New Media Initiatives

• To effectively use Movable Type one needs to know HTML and how to use FTP at a minimum, and have the time and inclination to learn the MT template system, MT template tags, and a variety of plugins.

System:

• Perl version 5.004_05 or greater is required. Version 5.6.1 or above is recommended.
• Either Berkeley DB, My SQL?, SQ Lite? or Postgre SQL? for data storage.
• External (CPAN) Perl Modules

http://weblogs.about.com/cs/bloghost/gr/mtreview.htm

Pros:

• Established software
• Very full-featured and powerful
• Extensible via plugins

Cons:

• To effectively use Movable Type one needs to know HTML and how to use FTP at a minimum, and have the time and inclination to learn XHTML, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), the MT template system, MT template tags, and a variety of plugins.
• Installation can be challenging
• Template tweaks difficult and technical
• Lengthy "rebuild" after new post, template change, etc
• Upgrades can be expensive.
• Not open source, not GPL

Cost: MT's pricing scheme is fairly complex. Non-profits will pay at least $49.95. Commercial users pay at least $199.95. There is no trial period for Movable Type, but there is a free version of the software that you can download and install. The paid license entitles you to support, some promotion, and discounts on future upgrades.

Examples: (highly customized templates and hacks)

• http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
• http://www.laobserved.com/

Resources:

• http://www.learningmovabletype.com/