Note: Though it says 2.4, the 2.4 release was skipped and these changes will be applied to the 2.5 release in March.

WordPress 2.3.3 | Release Notes | Download

Another security update for WordPress was just released. This mainly applies to any of you allowing registration on your site, though it also has a few bug fixes. They have one file you can replace to make the security fix without having to upgrade the entire install.

Also of note, the WordPress 2.4 release was canceled due to the holidays, the new features will be rolled over to the 2.5 release due in March (just days before WordCamp Dallas). Some of the new features expected are a redesigned Admin customizable with widgets as well as a comment edit undo feature.

Featured Site: Around Comics
ComicPress Version: 2.0 BE
Modifications: Light but clever

Got a little behind in the Friday Feature, as one year came to an end and a new one began. So to get back on track, I want to feature a site cleverly using ComicPress just a little bit different than the rest… to publish Podcasts… not Webcomics. Around Comics is a podcast about comic book culture, with minimal graphic additions they have styled the theme to look very slick.

Anyway, using ComicPress for other things than Webcomics is and interesting idea, I know some people have used it for sketch diaries and even photos, but this is something entirely different. It works well, because you are still delivering regular content, which gets special feature treatment for the posts with that content, the Podcast file itself is of course a link but in place of where the comic image would normally sit, is a custom “front page” for that Podcast, a graphical representation to go with it, which visually is great for an otherwise graphically impaired medium, and I’m sure it helps entice a non-subscribing viewer who stumbles across the page to wanting to give it a listen.

If you know of any other sites using the ComicPress theme to publish something other than Webcomics, please post them, would be fun to see.

Fellow ComicPress user Scott Kurtz deals with bad habits in this insightful video diary (a play on This American Life radio program). Hopefully we’ll see more of these as companions to the upcoming book, How To Make Webcomics being produced by the Halfpixel group, half of who are publishing their comics with ComicPress now (there’s a blurb about ComicPress in the book). What I’ve read of How To Make Webcomics is great, so look forward to seeing that on the shelves soon this year.

WordPress 2.3.2 | Release Notes | Download

A new version of WordPress was just released that addresses a vulnerability with exposing any draft posts you might have. They consider it an urgent security release so I suggest you upgrade as soon as you are able.