Of interest to many bloggers out there is the announcement of the release of WordPress 2.1. Versions have been coming out pretty frequently lately with 2.0.6 and then 2.0.7 released not too long ago. These were mostly bug fix and security patch releases rather than adding new functionality.
The new WordPress 2.1, however, includes some new features that many users have requested. There is now an autosave function when writing a post that can potentially save you from losing that killer post you just spent an hour putting together, only to have it eaten up by some browser or internet or other electronic mishap.
There is also a spell checker for the editor and tabs to allow you to go back and forth between WYSIWYG and code. I’ve been using Firefox for the spell checker and that’s worked out well for me, but the new spell checker is a welcome addition and long overdue. I’m not sure how I feel about the tabs as I’ve stopped using the WYSIWYG editor because of the weird code it creates sometimes and just a general feeling of flakiness. We’ll see how the new one holds up.
There are quite a few more new features and bug fixes included in this release as well as improvements in speed in several important areas. Of note also, is the change in the development cycle for WordPress. They are now going to be releasing on a more frequent schedule with several significant releases per year. I like the fact that this means the software will be up to date, but I worry about the time and energy involved in going through these upgrades more often, not to mention the fact that more frequent patches can often mean more bugs introduced.
All in all, this looks to be a very good thing for the WordPress community and I’m looking forward to trying out the version as soon as I can.
Finally my posts will be readable;)
LOL. I’m waiting to see if the spell checker will be any better than the one from firefox.
You are right man ..the new features added are wonderful . I love the autosave feature .
Hi Madhur. I’m thinking the autosave will be one of the best new features besides the speed improvements. Did you install it already? If so, how’s it working out for you and does it seem to be noticeably faster?
I’m up and running on 2.1 , and it was smooth across the board. The dashboard doesn’t seem particularly faster to me.
Hey, Leroy. That’s cool. I always have a little bit of anxiety about upgrading. I’m planning on going ahead with it as soon as I can, but I’ll be grading papers today (end of term) and probably won’t get the time for a few days. Thanks for the input.