Most of the changes in this version are under the hood. The one you'll likely notice the most (unless you're using the full screen editor) is improved speed at which WP updates occur. It leverages an improved file system API and checks that files were actually updated before overwriting them.

Two things broke from 3.1 to 3.2. The jQuery library got an update with incompatible changes, as did the WordPress HTTP API (which I had been monkey-patching).

The jQuery update had no effect any of my own plugins, but it may cause quirks in other plugins. If javascripts related to this or that plugin stop working when you upgrade, please notify the appropriate maintainer.

The HTTP API change broke Version Checker. This means that you should upgrade Version Checker before proceeding to upgrade WordPress. (Upgrade it manually if it's too late, i.e. download it and upload it to your wp-content/plugins folder using FTP.)

Version Checker left aside, there are three noteworthy in the batch of updates that I'm uploading in the background:

• Author Image adds two defines (the documentation should update itself shortly) that allow to customize (from your wp-config.php file) the maximum size of subsequently uploaded author images.
• Widget Contexts had a slight change in its workflow. A page now picks up both the section and the template context. (Previously, it would only respond to one of the two — irrespective of whether the context was significant or nor.)
• Semiologic Reloaded now adds a unique CSS class, to allow for easier skinning.

So, again. Upgrade Version Checker, then safely upgrade WordPress and the rest of Semiologic Pro from within WordPress.

Now that my MySQL cluster is repaired and running again (it had crashed miserably this WE), the key changes are:

• Google Analytics is now using the asynchronous tracker that was released earlier in the year.
• Version Checker no longer checks my SSL certificate's validity, in case I forget to update it on time yet again.
• Semiologic Fixes disables SSL certificate checking altogether when using curl.
• Admin Menu disables the WP 3.1 admin bar on the front end, since the two are using the same screen real estate.

My theme and plugins work fine with WP 3.1 as far as I've been testing to date, and were marked as such accordingly. I've still a few items on my todo list, namely related to Mediacaster (HTML5 compatibility), which will wait for the next batch of updates.

On the WP front, you may have noticed the couple of 3.0.x related security updates. Be advised that the one that led to WP 3.0.4 is potentially nasty and affects older versions of WP. Upgrading is highly recommended — and better now than then.

And, of course, WP 3.1 is right around the corner. The noticeable change is the above-mentioned admin bar, which you may or may not like. I prefer my own, since it gives faster access to management screens, but the WP one is quite sexy too. Again, you'll need to disable my Admin Menu plugin, if you're using it, in order to see what it looks like.

Changes under the hood include more Ajax in the admin area, improved performance on sites with multitudes of users, improved custom post type handling, and updated script libraries.

I highly doubt anything will break on sites upgrading to 3.1 from 3.0 or 2.9, making this a safe upgrade for all sites.

In other news, after going forward and backward for almost a year now, the new backend I'm working on (Postgresql and Symfony/Doctrine-based) is slowly taking shape. I hope to roll it out towards the end of Q1, and I plan to release chunks of it as BSD-licensed code after I test drive it on my end.

Happy New Year!

• When in a multisite environment, some plugin administration screens and features are only available to super admins. This is usually for security reasons — the Script Manager, for instance, requires unfiltered HTML capabilities.
• A few theme and plugin features are disabled entirely when in a multisite environment. The Semiologic theme's custom CSS feature, in particular, since it would end up shared between sites. The filesystem-based static cache is another example, since flushing is rather resource extensive for larger sites.
• I introduced a few UI tweaks, e.g. in Google Analytics, but nothing that should make anyone feel not at home.
• The Semiologic theme supports the new WP 3.0 custom background handling feature.
• Generally speaking, things continue to work as they did in the past for standalone WordPress installations.

At the risk of repeating myself, I'm NOT recommending to jump on 3.0 when it gets released. It's no big deal if you do, and don't worry if you did. If you haven't yet by the time you read this, it's no big deal either if you don't. I'll probably be waiting until this Autumn.

As a reminder, the updated Version Checker will disable the WP upgrade nag if you're running WP 2.9.2. If you wish to give WP 3.0 a try nonetheless, you'll still be able to do so from the WordPress upgrader (Tools / Upgrade).

Happy blogging!

I've published a batch of theme and plugin updates, for those of you who run test sites that are powered by bleeding edge packages. (This is configurable under Settings / Semiologic API Key when Version Checker is enabled.) There probably will be a round two in a week or so.

The most visible changes in WP 3.0 are a menu editor and the multisite functionality. A lot of dust needs to settle on both of these fronts. Don't get overexcited about the second one: maintaining multiple domains using a unique WP installation is for the technically oriented minds only.

WP 3.0 also introduces less visible but nonetheless massive changes in the post publishing and administration flows. These introduce the potential for custom post types. They additionally work around a series of long standing defects. Sadly, both came at the cost of introducing new potential quirks in plugins — and several of my own plugins did, in fact, break because of them.

Considering the extent of these changes, I'll be avoiding WP 3.0 until this winter. The next Version Checker update will let you do the same at your option: if your site is up to date and running WP 2.9.2, you won't see WP upgrade nags until WP 3.1.1. (You can of course upgrade WP under Tools / Upgrade if you still want to.)

Happy blogging!

It's 20 pages long and reasonably understandable. It breaks down to:

1. Strong limits to mark to fantasy and off balance sheet vehicles.
2. Strong limits to the size (as a percentage of GDP) and leverage of banks and financial institutions.
3. No obvious loopholes (but then, IANAL).

Consider contacting your representative and senator about it. In particular, remind them to resist any bank lobbyists' efforts to add loopholes in there.

The sickliest part of this story, by the way, is that the Pentagon couldn't have released the video even if they wanted to.

Here's a graph (hat tip, the Japan Times) that you may want to give thoughts to, if it hasn't occurred to you yet that this new tablet might make you revisit your business model: