Tonight I released Bloo version 1.00 alpha build 3. As some of you may know, I’ve been working on a public domain blogging package named “Bloo” for awhile. Currently my solo blog Out of the Bloo and the Bloo Development Blog are two blogs based on this software. Bloo is fully object-oriented and differentiates itself in other important ways from most packages out there. It is also, of course, still in it’s toddlerhood.
Earlier this month I released it into the public domain. I’ve had a dozen or two downloads since then, but haven’t been making too huge a noise as there were some specific features I wanted to add to it before calling for alpha testers. Well, at this point I think I’m ready for some people to load this thing up and take it for a test drive.
You can read more about Bloo at The Bloo Wiki and can get the latest version at the SourceForge Project Page.
What I’m looking for is one of two types of people to alpha test.
Person 1: You are a person who has some webspace of your own that supports PHP and MySql and wouldn’t mind uploading the software, installing it (I have a pretty straightforward install program that comes with it) and kicking the tires. There’s no limit to how many of these kinds of testers I could use. A bonus would be if some of the people in this group are experienced PHP developers with a good handle on Object Oriented concepts and the willingness to learn how Bloo is put together, and the philosophy behind it, as I could use the help. This would probably require me to do some documentation but I need to do that anyway.
Person 2: You aren’t necessarily technical or posessed of webspace, but you are an experienced blogger. I would be willing to setup blogs for 2 or 3 people of this sort under the outofthebloo.com domain. The blog would be, basically, [a name you choose].outofthebloo.com. All I would ask is that you spend some time doing some testing and blogging. I would come up with some specific tasks for you to try.
There is a third type of person as well – someone who has webspace but isn’t keen on installing Bloo themselves. I’d be glad to do that for you.
In short, I’m looking for some people interested in getting involved at the ground level in helping move Bloo along. So, if you’re interested in alpha testing this thing, please let me know! You can write me at supportAToutoftheblooDOTcom and we’ll talk. Of course, the key word here is “alpha” – this software has been working pretty well for me for almost a year, but no doubt there are plenty of gotchas lurking under the surface.