV shows. A freeware solution you might want to try is called, appropriately enough, TVShows.
This open source app automatically downloads the shows you want while you go about your business doing other things. You just set it and forget it. Get more details here.
Posted Saturday, September 1, 2007 in Open-source
Build buttons for free
The makers of RapidWeaver — a template-based website creation program — have made a similar app, Button Builder, not only free but open source.
Button Builder comes with 50 pre-made buttons you can use for your website.
Change the size, length, caption and hue of each button at any time, making it a breeze to create buttons that match your website.
I’ve used RapidWeaver in the past — back in the days when there was no iWeb. For the most part the quality is quite good, and there is plenty of support. If RapidWeaver is anything to go by, Button Builder is definitely worth a try.
Posted Tuesday, July 24, 2007 in Open-source
Get SuperCollapse II and the game of your choice FREE when you sign up for a 30-Day Free trial to GamePass. ($40 Total Value)
