JBoss Opens Up to Google With New Portal

Open source stalwart and Red Hat favorite JBoss officially announces the JBoss Enterprise Portal Platform with the release of an updated version of its foundation application: JBoss Portal 2.6.JBoss Portal 2.6 promises to provide everything that made you love version 2.5, plus it includes improvements in personalization, identity, and -- every content manager's favorite area -- workflow. Furthermore, the new portal server hopes to enhance user productivity by buddying up with Google and integrating with Google Gadgets. Google Gadgets is comprised of mini-applications that interact with the Google homepage, Google Desktop, or any page on the Web ranging from simple HTML to complex applications. Specifically, the new features of JBoss Portal 2.6 include: * Advanced Personalization: Users can now "have it their way" with the ability to customize individual portlets, including themes, layouts, and portlet content. Users can also decide for themselves how they want to interact with a given portlet (something JBoss calls "user created user interfaces") along with utilizing drag-and-drop portlets and personalized dashboards. * Usability Improvements: Everyone's favorite user interface buzzword makes an appearance. Usability has allegedly been improved for not only portal and user administration, but also for content management.

Portlets can be managed individually or as a group. User creation and administration has been simplified and now includes a user search. Lastly, basic content management includes action-based management within the familiar directory paradigm.

* Content Management System (CMS) Workflow: JBoss Portal 2.6 utilizes JBoss jBPM to provide content management approval workflow in a configurable process that enables or disables the role-based approval capability. * Additional Web Services for Remote Portlets (WSRP) Support: Expanded functionality, beyond the basic producer and consumer profiles, is available. This adds implicit cloning capability to both the producer and consumer, as well as support for advanced WSRP profiles. * Identity: Pre-built LDAP integration is available with support for servers that include: Red Hat Directory Server (no surprise there), OpenDS, and OpenLDAP. * Google Gadget Integration: JBoss Portal 2.6 provides the ability for developers to drop any Google Gadget in as a portlet. Existing examples that can be used include calendars, a weather globe, or a media player. With the rising popularity of Google Gadgets, not to mention the consistent growth of enterprise class open source software, JBoss Portal 2.6 stands to make an impression in a market that has previously been dominated by the likes of BEA, IBM, and Microsoft. For more information, please visit the JBoss Portal website. Is your organization currently using JBoss Portal or looking to implement a portal solution? If so, jump down to the bottom of this page and let us know what you think.