I’ve just released an update for All in One SEO Pack, the most downloaded WordPress plugin.

Changes for this version:

• Improved canonical link handling for taxonomies
•  Javascript improvement for Google Analytics link tracking feature
•  New Russian translation added
•  Elimination of warnings with WP_DEBUG turned on

Check out this great post by Cory Miller of iThemes, WebDesign.com, and BackupBuddy plugin for WordPress. http://startupsofa.com/how-to-do-what-you-love-and-get-paid-well-for-it-5-keys/

Semper Plugins, a project of Semper Fi Web Design, has officially launched. Semper Plugins is the home of the All in One SEO Pack – Pro Version and other premium plugins to make your WordPress site work better – and work better for you.

To celebrate the launch, we’re adding a 30% savings to the already discounted prices on the premium plugins. Just visit the plugin page, select the plugin(s) and support package you want, enter SEMPERLAUNCH30 at checkout and your 30% savings will be applied.

This discount code is valid through the end of the year…so make sure you take advantage of it before December 31st at midnight.  

Come visit Semper Plugins - and if you have a need or an idea for a plugin, let us know via the contact page.

You can now download WordPress 3.3

http://wordpress.org/news/2011/12/sonny/

In our office at Semper Fi Web Design, we decided there weren’t enough WordPress things on display. So to correct that, we decked the tree boughs with WordPress ornaments, with WordPress shirts as a tree skirt.

As Christmas gets closer, I’m reminded of how thankful I am to have such an amazing job, with great coworkers, and to be part of an incredible WordPress community.

http://semperfiwebdesign.com/blog/black-friday-wordpress-sales/

Qaddafi is dead

WordPress 3.2 is now available. Remember that the new minimum requirements are now PHP 5.2.4 and MySQL 5.0.
http://wordpress.org/news/2011/07/gershwin/

GNU GPL to be tested in court.

Web hosting company, A Small Orange, sent this email to its customers today. I’m reminded of when Media Temple was hacked recently. However, while A Small Orange still hasn’t let us know all the details, for instance the nature of the security hole, at least they were quick to make a public announcement.

We recently discovered that one of our internal servers had been compromised. We have received no reports of any harm to customers as a result of the attack. However, we did want to notify you regarding the situation quickly in order to allow you take any necessary precautions and to inform you of the steps we’ve taken to further secure your information.
What Happened
An attacker was able to gain access to one of our internal servers that hosted our billing system. Our billing system contains the contact information you provided to us when you signed up, as well as encrypted credit card information and encrypted account passwords.

Because the attacker was able to remove a number of server logs, we cannot be sure what (if anything) the attacker was able to access or if the attacker was able to decrypt any sensitive information. However, we are choosing to err on the side of the caution.

What We’ve Done
Immediately after detecting the breach, we initiated a full security lockdown across our entire network and made a series of technical and procedural changes to increase the security of all servers and services.

Besides the security procedures that we have enacted internally, we have also taken a number of other steps to ensure that this never happens again, including the tokenization of all credit card data. For our customers, this means that their credit card data will be stored securely directly with our payment gateway provider. We are also changing our procedures to ensure that customer passwords are not stored in our database.

In an effort to assist in the possible apprehension of the attacker, we have contacted and are fully cooperating with law enforcement officials.

We do not believe that any data from any of our other brands or partners has been compromised as a result of this isolated incident. However, we have taken steps to increase security throughout our entire company.

What You Can Do
We encourage our customers to follow security best practices and continue to use unique and secure passwords that are updated regularly.

If your current cPanel password is still the same as when you signed up with us, we encourage you to change that password and will be sending you a separate email with further instructions later this week. If your current cPanel password differs from the one you had when you signed up (as it does for many of our customers), we will not be contacting you further.

As always, it is also a good idea to review your credit card and bank statements on a regular basis to ensure there is no irregular activity.

Our Apology and Our Commitment
I apologize about any inconvenience that this intrusion generally, or the password resets in particular, might cause you. We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible web hosting experience and part of that is ensuring that our customers’ data is as safe and secure as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Like always, we will be available to answer any questions you might have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sincerely,

Douglas Hanna
CEO, A Small Orange LLC
ceo@asmallorange.com

WordCamp Raleigh 2011 is in 22 days. Get your tickets now before it sells out! http://wordcampraleigh.com/

Spotted in the NetApp parking lot: Addicted to Audi.

Airplane TV rebooking… Hi Tux! http://yfrog.com/h77b2smj

Are you an amazing WordPress developer or graphic designer in the Raleigh area looking for a full time job with benefits? Apply to work with an team at a local WordPress development company.

VettePress

12 tips for being a professional (or what I wish someone would teach college grads)

Happy Thank a Plugin Developer Day!

The guacamole was some of the best I’ve ever had. Paired with Dos Equis, I was very happy with this diamond amenity.

This is pretty cool. WordPress.com sent out stats for blogs from 2010. It’s nice to have a glance at my info for michaeltorbert.wordpress.com. Wow, only 11 blog posts. I need to get with it this year.
(I would love to know what made the Blog-Health-o-Meter report that my blog is “Wow”.)

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,200 times in 2010. That’s about 5 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 11 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 103 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 656mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was September 10th with 297 views. The most popular post that day was WordPress Audi Spotted.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were twitter.com, michaeltorbert.com, WordPress Dashboard, facebook.com, and healthfitnesstherapy.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for michael torbert, wordpress car, wordpress license, wordpress shirts, and michael torbert wordpress.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

WordPress Audi Spotted September 2010
4 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,

WordPress Embroidered Shirts September 2010
2 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,

wp-admin WordPress shirt December 2010
2 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,

Someone must have been dreaming of a White Christmas. I drove around Raleigh and Cary for a few hours today taking pictures and admiring the beautiful snow. This is the most I’ve seen since I was young. Hopefully it will still be pretty tomorrow. I may check out Chapel Hill.

wp-admin WordPress shirt

I just received the first batch of All in One SEO Pack (WordPress plugin) stickers. If you want one, send me your address via the contact form and I’ll be happy to send you one for free!

What Michael Torbert, The Developer of All In One SEO Pack Says about Headway Themes

A box came today and it was filled with WordPress goodies! Steve said it looked like the Automattic office threw up on his dining room table. (Sorry if anyone wanted XL olive green WordPress shirts, I bought them all.)

Some pictures were taken with my iPhone, some with my DSLR, so quality will vary.

I just had my baggage handled.