Sparklewhore.com » Internet and Tech

WordPress 2.7 – All fluff or worth the fuss?

Lara — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:05:21 +0000

WordPress 2.7 was released recently, and the developers seem to have made alot of major improvements. Everything from a sleek redesigned interface, to many new capabilities and features including one-click plugin installation, Sticky Posts, drag and drop Dashboard modules, and tons more.

The full features list from the official WordPress website is as follows:

XMLRPC Comments API (Ticket 7446)
Keyboard shortcuts for comment moderation (Ticket 7643)
Sticky Posts (Ticket 7457)
Theme update api, like we do for plugins (Ticket 7519)
Dashboard and write box rearranging (write box in trunk)
One-click plugin installs (Ticket 6015)
Reply to comments from admin (Ticket 7435)
Core updating (Ticket 5560)
Frame-like method for moderating ping/trackbacks
Plugin browser embedded (Ticket 6015)
PHPXref hosted on WordPress.org
Separate Large and Full image sizes, related improvements (Ticket 7151)
Comment threading (Ticket 7635)
Comment paging
Batch and inline editing (Ticket 6815)
HTTPOnly cookies
Column hiding for all management pages
Post box hiding for all edit pages
Upgrades and install over SFTP
Template Tag wp_page_menu wrapper for wp_list_pages and support for Home page (Ticket 7698)

That may not look overly exciting as a list, however from the time you upgrade you will notice quite a few significant changes, starting with the redesigned admin interface and feature packed Dashboard panel. To best get a feel for the new look and features, check out the video released by the WordPress team below.

While the new interface has taken quite a bit of getting used to for myself – a non-left menu oriented person – after some usage, I have found it to be quite functional, and overall, quite convenient.

The redesign is itself is easy on the eyes, and the Dashboard modules have made quick comment approval and other tasks a breeze. Likewise, the quick edit features for Category and Post sections save time for smaller tasks, such as small text changes or category selections.

I have to say however, my favorite feature has to be the one click plugin installation. You can easily browse the WordPress plugin database from within blog, and install and activate your plugins without ever having to launch an FTP program. No more downloading and uploading, just to leave old verions of plugins sitting on your system to collect cyber dust.

There are many new features to the upgrade, and as always you should keep your installation current – if for no other reason to keep updated with security patches – but this upgrade is most definitely one to take some time and explore. In my opinion, if you can adjust to the new side menu layout (which may be optional in a future release), you’ll likely find the other improvements well worth the shift.

One click installs. One click upgrades. One click love.

The official WordPress 2.7 page and documentation can be found HERE.

..and now for something completely different…a new geek speaks!

Steve — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:22:17 +0000

I wanted to drop a quick line and get some information up on new articles that will be forthcoming to the site. Lara has asked me to start writing articles related to computer security and little tips for her clients. This is a good idea in my opinion as from what she has explained to me – using word for word quotes and examples – some of you (her PSO clients) are getting very bad ideas and help.

So exactly who the hell am I? Well I am an IT contractor who focuses on network design and engineering as well as security. I am in the process of completing my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) certification, and ultimately I want to be a CISSP. I am Microsoft Certified in various topics, along with Cisco and Linux. What does this mean to you? Nothing, all that you need to remember is that “Oh! Steve is that geek who writes on Sparklewhore.”

Computers and security in general scare the hell out of people. Not everyone is a computer expert. While some of you know quite a bit, others know only how to read email, post on a few forums, and access NF. The truth is, security and computers can be complex, but only if you allow them to be. The best advice I can offer you right now with regard to security is this, patch now, patch often, and update constantly. In better terms, what I mean is that if a program you use on the computer has a “check for updates” option. You should use it. Windows has “Windows Update” and “Microsoft Update” you NEED to use them monthly at the least, and always enable the automatic update options.

There are lots of so called experts what will scare the hell out of you with news and stories of updates gone wrong. For example, lots of news sites and forums reported on some of the issues with Vista and Service Pack 1 when it was released. There was a lot of advice given to people to avoid updating. The same advice is given on Patch Tuesday (The day Microsoft releases monthly security patches for Windows), where people are told to disable auto updates and not to install them.

What is missing from this advice is that almost all updates can be un-installed if the break something, and as was the case with Vista and Service Pack 1, most of the reported issues will never affect the entire populous rather only a small few will experience problems. Most of the attacks online, and Malware (Malware is defined as being a Virus, Trojan, or downloader that installs or causes malicious activity on your computer.) take aim at systems that are not fully patched. So when you got that Virus, it could very likely be because you disabled Automatic updates, and missed a critical patch for Internet Explorer that would have protected you.

I can cover as many or as few topics as you want. However, I will make sure to cover what you ask me too. I am a geek who is here to help you, not ramble aimlessly to see my writings appear online. If you have a question; Internet related, security related, or computer related, then ask me. You can use the comments to do so or email Lara.

I look forward to seeing what you have to say.
-Steve

ZOMG!!! It’s Steve!….Wait…who?

Lara — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:13:57 +0000

Steve of course! *giggles*

Hey girlies! I know there hasn’t been a lot added to the site lately (bad Lara, bad bad!), but all that is about to change here soon. Part of that change involves me introducing you to one of the absolutely coolest people I know, Steve.

Steve has been a very close friend of mine for a long time, and is without a doubt, a geek god lol. His tech knowledge and experience constantly impresses me, and has been invaluable to me in the time that I have known him. During that time, he has not only shown the utmost respect for PSO’s and the business, he has also taken an active interest in what kinds of resources are available to us as PSO’s and the issues we often face with having to seek “adult friendly” assistance.

As most of you know, I tend to offer my clients more than just designs, coding, advice, tutoring, etc. Steve’s experience and knowledge in tech and more will bring a whole new level to Sparklewhore, and I couldn’t be more pleased that he has come on board with me.

Now I’m gonna get the hell outta his way and let him introduce himself lol.

WordPress 2.5.1 released

Lara — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:37:21 +0000

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.php file allows a new constant called SECRET_KEY which 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!