Build a Website: Why Joomla

Joomla,is an open source CMS (Content Management System) that make it relatively easier to create, manage, and update a website.

Here is why, we chose Joomla for our website:

Image by miss604 via Flickr

• Award Wining CMS: chosen as one of the best CMS applications.
• Active Vibrant Community: Joomla is one of the most popular CMS with over 200,000 community users and contributors; who are ready to help solve problems or answer questions.
• Ease to use: Joomla is user friendly and anyone can learn it and use it. You can try the online demo on Opensource CMS

Image via Wikipedia

• Out of the Box Features: You can check the core features and the large number of joomla extensions.
• Open Source: this reduce the CMS limitations and increase its flexibility.

Build a Website: CMS vs Custom Websites

What is a CMS?

CMS stands for Content Management System: a web application for creating and managing websites. You can check it on Wikipedia:CMS


Why use a CMS?

Here is a simple comparison between CMS and Custom Websites:

Ease of Use: CMS make it easier for people with little or no technical skills to create and edit web pages. While with custom websites, they will need to know HTML, CSS and sometimes Javascript and some programming languages such as PHP or ASP.

Extensibility: adding new functionality to your website is easier and faster by using CMS modules and plugins, while it has to be coded from scratch with custom websites, most of the times.

Flexibility: Custom websites might have more flexibility and you can modify the code without worrying about the CMS limitations. Although with open source CMS, such as Joomla or Drupal, you can workaround these limitations most of the times.

Changing Design: in a good CMS, content is separate from design, and I can change the design with a click of a button. This is much harder with a custom website, even if the custom site is completly CSS based.

Time: custom websites take more time to build than a CMS.

For example, adding a membership section to the Women in Technology Lebanon website is a matter of minutes, or couple of hours if some advanced configuration and customization should be made. While adding a membership section on a custom built website, will require that you know html, css, and be able to create and configure a database.

I strongly believe and recommend that every website should use a CMS, even for tech savvy people.

What do you think?

PDN Activity in Deir Kanoon Nahr : Hand Made Accessories

Hand Made Accessories from a PDN activities in Deir Kanoon el Nahr Center in South Lebanon. Click on the image to see the whole album.

Women in IT is recruiting: HR Officer & Administrative Assistant

Position 1: HR Officer (Ref: jobHR)

Contract Period: 1 year Full time Employee
Location: Mathaf, Beirut

The Human Resources officer supports in planning and implementing policies which select, develop and retain the right candidates and client needed to meet the objectives of the project

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in HR, BA, Sociology or any related field;
• Minimum of 3 years experience preferably in a recruitment agency
• Has an understanding and knowledge of the staffing and recruiting business
• Team Work Spirit, Ethical & Discreet
• Excellent Public Relation
• Good oral and written communication skills in English and Arabic (French is an asset)

Job Description

• Develops relationships with : Job placement entities (public, private, web based, etc.), NGOs specializing in women empowerment and NGOs specializing in entrepreneurship
• Maintain daily update of the project
• Assisting the project manager in research and any other relevant activity for the project
• Participate in set the criteria and the selection of the project beneficiaries
• Performs survey on market to reveal the needs
• Is responsible for the placement of project beneficiaries
• Is responsible to set up procedures and channels to insure sustainability of job placement and entrepreneurship goals of the project
• Assess the current status of the candidates and advise on required trainings
• Create Job units / CV archive
• Written and verbal communication skills in English and French
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office and the internet

2. Position: Administrative Assistant (Ref: jobADMN)

Contract Period : 1 year Full time Employee
Location: Mathaf, Beirut

The administrative Assistant will assist the project responsible in the daily management and coordinate the project activities

Required Qualifications

• Good command of English and Arabic (French is an asset)
• Experience working in a non-profit environment is highly desirable
• Good communication skills
• Computer skills

Job Description

• Provide administrative and general assistance to the members
• Perform general office administrative duties such as handling calls, faxes and incoming and outgoing mail, ensuring an adequate level of office supplies
• Prepare and file correspondence, forms, contracts, official documents…
• Handle minor accounting activities
• Create and update WIT’s database (WIT contacts lists, WIT publications, library, documentaries, slides, filing of digital photos…)
• Ensure proper handling and availability of needed equipment, arrange for equipment maintenance and insurance
• Arrange meetings and workshops
• Compile and disseminate monthly board minutes of meeting
• Compile financial reports to the executive committee, project coordinators and donors with the help of the projects officer and coordinators

Interested candidates please send your CV + picture to: info@wit.org.lb before 5 August 2009. Please mention the Ref in the subject of the e-mail.

Twitter Guide in Arabic

The DigiActive Guide to Twitter has been translated to Arabic by Social Media Exchange

Check it below and post any comments or questions if you have.
[Embargoed] - Arabic Twitter Guide (Beta) - please comment!

1000 Facebook Fans

Hello,

Visit our Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Women-in-Technology-Lebanon/92326546200 and Suggest it/ invite 5 of your friends to become supporters/fans.

We are rolling a plan to make a small difference by using the Web 2.0 tools. Would you like to be part of a successful case study?

The first simple task/test is to have 1000 Fans before the end of July 2009.

So, if you like the WIT Lebanon program, please invite at least 5 of your friends, when you receive this message/update.

We are 351 members now, so if everyone of us invite only 5 of our friends, we can be more than a 1000 members in a fast and easy way.

Click on this link :http://www.facebook.com/pages/Women-in-Technology-Lebanon/92326546200

on the left menu, under the logo, click on Suggest to Friends and invite at least 5 of your friends.

Thank you and lets see what we can do.

3 Steps to broaden you from Viral Attacks

1- Motivation:

USB keys are Hot Plug-and-Play devices that are easy to install and use on the move.
Not only that but also, USB keys are made of FLASH technologies, that means they can be easily written, erased & re-written again and again. These factors appealed viruses’ developers so much as they constitute an easy path to a physical medium allowing them to spread their viruses.

Knowing that a USB Key is considered as a removable hard disk, it might host an “AUTORUN.INF” – an automatically running file that might contain a link to an executable which could be run when double clicking the USB KEY icon on opening.
The Basic idea for prevention is through storing an empty “AUTORUN.INF” file that is READ-ONLY & HIDDEN which cannot be overwritten in order to forbid viruses from copying themselves to your USB & proliferating on each USB usage.

2- Implementation

A. Create an EMPTY text file on your USB KEY called “AUTORUN.INF” with Read-only, and Hidden attributes.
B. Convert the USB KEY to NTFS in order to avoid overwriting of this file by issuing the following command from a Command prompt.
o CONVERT G: /FS:NTFS
o For Graphical implementation, Cf. Appendix-4-1.
C. Change the attributes of this file to deny overwriting by issuing the following command from a Command prompt.
o CACLS AUTORUN.INF /D everyone
o For Graphical implementation, Cf. Appendix-4-2.

3 Steps to broaden you from Viral Attacks

Rule of Thumb:

Never double click the icon of a USB key, always use, Right-Click & Open.
This is also applicable in our case when an empty “Autorun.inf” file is created in order not to fool Windows by asking to run an empty FILE.
Doing so might produce some difficulties when ejecting the USB Key.

3- Conclusion

Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation.

A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your e-mail program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk.

Viruses are most easily spread by attachments in e-mail messages or instant messaging messages or USB Keys. That is why it is essential that you never open e-mail attachments unless you know who it's from and you are expecting it.

Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files.
Viruses also spread through downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in illicit software or other files or programs you might download.

Prevention is better than cure, so, common sense is needed & all precautions should be taken when handling unsecured files.

Good Luck,
BR,
Nazih SALHAB
***********************************************************************
Applying this procedure means that you agree and consent to GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE, Sections Disclaimer of Warranty & Limitation of Liability.
This Procedure is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details at http://www.gnu.org/licenses or write to the Free Software Foundation,Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
************************************************************************
4- Appendix:

4.1.How to enable USB drive with NTFS?

1. You need to connect your USB device to your computer, that's for sure. Right-click on My Computer from the desktop and choose Manage.

2. Click on "Device Manager" and expand out "Disk Drives". There is maybe couple of drives depending on how many USB drive & hard drive connected to your PC.

3. Right click on USB drive and select "properties". After that, click on the "Policies" tab and choose "Optimize for performance" radio button. Finally click OK and you are done!

4. Click OK. 5. Open My Computer. 6. If you right-click on USB drive and select "Format...” you will see NTFS is now available.

Written by: Nazih SALHAB

3 Steps to broaden you from Viral Attacks

4.2.How to Deny overwriting from Everyone?

1- Right click on the “AUTORUN.INF” file & choose Properties
2- Choose the Security Tab
3- If “Everyone” user doesn’t exist, just add
4- Select all the DENY permissions for this user.

Written by: Nazih SALHAB

Blog Competition for WIT Participants

WIT Lebanon is launching a blogging competition to encourage participants to post more and optimize their blogs. It is a fun competition with some good prizes. If you like to join the competition, please register.

Rules:

• Registration is open to WIT participants only.
• Blogs should post at least once a week till end of the competition.
• Blogs can be in Arabic, English or French.

Criteria:

• Content
• Layout
• Overall Quality

How to enter the contest:

• Fill the form below.
• Write a post on your blog about the competition.
• Publish a post every week

Winners:

3 winners will be chosen by our jury and by visitors votes.

Prizes:

Digital Camera
Blogging Book
more..

Also, there will be a prize for the best comment. :)




If you have any questions or suggestions, please post them in the comments below.

Zemanta : Blog Smarter

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