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!

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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.

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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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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.

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A new version of Wordpress has been released within the last couple of hours. It seems that the previous 2.1.1 version was hacked within the past 3-4 days, and because of that, the entire 2.1.1 version has been deemed dangerous. It’s highly recommended that anyone running 2.1.1, or if you know someone who is, should upgrade to the latest WordPress 2.1.2 version, as soon as possible.

The latest Wordpress 2.1.2 Version is now available for download on the official WordPress download page.

To find out what happened and why this is a very important release, visit the WordPress Development blog.

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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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It has just been announced on the Wordpress Blog
that a new version WordPress 2.0.6 has just been released which includes some important security fixes and the Wordpress team are recommending that everyone should upgrade if they can.

WordPress 2.0.6 is the latest stable release in the 2.0 line which the Wordpress team are committed to maintaining for several more years to come. It looks like it will probably be the last release before the long awaited Wordpress 2.1 version is out, which will be the first major feature release in quite a while.

Here’s what’s new in the latest WordPress 2.0.6 release:

• Several security fixes.
• HTML quicktags now work in Apple’s Safari browser.
• Comments are filtered to prevent them from messing up your blog layout.
• Compatibility with PHP/FastCGI setups.

You can download the latest version of WordPress here.

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A new book called the WordPress 2 Visual QuickStart Guide has been released. It features an easy to follow, step-by-step guide which shows you how to install, use and customize WordPress in order to get the most from your blog. It also includes tips that explain why certain techniques work better than others, how to avoid potential problems when blogging and lots more tips.

If you are fairly new to the world of blogging and would like a solid introduction to using Wordpress, this book will serve you well. The more experienced web developers will not find it as useful as it doesn’t cover the deep technical aspects of what makes Wordpress tick. However, if you have even a modest amount of web design experience, the WordPress 2 Visual QuickStart Guide book is a great way to get into blogging straight away.

Wordpress is simply the best blogging platform around at the moment and of course it is free to download from Wordpress.org. So, if you want to get started blogging and need a solid introduction to installing, using and customizing Wordpress, check out the WordPress 2 - Visual QuickStart Guide.

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