Tag: Open Source

Meld –Visual Diff Tool

Meld is an open source visual diff tool.

Meld helps you compare files, directories, and version controlled projects. It provides two- and three-way comparison of both files and directories, and has support for many popular version control systems.

The primary purpose/intent is for comparing code, such as in this screenshot,

Meld Merge Screenshot
Meld Merge Screenshot

I use it for several reports where I receive monthly text dumps and need to update various Word and PDF documents with any changes. Meld turned what used to be an hours-long process for another group into something that I can typically turn around in about 10 minutes.

The only caveat is that Meld only works with text files for file comparisons like this. If you need to compare Word or other documents, you’ll need a different tool.

ClassicPress

ClassicPress is a fork of WordPress 4.9 that offers a classic WordPress experience with better security, less bloat, and no blocks.

ClassicPress is a community-led open source content management system and a fork of WordPress that preserves the TinyMCE classic editor as the default option.

Take one quick look at the ClassicPress admin dashboard and, if you’re a WordPress user, you’ll see something instantly familiar. That’s what our community wanted. Something that looks and works like their favorite CMS…but better. And if you are one of the many people who are still using WordPress 4.9 or the Classic Editor plugin, here’s 10 reasons why you should consider switching to ClassicPress.

I’m happy using the latest version of WordPress (including the blocks), but I get the appeal of the Classic WordPress functionality. It’s one of the beautiful things about Open Source that people can have choices like this.

WTTR.in–ASCII Weather Report

WTTR.in is a weather report website that only uses ASCII.

The website is cool, but its merely one possible output of the amazing open source WTTR.in project that bills itself as “the right way to check the weather.” After reviewing the documentation, I have to concur.

The depth of customization and options in the project is off the charts.

WTTR.in Weather Forecast
WTTR.in Weather Forecast

MediaGoblin–Not Dead Yet

So honestly, I was fairly certain that the MediaGoblin project was dead (and I wasn’t the only one), as the news section for the open source media management project hadn’t been updated since 2016.

But on April 7, 2020, Ben Sturfmels posted a “not dead yet” post saying “We’re still here!”

While development on MediaGoblin has slowed over the last few years, work has continued steadily, with significant improvements such as multi-resolution video (Vijeth Aradhya), video subtitles (Saksham) and a bunch of minor improvements and bug-fixes. Like most community-driven free software projects, progress only happens when people show up and make it happen. See below for a list of the wonderful people who have contributed over the last few years. Thank you all very much!

I wish them all the best, but frankly there are a lot more (active) open source projects in this space than there were four years ago, and that long silence highlights one of the big downsides with open source projects–the possibility that tomorrow everyone involved with the project disappears and there are no updates for four years.

And yes, this certainly happens with closed source products as well. But just an example from my personal life–the proprietary service I use to archive all of my photos has been in business for more than 10 years without interruption.

In the same period of time, I’ve used several self-hosted open source photo storage/organization software that were all very popular, and all flamed out after just a few years.