CouchCast With Bungee Labs

Join us as we talk with Ted Haeger (Director, Developer Programs) from Bungee Labs.

From their website:

Platform-as-a-Service is a single environment encompassing the entire web application lifecycle from development through delivery.

Visit CouchCast.org for all of our shows. Come and be part of this sometimes wacky, sometimes funny, and sometimes techie podcast. Hosted by Robert Merrill, Matthew Reinbold and Thom Allen.

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Some Cool Things About WordPress 2.6

WordPress 2.6 was release a few days ago, and I wanted to point out some really cool features. The first thing I noticed was plug-ins are separated by those that are Active and those that are Inactive. There is also a button now to select all inactive plug-ins and delete them, giving you the ability to remove all those plug-in you don't use any more, but are too lazy to remove from your server.

The next thing I noticed was this little bubble next to the Plugins link on the Dashboard. Now I'm alerted when ever a plug-in has been updated by the author, which helps me keep the installation secure.

Something that has been around since the last version, is an auto-update feature for plug-ins. If a plug-in is hosted in the WordPress repository, you can automatically get the latest version and have it updated on your server without ever leaving the comfort of the administrative tool. Cool!

The next little trick is the WordPress Theme Preview. Now you can click on a theme you've installed and get a glimpse of what you can expect to see with your current content. It uses a LightHouse type affect. I also use a plug-in called Theme Test Drive to accomplish the same task, only I get to see it full size and live. There are some drawbacks to using this plug-in, the number one thing being if you change the sidebar plug-ins, it changes your main theme, so beware.

Finally, XMLRPC is turned off by default. This feature allows blogging clients like ScribeFire, ecto or, Windows Live Writer, to post content to your blog without actually being logged in to your WordPress site. This feature could be exploited, allowing someone to hijack your blog, so most users won't mind. But it does affect your ability to use services that auto post to your blog. Make sure you understand the security risks before turning on.

Please upgrade and keep your sites safe.

[Update: Joseph Scott from Automattic corrected my statement about XMLRPC, in a comment below. Here is what the WordPress 2.6 Blog Post says about the XMLRPC feature: "Remote publishing via XML-RPC and APP is now secure (off) by default, but you can turn it on easily through the options screen." So there is a possible security risk, according to this statement, but maybe the code can't be exploited.]

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CouchCast With Integratechs

Integratechs: Best Practices in IT Outsourcing. Eric Hansen and Terrance Crowe from Integratechs will join us to discuss current and future trends in IT Outsourcing. http://www.integratechs.com



Visit CouchCast.org for all of our shows. Come and be part of this sometimes wacky, sometimes funny, and sometimes techie podcast. Hosted by Robert Merrill, Matthew Reinbold and Thom Allen.

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New Movie; WarGames: The Dead Code

A couple of days ago I wrote a post about WarGames turning 25 this year, and how MGM is coming out with an updated version of the movie. Today I wanted to let you know about the sequel, WarGames: The Dead Code. It's supposed to be released in theaters the same day as the 1983 version is released on DVD, July 29th, 2008.

I watched the trailer (I wish I could have legally embedded the trailer, but you can watch it here), and it seems to be a cross between 24 and The Bourne Identity. I hope I'm wrong.

The problem I think the sequel will face, is the original movie used technology that was brand new, only a few geeks even knew what a modem was, or how to interact with terminals. Today, you carry computers a hundred times more powerful as the one Matthew Broderick had in his bedroom, in your pocket. The computer shouldn't be the draw this time, but I think the story is written that way. And, the terrorist angle has been played to death. I was really hoping for something a little more original.

I'll be sure to follow up with a review of the movie.

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CouchCast With Jayce Hall

Jayce Hall comes on the show to tell us about the Second Annual Utah Open Source Conference happening in August this year.

The Utah Open Source Conference 2008 will be held at the Salt Lake Community College, Redwood Road campus from August 28 - 30, 2008.

Visit CouchCast.org for all of our shows. Come and be part of this sometimes wacky, sometimes funny, and sometimes techie podcast. Hosted by Robert Merrill, Matthew Reinbold and Thom Allen.

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