non-techie? Hello,
I recently saw someone use some system to edit a website using a "content management system". Basically, they logged in to an admin page and were able to type into a nice box or upload pictures to change the webiste.
I am making a site for a friend and would like to make it as easy as possible for them to make edits. What exactly was that person using? Are there any well known and simple solutions to accomplish this?

Thanks.
Any open source solutions?

Yes, there are a few solution to do what you are trying to do.

Joomla http://www.joomla.org
Mambo http://www.mamboserver.org

You can find simple or complicated CMS, but if you're new to this field, you can use simple CMS with low cost. Here I add some good & cheap CMSs

www.camelback.net