Marcomblog Meets WordPress 2.0 :: Preparing for Spring Semester

Classes start tomorrow. So, in preparation for the new semester, it is time to upgrade this blog to the latest WordPress platform version, 2.0.

I have done will do the upgrade and have revised then come back to revise this post. Just wanted to warn any Marcomblog visitors and contributors that the blog is going to be unavailable for a bit.

The update: OK, we are all done! The whole thing took less than 30 minutes. That includes the following tasks: download/backup of all files, backup of the database (over 33mb now), deactivation of all plugins (16), upload of all new files, reactivation of all plugins (18, since two mandatory plugins are included in the new version), checking comment functions and then twiddling a few more things. Ta-da! We are done.

Yes, I know that for casual observers there is no big difference. I’ve retained the existing blog theme and may update it as a part of a class project this semester. The real changes are under the hood. They include: Akismet’s improved spam protection, a very “Ajaxy” admin area for creating posts, simple uploading and displaying of images (see above/right) and more. One thing I have noticed is the need to add a “vspace=” and “hspace=” addition to the image tag to assure there is some buffer between image and text. I’m guessing that, and other quirks, will be addressed and updated soon for this relatively new platform version.

This may take a bit of getting use to by our contributors, but I believe they will feel that the new look and easy admin area are quite useful.

There are some quirks to the new platform. I note that the “bold” and “italics” buttons don’t work right now. Hmm? I’ll have to investigate that one. Hey, it is free opensource software. Ya’ get what ya’ pay for, or - in this instance - the time you expend in learning how to fix a few things here and there. I like it. Learning is good.

Best wishes to all of our contributors and readers for a positive and successful 2006!

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