Posted on 12 November, 2009 By
Kim Woodbridge
37 Comments
WordPress 2.9 Upcoming Features
WordPress 2.9 is due to be released on … soon-ish (probably in December) and I thought it would be fun to review some of the upcoming new features.
My biggest hope with this release is that there will not be as many security updates are there were with 2.8. I always say wait until the .1 release to upgrade but I did not foresee .5 with the 2.8 series. Yikes!
Cool
- Trash Status – when posts, pages and comments are deleted they will go to the Trash rather than being permanently deleted. This is very similar to the way the Recycle Bin works on Windows. I can see this being useful and also contributing to the size of the database.
- Image Editing for Media Library – Simple edits will be possible on images in the Media Library. You will be about to rotate, resize and crop images.
- Media Embeds – This one sounds good and I’m planning on writing an entire post about it. Basically WordPress will be able to automatically embed media from a variety of sources such as flickr and youtube. For example, if I have a url for a flickr photo and I paste the url into my post, WordPress will be smart enough to find the photo and embed it into your post. The photo will show up rather than the url. I think this is really going to help people use media in the blog posts.
Good
- Better feedback on publishing of future posts and pages – I’m not sure what this feedback will be. I thought this was improved in 2.8 by providing the date the post was going to be published rather than saying in 5 days or whatever. I guess more feedback is good, right?
- Allow blogs to be available in search engines checked by default – I wonder if this was a problem for people. When WordPress is installed, this needs to be checked so that the blog will show up in search engines. I actually prefer making the selection because I am frequently working on sites that are in progress and don’t want them to show up in search engines until the work is done.
- Show correct max upload filesize error message – Correct error messages can only be considered a good thing ;-)
- Allow a plugin to do a complete takeover of Post by Email – I don’t think the Post by Email feature has ever worked very well. I’ve never used it. But it looks like a plugin will do this now rather than it being a part of WordPress.
- Add means of automatically repairing tables – I’m a little cautious about whether this is good or not. I would rather repair my own database tables and would be hesitant of having WordPress do it for me. I’ll need to see what it actually does.
Makes Me Laugh
- Eliminate the redundant and confusing comment threading depth of 1 – Well, yes, a threading depth of 1 makes no sense because there wouldn’t be any depth.
- Don’t offer to make a category its own parent – Umm … yeah, that really doesn’t make any sense.
Huh?
- Fix race condition with autosave when clicking Publish immediately after entering post title – I have no idea what this means as I don’t know what a race condition is. This is far from the only thing on the upcoming features list, however, that I don’t understand.
If you want to read more about the upcoming features in WordPress 2.9 they are available in the codex. We can count and see how many make us say “what is that supposed to mean?”
photo credit: Clearly Ambiguous
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37 Responses to “WordPress 2.9 Upcoming Features”
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November 12, 2009 at 6:27 am
Great post Kim. Specially WordPress repairing the database tables itself??? It captured my attention. Reminds me to backup my database before upgrading and as often as possible…
.-= Yohan Perera´s last blog ..1006 free sermons from “The Sermon Note Book” =-.
November 12, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Hi Yohan – I’m not too sure about that feature – it makes me nervous. I’d rather take care of my database tables manually.
November 12, 2009 at 8:49 am
2.9? Didn’t we just move from 2.7 to 2.8? New features, whatever. I’d like to see something that lasts for a while, as you say.
I wish they’d do something about the way the left-side menu jumps back up to the otp when you open a drop-down.
November 12, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Hi Dot – The first version of 2.8 was in June and then we’ve had 5 security patches. I’ve found that WP has 2-3 major upgrades per year. It will be 5-6 months by the time this one is released.
November 12, 2009 at 12:09 pm
A race condition is programming jargon for two resources that are dependent on the same resource. It can give bad results, or a deadlocked condition (when each resource is depending on the other one to finish).
Here’s Wikipedias definition, but it’s a bit on the technical side for most:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_condition#Computing
I too have been tracking the 2.9 updates with anticipation – a nice early Christmas present!
.-= Matthew Kettlewell´s last blog ..Add jQuery Accordion Layout =-.
November 12, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Hi Matthew – Thanks for the explanation :-) I could have looked it up but decided to make a joke instead …
There are some things that I am looking forward to in 2.9 but I’m not sure
I would consider it a gift ;-)
November 12, 2009 at 12:37 pm
“My biggest hope with this release is that there will not be as many security updates are there were with 2.8″ – Amen.
.-= vered | blogger for hire´s last blog ..Restaurant Salads Scare Me =-.
November 12, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Hi Vered – It’s reached the point that when I write these articles I am thinking about you ;-)
November 12, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I agree with you and Vered about the security updates! They are so annoying and time consuming!
.-= Carla´s last blog ..Documentary – Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags =-.
November 12, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Hi Carla – It gets tedious but I would rather they find the bugs and fix them rather than our sites being vulnerable.
November 12, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Good point. Its just that there is always an “error” every time I upgrade. :-/
.-= Carla´s last blog ..Documentary – Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags =-.
November 12, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I didnt even know this was on the horizon! sounds like a cool set of updates … but hopefully there will be not to many issues like 2.8
.-= Donace´s last blog ..Keyword Research with Market Samurai =-.
November 12, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Hi Donace – I think the media embeds is going to make things a lot easier.
November 12, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Thanks for the update…will you wait for 2.9.1 before updating?
.-= Rick Castellini´s last blog ..5 Simple Rules to avoid SCD (Slow Computer Disease) =-.
November 13, 2009 at 7:24 am
Hi Rick – Probably … or longer :-)
November 12, 2009 at 11:04 pm
I was really hoping for something that shows a Most Popular, Most Commented, Most Viewed Post in a neat little sidebar kind of a thing. But I guess there must be some good plugins doing that already.
Thanks for the update though, and please do write post when you feel comfortable about upgrading to 2.9.
.-= Manshu´s last blog ..S&P 500 ETF List =-.
November 13, 2009 at 7:24 am
Hi Manshu – I think there are plugins that do that. It can also be done with code blocks.
I will write posts about any issues and when to upgrade.
November 13, 2009 at 1:09 pm
The question is how many of this minor release features are really good for blog readers than the blogger? I do not see anything that is done for blogs (other than threaded comments) since last one year. I guess, they should concentrate on two releases per year or something like that after doing thorough research on the real needs of blog readers/bloggers
.-= Ajith Edassery´s last blog ..Bye bye Twitter! =-.
November 13, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Hi Ajith – There are a lot more behind the scenes fixes than what I listed. And I think a lot of improvements are made for plugin developers. But I think 2 per year is plenty
November 13, 2009 at 5:09 pm
A prime example of why i am running 2.7, I refuse to do the .1 .2 .3 .4 load unless it really is one of those “worlds gonna nd” security fixes…even then, I consult others that I trust in the field first.
Interesting note, cpanel is still installing 2.7.1. LOL
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..He/She Has Unsubscribed – Should You Ask Why? =-.
November 13, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Hi Dennis – cpanel tends to always be a version behind. I’m not sure why that is. 2.7 was a good release and as long as it’s at the current version it should be fine. 2.8 has had way too many security updates.
November 17, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I asked the cpanel people a while back why they wait so long, “we make sure it is as stable as possible before release”, was the official response.
I liked that. I can just assume no one there liked any version of 2.8. thus far. LOL
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1 =-.
November 13, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I wonder what they’re going to do to wow us with WordPress 3.0 !?
.-= Luke Moulton´s last blog ..SBBM #13 – So you want to look big? Marketing insights from The Bra Queen. =-.
November 13, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Hi Luke – LOL – I can’t even image. Maybe posts will write themselves ;-)
November 14, 2009 at 2:36 am
I lot of these actually seem pretty awesome and useful. I LOVE the idea of an image editing tool. Having to resize my photos before posting them is extremely annoying, and it’s actually come to the point where I start considering whether to bother including photos when I write posts.
New releases always mess with my language plugins, so I’m not sure when I’ll upgrade. I’m still working on small fixes from the last one. Sigh.
.-= Adrenalynn´s last blog ..The Picture Perfect Meme =-.
November 14, 2009 at 8:07 am
Hi Adrenalynn – Funny that no one else mentioned the image editing tool – most people just seemed annoyed that there is going to be a new version. It can be very useful in making quick changes to images.
That’s too bad about the language plugins – did you see my article about the new Plugin Compatibility checker – that tool might help.
http://www.kimwoodbridge.com/wordpress-plugin-compatibility-beta/
November 14, 2009 at 9:01 am
Hi Adrenalynn,
You might want to take a look at the “Scissors” plugin for all your photo needs. It does all the resizing, cropping, watermarking, etc… right from inside WP.
Available from the repository or the developers site:
http://stephanreiter.info/2008/10/wordpress-plugin-scissors/
.-= Marko´s last blog ..Upgrade Your Listening Skills with Functional Ear Training =-.
November 15, 2009 at 11:15 am
Looks like some great additions. Love the photo editing. But my last upgrade was such a headache. What should one pay someone else to do an upgrade. I’m barely computer liteate but did design and make my own site. But now 6 months later (just blogging now) getting my head back into the design/ code part is a little scary :). Thx for your thoughts.
.-= Allison´s last blog ..Is Oklahoma Really God’s Country? =-.
November 15, 2009 at 4:51 pm
My admin indicates when an upgrade is available; simple click and it’s done. I typically backup database but shouldn’t be difficult. Are you having to download and install them yourself; maybe a host change would be worthwhile if so.
November 16, 2009 at 9:30 am
Hi Barbara – Most of the time an auto-upgrade works fine but other times something goes wrong. When 2.8 first came out a lot of people ran into issues. Personally, I always upgrade manually.
As long as everything is backed up prior to a manual or auto upgrade any issues that might arise can be resolved.
November 15, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Hi Allison – I think the photo editing will be a useful feature.
I do upgrades for people – if you want to contact me about rates and what you get for that, please feel free to email me at kim.woodbridge@gmail.com
November 17, 2009 at 1:27 am
Heck, if they keep adding the 10ths once a week like it seems they’re doing they’ll run out of numbers before they get to 2.9. This last version has been ridiculous with the updates; I hope the next version is safer as well.
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..Done With Demand Studios Also; The Gripe =-.
November 17, 2009 at 6:45 am
Hi Mitch – I guess they would need to do 2.8.9.1 or something like that ;-)
I hope there are less patches on the next version too. Apparently it’s in Beta and is being tested so it probably won’t be too long until it’s released.
November 17, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Last I heard, December.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1 =-.
November 17, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I started blogging with 2.0.4. Since then, I have upgraded exactly ONE 10th…the one time I believed it was life or death and it was a real simple upgrade; they actually gave out the 2 security fix files so you didn’t have to fully upgrade. I think it was 2.6.4.
I just don’t do it normally.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1 =-.
November 17, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Dennis, I was like you in sticking with 2.8.1 and not wanting to update, until I started reading how many people were suddenly having their blogs hacked. That’s all it took for me, because I”d rather not deal with it. I will still skip an upgrade, though, for at least a month to see if another one is coming.
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..If You Can’t Get Your Family And Friends To Subscribe… =-.
November 17, 2009 at 1:23 pm
That’s how i do it as well. Here’s my problem…they start with the whole one, lets say 2.8; so I wait that month and sure enough 2.8.1 arrives – now I need to wait again and again lol…too anal? perhaps.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1 =-.