New to OSCMax 2.0 - looking for a fair comparison

**djgizmo** · 10-19-2006, 01:15 PM

Ok, a while back I was considering OscMax vs Creloaded and 2 years ago creloaded seemed like a better idea at the time.

Someone brought it to my attention I should check out oscmax 2.0 and switch over.

Can anyone give me a comparison what Oscmax 2.0 has that creloaded doesn't? Thinking about making the switch.

**clauska** · 10-19-2006, 02:02 PM

well if you download the package the is a file where all the modules are listed take this a compare it with creloaded.

The first thing that comes to my head, is that it is alot quicker to customize oscmax then creloaded. I would not think for 2 seconds about the switch.

**djgizmo** · 10-19-2006, 02:24 PM

Yea, I downloaded it, seems to have a few more modules. Anyone have a demo admin panel i could checkout? (i'll be at work for a lil bit more, can't access my ftp server)

What about speed?
What about support?
Thanks again!

**michael_s** · 10-19-2006, 05:37 PM

Speed - very fast as it has Chemo's page cache installed as well as seo urls / cache. It really reduces the queries per page.

Support - It is free open source so you need to either hook up with a hosting company that supports it or learn to use the search box here...

**djgizmo** · 10-20-2006, 11:34 AM

I have my own dedicated server in a data center (nothing big, but its all mine) so hosting ok. but support has been a big thing over at OSC, (but i ditched them as one of the moderators took money for a job and never did any of the work)

Yes, the search box works, but not always. Sometimes their are errors that just aren't search able or easily described. side note, The forums seems cramped being in the middle of the page of the site vs being a seperate site / page.

I'll install OSCmax2 tonight and see how it works. If you say it includes Chemos code (URLS and Cache) then it has to be decent. To bad no one has been able to recruit him for either of the projects.

**cabana** · 10-20-2006, 03:31 PM

I will say this. We have one old CRE Loaded store and for some reason when ever our server gets hacked they always get it though the cre site. Most recently it has been the images directory. About a year ago I was in your shoes and I will say I am so happy I went with OSCMAX. Michael Sasek along with the rest of the community is great when it comes to providing help. OSCMAX is still a slightly smaller community so sometimes posts may take a few extra days for response but the quality is there. I am so thankful I didn't go with CRE.

**djgizmo** · 10-24-2006, 03:26 PM

Ok, installed OSCMAX2.0 and heres my review of it. (This is ONLY my personal opinion, it is not fact)

Pros: Fast. Caching seems to work nicely. Several modules (that are not in Creloaded 6.2) I believe should be built into OSC / any fork core such as:

New Attribute Manager v4b
Define Static Content Pages + admin controls(Conditions, Privacy, Shipping)
WYSIWYG FCKeditor 2.0fc osCMax (supports IE, Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape)
Recover Cart Sales 1.4f
Customer Loyalty Discount v1.3
Batch Print Center v3
Quantity Tracking Pro v4.2
Infobox Admin v2.2.1

Was easy to install. Was setup and running on basic setup within 10 min. No Ads at the bottom of the table. Simple fast admin kept pages loading quickly.

Cons: Chemos SEO urls do not work out of the box. No instructions to check the htaccess file Good thing I did. Newer BTS template is lacking. Not easily to switch and test between different templates. Dynamic Mo Pics 3.0 isn't a great addition to OSCMax. No GD Auto Thumbnailer. Missing several features which I appriciate from CRE. (Attribute_Sorter_Copier, Information Pages Unlimited, All Products by Manufacturer, Froogle Data Feeder, Ultra Pics)
Also seemed every other page load that the upper left rounded corner of the default template seemed not to load (just that one pic) All others seemed fine. Both Chemos and the MS2 page cache seemed to conflict with each other. Thumbnails on test produtcts did not pop up when clicking on the item. (might be user error on my part)

Support forums feel to cramped (all the other forks / osc has a full screen forums) and community is on the smaller side. (Compared to Zen & CRE)

My Opinion. Include specific instructions on how to setup the SEO Urls BEFORE going into the admin side, (Important to ANY serious store admin), Update the pictures contribs, include a better set of default templates, and you have a solid competitor.

Sorry guys, I don't think I could justify re-implimenting contribs that CRE has installed by default due to the functionality of my site. But I'll come back in 6 months and see if I change my mind.