WordPress version 2.9 “Carmen” named in honor of magical jazz vocalist Carmen McRae is officially released. You can upgrade easily from your Dashboard by going to Tools > Upgrade.
As Matt announced in WP blog, some of the coolest new stuff from a user point of view is:
1. Global undo/”trash” feature, which means that if you accidentally delete a post or comment you can bring it back from the grave (i.e., the Trash). This also eliminates those annoying “are you sure” messages we used to have on every delete.
2. Built-in image editor allows you to crop, edit, rotate, flip, and scale your images to show them who’s boss. This is the first wave of our many planned media-handling improvements.
3. Batch plugin update and compatibility checking, which means you can update 10 plugins at once, versus having to do multiple clicks for each one, and we’re using the new compatibility data from the plugins directory to give you a better idea of whether your plugins are compatible with new releases of WordPress. This should take the fear and hassle out of upgrading.
4. Easier video embeds that allow you to just paste a URL on its own line and have it magically turn it into the proper embed code, with Oembed support for YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv (and more in the next release).
2.9 has been an exciting development cycle, and I must say it has whetted our appetite for 3.0, which is coming next (probably this spring) and will include at the very least the merge of MU with the WordPress core, and a new default theme.
Matt at WordPress has wrote a post announcing the security release for WordPress. This is highly recommended upgrade for all users of WordPress.
Yesterday a vulnerability was discovered: a specially crafted URL could be requested that would allow an attacker to bypass a security check to verify a user requested a password reset. As a result, the first account without a key in the database (usually the admin account) would have its password reset and a new password would be emailed to the account owner. This doesn’t allow remote access, but it is very annoying.
News spreading around the web that pop stars, Michael Jackson has died at age 50 after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center.
The Los Angeles Times has been told by Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and CPR was performed. TMZ.com, a celebrity website reported that he may have suffered cardiac arrest.
Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.
The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.
His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
He lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation.
There were concerns about Jackson’s health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.
What is vanity URL? A vanity URL is a domain name, created to point to something to which it is related and indicated in the name of the URL. In easy words, vanity URLs are unique name that creatively linked to something making them easier to remember than a more random link.
Unlike other major social network sites like Myspace & Twitter, Facebook is currently giving their users a random URL like “http://www.facebook.com/people/username/11234567890″ which is difficult to remember. So, starting at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on Saturday, June 13, 2009, you will be able to personalize your Facebook URL (web address) by selecting a unique username. It will appear in the location bar of your browser like “http://www.facebook.com/username” when you view your profile.
You can select a username that Facebook suggests or create your own. Select “Check availability” to check for available usernames. If the desired username is available, click “Confirm” in order to confirm your choice. Please take note that, after you confirm your username, you’ll not allow to change it.
So, I’ve selected my username to become www.facebook.com/malikisaad. If you want to secure your unique Facebook username, you must hurry to Facebook now and grab it before another person take it.
WordPress 2.8 RC1 is ready to test. That mean official version almost on schedule to release tomorrow, June 10th, 2009. According to the Official WordPress blog this may be the final RC released before WordPress 2.8 is released.
WordPress 2.8 Highlights
Theme Browser and Installer.
Ability to add Custom Headers.
New drag-and-drop widgets admin interface and new Widgets API.
New ways to customize dashboard widgets.
Syntax highlighting and function lookup built into plugin and theme editors.
Configurable Views on Management Pages.
Faster Loading Admin Pages.
A talented 10-year-old is tipped to steal the Britain’s Got Talent show from singing Scottish spinster Susan Boyle.
Hollie Steel, from Accrington, Lancashire, wows the judges in tonight’s ITV1 show with her all-singing, all-dancing performance of I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady. The young performer was discovered at auditions in Manchester, where last year’s dancing winner George Sampson emerged.
When she appeared in a lilac tutu and began her ballet routine judge Simon Cowell reached for his buzzer to dismiss her. But once she starts singing, the audience rise to their feet in praise and judge Amanda Holden begins to sing along.
Kelly Brook -- who briefly appears as a judge in the Manchester auditions before getting axed from the panel -- weeps as the 10-year-old performs. After the performance, judge Piers Morgan tells Hollie: “We have seen a lot of children on our show over the last three series and I have never heard any of them sing as well as you do.”
Earlier this week, Morgan wrote on his blog that the show had a “tiny young girl singer … who will melt your heart”.
WordPress.tv was switched on last week with a warm acceptance from both WordPress.org & WordPress.com user. So, what you can get on WordPress.tv?
There you’ll find tutorials for both WordPress self-installs and WordPress.com to help you get blogging fast and hassle-free.
WordPress.tv is also now the place to find all that awesome WordCamp footage that was floating around the web without a home. See the presentations you missed and get a peek at behind-the-scenes action. They call it WordCampTV.
You’ll also find slideshows of presentations made by WordPress gurus, plus interviews they have done with the media and fellow bloggers.
So, visit WordPress.tv regularly to extend your blogging skill and discover the tips & tricks to utilise the real power of WordPress.
