Archive for June 11th, 2009

This Web site had WordPress 2.8 installed for much of the day today. It’s a brand-spankin’ new version of the popular blogging platform that more and more people and companies are using to not only blog, but upon which to build entire Web sites.

I’m using it for Infonitum’s Web site, because it is very easy and there’s lots of really cool features you can add to these sites for free. That’s a price that cannot be beat.

I was pretty pumped about the platform. Pumped like a balloon that’s filled about as much as it can be. So, what happens when a little bit of stress is put on a balloon like that? Yep, it pops.

That’s what happened to me today.

One of the nice features of WordPress is something called its visual editor. It’s used in writing blog posts and other content pages within WordPress sites. You’ll see it in other kinds of platforms as well. The visual editor performs a lot of the heavy lifting for people who either 1) don’t know the language that makes Web pages look like they do; or 2) know the language, but don’t want to get bogged down in coding a post. I’m in the latter category.

When I upgraded from 2.7.1 to 2.8, though, that underloved-but-really-needed piece of the platform went missing. AWOL. History. Toast.

Since today was my day to try to put together most of this site, having this happen was more than a bit of a disappointment. I won’t go into details; suffice it to say, my last resort was to blow away the entire 2.8 installation and downgrade back to 2.7.1. Problem solved, except for the fact that I lost about 4 hours of work on the site. Yep, not happy.

I’ve been burned in the past by upgrading too quickly. Like the time when I turned my iPhone into an iBrick for several hours after a failed upgrade. I’ve been caught up in many bad upgrades of Windows, too, along with many other failed and headache-inducing software upgrades.

Yet I still do it. Why? I think it’s because I always want something that’s better. Stronger. Faster. Kind of like the 6 Million Dollar Man.

At least potential clients of mine know that I’ll bring that “better, stronger, faster” mentality to any project for which I am hired. More on my company’s services is coming soon, as I fill out the site with my own content.

(For those of you who came along from my earlier Twitter post, expecting to see a glowing review of WP 2.8 — well, things changed. That tweet was written before all of the problems I had with the new version. Let’s just say I had a lot of stars in my eyes when I first downloaded 2.8. Oh well. C’est la vie.)

Contact Bob Woods at Infonitum.