It seems like just last week the WordPress folks dropped version 3.2 on us.  Wait.  It was last week.  Anyhoo, now 3.2.1 is available.  I upgraded a bunch of sites this morning and was shocked at how quick it went.

Turns out one of the features of 3.2 was the ability to do incremental upgrades.  So instead of trashing your whole WordPress install and popping in a completely new set of files, WordPress just got a lot smarter.  Now it only upgrades/updates the files that changed.  I’d imagine this will let WordPress release patches and updates on a more frequent basis since it’s not such a big deal to run an update.

So, if you’re out of date, haven’t upgraded since 2.9, or are afraid to pull the trigger because everything might break, now’s a good time to get over that fear.  Make sure you backup your files (just grab them all – just in case), and back up that database (here’s a handy plugin that makes backing up the database easy and automatic) first, then go to it.

There are a number of new features that make WordPress run faster and lighter so give it a try. Just remember to backup your files and database first.

A few months ago we built the Artist Registry for BRIC (BRIC Arts Media Brooklyn).  Yesterday we plugged in a cool way to show what areas of Brooklyn are the most populated with registered artists.  Check it out at the bottom of the home page here:

http://registry.bricartsmedia.org/

If you’re opening an overflowing inbox this morning, make sure that you don’t fall for the latest scam being distributed widely by spammers.

Emails claiming that recipient’s accounts have been temporarily suspended are being seen around the world, attempting to trick users into believing that their email account has been accessed by somebody else.

The spammed-out emails try to hoodwink users into running the attached file which is, predictably, carrying a malicious payload.

Here’s what the emails look like (only it uses your own domain instead of “thicksole.com”):

The thing to do here is delete it and carry on.

We just upgraded about 7 of the blogs we take care of and not one issue.  Hope you have the same good experience.  Here’s a quick overview of what’s new:

Every so often, the folks at MacHeist get together with a number of different application developers, bundle them all together, and sell them at a ridiculous discount.  In the past, I’ve scored apps that I now live in (like TextMate).  Well, there’s a new MacHeist happening but this time the price isn’t ridiculously low; it’s free.

The app I wanted to get my hands on in this batch is WriteRoom.  I’ve always read great things about it, but got by using the ‘full screen’ mode in Apple’s Pages app.  Well, today I picked it up for free and you can too.  Just thought we’d pass the info along…

We’re off to camp!  It’s no secret that we’re big fans of WordPress.  We have it loaded and ready to go for anyone that signs up for a hosting account over at ClearDev.net, and we’ve built our fair share of sites using WordPress as a blatant blog or a clever CMS.  Today we signed up to attend Wordcamp – a gathering of bloggers and developers right here in NYC!

If you’re going, let me know (mayson at cleardev dot com).  Would be great to to meet up, hang out, and let the geek flags fly.

We’re launching a new promo today on the hosting side of things! Inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk’s new book, Crush It!, we put together a special hosting package so you can build your home base online and get started with the advice found in the book.

You’ll get:

• Domain name for one year (free transfer of existing domains)
• Web Hosting with plenty of resources including space for 2 domains
• WordPress installed so you’re ready to blog
• A FREE copy of CRUSH IT! delivered to your door

It’s everything thing you need on the tech side. After that, it’s up to you and how much you hustle!  The domain names are $10/year & hosting is $12/month.

No set-up fees. No contracts. No strings.

* NOTE: We’re not officially, unofficially, or in anyway connected to Gary Vaynerchuk, the publisher or anyone involved with CRUSH IT!. We’re just trying something out that will hopefully help people get rolling online.

This video isn’t the typical ClearDev blog post.  Has nothing to do with a specific project, a server upgrade, a client site, or company activity.  However, I found it to be really important to our work in general, and it may help you with that nagging project you’ve had in the back of your head.  It’s almost 20 minutes, but very worth it.

Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain from 99% on Vimeo.

Hope you enjoy it!

We just moved this over to the live server yesterday and we like the way it came out!  This was designed by Melissa Gorman over at The Company Standard, and we coded it up.  In the coming weeks we’ll build in a shopping cart and possibly a CMS, but we had to get it live fast.  The Stamford Review is now popping up at your local Barnes & Noble!

Check it out here:

So, congratulations to The Stamford Review!