Install is sweet, and works remotely for headless installs. Full webserver middleware stack (Apache, nusphere MySQL, Perl and PHP) installs on Linux and windoze, even on virgen systems. If you’ve ever tried to get bugzilla up under windoze, you’ll like this: it comes with a multi-platform bugzilla for free.

Some dba tools in the bundle, some apache stuff, but I haven’t tried it. For me, its the database stupid.

Nice support but telephone is extra, you have to use email.
Rating: 5 / 5

This was perfect for a beginner like me. Perl, apache, php and mysql work right from the start. This setup is perfect for learning Web Development and administration. I’ve wanted to learn Apache and php for a while, and NuSphere definitely kicks you right into it. The nice thing is you don’t even need to be connected to the net to start learning. This package comes with pocket reference guides to Perl, apache, and php. Plus the big book on MySQL.

A good knowledge of Linux/Unix and command lines well is needed.
Rating: 5 / 5

I’m a veteran internet programmer, but finally bought it for two reasons: I needed an easy way to get my customers up and running quickly, on a common webserver platform, and I wanted versions of the tools running under Windows as well as Linux.

This package turned out to be a lifesaver. It comes with lots of features, including out-of-the-box, easy to install and use, Apache, Perl, PHP and MySQL, all configured correctly, and working on multiple platforms. I found the integrated phpmyadmin utility a great way to manage my MySQL databases.

Best feature: remote install, so I can install it on a headless machine at my ISP.
Rating: 5 / 5

I recently switched to Linux for my website development, and was happy to see that it worked just as well. All the same tools, fast one-click install, although the user interface was easier under Windows.

Very good organization of the files, too, making for easy backups.

Last month I purchased NuSphere PHPed, and it works very well with the NuSphere MySQL, but is more for professional developers.
Rating: 5 / 5

When Cold Fusion first appeared, it was something of a revelation for Web developers like me. Back in the Dark Ages of the Web, I hacked Perl scripts to access flat file databases for numerous e-commerce and other applications. I like Perl, but it wasn’t always a great way of doing things, and there were always issues around performance and flexibility.

I came across Cold Fusion in 1997, and to put it simply, things got a lot easier. After learning a bit of SQL and database design in MS Access, I could build some interesting things. And I think that has been the experience of a lot of developers, most of whom I know are more comfortable with code than I am. CF is a called a rapid application development environment, and is one product that has always lived up to the term.

However, my feeling today is that CF may have been superseded by other platforms, specifically Java Server Pages (JSP) and, to an even greater extent, PHP, with its incredible ease of use, flexibility, portability. Cold Fusion hasn’t become less of a product, but its time may have passed.
Rating: 4 / 5