In this episode of WordPress Weekly, Marcus Couch and I travel to Singapore to interview Lester “GaMerZ” Chan. Chan has 23 different plugins in the plugin directory, amassing an incredible total download count of 12,241,325! This accounts for approximately 1.6% of all plugin downloads from the directory. Chan explains how he handles support for 23…
Stream 2.0 is a significant update that changes the stand alone plugin into a service. But not everyone is happy with the change. Those who use Stream in enterprise environments have voiced disappointment regarding the latest update. The following is feedback from a user on the Advanced WordPress Facebook group. “Heads up if you use…
Stream 2.0 is available for download and includes a plethora of enhancements. This version features a rewrite from the ground up with a focus on scalability, security, and activity. As part of the rewrite, Stream activity data is stored in the cloud using Amazon Web Services with Elasticsearch. This is the same type of setup…
In recent days, a security vulnerability in Bash known as “ShellShock” has put millions of servers at risk. Without going into too much detail, the vulnerability allows an attacker to execute any code on a vulnerable server. The amount of servers at risk is far greater than the Heartbleed bug discovered earlier this year. The…
The creator of Aesop Story Engine, Nick Haskins, wants to know if there is any interest in a WordPress plugin that would provide a project status page. After browsing the WordPress plugin directory and coming up empty, Haskins is developing his own solution in the form of a plugin. He describes the plugin will have…
Customers who host sites with GoDaddy or Media Temple will see a new WordPress resource in their control panel. Thanks to a strategic partnership with WP101, GoDaddy and Media Temple customers can watch a 20-part WordPress 101 video tutorial series, directly within the WordPress dashboard. I reached out to WP101 founder, Shawn Hesketh, to learn…
The once popular image resizing script known as TimThumb is no longer supported according to co-creator, Ben Gillbanks. In 2011, TimThumb made headlines when a major security vulnerability was discovered and used to hack into several websites. The exploit that was found was a bug with the external image resize functionality and the fact it…
In this episode, Marcus Couch and I are joined by Andrea Middleton who manages WordCamp Central. She tells us what it means to be a “dot organizer” within Automattic and what her day to day duties are managing WordCamp Central. We discuss whether the WordCamp Guidelines allow for differentiation between WordCamps. Middleton explains the various…
Since the release of WordPress 4.0, users have had nearly a month to get used to its new features. It’s time to find out which ones are your favorite. My favorite features are the sticky toolbar, oEmbed previews in the visual editor, and the overall improvements to the writing experience. I’ve found the sticky toolbar…
WordPress.com released a new video on its YouTube account entitled Welcome Home. In the 15 second video, featuring music from Childish Gambino, photos are taken with a iPhone in various locations. Near the end of the video, the WordPress app is opened displaying a post with one of the images captured by the phone. The…
The CEO of iThemes, Cory Miller, published a second update concerning the security breach that occurred on Tuesday. After news of the breach, customers were left wondering whether or not their passwords were stored in clear-text. The latest update confirms that passwords were in fact stored in clear-text and affected approximately 60,000 customers. There is…
WP Photographers, is a new resource created by Aaron Hockley, to help photographers and WordPress users share their photos and build photography businesses. Whether you’re a beginner or a photographer looking for the best webhosting service, WP Photographers has you covered. In addition to guides, Hockley routinely publishes reviews of WordPress themes and plugins related…
iThemes published details on a security breach that took place earlier today. According to the announcement, after noticing suspicious activity, they noticed a signification attack on their membership database. iThemes urges all customers to reset their passwords immediately. To protect accounts from any unauthorized access, iThemes has temporarily reset all user passwords. To regain access…
Envato has a nice article covering the current state of WordPress blogging themes. The article does a nice job highlighting not only the styles over the years but the inspiration behind them as well. The design traits profiled include: Modern Single-Column Layout Traditional Two-Column Layout The Journal Layout The Masonry/Grid Layout My favorite style is…
Since 2011, WPShout has conducted a comprehensive, non-biased, webhosting survey. Although the site has changed hands, Fred Meyer and David Hayes are continuing the tradition and the survey questions are ready to fill out. There are four required questions with no identifiable information required to submit your answers. The survey is aimed at figuring out…