Xibo is an open source digital signage software platform that has been around since 2004 and the latest version (1.4.0) has just been released. Xibo offers many of the features commonly found in commercial products but setting up the software requires some technical expertise. People familiar with web technologies (PHP/MySQL) should feel quite at ease with this product. Non-technical users can rely on a growing user community that maintains an online support archive. The product is also supported by a commercial hosting partner so it's possible to get a hosted server set up without too much fuss.
Since Xibo Server is built on a web platform, you can run it on Windows, Mac or Linux. The client requires Windows 200, XP, Vista or Windows 7. No word on when Windows 8 might be supported.
The software supports most common multimedia file formats including Flash SWF and PowerPoint. Note you will need a full copy of PowerPoint installed on the client PC to play back this type of media. The Xibo website also features a "layout exchange" which is essentially a library of user generated layout background images.
One of the benefits of open source projects is the level of information that is made accessible to users. For example, software bugs and feature development is openly discussed and posted on the project's launchpad forum. Rarely will you see this level of transparence with commercial applications and for a good reason.
So who should take the plunge? Anyone with access to the right technical resources or who is working under tight budgets. I am sure many schools and colleges are running this product. There are probably a few corporate networks out there as well and I'm sure it's working out fine for them. I am not sure I would run a large commercial network on it but with the economy's current state, I wouldn't be surprised to hear someone has tried.
The Xibo website claims there have been 12,245 installs since the product was launched with 1,837 currently active. It's a far cry from many commercial software installations but it's comforting to know the product has an active user base.
It will be interesting to see how the product evolves in the next few years.
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