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WordPress Wednesday News: WordCamps in Australia and Hawaii, Security Check Plugin, Google Gears, Lots of Plugin News and Tips, WordPress 2.6 News, and If Not WordPress, What?

WordPress Wednesday News: WordCamps in Australia and Hawaii, Security Check Plugin, Google Gears, Lots of Plugin News and Tips, WordPress 2.6 News, and If Not WordPress, What?

WordCamps in Australia and Hawaii announced. Worried about security? New WordPress Plugin to scan for WordPress exploits. Lots of tips for WordPress Plugin writers. Weblog Tools Collection Plugin Competition heating up with great Plugins. WordPress 2.6 Beta Candidate part two released. Google Gears for WordPress.com. Lots of news on WordPress 2.6. And if not WordPress, what?

WordPress News

Scanning for WordPress Exploits: WordPress Exploit Scanner WordPress Plugin by Donncha O’Caoimh searches the files and database of your WordPress blog for signs of suspicious activity. It won’t prevent attacks but will help you find them if they do occur.

WordPress 2.6 News: There have been two beta releases of WordPress 2.6, the most recent one is WordPress 2.6 Beta 2. Improvements and changes include tag auto-suggest, Visual Text Editor, Media Library fixes and changes, SSL and i18n localization fixes, inline documentation, and more.

More news and commentary on WordPress 2.6 include:

  • What Plugin Coders Must Know About WordPress 2.6 by Ozh of PlanetOzh.
  • Weblog Tools Collecton – What You Need To Know About WordPress 2.6 covers post revisioning, improvements in the Press-It (now called “Press This”) bookmarklet, faster WordPress Administration Panels, incorporation of Google Gears to enhance speed improvements, XML-RPC requires Administrator Permissions to enable, ability to activate multiple Plugins at once and delete them, ease of deleting Plugins you no longer use, the ability to move the config file to different directory, moving the content directory, image previewing, and customizable default avatars.
  • Dougal Campbell – Update on WordPress blog APIs covers the issues around changes to the XML-RPC and Atom blog APIs being disabled by default in WordPress 2.6.
  • Aaron Brazell – 10 Things You Need to Know About WordPress 2.6 covered Shift Click selection of multiple check boxes in the WordPress Administration Panels, Google Gears support for pre-caching, avatar options, XML-RPC as an option to enable XML-RPC editing and upgrading, Press This, Theme preview, post versions, Page Templates over XML-RPC, and Plugin mass activation and deletion.
  • Shoemoney likes Post Revision, the new feature that allows you to compare the same post in multiple windows, excellent for Internet glitches and multiple authors.
  • Dougal Campbell is also jazzed about Post Revisions and Google Gears support, and describes some of the other new features in greater detail including support for the XML-RPC and Atom client APIs being turned off by default for security protection, improved SSL access to Administration Panels, a new version of the “Press This” (formerly Press-It) bookmarklet, avatar options, improved WordPress Plugin management, and more.
  • Blog Security explores the security improvements in WordPress 2.6 and reports that a number of XMLRPC features will be deactivated by default, adding more protection, along with improved password and cookie security improvements in past versions. They say it’s on the right track for strong security standards.
  • Peter Westwood is excited about the improvements in the security of WordPress 2.6 including support for SSL and disabling remote publishing protocols by default.
  • Lester Chan, popular WordPress Plugin author, is excited about the new features including the new link in the top menu called “Speed Up” which connects with Google Gears, the new Dashboard Panel feature “Right Now” which gives a breakdown of your blog’s activity in the moment, the new Word Count feature, and Theme Previews. However, with the some recent changes in WordPress versions which impact WordPress Plugins, Chan is debating whether or not to maintain WordPress 2.5 compatibility for the next wave of WordPress Plugins, especially those impacted by the new features that allow wp-config.php to move up one level from the WordPress root and allowing the wp-content directory to be in a custom location.
  • Many are reporting their excitement about the new WordPress Auto-Upgrade feature which will make upgrading WordPress easier, though rumors are flying that this might be pushed back a version.


WordPress Plugin Competition: The Weblog Tools Collection’s WordPress Plugin Competition for WordPress 2.5+ continues to grow with new prizes and Plugins. Here are the Plugin entries listed on the Plugin Competition Blog so far:

Why Not Use WordPress? The Best Already Are: BloggingPro looks at who is using WordPress and asks that if the big names like CNN, Yahoo, Sony, The New York Times, People, Ebay, and b5Media are using WordPress, is there anything else that is better they could be using? After all, these groups have the money, expertise, technology, and access to the research information that helped them make their decision. They must know what their options are. So what are the options besides WordPress?

BlogSecurity’s Next Generation Security Tester: BlogSecurity announces the launch of BlogSecurity Next Generation, the new modular, expanded version of the WP-scanner WordPress Plugin which tests your blog for security issues and vulnerabilities.

Last Week’s WordPress Wednesday News: Can’t get enough WordPress news and tips? There is so much news coming out about the latest version, so you can catch up with the past news in last week’s WordPress Wednesday News: Your Own Song in the Plugin Competition, WordPress 2.6 Beta and First Looks, WordCamp UK New Location, Batcache, Naked Themes, and More.

WordPress Podcasts

WordPress Podcast: The WordPress Podcast: Episode 43: Out Of Date Blogs Hacked, All-In-One Seo Gets Dropped, Then Picked Up covered those topics and the development of the Crazy Horse new WordPress Administration Panels interface, Batcache, HyperDB, WordPress Plugins, WordPress 2.6, and security issues.

WP Weekly Podcast: WordPress Weekly Episode 21 Round 2 with Jeffro included WordPress 2.6 news, hacked blogs, Weblog Tools Collection Plugin Competition, and more.

WordCast Podcast: WordCast 19: Irreverelevant covered new Theme releases, the Weblog Tools Collection Plugin competition, Underrated WordPress Plugins, WordPress 2.6, and more WordPress news.

WordPress on Your Calendar

WordPress Events CalendarWordCamp Announcements: has been officially announced and will be December 6-7, 2008, in Sydney. Oct 24, 2008, is the date for a PodCamp and WordCamp in Hawaii, so get out your surf boards and sun lotion, folks!

WordCamp UK Changes Locations: Only a few weeks away, WordCamp UK has had a last minute change of venue to The Studio in Birmingham. Check out WordCamp UK for more details and maps.

WordPress Meetup or WordCamp Near You? If you are putting together a WordPress event, please email me so I can publicize it here. If there is a WordCamp near you, go. If you are interested in setting up a WordCamp, stay tuned for news and information on to bring a WordCamp event near you.

Here are some WordPress-related dates and events to put on your calendar as found on the WordPress Roadmap and the WordPress Meetup Group Listings (subject to change).

WordCamp San Francisco August 16: August 16, 2008 is the next WordCamp San Francisco, considered by many to be the premier WordCamp event. This year, it appears it will be only one day instead of two, but details are still coming. It will be at the Mission Bay Conference Center this year.

WordCamps and WordPress Meetups Everywhere: A WordPress Meetup is a frequent meeting of WordPress fans. A WordCamp is a day or two long event with sponsors and dozens if not hundreds of WordPress fans gathering annually. If you would like to sponsor or host a WordCamp, check out the new official site for tracking WordCamps is WordCamp Central, which includes instructions and guidelines for running a WordCamp. If you would like to start a WordPress Meetup group, find a meeting place and announce it among your friends, and add a listing to the Yahoo Upcoming events for WordPress, as many track WordPress event announcements there.

WordPress Plugins and Themes News

WordPress Plugins DatabaseDo You Say “WordPress Plugin” on Your Plugin Page? I’m finding a lot of WordPress Plugin authors are not using the word “WordPress Plugin” in their Plugin’s official page, nor within the text. Remember that “WordPress Plugin” is a popular keyword search term and if you aren’t using it, your chances of being found drops. Avoid separating the two words like “WordPress Blah Blah Plugin” and keep them together such as “Blah Blah WordPress Plugin” as the closer the terms are to each other, the more important they are. Most people search for “how to do blah WordPress Plugin” when they search, so help them find you by using the words and keeping them together.

What WordPress Plugin Authors Need to Know About WordPress 2.6: While there will be little change for WordPress Themes, template tags, and functions, a few of the changes in WordPress 2.6 may make or break your WordPress Plugins. What Plugin Coders Must Know About WordPress 2.6 by Ozh takes you in detail through these such as the changes in how the wp-config.php will work in the future, and more. Ozh also offers some WordPress Plugin Coding Tips to help write better WordPress Plugins, as a complement to a series on WordPress Plugin code tips by Nerdaphernalia. If you have or are writing WordPress Plugins, check out these tips to help improve your WordPress Plugins and the user’s experience.

Interesting WordPress Plugins: Here are some interesting and unusual Plugins I stumbled on recently:

Finding WordPress Plugins: For more WordPress Plugins see the official WordPress Plugin Directory, the WordPress Plugins Database, and Weblog Tools Collection Plugin and Theme announcements.

WordPress.com News

WordPress.com W logoGoogle Gears for WordPress.com Blogs: WordPress.com users now have Google Gears for their blogs. In the upper right corner of the Administration Panels is a link called Turbo. You will be taken to a installation. Google Gears is a browser extension for FireFox and Internet Explorer and allows the browser to use web-based applications like Google Docs and Remember the Milk. It can create a local database and file storage on your computer and run JavaScript in the background of your computer without slowing down the web browser as you work. For WordPress.com users, it will store all your images and other web page components from the WordPress Administration Panels to your computer, speeding up the process and reducing your web bandwidth and traffic.

The question most people are asking is if this will be available for full versions of WordPress. According to the development news, it will be included in WordPress 2.6.

WordPress Techniques and Tips

Can’t Find Your Category ID Numbers? How To: Finding Category Numbers in WordPress 2.5 by HackWordPress helps you find those “missing” category ID numbers for links to your categories by ID, selecting a specific category for the front page of your blog and magazine WordPress Themes, and other usages.

See Also
Google Ads

Here are some more interesting WordPress tips I’ve uncovered:

Want to Write a WordPress Tip and See It Here? If you would like your WordPress tip and technique included in this list, see Tips For Writing Good WordPress Tips and Writing and Publishing Code In Your WordPress Blog Posts. When its ready, contact me at lorelleonwordpress@gmail.com.

WordPress Community News

WordPress Community graphicGet Your WordPress Mug: I love my new WordPress mug and shared my love with a lot of people recently. Go get yours at the along with t-shirts and hoodies.

Give Something Back to WordPress: Jeff Chandler of Weblog Tools Collection has written “24 Ways To Contribute To WordPress” with suggestions on how to get involved in helping WordPress development. If you would like to help with the , the official online user manual for WordPress users, we need you. If you would like to contribute to WordPress as a volunteer in the WordPress Support Forums, testing, coding, and more, see Contributing to WordPress. If you would like to help improve WordPress by reporting bugs, please report them via the WordPress Bug Report form. Your help is needed to ensure WordPress works.

Vote for WordPress Ideas: There is still time to get your vote in for ideas on upcoming versions of WordPress in the The section. Why not take advantage of it and add your voice to the vote.

Looking for a WordPress Expert? If you are looking for a WordPress expert, try the WordPress Consultants list from , the WordPress Jobs listings, and the WP-Pro mailing list.

WordPress Installed For Free: Installing WordPress for Free (aka Install4Free WordPress) is a free, volunteer-driven service is limited to personal blogs only, and they help only with installations, not upgrades.

Don’t Use WordPress in Your Blog’s Name: It’s about respect. Please use WordPress names right because WordPress is a trademark and you are not allowed to use WordPress in your blog’s domain name or URL unless you have permission of and . Also, remember, it’s spelled “WordPress” not “WordPress”. Oh, and Plugin is Plugin, not plug-in (what you put into a wall electrical socket).

Found a Bug in WordPress? If you find a bug in WordPress, report it by following the instructions in Reporting Bugs on the , the online manual for WordPress Users.

Past WordPress Wednesday News Reports

WordPress News Sources

If You Are Reading This: If you are reading this blog post NOT on the or from within your feed reader, it is being used against the copyright policy of the copyright owners. Please report it immediately so action may be taken to break some heads and feed scraping blogs.


Each Wednesday on is WordPress Wednesday, featuring the news around the WordPress Community. If you have a WordPress news item or tip to suggest, please contact me at this special email address: lorelleonwordpress@gmail.com

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