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.

• 0 Comments

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!

• 0 Comments

The latest version of WordPress Version 2.3.3 has now been released and it is billed as an urgent security release. It seems a flaw has been discovered in the XML-RPC implementation if you have user registration enabled on your blog. The flaw basically allows a registered user to employ a specially crafted request in order to allow them to edit posts on your blog.

Also, this new Version 2.3.3 release fixes a few minor bugs. There are a couple of options if you want to avoid this latest security threat to your blog. Firstly, if you are only interested only in the security fix you can download the fixed version of xmlrpc.php and copy it over your existing xmlrpc.php, or secondly, you can get the new Wordpress 2.3.3 version here and overwrite your existing installation files directly.

So, this could be a good time to update your own Wordpress installation!

• 0 Comments

A new version of WordPress has just been released and it features a major security fix and some other new features. The latest WordPress 2.3.2 version fixes a bug that could be used to expose draft posts and information leaks in the XML-RPC and APP implementations. It is recommecded to update to 2.3.2 to protect your blog from these disclosures.

Also in the latest WordPress 2.3.2 version, you can now define a custom DB error page. You simply place your custom template at wp-content/db-error.php. So now, if WordPress ever has a problem connecting to the database, this page will displayed rather than the default error message. Very handy!

To download the very latest WordPress 2.3.2 version you can visit the WordPress download page. It is a recommended upgrade and from what I have heard online so far, it seems to upgrade very fast. I’ll definitely be upgrading to this latest version.

• 0 Comments

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.

• 0 Comments

The new WordPress 2.3 will be released in a few short days and it will have loads of new features that will surely make you want to upgrade right away. Some of the new features will include automatic plugin updates as well as the long awaited built-in support for Tags.

Matt, over at the Wordpress Development Blog, has just released some ideas that will help you prepare for this major new release of Wordpress 2.3. The following is a small list of some of the things you can do to help prepare for the big upgrade on Monday;

• Back up your blog. Check out the Codex page with a few different methods.
• Check for the latest versions of your plugins. Here’s a list of known compatible and incompatible plugins with 2.3, Google Sitemaps seems to be one causing a lot of issues. (Forum thread)
• Enjoy the last time you have to check for plugin updates manually as Wordpress 2.3 will do it automagically behind the scenes.
• Read up on how to modify your theme to add tag support.
• Consider switching your install to use Subversion to make updating ultra-easy.
• Make a list of your friends who are less computer literate so you can help them upgrade. Maybe throw an upgrade party?

Have Fun!

• 2 Comments

Wordpress 2.2.2 has now been released to everybody via the Wordpress download page. This latest 2.2.2 release, once again, is mainly security related and therefore it is a recommended update.

If you are going to update your blog there should not be any issues with this release as it only includes security and minor bug-fixes that should not cause any plugin or theme compatibility issues. So, if you have the few minutes it takes to update your blog, this would be well worth doing.

To download the latest Wordpress 2.2.2 please visit the Wordpress download page.

• 0 Comments

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!

• 0 Comments

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.

• 0 Comments

The developers of WordPress have just released a new WordPress Plugin Directory where you can download all the plugins that have been submitted to the development plugin site wp-plugins.org, all from one place!

This new extend section of Wordpress.org features a complete Plugins Directory where you can browse, download, rate and comment on all of your favorite plugins. The home page has a

• Featured Plugin section,
• Most Popular Plugin section,
• Newest Plugins section and also a
• Recently Added plugins section.

There is also a very cool Most Popular Tags section which shows the top plugins per section (tag) at this very moment. These tags are very revealing as it clearly illustrates the popularity of Skype and of the social networking aspect of Wordpress blogging. Some of the current Popular Tags include; skype plugins, sociable plugins, digg buttons and interestingly, mobilerss plugins.

I highly recommend that you check out the WordPress Plugin Directory.

• 2 Comments