With thousands of CMS (Content Management System) options available, it's difficult for a CMS shopper to evaluate those options in a timely way. Now companies looking for an open source CMS have a more efficient way to conduct the search, thanks to OpenSourceCMS.com.

OpenSourceCMS.com site owner Scott Goodwin has created a comprehensive interactive listing of open source CMS programs grouped by purpose. The best part is that for every CMS listed, site visitors can log in to a default installation of the program as the administrator and take it for a test drive. The fully functional demo CMS installations automatically re-install with a fresh copy every two hours, so users needn't worry about breaking anything. Goodwin decided to start OpenSourceCMS.com in August 2002 after his own search for CMS software proved overwhelming.

Goodwin shortly thereafter launched OpenSourceHost.com, a Web hosting company dedicated to providing installation and support for all of the CMS products on OpenSourceCMS.com.

This year, Goodwin launched OpenSourceatWork.com, a venue for webmasters to post projects for which they are in need of programmers. Job seekers with the necessary expertise can bid on projects for free. In fact, OpenSourceatWork.com doesn't charge fees at all. "We decided to offer [it] for free as a way to give back to the programmers of open source software, as well as provide a central location for open source CMS users to post specific needs not met by free modules, blocks, addons, etc.," Goodwin says.

Also started this year was the OpenSourceFund (OSF), an offering that Goodwin says is his most ambitious undertaking to date. OSF is an organization that provides material support for open source programmers in order to advance open source CMSes through the development of add-ons, themes, modules, blocks, and components. Material support may include money, server space, or both. The only stipulation is all software developed with the help of OSF must be released under the GNU/GPL license and be free of charge. OSF is funded with 10 percent of the cumulative cash flow from Goodwin's other companies, under the umbrella of the Open Source Collective.

Source: IT Managers JournalPrashanth RaiTags: Content Management System, Open Source, Entreprenuer.