At the last meetup Dan Harkey discussed and demonstrated the following applications.
Fabrik
Fabrik is the open source Joomla application builder component. Fabrik gives you the power to create forms and tables that run inside Joomla. We demonstrated how to create a spread sheet with calculations and a form to collect the information.There is a learning curve for the more advance features, but for simple forms you can be up and running in no time.Currently available for Joomla 15 and they are working on Joomla 16. http://fabrikar.com
Image mapping using Gimp
Joomla has an extension called "htmlmap" for Joomla 15 and as an alternative for Joomla 16 we demonstrated how to do an Image Map using Gimp. An image map is a graphic that contains hotspots that link to URLs. They are used as a means to give a web designer greater design flexibility in that they can insert links almost in any place they desire. A good tutorial can be found here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-image-map-gimp Alternative to Jsecure- adding a layer of security
For those of you that use jsecure, who now has gone commercial, we demonstrated an alternative called "adminexile". Like jsecure, but without all the features of Jsecure, adminexile will add an access key to the end of the URL which will redirect wrong entries to the homepage or any other page without ever seeing the administrator login panel. http://www.richeyweb.com/development/joomla-plugins/71-adminexile-for-joomla-16
KoolMoves
KoolMoves is a program for creating web animations, using tools to work with Flash and animated GIF files. The program can apply different effects to text, import vector graphics, add audio, carry out a gradient fill to create a curve, assign different action buttons and images. This program is very simple to operate, even without the ability to work with Flash, you can create excellent videos that can be used as banners, creating a multimedia slide show, creating a system of navigation through the site and much more. At a cost of $49 for all the features, the program is well worth it. http://www.koolmoves.com
If you have any questions, please post them on the meetup discussion board.