In this installment of Chicago Style DNN for March, we learn about the latest version of the DNN Platform as well as new releases of core modules. (Did you see that DNN Store was updated just the other day?). Honorary Chicagoan James Nagy calls in from California to tell us what's going on at DNN Corp and in the community.
But a big new feature in DNN 7.4 is the Workflow API that's good news for larger organizations once module developers start using it to build workflow approval processes into their modules. Our own Chicago MVP Scott Wilkinson walks us through it in our tech talk tonight,
Introductions
It's almost Spring in Chicago, but don't let the pretty picture fool you; mostly the city looks dirty from the residue that was mixed in with the snow which is now all but gone. That's why we have April showers - we need a good hosing-down :-)! First off, before getting into the meat of the meeting, I start by thanking sponsors as always..
Of course those sponsors should also be thanked in print where Google can more readily spot them, so:
Managed.com - hosts this website for us for free. Thanks Tony and the fine staff he's gathered. Sprocket Websites hosts nearly all its clients with them. They're great! Tremendous up-time, knowledgeable support, and fast response to questions make them the go-to folks for DNN hosting.
J&S Tech Designs - when Jim's not building websites with me at Sprocket, he's doing technical software consulting, and his company graciously supplies the GOTOMEETING software system so we can have our meetings virtually.
Infragistics - a new sponsor to our group, these folks are into application development. In fact, we have a few of their development system licenses to give out in a drawing. Send an email to don or jim @Sprocketwebsites.com or fill in this site's contact form and we'll let you know.
DNN News
Jim Nagy from Sprocket Websites shared some DNN going's on.
Jim alerted us to the release of DNN 7.4 last month, but reviewed some of the new features, and also scanned through all the core modules to see what's been updated since our last broadcast. Looks like the DNN Store has been updated, so if you need a bit of e-commerce on your website, take a look at the open source offering from the DNN community. It may be just what you need, but if you need more, or something specific, visit the DNN store for shopping systems. There are a number of very good ones there at reasonable prices.
On the community front, Jim goes through our numbers. While we're mostly flat on membership, we saw a big boost in Twitter followers which is great to see.
Of course, Jim talks about our sponsors and mentions the infragistics contest. Simply email us and we'll get you in there.
Tech Talk: DNN Workflow API
We turned over the mic and screen to Chicago's only DNN MVP, Scott Wilkinson, who is a regular contributor to these videos and who makes videos for DNN Hero, one of the tutorial sites for learning all about the technology.
Scott is in the process of releasing a new video to DNN Hero about the new Workflow API available beginning in DNN v7.4 and he gives us a sneak peek at it here.
Scott does the development videos at DNN Hero and he'll be releasing a new video on this very topic soon. We'll post a link to the video when it becomes available, but meanwhile you should subscribe to DNN Hero since there's a wealth of video tutorials out there for all your DNN needs. Check it out.
See you all next month! Of course, until then, why not comment on what we posted here and start a conversation? We'd love to hear from you.