I saw the announcements for the full release of WordPress 2.7 early, but didn’t get to check it out until a few minutes ago. The update kills some bugs, but also totally AJAXes the admin screen, adding a lot of flexibility and control, and updates the whole experience. I’m really excited with it so far. Check out the video that got me grabbing at my nearest shell session to get the update installed. If you have been blogging for a while with WP, you need this update. It’s the slickest 5-minute upgrade in WP’s fine history!
seamless again
The upgrade process for WordPress has again gone incredibly seamlessly. I tend to be a little bit meticulous about getting the files updated correctly before squeezing the trigger, and maybe even too meticulous with it, but for at least five updates now, it has been solid. One of those updates was a major version, too!
Another seamless upgrade
I did another upgrade of WordPress without a hitch the other night. I was talking on the phone with my aunt at the time. I often hear tales of woe when people talk about doing the upgrades. I think the issues that they run into must have something to do with the plugins. Some sites, like a certain one that will go unmentioned in this particular post, have loads and loads of plugins, so a core upgrade can turn into a true nightmare of dependencies. There was one major update (maybe a year ago now) where WP added features that used to be handled by the most popular plugins. How often do you review the plugins you have installed? Are any past their prime? I currently have three that I don’t really use at all anymore, and maybe 6 or 7 beyond that.
Stepping Up
I was putting off the 2.5 upgrade for WordPress for a few days, then I saw a list of the security issues it solved, and figured that I may as well go ahead with it. The upgrade was smooth and clean, as usual, and the look-and-feel changes in the admin area are going to need a few days.
The docs page at WP says that the admin area is totally widgetized, so I may be able to tweak the placement of things to an extent. The important thing is that the upgrade was minimally invasive, quick and relatively painless. All of my plugins seem to be working without a hitch, and I think that the load time of my homepage may have dropped by a couple of seconds, too. Bonus!
mired in mediocrity
I was reading about Mrs. Sparrow’s woes in finding out that she’s “only” a B-list blogebrity…. Whatever being a blog-ebrity might be worth. I took the test, and It says that:
I’m a C-lister! Just like in birth order, I’m stuck in the middle. Average. Blah.
Looking at it again, in order to hit the A-list, I’d likely need a steady supply of gadgets to review, write bagloads of articles on “blogging for bloggers” and “how to make money by writing your own blog”, and eventually corporatize the whole blog here.
Doesn’t sound very original or thought-provoking.
Addiction?
I wouldn’t actually say that I have an addiction to blogging. I mean… addiction? I don’t update quite often enough to get that label. Maybe Mouseclone, or even more so, Mark at Delusions.
My Card or Yours?
I’ve had some instances lately where have been asked to write down my address here for others. I was thinking about having some personal cards made up with the address here, but kept putting this off because of the expense. A lot of times, it’s very handy to have preprinted cards to give to your acquaintances when you see them (in real life, that is) so that they have something with your URL on it, and it also serves as a good spot to make some small notes on the back for them like a reminder of a party, or maybe another site that you had been discussing. I found a site called ooPrint that offers 100 FREE business cards, where all you pay is the shipping. I’ve used a place similar to this in the past. One big twist is the “web 2.0” designs that they have that are geared toward bloggers. These designs are listed in their online catalog as “blogger business card”, and there are four designs with varying colors and icons. What I really like about these is that they feature a slick-looking tag cloud at the bottom. Not only that, but you customize the words that make up the tag cloud, so your cards are fully customized to what your blog is about.
The site is easily navigated, and as you fill in the information for the cards, you immediately see a mini proof of how the cards will look. Besides the specials on business cards, they have a host of other printed solutions to choose from, including custom wine labels and neat-looking invitations.
Dubya Pea, 2 dot three
Yesterday, the WordPress group released an update to the butt-kicking blog software I’ve been using for years now. I did the upgrade in about 10 minutes total, then found a couple of spots where some old plugin code that’s outdated now (read: UTW) was mangling a page here and there, and I think it’s all Kosher now, easily fixed by editing the templates.
There are a ton of bugfixes, and some really groovy enhancements. The main enhancement is that tagging is handled by WP rather than by any number of plugins. I’m still roaming through, noticing the updates, but I can say after a short while using it that the admin area is responding a lot faster for me, and it’s not my connection. I’ve noticed the speed using three different internet connections.
Mouseclone Did the upgrade, though, and something went awry… I’m not sure of the details, because I had to run off for a bit, and when I’d returned, it looked like a tornado had passed through his database. Word to the wise: backups. Backups BACKUPS!
The mantra is and has always been:
“If you don’t have at least three copies of a piece of data on different media, the data does not exist.”
I say this, knowing full well that I didn’t make a new, full backup before doing the update to the WP bits, but here’s the cool part of the story: he made a backup, and looking at it right now, everything is back up and rocking out.