Mac OS X Blog Hosting Software?

January 12, 2006 7:53 AM

I am looking for a software package to host a blog for our public schools. It would need to a) run on Mac OS X b) allow multiple users c) be incredibly simple for the users to use d) not cost an arm and a leg...or even an arm OR a leg...we're public, you know.

As an alternative, we are looking for a very simple way for teachers to share curriculum via the web. There are services out there for this, but most are beginning to charge more than our poor little county can handle. Any suggestions?

posted by kdavies to computers & internet (11 answers total)

Installing Movable Type on Tiger.
posted by mcwetboy at 7:57 AM on January 12, 2006

OS X Server's weblog server is based on Blojsom.
posted by mcwetboy at 7:59 AM on January 12, 2006

Installing WordPress on Tiger.
posted by danb at 7:59 AM on January 12, 2006

Generally, anything that uses PHP or Perl should be able to run with few or any issues; the issue may the database, since OS X does not come with MySQL installed by default.
posted by mcwetboy at 8:01 AM on January 12, 2006

typo is a nice and lightweight piece of blog software running on 'ruby on rails' (which in turn runs on OS X).
It's free too.
posted by tnai at 8:05 AM on January 12, 2006

i am not a great fan of wikis, but it might be worth looking at them for this - sharing curricula seems like it's not got that much to do with diary entries. sorry if this provokes noise or you've already considered it.
posted by andrew cooke at 8:05 AM on January 12, 2006

Kathy, I work with the Movable Type team, and we've done a lot of work with schools to help them deploy blogs... we're also pretty flexible in helping fit a budget. If you'd like any help/guidance or just to talk to other folks who've done it, shoot me an email at (anil at sixapart dot com).
posted by anildash at 8:52 AM on January 12, 2006

movable type allows for multiple blogs and multiple users per blog. WordPress allows for only one blog (per installation, but you can install it as many times as you like on one server) and multiple users per blog.

If you have some users (Teachers/staff/whoever) who will need to post to more than one blog, and you want everyone to have only one account to remember, then Movable Type is your best choice.

Otherwise, WordPress is a perfectly useful (and IMO, nicer to use) blogging system.

I've used both. I currently use WordPress for my blog for work and my triplets' blog

Also... there was an article in the November issue of MacWorld that covered lots of blog software choices. I recommend checking that out.

Both of these systems are going to want a back-end database (mysql would be my choice, it's free and not too tough to set up)
posted by Wild_Eep at 9:09 AM on January 12, 2006

First, I guess you should clarify if you want the blog to run on Macs (webserver is a Mac) or if you want authors to be able to post to the blog and people to be able to read the blog from Macs (web client is on Macs).

If it is the former, I'd don't know what I'd suggest but I guess MT would work fine for you.

If it is the latter, then you should go with MT hands down. I too have helped numerous teachers install blogs and wikis for use in their classrooms and would be happy to talk to you about what you might want to consider. My email can be found on my website which can be found on my Metafilter profile.

I haven't looked at all the tools in about a year and a half but back then we were suggesting MT all the way. Hands down, it is the easiest for teachers and students to "get."
posted by pwb503 at 9:58 AM on January 12, 2006

An open source course management system does exist. It might fit your needs. Check out moodle.
posted by joelr at 10:41 AM on January 12, 2006

Kathy, I also wanted to weigh in with a vote for Movable Type. I've installed it on many a Mac OS X machine, and it's well-suited to the task; Anil (anildash above) would know more about the pricing structure for schools, but I'd imagine it's reasonable. I've toyed with WordPress, but it's a one-user/one-blog system, so it doesn't sound like it meets your needs... and your "keep it simple" need rules out a lot more of the systems. So yeah, MT.
posted by delfuego at 6:40 PM on January 13, 2006