This is my very first post using WordPress 2.0!I upgraded this morning and so far everything seems to be working fine (*hopes*). Though I may find later on that a few compatibility issues arise with the installed plugins I have.

Upgrading was fairly simple, although I think the WP Developers should create an easier upgrade feature because to upgrade I had to go through the following steps:

• Backup EVERYTHING! - I may have gone a little overboard, as not only did I backup the database using a little plugin called WordPress Database Backup (which is actually built into WP2.0), but I also downloaded a complete copy of the site using an FTP program called SmartFTP
• Download the latest WordPress 2.0 - I downloaded and extracted the new installation file/s
  
• Deactivate ALL plugins - I logged into the admin panel and deactivated all plugins one-by-one
• Delete old WordPress files - I fired up SmartFTP, and manually deleted the necessary files in the correct folders without deleting files which I had to keep (see guides below)
• Upload new WordPress file - Again in SmartFTP, I followed the guides below and had to manually upload (or drag and drop as I do) the correct files to the correct locations
• Wait, worry and hope that everything worked OK
• Follow the Upgrade link - This was the most pleasant part of the upgrade as it only required a single click to upgrade
• Reactivate plugins - I reactivated each plugin one-by-one

Now maybe there already is something which can make this whole process simpler and within a few steps, but if not I think there definately should be!

In order of helpfulness, the following are the 3 guides I found on the WordPress.org site:

1. WordPress @ T2
2. Official WordPress Codex
3. Official WordPress Support Forums Sticky

Oh, I’m also currently writing this using the incorporated plugin, TinyMCE, which is… interesting. Yet another thing to learn about, but I think I’d prefer to write posts using it than needing to write out things like full HTML code for links etc.

Nathan Waters
Officially WP2′d

My partner in crime, Tristan Grace, has finally got things sorted with computer problems and has kick-started his blog with the first post over at TristanGrace.com

As Tristan mentioned in his first post, our personal websites/blogs are run individually and posts will most likely include details about everything that is happening in our lives and anything we wish to write about, all of which YOU our readers will find interesting (we hope).

Both the personal blogs will probably include brief posts regarding entrepreneurship (especially young entrepreneurship), however, YEuth.com will be the major young entrepreneur resource written collaboratively by myself and Tristan. YEuth.com will include informative and interesting posts written almost on a daily basis, and we’ll also be doing a weekly podcast.

So be sure to keep an eye on both our blogs and subscribe to the RSS feeds for instant notification of new posts.

Nathan Waters
I’m excited!

The richest man in Australia died last night aged 68.

The Packers own most of the media and casinos in Australia, so I guess it also makes them the most powerful family in Australia.

His son, James Packer, is set to take the reins of the Packer empire, however speculation surrounds whether or not James Packer will sell television station “Nine” in the coming years.

Will post links and more info when the journalists play catchup with the bloggers

In the meantime, the Wikipedia Article is up-to-date.

EDIT: Here’s an article

… Well, nearly. But it’s only a few days away now (supposed to be released on Dec 26th US time, which means Dec 27th AUS time)

A couple of the new features look very promising, and you can bet within hours of it’s release I’ll be updating to the latest version and hoping everything still works as it should

Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger.net posted an interesting article, 10 Things You Should Know about WordPress 2.0.

The “10 Things” in brief include:

1) Thumbnails of Downloaded Themes: Allowing small screenshots of installed themes to be viewed in the Admin themes panel
2) Capabilities and Roles: A new and improved permission system for users
3) Importing from Other Blogging Platforms: It’s now easier to move from other blogging platforms to WordPress, including a wide variety of new options such as importing from an RSS feed.
4) Built In Caching: WordPress can now cache posts and settings much the same as web browsers do with temporary internet files
5) Image Uploading: More options for uploading image files for your posts
6) Use WordPress for Social Networking: XFN (XHTML Friends Network) allows for more options in establishing the connection between yourself and a link to another website such as another blog/blogger
7) Hooks and Filters: More options and resources for plugin developers
Built in Anti-Spam: WordPress now comes with built in anti-spam plugin, Akismet, to help eradicate comment spam
9) Don’t Use the Rich Text Editor: WordPress 2.0 includes TinyMCE, a javascript Rich Text Editor which makes writing posts online more like an offline experience with such things as common shortcut keys like Ctrl-B for Bold, Ctrl-I for Italics, etc. However Darren says that currently TinyMCE generates what is sometimes known as “dirty code” such as empty tags and the like. I think it’s at least a start in the right direction to make blogging a more user-friendly experience, and I’m sure in the near future we’ll be seeing WordPress incorporating an online blog posting application which will be very similar to desktop word processors such as Microsoft Word.
10) WordPress as a Content Management System: WordPress is becoming easier to use as more than just a blogging platform, but also as a complete CMS for your website

There’s some more listed features over at Asymptomatic.net

Nathan Waters
WP 2.0… Bring it!

After browsing for and previewing 100s and 100s of WordPress themes, here’s a list of the top ten resources which I found most helpful in finding a suitable theme for the upcoming young entrepreneur blog/podcast resource site YEuth.com … enjoy!

1) AlexKing.org WordPress Theme Browser
2) WordPress.net Theme Viewer
3) WordPress Official Wiki Theme List
4) Emily Robbins’ Comprehensive WordPress Theme List
5) Shadows WordPress Theme Zips
6) Blogging Pro WordPress Themes
7) V4NY WordPress Themes
Fahlstad.se WordPress Themes
9) Official WordPress Themes

10) DIY Theme Guides/Tips:
10.1) UrbanGiraffe: Dissection of a WordPress Theme
10.2) ChrisJDavis: Secrets of WP Theming
10.3) Tech Wench: WordPress 1.5 Theme Cheet-Sheet
10.4) boren.nu: Anatomy of a WordPress Theme

Installation How-To Instructions

Installation of WordPress Themes is quite simple. In most cases, installation involves the following steps. (NB: Always read any instructions which come with the theme file in case installation involves a different procedure.)

• Download the zip/rar file of the theme.
• Unzip/Unrar
• The result is usually a folder containing all the necessary files. If instead of a single folder, you have multiple files. Create a folder, rename generally with the same as the zip file (without the .zip), and then move all relevant extracted files into the folder.
• Using your FTP client or the website of your webhost, navigate to wp-content
• Copy the single theme folder into the folder named themes
• Login to your WordPress admin panel at www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin
• Navigate to Presentation, Themes
• Activate the desired theme by clicking the “Select” button
• Done! You can then edit the various parts of the theme by navigating to Presentation, Theme Editor

WordPress, the software platform on which this blog sits, has been both interesting and annoying. Stay tuned for an upcoming article on my First Impressions of Wordpress.

Nathan Waters
Themed Out!