Matt of Wordpress.org has just announced that Version 2.6 of WordPress is now available for download, almost a month ahead schedule. Version 2.6, codenamed “Tyner” (named for jazz pianist McCoy Tyner), contains a number of new features that make WordPress a more powerful Content Management System (CMS).

With 2.6 you can now track changes to every post and page and easily post from wherever you are on the web, plus there are lots of other improvements to the features introduced in the previous version 2.5. To see all the new features visit Matt’s post on WordPress.org’s Development Blog.

You can download this new 2.6 version of WordPress from the Wordpress.org download site.

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WordPress 2.5 is going to be officially released very soon and Matt of the WordPress Development blog has published a WordPress 2.5 Sneak-Peak that highlights some new features and changes in the new version.

Wordpress 2.5 will include a customizable dashboard, multi-file upload facility, built-in photo galleries, one-click plug-in upgrades, tag management, built-in Gravatars, fulltext feeds, faster load times and lots more.

A quick sample of what is in store for you is shown below;

Matt and the ‘Happy Cog‘ team have been working on this for several months with the aim of re-designing WordPress from the ground-up. The result is brand new 2.5 version and a new way of interacting with WordPress that should be familiar to regular users and also improving the overall Wordpress experience for everyone.

Matt says;

“We’ve re-thought the look of WordPress, as well as how it’s organized so that you can forget about the software and focus on your own creative pursuits.”

You can catch Matt’s full post on the WordPress Development Blog - 2.5 Sneak Peak. You can even download the first release canditate from the link above and try it out for yourself. I know I will!

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WordPress 2.3.1 has just been released and is now available for download. Version 2.3.1 is a bug-fix and security release for the 2.3 series after a few security issues were discovered with the latest v2.3 major release.

Over twenty bugs were fixed in 2.3.1. Some of the highlights include; a login bug-fix, faster database queries and link importer fixes. As this is mainly a security bug-fix release, it is recommended to upgrade to 2.3.1 as soon as possible.

Download

Wordpress 2.3.1 can be downloaded here.

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The latest version of WordPress 2.2 has just been released and is now available for download here. This version includes a number of new features, most notably Widgets integration and over two hundred bug fixes.

Latest Wordpress 2.2 Features

• WordPress Widgets allow you to easily rearrange and customize areas of your blog sidebars with drag-and-drop simplicity. This functionality was originally available as a plugin by Automattic.com but now Widgets are included by default in the core Wordpress code.
• A new Blogger Importer that is able to handle the latest version of Google’s Blogger product and seamlessly import posts and comments without any user interaction.
• Infinite comment stream, meaning that on your Edit Comments page when you delete or spam a comment using the AJAX links under each comment it will bring in another comment in the background so you always have 20 items on the page. (sounds geeky, but try it!)
• Wordpress 2.2 now protects you from activating a plugin or editing a file that will break your blog.
• Speed Optimization should make Wordpress feel a bit more snappy and lighter on your server.

There has also been dozens of User Interface and Accessibility improvements, ranging from more concise wording around options and links to things like a view and preview link above the content box when you are editing a post or page.

Download

The latest Wordpress 2.2 can be downloaded here. Have fun!

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The latest stable release of WordPress Version 2.1.3 is now available for download. This release include fixes for several minor XSS issues and one major XML-RPC issue. The Wordpress development team has taken dozens of precautions with their servers and systems since the problems with the 2.1.1 release version being hacked. This new version includes a full sweep of the WordPress codebase to protect against such future problems.

To download the latest Wordpress 2.1.3 Version please visit the Wordpress Download Page.

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A new version of the WordPress Database Backup Plugin has been released. This V2 Version works great in conjuction with the latest WordPress 2.1 version and gives you the ability to schedule automatic backups of your WordPress database either hourly, daily, or weekly and also with the ability to have the DB backup file emailed to an email address of your choice, automatically!

Once installed there are several new options under the Manage/Backup menu in your Wordpress admin panel. The top section of the Backup screen is for doing immediate backups while the bottom section is for scheduling automatic backups. The created backup will be in the form of a SQL script file that contains all the data of your blog as well as the proper commands to restore it. To restore the data you will need to execute the SQL on your MySQL database, using PHPMyAdmin, which will recreate the tables and repopulate the data into the proper fields.

The new automatic backup feature makes this a must-have plugin to have on your blog. Check it out.

Download: WordPress Database Backup Plugin

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Wordpress 2.1 is now officially released and features a lot more under the hood than even I had realized. This Wordpress version is a real milestone in the blogging world as it has a lot of features directly requested by the users on their Ideas Board. The developers go on to say that we are likely to see a lot more frequent Wordpress releases in the future, with the next major update scheduled for April 23rd!

Here is a feature list of what’s new in the latest 2.1 version of Wordpress:

• New Akismet plugin is bundled. This is the latest V1.2.1 Askimet anti-spam plugin which is necessary in combating blog spam today. It now features an option to automatically discard spam comments on posts older than a month. Great Plugin.
• Autosaving of Posts when writing makes sure you never lose a post again. Very handy.
• Tabbed editor allows you to switch between WYSIWYG mode and code editing mode instantly while writing a post. The visual editor also now includes spell checking.
• Lossless XML import and export will make it easy to move your content between WordPress blogs.
• Search Engine privacy option allows you to indicate whether your blog should or shouldn’t ping or be indexed by search engines.
• Any Page can be set to be the front page of your site. This makes it much easier to use WordPress as a content management system. This is a great feature.
• More efficient database code.
• Links in the blogroll now support sub-categories.
• Redesigned login screen.
• Pages can now be drafts, or private.
• Admin Area loads faster.
• The upload manager lets you easily manage all your uploads pictures, video, and audio.
• and much more. Visit the Wordpress 2.1 Released page for full details.

Download

To download the latest Wordpress 2.1 Version, visit; Wordpress.org Download

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I just came across the news on Dan Masters blog that the final version of WordPress 2.1 is due to be released today. I have been testing out the latest Release Canidate (RC1) version from boren.nu’s blog recently and I have to say I’m very pleased with it.

The new admin area looks similar, visually, as the default Wordpress 2.0 style but it has been upgraded in several ways. On the whole the new changes make this new version feel a lot more modern and more zen-like, which is good.

There are also some extra features built-in to this new 2.1 version, such as the ability to create static front pages which really helps WordPress to be used as a fully fledged CMS more easily. This new Wordpress 2.1 version is set to definitely be the best version of WordPress, so far. I’m looking forward to the official release of Wordpress 2.1, today hopefully.

To download the latest Wordpress version, visit; Wordpress Download

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Google has recently announced that the Google Blog Search Pinging Service is now accepting pings from blogs. So, if you want to ensure your latest posts appear in Google’s Blog Search you will want to ping them everytime you make a new post.

There are two ways you can do this.

Manual Ping

The manual method of pinging Google is to simply go to http://blogsearch.google.com/ping and enter your blogs URL everytime your blog is updated. This is the straight forward method but many will prefer the Automatic Ping method listed below.

Automatic Ping

If you want Wordpress to automatically ping Google everytime you update your blog, then you will need to add http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2 to your Update Services box in your Wordpress admin area. This is found in the options/writing section of the admin area and by default Pingomatic (http://rpc.pingomatic.com) will already be in the text box.

While Pingomatic already pings a number of services for you, by adding Google’s ping url to the Update Services list you are sure to increase your blogs exposure on the net. For more information on ping lists and a comprehensive list of update services see the Wordpress Compressed All Inclusive Ping List.

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