A Geek Apart

Way back in ye olde days, WordPress theme designers were faced with some compatability issues. Essentially the Automattic Widgets plugin has become a default standard when issuing themes for free release or for sale.

However, not everyone had the widgets plugin installed. So designers had to create the sidebar to suit both cases. The first line “basically” says, if the sidebar widgets function exists, then present the chosen layout the user created in their dashboard. Else (meaning, if that function doesn’t exist), present the following layout… And what followed would be hard coded sidebar functions.

No longer! Since WordPress 2.2 has widget support built in, designers will merely have to place the widget code in the sidebar, with nothing else. Simple.

Now, of course, since 2.2 is still wet behind the ears, not everyone will be jumping on the bandwagon this weekend, so it’s still a good idea to hard code that sidebar for backwards compatibility purposes. Nevertheless, the future looks pretty promising. If you are very explicit and upfront when documenting your theme for sale/download, you can specify that they must have wordpress 2.2. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Remember, however, that you wont reach the largest audience. More likely, you will be reaching the wordpress enthusiast market, especially how early in the release we are (it was released May 15th).

Technorati Tags: widget, puppy, wordpress

Just downloaded WordPress 2.2 to my development server to try it out. Browsing through the Wordpress.org support forums, several people are having a little difficulty with respect to their Automattic sidebar widgets plugin after upgrading.

Here’s an important bit: Deactivate any and all plugins before you upgrade. This has always been an issue, and it’s an important step to follow to the letter.

Here’s the reason: In the newest upgrade 2.2, you don’t need to install the widgets.php plugin. It’s already there in your wp-includes folder. If you try to upgrade with that widget active, your database will be corrupt, and I hope you have a backup, cuz you’re gonna need it.

Follow the instructions exactly and you’ll be just fine.

Technorati Tags: howto, news, software, technology, wordpress

I know it’s really rude, but I have to change this theme. The time has come. So, if you are here now, and it looks the same…just wait. And if you’re new, well Welcome!

After designing many WordPress themes for clients, I figured, well, I deserve some styling as well.

If you notice any problems with the site, please let me know. I do what I can to test before deployment, but no one is perfect, right?

Thank you for your patience!

Just got a notice today from my domain name registrar that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) just agreed to lower its Registrar Transaction Fee from $.25 to $.22.

So I was given a credited refund of $.03 per year per domain name I had registered through them…retroactive back to July 1st, 2006.

Not a big amount of money, mind you, but this is a company sending me an email, telling me they’re giving me money back. How many companies do you know that would do that without you having to call and inquire?

Technorati Tags: consumer, money, godaddy, domain, webhosting

Today, Indiana University officials sent a letter to Virginia Tech President Charles Steger on behalf of the Indiana University family expressing condolences and offering support to those in need.

While not directly tied to Virginia Tech, many faculty members at Indiana University are former Virginia Tech faculty, and many faculty and students have friends and relatives who attend Virginia Tech.

In addition to the “small world” relations, IU officials also recognize their membership in a “university family.” Both universities are focused on the pursuit of knowledge, and it’s great to see separate universities come together in a time of need.

While the reaction from many at IU I work with was more utter shock and disbelief than sorrow or anger, many were quite quick to jump on the phone to find out if anyone they knew was affected by the incident, my dean included.

I strongly encourage anyone, at any university, to offer support to Virginia Tech, and take a moment to reflect on the events. While I’ll not get preachy here (leave that to the other blogs out there), I will note that this event has spurred me to think about my relationships with people at my university and how important it is to build stronger ones.

Technorati Tags: news, virginia, puppy, school, society