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WordPress MU 2.7.1 Released – Although it’s gone through a few delays, WordPress MU 2.7.1 is now available. This release features a revamped plugin system where you can activate and deactivate plugins across the entire site. The admin bar at the top has been removed and is now a plugin. And the site admin can now set a global dashboard blog for users who don’t have blogs. If you’re using WordPress MU 2.7 you should be able to use the core update functionality to upgrade to the new version. - http://ocaoimh.ie/2009/04/21/wordpress-mu-271/

Blo.gs Acquired – Matt Mullenweg announced on April 20th that Automattic had acquired a service known as Blo.gs. Blo.gs was owned by Yahoo and was a service that enabled you to easily keep an eye on your favorite blogs via web and email. Essentially, you could embed Blo.gs into your blogs sidebar and it would reorder your favorite blogs based on their most recent post. Automattic has said that they plan on beefing up the service while giving it a refresh. Will ping-o-matic and blo.gs merge into one service? Only time will tell. - http://ma.tt/2009/04/blogs-lives-on/

Contact Form 7 – Earlier this week, it was discovered that the WordPress plugin Contact Form 7 contained a serious security vulnerability which was actively being exploited. This is a popular plugin that is used to create simple contact forms. Over the past few days, the plugin author has worked with a few other people and has since released a new version containing the necessary security fixes. If you use this plugin, be sure to upgrade to the latest version.

Plugin Pick Of The Week – Odiogo Listen Button – Odiogo.com is a service that takes your text based blog posts and provides a listen button where end users can listen to a synthesized voice read the blog post. This makes your blog a little more accessible to those with vision problems. The voice isn’t bad but you can tell we still have a long way to go for natural sounding speech. http://www.odiogo.com/listen_button_wordpress.php

If you’re interested in WordPress, head on over to WPTavern.com where all sorts of WordPress related information can be consumed. While you’re there, hop in the forum and join the conversation while enjoying your favorite beverage because at the WordPress Tavern the drinks, are always on the house.

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P2 Now In The Repository – Back in March, I let you know that P2 was on the horizon for self installed WordPress users and that it was already available for WordPress.com users. Fast forward to today and Prologue 2 is now on the WordPress.org theme repository. The theme features perks such as threaded comment display on the front page, in-line editing for posts and comments, real-time notifications and much more. http://www.wptavern.com/p2-officially-on-the-theme-repository

WordPress help Center – Alex King, who is most well known for his popular WordPress plugins and more recently, his Carrington theme framework, made a big announcement the other day regarding a project that his company Crowd Favorite has partnered with called the WordPress HelpCenter. he HelpCenter is not aimed at replacing forums, email, comment forms, or other means of support. Instead, you’ll be able to pick up the phone Mon-Fri between the hours of 9am-7pm Pacific time and give them a call to answer any WordPress questions you might have instead of waiting around on a forum for someone to reply. In fact, any phone call under 3 minutes is free. Check out my review of the helpcenter on WPCandy.com – http://wpcandy.com/articles/one-more-way-to-get-wordpress-help.html

Matt On TechCrunch –Matt Mullenweg was recently interviewed on TechCrunch.com in a video from the Amsterdam Next Web conference. In this interview, Matt explains why Twitter is not sucking the life out of blogging. He also chats about the acquisitions Automattic made in 2008 with a hint that more could be on the horizon. Lat but not least, Matt shares some details regarding the success of both WordPress.org and WordPress.com. – http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/interview-with-automattics-matt-mullenweg-blogging-is-not-slowing-down/

Plugin Pick Of The Week – DiggBar Killer – DiggBar Killer adds a little snippet of Javascript to your WordPress website to remove any frames or iframes, such as the Digg Bar, which are surrounding it. DiggBar Killer also has a (100% optional) annoy feature. You can choose to annoy users coming from digg.com by showing an obnoxious message. The default “annoy” folder comes with some ugly animated GIFs and a MIDI file, but can be easily customized using plain-ole HTML & CSS (no PHP knowledge required). http://ibot.tv/2009/04/13/digg-bar-killer-wordpress-plugin/

If you’re looking for more information regarding WordPress or just want to be part of a community centered around WordPress, please head on over to WPTavern.com. The forum has received a new paint job, advertising options are now open on the site and much more. Remember, the drinks are always on the house.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I thought I didn’t care, I must have been swept in the moment. CNN really cared though, check this out.

TalkPress On Its Way – Do you remember a little something called TalkPress? The idea was first mentioned in the public limelight back on January 1st, 2008 in a Houston Chronicle article where Dwight Silverman interviewed Matt Mullenweg. According to a blog post on the bbPress.org website, the software which will power TalkPress, TalkPress will be the WordPress.com of forums. Details are still sketchy at this point but it looks like at some capacity, WordPress.com users will be able to integrate a forum with their blog. – http://www.wptavern.com/talkpress-is-alive-and-well

WPSeek – This one is for you developer types out there or for those curious. Ever wish you could search for WordPress functions, template tags, function sources, user notes, etc all from one place? That is exactly what WPSeek.com allows you to do as it acts as a very slick WordPress centric search engine. WPSeek was originally used to be a gateway page for the WordPress Helper FireFox extension but the site has expanded into something much more. While the Codex is the official manual for WordPress, WPSeek.com provides an awesome way to tap into all of that information without all the crud surrounding it. – http://www.wptavern.com/wpseek-an-awesome-research-tool

WordPress Meetup – If you’re located in Ohio, more specifically the Youngstown, Akron, Cleveland areas, be sure to join me for the WordPress meetup that is taking place on April 23rd 2009 at 7PM EDT at a place called Office Space CoWorking located in Akron Ohio. The meetup is being conducted by myself along with Brian Layman of b5 media. The first meetup will be a meet and greet as well as a preview to the WordCamp Columbus event in May. While doing all this crazy new media blogging stuff is great behind the computer, nothing beats being around a group of similar passioned people where you can talk face to face.

Plugin Pick Of The Week – Blog Minder – The plugin allows your users to configure a reminder to be sent to them if they haven’t posted in the last ‘#‘ of days. Settings for the reminder range from no reminder to seven days. With everything that is taking place on the web, I can see a good reason to be sent a blogminder – http://blog.ftwr.co.uk/wordpress/pjw-blogminder/

If you’re looking for more information regarding WordPress or just want to be part of a community centered around WordPress, please head on over to WPTavern.com. The forum has received a new paint job, advertising options are now open on the site and much more. Remember, the drinks are always on the house.

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Twitter Comes To WordPress.com –If you’re a user of WordPress.com as well as Twitter, you’ll be delighted to know that the folks at Automattic have added a Twitter widget that you can place on your sidebar. All the links that you post to Twitter remain clickable in the widget, and your @ replies link to user profiles. The widget went live on March 26th and is currently available to use.- http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/twitter-widget/

Vote For WordPress – At about this time every year, the folks over at Webware present their Webware 100 finalists on which to vote on to see who will take the crown in their respective category. In 2008, WordPress was the winner of the publishing category. This year, the category is called Social Networking and Publishing in which WordPress.com along with the WordPress Platform are among one of the choices to vote for. The poll is being conducted via PollDaddy and the results will be announced on April 19th.

3 Plugins To Speed Up WordPress – If you’re finding your WordPress powered site to be running a bit sluggishly, then consider the information presented within a blog post on ConnectedInternet.co.uk. The site features three different WordPress plugins which will help optimize your site. On top of that, the site also features a few tips to put into practice to ensure that your site is not bogged down over time.

Plugin Pick Of The Week – Twitter User – Twitter User is a simple plugin which adds an additional field to the authors profile in which they can add their twitter username. Single author blogs will find this plugin useful however Multi Author blogs should really love this plugin as it allows all authors of a blog to quickly and easily share their Twitter username with readers.

If you’re looking for more information regarding WordPress or just want to be part of a community centered around WordPress, please head on over to WPTavern.com where the drinks, are always on the house.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Prologue 2 Released – During WordCamp Germany, Matt Mullenweg mentioned something called Prologue 2. This new version of the Prologue theme introduces Ajax like real-time commenting meaning, if I place a comment on the blog and someone else is staring at the site, they will see that comment appear before them as it happens. Heather over at the WordPress.com blog sheds some light on the project, including a video showcasing the new theme. Heather mentions that P2 is already available for WordPress.com users but to look for it on the WordPress.org theme repository in the coming days. – http://www.wptavern.com/prologue-2-sees-the-light-of-day

WordPress 2.8 Delayed Until April – WordPress 2.8 which was originally scheduled to be released in March has now been delayed until sometime in April. The roadmap currently has 2.8 scheduled to be released on April first but just think that it will probably be released at some point during the month, not really the first.

Multi Use Widgets In WordPress 2.8 – Earlier this week, it was announced by the developers that a new Multi Widget class has been added to WordPress 2.8? What does this mean? It simply means that in WordPress 2.8, all of the default widgets as well as widgets that are recoded with the new class will be able to be used multiple times instead of only once. We had a similar feature back in WordPress 2.3 so it’s great to see this one making a return.

If you’re looking for more information regarding WordPress or just want to be part of a community centered around WordPress, please head on over to WPTavern.com. The site contains news, reviews, editorials and much more on not only WordPress, but all projects under the Automattic umbrella. We also have a forum which has been rocking as of late so stop on by and join the party. The drinks at the tavern are always on the house.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

I’m a game show junkie. I used to watch Wheel Of Fortune, Press Your Luck and a few other game shows religously when growing up. I’ve discovered that YouTube is a haven for all sorts of game show clips including full episodes of specific shows. While browsing through YouTube the other night, I came across a video showcasing the best Wheel Of Fortune Contestant to ever appear on the show and you know what? I agree! Watch and see.

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Plugin Development Book – Vladimir Prelovac who I consider to be a WordPress Rockstar in his own right has is very own book called WordPress Plug-In Development. Beginner’s guide. Vladimir is not only a plugin developer but also a good theme developer as well. The book goes into detail regarding the underpinnings of the software, plugin security, development, hooks, and much more. It’s currently available in either Paperback form or online via PDF for $39.99 http://www.wptavern.com/new-wordpress-book-for-plugin-development

IntenseDebate Gets Plugged In – IntenseDebate, the third party commenting service which Automattic acquired back on September 23rd, 2008 has announced that they will have their own plugin repository. So far, IntenseDebate has four plugins to choose from. PollDaddy for creating polls, Seesmic for creating video based comments, YouTube integration and Smileys. It will be interesting to see how far this plugin repository gets off the ground but I think its a great step in the right direction. – http://www.wptavern.com/intensedebate-is-getting-plugged-in

WordPress Store To Get Revamped – Remember the WordPress Shop? If you forgot about it, don’t worry as I did too considering I haven’t seen much news come out of the store for quite awhile. The site is undergoing a facelift to match the current WP site designs and also a new batch of new product is being produced. USB drives have been added this week with more items to follow. (By the way, the USB drives cost $15.00 and contain 4 GB worth of space. – http://www.wptavern.com/wordpress-store-to-get-a-revamp

Plugin Of The Week – WordPress Mobile Editions – With mobile device usage skyrocketing, it only makes sense to ensure that your blog can be read in a mobile format. WordPress Mobile Edition is a plugin that shows an interface designed for a mobile device when visitors come to your site on a mobile device. Mobile browsers are automatically detected, there is no configuration needed. – http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress/readme?project=wordpress-mobile-edition

If you’re looking for more information regarding WordPress or just want to be part of a community centered around WordPress, please head on over to WPTavern.com. The site contains news, reviews, editorials and much more on not only WordPress, but all projects under the Automattic umbrella. We also have a forum which has been rocking as of late so stop on by and join the party. The drinks at the tavern are always on the house.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

“Thank you, Father,” answered the young priest.

“I am pleased that you are open to the new ideas of youth.”

“However,” said the elderly priest, “I’m afraid you’ve gone too far with the drive-thru confessional.”

“But, Father , protested the young priest, “my confessions and the donations have nearly doubled since I began that!”

“I know, son, but that flashing neon sign, Toot ‘n Tell or Go to Hell,” just can’t stay on the church roof.

Mike Elgan over as ComputerWorld.com let loose on the fact that Google slings around the terms ‘beta‘ and ‘experimental‘ only to get around blame and criticism. I tend to agree.

Just like Microsoft and many other software companies, Google designates a huge number of its many online services as beta, and many features as merely “experimental.”

For example, did you know that Gmail is still in “beta,” and has been in the “beta” stage of development for five years?

I’m pretty sick and tired of seeing the word Beta whether it deals with Google or some other Web 2.0 site. To a point, I think it’s embarrassing to have the word displayed on a product or service for five years. At face value, you would begin to think that the software would never reach a point of completion. However in Google’s case, they can use that term Beta as a defense against criticism considering end users don’t pay a dime to use their products/services. After five years of being in beta, I throw that line of thought out the window.

Mike sums it up pretty well in one of his closing statements:

New rule: If a “product” is attracting eyeballs and making money, if the users don’t know they’re beta testers, if the beta is unlimited in time and in scope, and if the product will never, ever be offered for sale anyway, the words “beta” and “experimental” have no meaning at all. And the products are open to criticism.

So when everyone is wondering why the word ‘beta’ has been devalued to the point where it means nothing, I hope they do a Google search to find the answer.