Introducing WordPress 2.9 “Carmen”
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I love using WordPress to power Site Sketch 101. In the past, I’ve used Blogspot, Joomla and other platforms to develop websites and blogs but none of them have compared to the experience I’m now enjoying with WordPress.
One of the most exciting things about the WordPress package is that it’s constantly being upgraded. Every few weeks the WordPress team is rolling out a new upgrade packed with security updates, user requested features, bug fixes and more.
It’s hard to complain when one of the best content management systems on the market continues to grow and get better. So I use WordPress and I love it.
This update comes packed full of cool features. In fact, I’ve embedded a video below to from the WordPress website to provide you with a quick overview of the changes.
If you’re viewing this in your RSS reader or in your email inbox, you may need to click through to the site to view the video.
Features Overview
This update really is packed with new features. Some of those features are designed to make plugins easier and more flexible to develop. Some of the features make it work with newer versions of php. But some of those updates also make it easier to use for regular users like you and me.
- Global ‘Trash’ Feature: Now when you delete a post, it will still exist on the database. This gives you the option to undo it and restore that post at a later time if you need to do so.
- Built-in Image Editor: The media organizer is now extremely feature rich. You can actually edit your pictures that you upload directly in the WordPress backend. You can change the size, the orientation and much more all inside of your WordPress website.
- Batch Plugin Upgrade: WordPress now provides you with the ability to automatically upgrade all of your plugins at the same time. With the push of a button all five, six or fifteen upgradable plugins can be updated and reactivated.
- Easier Video Embeds: Simply paste the URL to the video onto it’s own line in the post editor and watch the video come to life on your website. No hassles. WordPress provides support for YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv (and more are coming in the next release).
If you haven’t already taken the time to upgrade, then what are you waiting for? Login to your WordPress blog and upgrade to version 2.9 today.
If you’re not even using WordPress then you’re missing out on using perhaps the most powerful blogging platform available.
HelpfulAdvisor said:
Nick, thanks for sharing this exciting news with us. I’ve also used Joomla and prefer WordPress as a much more intimate platform for the single writer, or small group of writers.
Joomla is geared more toward large publications and is extremely strong for managing large amounts of content spanning different article sections and categories.
By far, the most exciting feature of WordPress’s Carmen release is the native embedding of video. This has proven to be one of my biggest challenges on the previous versions; to find a plugin that truly works with the different video hosting sources on the web.
I can’t wait to work with the new Carmen release! Thanks, Nick!
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Nicholas Cardot said:
HelpfulAdvisor –> You’re right about Joomla. The main reason that I really love WordPress is because of the amazing community the Matt Mullenweg has been able to create around it. There is just no lack for plugins and updates for this system. I’ve already written two or three upcoming articles using the new video embedding software. It’s incredibly simple to use.
Eric B. said:
WordPress 2.9 is very exciting! I was actually waiting to upgrade my blog the minute it was released.
The Trash feature has actually already saved me from some trouble, only a couple of hours after I upgraded
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Eric B. –> Wow. You were excited. I honestly didn’t even know that it was on it’s way until today and then I started looking into it and discovered all of the cool features that it had to offer. I just had to tell the world about it and post this video from the WordPress website letting everyone know about it. I love all new little features that it offers.
Chad said:
Thanks for this info. I upgraded my site this morning, but only notice maybe one or two minor changes.
The built-in image editor is huge and will save me a few steps.
I’m always weary of these updates, as previous ones have either blown up my admin console or my site entirely. This one went smooth for me, but I did hear some rumblings on Twitter of sites being screwed up.
Always backup your site before upgrading.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Chad –> It’s easy to backup your website and it’s incredibly difficult to restore a ruined site so why wouldn’t people take the extra minute to back it up? But as you mentioned, my upgrade was seemless as well.
Nicholas Cardot said:
I’ve also noticed that developers have been updating plugins all day to reflect the new way that they need to interact with the WordPress core. All around everything is great.
My Latest Blog Post: Introducing WordPress 2.9 “Carmen”
Deepika said:
I am excited with the release of carmen… I downloaded and going try all those features you mentioned above.. thanks for this information Nick
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Deepika –> You’re welcome. I’ve already explored the video embed option and have used it on two upcoming posts already. It’s really nice.
David Hobson said:
Im planning on updating all my blogs later today, once i confirm there will be no issues with my plugins.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
David Hobson –> I haven’t faced any issues yet with any of mine but that’s not saying that your upgrade will be the same as mine. I’m sure that you use plugins that are different from my own.
Bloggeri @ Blog Guide said:
I have decided to wait a while before upgrading, so that they have the time to sort out most of the bugs. Hopefully version 2.9.1 will be released soon, so I can start also using it. People who use 2.9, is it buggy?
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Bloggeri @ Blog Guide –> That may be a good idea but I’m thankful to say that I haven’t experienced any bugs with this release yet. I’m sure that they exist. I just haven’t found them yet.
Jayce said:
Not updated yet. Probably wait for 2.9.1 bug fix release.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Jayce –> That’s probably a smart thing to do. You’re the second or third person who I’ve heard that idea from. Maybe I should have done the same but I was pretty excited about these new features and I was excited to jump in and download it.
Walter said:
I have been wondering what are the new features of WordPress 2.9 before upgrading. Now I know and thanks to you.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Walter –> You’re welcome. I’m pretty excited about those features and I think that you and many others will really enjoy them.
Davor Gasparevic said:
Well, I am using blogger.com, I know it is seriously limited compared to wordpress, I’ve been “playing” with wordpress last few weeks, and I must say it is quite complicated, at least at the beginning, because blogger.com is much simpler to use.
I probably isn’t so hard to use once you get used to it, but for a beginner like me it makes some problems lol.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Davor Gasparevic –> It may seem more complicated, but that’s only because it offers so many more features. As you learn, which I’m sure you’ll do quickly, you’ll discover that WordPress is the #1 blogging CMS for a reason. Because it’s amazing. Are you really satisfied with the features and layout of your current blogging platform or do you ever wish that it was able to accomplish more for you?
Dana @ Online Knowledge said:
I think i will wait for few days before upgrade mine. I may upgrade it after wordpress launch 2.9.1 version.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Dana @ Online Knowledge –> That may be the smart plan to go with since I’ve experienced bugs when upgrading programs in the past. I think that you’re really going to enjoy the new features when you finally do decide to upgrade, though. Have you heard of any bugs so far in the new WordPress update? I haven’t personally, but I’m sure they exist.
Josh said:
After reading this article, I am really considering a switch from Expression Engine to WordPress. All round, WordPress seems more user-intuitive and it’s also free!
Nicholas Cardot said:
Josh –> Do you have to pay for Expression Engine? If so, how much? The open source nature of WordPress is only one of the many amazing benefits of using this as your blogging platform.
cPanel We Hosting said:
The new update is great! The Hello World for new blogs, ie the default first post is more informative about using WordPress compared to the old-style “Hello World” post.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
cPanel We Hosting –> That’s interesting. I wasn’t aware that they had made that change. That will probably be very useful for new users of WordPress.
Don Gilbert said:
I was on the beta upgrade path – so I had 2.9 on one of my sites before the official release. I was so excited about the new features. However, I was bummed when I saw that scheduled posts was busted on my blog.
Well, the official 2.9 came out, and it still wasn’t fixed, so I was almost considering rolling back to 2.8.6 – but just like you said Nick – the WP Development team came to the rescue with the 2.9.1 update. I love those guys!
Yay for WordPress!
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Don Gilbert » I didn’t know that it was fixed in 2.9.1. I’ve heard of others still facing the same problem even with the latest release.