BraveNewCode

WPtouch 1.9.9 Released Into Yonder Wild! (UPDATED)

2010-03-10T04:01:24Z

UPDATED: WPtouch 1.9.9 introduced a bug which has been fixed in WPtouch 1.9.9.3. Please upgrade ASAP if you’re experiencing the issue.

Today we’re releasing an update to WPtouch to address a few issues which have been reported in the last while, and also add and revise a few existing features.

Tricky Fixes

Of note in terms of bug fixes are a fix for the admin page failing to load on some hosting setups, and a fix for some mobile browsers that have issues with return false;.

Fresh Features

In the what’s new category there’s been improvements to the comments via ajax and for iPhone/iPod touch visitors leaving comments they’ll now see the unique keyboards built into the iPhone for entering urls and e-mail addressses.

We were working on client-side text-size changing, but that’s not quite prime time so it hasn’t been included in this update.

Below you’ll find the complete list of changes.

Changelog

Added HTML5 types for comment url and email (devices capable now show unique keyboard layouts for these inputs)
Added and refined jQuery code, effects
Revised post/page image sizing auto-detection features
Changed the way Ajax comments work – will now work for everyone
Changed code referencing javascript:return false; to javascript:void(0);
Changed admin panel to stop using Ajax that would sometimes fail to load
Removed comments-ajax.php from theme (not needed anymore)
Removed ajax comments option from the admin (not needed anymore)
Removed obsolete code orphans from old code methods
Bug fixes

The update notification should appear in your WordPress admin shortly.

‘Earth Hour’ Plugin Listed on the WWF.ca Website

2010-03-04T02:57:54Z

WWF.ca Website

Recently we were contacted by a friendly employee at the WWF.ca website letting us know they’ve added our Earth Hour plugin to thier Spread The Word page. On the page you’ll find lots of cool banners, images, flash files and more to post on your website or social networking profile page(s).

The Hour Draws Near!

With just over 3 weeks to the Hour remaining, we’ve noticed almost 500 websites participating in the event using our plugin.

To find our more about our free and easy Earth Hour plugin visit the plugin page now.

New BNC Support Forums 2.0 Launched!

2010-03-02T19:41:54Z

BraveNewCode Support Forums 2.0

We’ve launched our brand-new Support Forums today, the long-awaited redux for our previous forums which we took offline late last year.

Significant effort went into the new forums, as we re-built them from scratch on bbPress 1.0.2. We’ve added lots of little details to hopefully make our forum experience easy and intuitive for our users, such as: Simple, clear uncluttered views of topics and forums, helpful hints and reminders for publishing topics and replies, Ajax publishing for topics and replies, Ajax favourites and tagging, and much more.

We’ve also added a Bug Reporter Tool available in the forums (available for registered members), for easy filing of those types of issues which we can’t offer a fix for in the forums but can log and track and hopefully resolve in upcoming releases.

BNCID

What’s a BNCID? Simply put it’s an account you create that will hopefully make doing things BNC-related super simple. It’s one account that we’ve planned out to:

Make comments on the blog under your BNCID username
Start topics and reply to topics in the forums
Manage product licenses for any products we may release in the future
Gain access to special promotions, offers, discounts, etc
Manage your e-mail subscriptions to blog posts
… and more!

We’re still building things out for the BNCID accounts, including the account page itself where all the managing of account details and features will take place. Eventually a BNCID holder will have this single page that will let them manage all account features and see blog/forum activity.

It’s something that we really haven’t seen done with WordPress yet that we really think is a must when you build a large, diverse website with several account features such as what we have planned for BNC.

So head on over to the forums and take a look around!
We hope you enjoy them!

~The BNC Team

Earth Hour 1.3 Released

2010-02-18T04:43:27Z

In preparation for this year’s upcoming Earth Hour event, we are pleased to announce the release of a new version of our Earth Hour WordPress plugin.

Earth Hour Screenshot

The features in this version include:

Ready for 2010!
Brand new admin panel with options
Updated Earth Hour page design (now dark- uses less screen energy!)
Updated banner design
Added option to set custom page text
Added option to choose image, set custom image
Added option to preview Earth hour page
Updated code, css, js etc
Tested in IE 6+, Firefox 2+, Safari 3+, Opera 9+
Updated POT file for new translations

Last year we had approximately 1,000 sites participate in Earth Hour using our plugin, and we’re hoping even more people show their solidarity this year. For more information, visit the Earth Hour plugin page.

If you’re fluent in another language and would like to translate Earth Hour, please translate the associated POT file (included in the plugin download), and send us the .PO file via our contact page.

WPtouch 1.9.8 Released

2010-02-14T15:11:14Z

We pumped out a bug fix and maintenance release ~~this morning~~ February 8th which aimed to fix a couple of nagging issues facing some of our users. Considering the breadth with which WPtouch is installed and used, it’s no wonder there’s a couple issues.

Even if you’re not having any trouble you should update anyways, no harm done in doing so.

Issues covered in this release are:

Fixed an undefined function error
Stopped GigPress CSS from loading in the header when it’s not enabled
Fixed error where Icon Upload would fail in admin
Updated Ajax Upload script to v3.9

Show your WPtouch Pride!

2010-02-08T14:53:25Z

If you’re running WPtouch and want to show your desktop users that you have a mobile version ready for them why not use one of our spiffy decals? Simply grab the image you want below and link it to www.wptouch.com.

300px PNG Format

WPtouch 300px (png)

300px JPG Format

WPtouch 300px (jpg)

150px PNG Format

WPtouch 150px (png)

150px JPG Format

WPtouch 150px (jpg)

Apple’s iPad

2010-01-28T04:55:05Z

Steve Jobs reveals the iPad

Apple announced the iPad today, and at first I have to say I was underwhelmed, though just hearing the chatter regarding the launch on Gizmodo, Twitter, Ars Technica and other tech news sites at the time.

This evening I took some time to watch the keynote video posted by Apple, reviewing the whole 1+ hour love-in of Apple’s ‘Latest Creation’. Afterwards I had a few new takeways and a few more positive thoughts about the device, its potential, and where BraveNewCode might fit in with its impact.

Though I still remain a little skeptical about the net worth of a device like this in my own life, I think for a good many others this might be something that really helps push computing to a new level in their lives, and brings great web content to that many more people.

Capabilities

It sure seemed to me that the full breadth of the device’s power and ‘Magic’ won’t be understood or known until it’s held in the hands, much like the iPhone for many people. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve handed my iPhone over to who, in just a few minutes start grasping what all the chatter is about. I think the same will hold true for this device, and over time as more 3rd party apps are built that harness its potential its wow factor will increase in multitudes.

mobile(BIG)Safari

Safari is touted as ‘the world’s best browser’ by Apple, and in testing for things like the Acid 3 test, it does indeed stack up as such. So what would the best browser in the world feel like on a large, crisp touch display? I’d have to think it’d be pretty nice, and the demos given by Jobs surely do give the impression that that’s the case.

So while it dwarfs the power of mobileSafari on the iPhone and really does put the power of the internet in your hands (minus, of course, Flash) I was left thinking about whether something like WPtouch would be at all desirable on a device like this.

WPtouch Possibilities

There are no doubt many who will think that the attention given to mobile website customizations and solutions (of which WPtouch belongs) do not or need not apply on a device such as this. I think they’re wrong, or at least, not thinking about it as creatively as they could.

Just as there’ll be revolutions for iPad apps created by iPhone app developers that are already making great apps for the iPhone and iPod touch (cough, Loren Brichter) I strongly think there’s a whole new breed of touch browsing customizations that can be brought to websites which not only enhance the the experience of browsing a website, but also improve upon it, taking advantage of the intuitive input method that is touch. A great example of this occurred during Phil Shiller’s demonstration during the keynote of the touch-specific gestures and capabilities built into Apple’s new iWork suite on the iPad. The way that a user is able to perform certain tasks on the iPad are far more intuitive, simple, powerful and fast when compared to the mouse/keyboard input paradigm.

There are of course things that are more difficult on a device like the iPad, or iPhone. In these cases thoughtful consideration about how to reduce or eliminate these barriers will enhance and improve a user’s experience of a website or web application, and minimize the barriers to e-commerce, great content, and so forth.

So with these ruminations in mind I think that BraveNewCode is ideally positioned to look at what these kinds of improvements and advantages might look and feel like. Because we love WordPress so much (just like you probably do, too) we think that adding unique and powerful support for this new breed of web browsing and publishing devices is a must for the active community of WordPress users who will likely be iPadding in the near future.

The Waiting Game

But for now, we’ll all just have to wait a few months before we can get our hands on one, or settle for dabbling with the latest SDK.

The WordPress Foundation

2010-01-28T05:34:05Z

A few days ago, Matt Mullenweg and Automattic announced the new WordPress Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to perpetuating WordPress and other open-source GPL projects.

In their own words:

The point of the foundation is to ensure free access, in perpetuity, to the projects we support. People and businesses may come and go, so it is important to ensure that the source code for these projects will survive beyond the current contributor base, that we may create a stable platform for web publishing for generations to come. As part of this mission, the Foundation will be responsible for protecting the WordPress, WordCamp, and related trademarks. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the WordPress Foundation will also pursue a charter to educate the public about WordPress and related open source software.

I think this is a really great endeavour, especially with regards to things like WordCamp which are starting to be taken advantage of by commercial organizations. I also think that as a non-profit they will attract many businesses that can donate to the WordPress Foundation while receiving a tax credit, which is really a win-win for both parties. I also applaud WordCamp New York for donating their budget surplus, over $28,000, to the WordPress Foundation.

For more information on the foundation, head on over to the WordPress Foundation website and browse around.