History of Mambo

History of Mambo

4-Feb-2002

After many months of deliberation and development, Miro has released the first commercial version of Mambo Site Server Mambo 2002.

A History of Mambo Part 1

As a web/application/development company, we found we were developing client sites and re-writing the same functionality time and time again. We felt the limitations of the existing content management software available through the open source channels was too restrictive and we were looking for something more sophisticated.

We also wanted to give our clients the ability to 'get inside' their website and edit it from a tool as simple as a web browser. A point of difference for us was the ability to develop a client's site and then 'Hand them the keys' - a very unusual strategy for a web company.

What we needed had to be quick, reliable and easy enough for people without any knowledge of HTML to use, but something that looked and acted professional in both its usability and its interface. Something much more than simple discussion-oriented systems. It became clear that the market had a hole that needed filling, so we began to develop Mambo.

We released Mambo to the open source community to get quality testing as quickly as possible on as many different systems and environments as we could and in exchange, people got access to use our software. We released Mambo v.1. early in 2000. We knew that it wasn't the complete package, but we wanted to know what the experts (that's you) had to say about it.

So in March 2001, we launched http://www.mamboserver.com/ and the downloads began in earnest. Since then, there have been more than 50,000 successful downloads of Mambo Open Source. That is why the subheading is 'A History of Mambo' rather than 'The History of Mambo' because Mambo's history has been in your hands as much as it's been in ours.

Part 2 Further developments

Over the course of the 10 months that you have been using our software, we have had plenty of comments. Those of you who use the forums have been able to ask for and share advice with each other and with our forum moderators, Nicole and Danny, two developers on the Miro team who made Mambo what it is. We have endeavored to respond to everything thoughtfully whether it be advice or criticism believing that you know just as much, if not more, than us.

Your comments have been the catalyst for many of the upgrades that have taken place. We have also received plenty of feedback and I am glad to say that apart from small issues relating to the fact that we don't have a language translator, they have been positive. It is good to know that there are tens or thousands of happy Mambo sites out there, all running smoothly at varying levels of completion and success. This is what it is all about, isn't it?

But as someone once said "man cannot live on shareware alone" and we have devoted a vast amount of time and resources to Mambo at a huge financial cost, with no support from anyone.

While we will continue to offer Mambo Open Source to the community under GPL, we have decided to fork development of Mambo and create a commercial version.

Mambo 2002 is a commercial, highly optimised version with many more features and with a mandate to become a professional content management system for companies of any size.

Mambo Open Source will remain licensed under GPL and it's development path will see it become more community driven with a more open architecture. We will continue to upgrade and develop Mambo Open Source.

This will give individuals and companies the opportunity to work with a software product that is both easy and reliable, with a level of support and warranty far beyond the capability of open source and the GPL.

Part 3 Mambo's future - the best of both worlds

So we are proudly releasing our newest and commercial version, Mambo 2002. This release is substantially different from the open source version and features some fantastic new additions including:

New administrator functions
Support for design templates that allow you to change the look and feel of your site instantly (it comes with 12 templates to start you off)
A new Image Gallery with the ability to preview images
Optimised code and routines
Reduced dependency on external programs and libraries
Full documentation
And much more.

We are offering different kinds of support with this release including email and technician support as well as the forum support. You will find more information about Mambo 2002 on our Miro site at http://www.miro.com.au/.

It is our intention to continue our dedication to the open source community by maintaining the http://www.mamboserver.com/ site as a separate vehicle for Mambo Open Source, which will continue to be upgraded and released for free.

If nothing else, the past year has proved time and again that it is possible to generate an income using a Mambo website. It is also possible to produce a fun and thoroughly professional website of your own, and it's easy enough for beginners.

So now we have created the best of both worlds, a more complete, finished version of Mambo 2002 with added features, which can be used to build a business or an enterprise, and increase the potential for sales on sale for AUD$399 (ex-GST) - Approx. US$198, And Mambo Open Source for those of you who want to develop your own sites for free, who don't necessarily intend to make money from your site and therefore don't need the more refined features.

So after almost a year of testing, Mambo 2002 is now commercially released. Use it as a viable sales and marketing tool. From here, it is also the gateway to your web identity.