In the last round, we saw WordPress eliminate Google’s Blogger, but in this article we put pMachine up against Movable Type. Each has proven itself as a capable blogging tool, but who will be eliminated this round?

Movable Type
Lockergnome’s (and many others’) favorite blogging tool has given us plenty of things to look at. Movable Type is a server-based blogging software that is written in Perl and associated with MySQL - mostly described as a “powerful, customizable, and easy to manage and update Web logs tool.”

As far as installation goes, it can be a hassle if the server doesn’t have the correct Perl libraries pre-installed, but the documentation is a very useful guide to help you with this. The installation is lengthy but easy.

The thing that makes MT different is that it has a very smart engine. It rebuilds your content and converts it into an HTML document, including your template. Another great thing is that the MT templates can include any PHP, ASP, and JSP tags.

For permissions, there are two types of users: publishers and comment authors. Comment authors are capable of simply having their own Web logs while publishers are capable of utilizing a greater number of features. Along with MT, there is a list of subscribers to an e-mail notification list. The MT template is very straightforward, making it user-friendly and easy to work with. It usually uses MT tags to keep you on track. When starting up a new Web log, it provides you with a basic MT template, giving you the general tags.

When posting, MT is like any other blogging software. It sticks with the Web standards, and it allows you to upload files. When uploading an image, it may generate a thumbnail for you. A feature I like is how you can set up a postdate in case you want it to post it at a certain time in the future. MT offers limited spam protection. The system can be configured, manually, to block certain IP addresses.

The downside of Movable Type is that you must purchase a license for a supported version of the software. There is a Limited Free Version, but you’re limited to one author and three weblogs.

My Rating: 8/10

pMachine
When testing pMachine I found it just like the standard Web log tool. No unique features interested me much, though installation was a breeze and the tool is straightforward.

In my opinion, pMachine was made for people who are in need of a basic Web log. The interesting thing I found with pMachine is the calendar. It has an event calendar and just a blogging calendar just to organize your dates. Another feature is private posts to certain users. Other than that, pMachine is basic, and very straightforward for the standard blogger.

My Rating: 5.5/10

Movable Type advances along with WordPress. Up next week is Textpattern vs. Greymatter. Both being great tools, but the real question is: Who will advance? You be the judge.