It’s like they’re trying to kill me.

WordPress (the software that drives this site) has just released a public beta (testing) version. And tantalizingly, they’ve changed the version number from 1.6 to 2.0.

Obviously, you don’t need me to spell out what that implies in terms of revved-up features and raw paradigm-shifting power. (If you did, you’d have bailed on this post after the word “software.” At this point, there’s nobody here but us geeks and the odd search engine.) I’m dying, dying to see this thing in action.

So much so that I suspect I’d completely hose the site in my haste to install the beta.

Which makes it very, very lucky that I have a full-to-overflowing weekend of writing ahead of me. Right now, that time crunch is the only thing saving me from my early-adopter impulses.

But please, if you’re up for it, don’t let me stop you: install away, and let the rest of us know what’s new and cool, and where the cow-pies are hidden.

Incidentally, after a glitch today at Dreamhost, here’s the feature I’ve asked for (on the 1.6 page at the codex wiki) in the next revision of WordPress:

  • Degrade gracefully and transparently when WordPress can’t communicate with the database
  • WordPress currently displays a WordPress-branded page announcing to the world that you have a problem. Doesn’t exactly look professional.
  • Wouldn’t it be handy if WordPress generated a static version of the front page every time you updated, and saved it for use in case of just such an eventuality? There could be a discreet, customizable message at the top of the page, such as “Owing to temporary technical difficulties, not all features of the site are available right now. Please check again soon.”
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