A new category, some changes and important updates…
New category and content:
Soon you will see a new category on the site called Sparklepedia. One of the plans for the site is to start writing a few tutorials, as well as articles on information you may find useful such as tips on editing your listings and more. Keep an eye out for that to roll out this week. =P
Link exchange and updates:
I will also be doing some updates to the links on the site and recommended sites. If you have a site that you think may benefit by a link or link exchange, hit me up through the contact form or at Sparklewhore@gmail.com.
Portfolio:
The portfolio will be undergoing a work up and updating. I’ll be getting some fresh examples up you all here soon.
IMPORTANT NOTE – Hosted images over 90 days will be deleted:
In the works will also be a cleaning of the content stored on the site. As many of you know I often allow clients to keep images hosted on the site until they can find hosting of their own. Unfortunately the list has grown so much that I cannot keep track of who has found hosting and who has not. Any images that have been stored over 90 days will be taken down, so PLEASE, if for some reason you are still using SparkleWhore.com to host your images, transfer them to a new host or contact me to work something out. I will do one more reminder post before I begin housecleaning to give you all notice as to when they need to be down by. If you need a hosting option and do not have a domain, I recommend PSOHosting.com. You can host your images there for free. =)
There are some more things in the works, but that’s all for now. =)
WordPress 2.5.1 released
I know a lot of you just got through upgrading to 2.5, but 2.5.1 is out already, and I definitely recommend the upgrade.
2.5.1 has over 70 bug fixes, as well as includes an important security fix and other performance enhancements. One of the things I was very pleased to see was addressing of the media upload bugs. Recently a large number of blogs (my own included) experienced a series of issues with the new media uploading that 2.5 implemented. Despite a number of adjustments, I never was able to workaround the HTTP upload errors that 2.5 seemed so fond of. In the end I elected to install a plugin that basically replaced the standard uploader and that has worked well so far.
The good news is, according to WordPress.org, these issues have been addressed. The bad news is, on at least 1 of my blogs I have whole new upload errors. So in the meantime I am continuing to use the Flexible Upload plugin. So far I have been able to upload and insert media with no issues using the plugin and highly recommend it as at least a temporary fix for any of you still experiencing issues.
The Flexible Upload Plugin can be found here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/flexible-upload/
Also included in the 2.5.1 update according to WordPress.org are:
- Performance improvements for the Dashboard, Write Post, and Edit Comments pages.
- Better performance for those who have many categories
- Media Uploader fixes
- An upgrade to TinyMCE 3.0.7
- Widget Administration fixes
- Various usability improvements
- Layout fixes for IE
Another interesting thing to note on the upgrade is the implementation of SECRET_KEY in the wp-config file. Since 2.5 your
wp-config.phpfile allows a new constant calledSECRET_KEYwhich basically is meant to introduce a little permanent randomness into the cryptographic functions used for cookies in WordPress. You can visit this link we set up to get a unique secret key for your config file. (It’s unique and random on every page load.) Having this line in your config file helps secure your blog.
I haven’t had a chance to research that yet and what all it could mean for your blog, but it’s on my list of many many things to do lol.
So when you get a chance, you can download the most recent WP update at: http://wordpress.org/download/ or read more about the changes here: http://wordpress.org/development/2008/04/wordpress-251/
If you’re not comfortable updating your WordPress yourself, I do offer services for that. Just hit me up through the Contact Me page and I will work you in.
Happy upgrading!
New look – yay!
Well, I get bored easily, and I have been bored with the look of the site for awhile, but I have had less than no time to work anything up. It's nothing fancy, but I likes it. 
I am still ironing some things out on it, but just as quickly as I get bored, I get impatient to play with new things, so I had to put it up lol. I hope you all like it. I know I know, it doesn't sparkle. WTF's up with that? :laugh1: Well, I was in the mood for something clean, fresh and bold, so for all the sparkle fans, I will just have to get you your fix with some super sparkly freebies soon. 
Working on a portfolio update and more freebies soon and who knows what else my scattered brain might come up with. We'll just have to see. :B
