[Bricks-devel] Bricks in Lala-land.

[Peter M. <pe...@pm...>]

Pascal Fleury asked me to type up my ideas on where I see Bricks Site 
Builder heading.  The following is a rough outline, completely subject to 
change, of what I think Bricks Site Builder could someday do.  I have no 
intention of writing all this stuff myself, or asking others to write 
it.  But, if you're looking for something cool to do, you might find it below.

-Peter

core:

   user administration (with hooks to add address books and other data to a 
user acct)
   system configuration (control panel)
   internationalization/localization (i18n/l8n)
   staging/release
   packing/unpacking part of a site for off-line editing, or as a partial 
backup
   backup/restore - like pack/unpack but for whole site.
   output caching (speed, speed, speed!)
   file-locking so that multiple people can simultaneously edit
   scalability
   logging and log analysis
   search engine
   w3 accessibility initiative (for handicapped people).
   slick java application that turns a users web-browser into a page editor.

Here are a list of packages (packages might contain a number of bricks as 
well as external software) that would be based around the idea of providing 
a portal that users can customize:

webfolders:

   webfolders so users can upload/download files
   cvs
   backup manager for webfolders

personalpages:

   allows users to interactively edit parts of the site on their own
   weblogs, photoablums go here
   styles, pre-built pages that can be customized
   bricks from other packages could be installed into user pages (e.g. 
infoslurp/webmail)

infoslurp:

   moreover.com discussion forum integration
   factiva
   newsedge
   stock quotes/markets
   news
   web-crawler to search daily/hourly/weekly for certain information
   site monitor (when was such-and-such site last updated)
   integration into a mapping database (maps.yahoo.com)
   shopping slurper (go to a bunch of sites and find me prices for a given 
good)

webmail:

   web-based e-mail client (hotmail, yahoo-mail, etc.)
   pop-mail support so users can access accts on other systems
   address book integration
   ability to export e-mail messages to a file

Moving away from a user portal to providing services:

webpublish:

   article submit -> staff editor for review -> publish mechanism
   discussion forums
   banner ad support
   hooks to plastic

computer-aided instruction (CAI):

   Should give teachers the ability to provide courses over the 
web.  Testing and evaluation, where wrong answers potentially tell students 
to reread such-and-such a chapter ot take those students to an on-line 
lesson.  Something flexible, something cool.

e-commerce:
   storefront
   auctions
   ability to sell bottled cat spit
   lots and lots of other e-commerce related stuff here

biztools:

   calendars
   scheduling
   address book integration
   problem tracking
   project tracking
   bug reporting (service requests)
   expense reports
   sales orders
   service orders
   recruiting / on-line resumes


web-games:
   web Galactic Conquest
   card games
   star trader

misc:

   polls of user (what's your favorite stinky vegetable?)
   message boards
   chat
   X10 controllers (press this button to turn off the lights in your house)