WordPress 2.6 released… a month ahead of schedule

 

WordPress Logo Peel Those guys at WordPress are really at it!! They’ve been churning out code like crazy :D As a result, the all new WordPress 2.6 has been officially released - a month ahead of schedule!

Here’s a quick rundown of the latest features…

  • Post revisions - WordPress 2.6 features Wiki-like tracking of edits, in effect acting like a version control system. This comes in real handy in case you want to nullify any mistakes and go back to a prior version of the post.
  • Press This! bookmarklet - Inspired by the quick-bookmarking buttons that are a part and parcel of almost all social media / network sites, this new bookmarklet lets you embed blog posts, YouTube videos, Flickr images etc. into your blog post at the click of a button.
  • Google Gears Support - WordPress 2.6 now takes advantage of the Google Gears pack to give you that ounce of extra juice that really speeds up your copy of WordPress while using the admin interface (by caching all CSS and JavaScript files locally). More on this to come in future versions…
  • Live Theme Previews - Earlier on you were required to activate a theme before you could see it in action on your site. Not so anymore. You can preview the theme live, without activating it and letting the world see it concurrently.

Among the lesser (smaller) improvements are…

  • Word count! Never guess how many words are in your post anymore.
  • Image captions, so you can add sweet captions like Political Ticker does under your images.
  • Bulk management of plugins.
  • A completely revamped image control to allow for easier inserting, floating, and resizing. It’s now fully integrated with the WYSIWYG.
  • Drag-and-drop reordering of Galleries.
  • Plugin update notification bubble.
  • Customizable default avatars.
  • You can now upload media when in full-screen mode.
  • Remote publishing via XML-RPC and APP is now secure (off) by default, but you can turn it on easily through the options screen.
  • Full SSL support in the core, and the ability to force SSL for security.
  • You can now have many thousands of pages or categories with no interface issues.
  • Ability to move your wp-config file and wp-content directories to a custom location, for ‘clean’ SVN checkouts.
  • Select a range of checkboxes with ’shift-click.’
  • You can toggle between the Flash uploader and the classic one.
  • A number of proactive security enhancements, including cookies and database interactions.
  • Stronger better faster versions of TinyMCE, jQuery, and jQuery UI.

Here’s a brief video on the same…

Whew! That’s quite a list. I’m headed for the download page rightaway. I need to try it out, NOW! How about you?


When Defensio fails…

 

Following my review of Defensio, Michael Hampton (of Bad Behavior fame) left a comment on the same post assuring that Bad Behavior would run just fine along side Defensio without causing any sort of hiccups for the latter. My thoughts exactly - since Defensio operates more or less on the same principles as that of  Akismet, whereas Bad Behavior’s modus …

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Quick Tip: curreX version 0.9 released (with Flash Widget support)

 

Another quick announcement. I just released another version (0.9) of curreX - the Ajax based Currency Converter widget for WordPress.
Starting from this version, curreX also includes a Flash based widget and provides you with the option of selecting between the HTML/JavaScript version and it’s Flash counterpart from the widget configuration panel of WordPress.
A quick preview of the flash widget can …

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Quick Tip: curreX v0.8 released

 

Here’s a quick tip for those who have been plagued with problems while using curreX v0.7 (the Ajax based Currency Converter Widget for WordPress). I’ve released a new version v0.8 yesterday, fixing most of those issues.
Please grab a copy from here or the WordPress plug-in repository and update your installation to fix all the earlier problems.
If you run into any …

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Decided to give Defensio Anti-Spam a shot… over Akismet

 

Right since the beginning of my blogging career, I’ve been using Akismet in conjuction with Bad Behavior to weed out spam from my blog. Akismet is as a natural choice since it comes parcelled with WordPress installations. As for Bad Behavior, I decided to use it after reading …

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Hurry… Get a Free Membership at a Premium WordPress Themes Club

 

BlogAdda - an Indian blog showcase (directory) is giving away 100 free memberships to the Premium WordPress Themes Club of WPDesigner.
Normally, a one year membership of the club costs you $5, for which you get access to 12 premium themes (1 every month). As long as the offer from BlogAdda stands, you can get this for free. No sign-ups with …

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Chaotica: New theme for Chaos Laboratory

 

Finally got around to doing something that has been pending for ages… i.e. give the site it’s own look & feel.
There are plenty of good WordPress themes around - but almost all are overused. I needed something fresh and unique (if possible). I had contacted a few designers but their starting prices ranged $300 to $400 - something that I …

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Been busy designing a new theme for Chaos Laboratory

 

A quick note to everyone… I’m coming up with a leaner and meaner theme for Chaos Laboratory. I’m almost done. Should be able to unleash it in a day …or two, at the most. Learnt a hell lot in the process - both CSS and WordPress Theme design wise - not to mention, bending some popular plug-ins to work the …

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