Say Hello to WordPress 2.0

The first Beta version of WordPress 2.0 (previously known as 1.6) is out. I just downloaded it and I’m testing it locally to see what’s new, broken etc since it’s still in beta. The interface is much leaner now and it’s sporting a new RichText editor with a global image uploader and browser that requires no plugins. A welcomed featured, but a Firefox only feature which is a bummer because Safari is still my preferred browser. Multi-weblogs is one feature I was hoping for in this release, but it looks like I’ll have to wait longer and I highly doubt they’ll add such a feature during beta stages. The new look of the admin section looks much better than the 1.5 one but it’s no Tiger Style. The themes now have thumbnail activation, a huge oversight on previews versions, but they really should include a generous amount of themes with the distribution, not just the lonely default Kubrik theme. And I’m tired of explaining newbies how to find, download and activate these themes without them getting dizzy. Choosing a theme should be an exciting event for a new blogger, not a “geek required” event like it is now. The guys at WP Beta Testbed are tracking plugin issues since a good portion of them will require updating. There are lots of refinements and little nuggets but this is just my first impression on my first 5 minutes with this release. It’s great to see WordPress advancing and my hope is that the interface gets more user friendly as new versions come out. And perhaps maybe one day, in the not so distant future my WordPress Dashboard would show relevant info about my Blog, is that too much to ask?

Links: WordPress 2.0 Beta 1 DO NOT RUN ON A PRODUCTION SITE!