Joomla 1.7 - 1 Click Upgrades are Here!

Monday, 18 July 2011 15:47

The soon to be released Joomla 1.7 update will bring with it quite a few new features, including the ability for most users to benefit from a much easier upgrade process with 'once click updates', security enhancements, batch processing of articles, and more.

Introducing JS Wedding: Our Latest Joomla 1.5/1.6 Template

Monday, 23 May 2011 21:34

It's wedding/graduation/vacation season, and we've just released a brand new Joomla 1.5 / 1.6  template called JS Wedding that's perfect for documenting all your special memories this year.

JS Wedding is a light & versatile template with an understated elegance that is well-suited for family photo galleries or websites for weddings, anniversaries, graduations, reunions, vacations or special occasions.

Wedding comes with...

Joomla 1.6 has been released! What about Joomla 1.6 Templates?

Monday, 10 January 2011 17:54

Joomlashack would like to congratulate the Joomla project, the community, and the volunteers who have worked so hard to get Joomla 1.6 ready and available. We recognize the dedication and tireless work put into the release, and we want to express our gratitude.

With the release of Joomla 1.6 stable, we wanted to give you our team's advice on what this means for you, as well as what we are doing with our products.

Joomla 1.6 is coming soon: Use it or wait?

Written by Forest Linden
Friday, 17 December 2010 12:04

Three days ago the first release candidate of Joomla 1.6 was published. Given the amount of buzz around this new version of Joomla, and the increasing frequency of questions around whether or not one should use 1.6 now, I wanted to post something about this to share my opinion on the matter.

Joomla 1.6 is in it's first release candidate version, called RC1. That means that this version could be the final version of 1.6, unless there are any major issues discovered. At the time of this writing, several bugs have already been identified that are known as blockers to a stable release. So, there will likely be several RC versions before a stable version is released. (For comparison, I believe there were 4 RC releases for 1.5).

In addition, there will be security improvements to Joomla 1.6 that will likely be added before it is reaches a stable version.

1.6 has a few very nice additions to the functionality of Joomla, but I strongly recommend not using it until it is released as a stable version. You'll know when it's reached a stable release because the "RC1" or "RC2" or whatever RC version is the last, will disappear from the release name, and will be replaced by something like "stable."

The Shack's Leftover Turkey Sandwiches

Monday, 29 November 2010 18:13

You will need: 2 Slices of Bread (white or whole wheat), Leftover Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, and Cranberry Sauce.

Toast the two slices of bread lightly, each with a nice layer of butter. Warm the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes individually in the microwave (add some butter to the mashed potatoes if they are dry). On the bottom slice of slightly toasted and buttered bread, spread the mashed potatoes, on top of them spread a thin layer of gravy. I normally add salt during each of the different steps, as I like my turkey salty because then it contrasts better with the tart-sweetness of the cranberry sauce. Next, layer the leftover turkey generously. On top of the turkey mash the stuffing. Cover again with a more generous helping of gravy and top with the other slice of buttered (and salted) bread. Serve with the cranberry sauce on the side.

Enjoy with a knife and fork, but if you are brave, eat it with your hands. Use a knife to lather cranberry sauce on the sandwich where you intend to bite. Enjoy!

* DISCLAIMER: We are not responsible for the gravy dripping down to your elbows which would be a shame, because as anyone can tell you, its impossible to lick your own elbow.

In-depth Joomla 1.6 Video Tour

Thursday, 03 June 2010 12:33

Joomla 1.6 beta 1 has finally been released (w00t!) and there's been a lot of buzz around it in the Joomla community.

We've just released about an hour's worth of videos for Joomlashack University members that will take you on an in-depth tour of 1.6's new features, including the infinitely nest-able categories, the powerful access control features, and other new additions.

We thought you'd enjoy seeing these videos even if you're not a member of Joomlashack University, so here you go :)

Part one of this video is a walk through guide to everything that's new in Joomla 1.6, and part two will show you the new access control system in action.

Please keep in mind that this is an early beta release of Joomla 1.6, and as such, it still has a number of bugs that are causing certain things in 1.6 to not function perfectly.

For now, it's not recommended to use 1.6 for a live production site.

Joomla 1.5 and 1.6 will run in parallel development for quite some time. The most recent update I've heard on this mentioned that they would both continue to be developed and improved for at least one year in parallel.

Unless you need to use some of the new features in 1.6, you won't need to upgrade from 1.5 for a while. (And upgrading won't be recommended until 1.6 stable has been released and until all major Joomla extensions have also been upgraded.)

However, you can enjoy the tour of the new features of 1.6 now, and download the beta to experiment with it yourself!

Movie length:
Part 1: 30:00 minutes
Part 2: 19:27 minutes

Joomla 1.6 Beta coming this month?

Monday, 22 March 2010 10:24

The long-awaited, much anticpated Joomla 1.6 beta release appears to be less than ten days away from launch.

According to a posting on Joomla.org:

It is impossible to give a definite time for future releases of Joomla 1.6.  Our best "guess" for the availability of future versions is late March 2010 for Beta 1 and late April of 2010 for the first stable version.  The ability to deliver at these times is directly proportional to the amount of volunteer help the project receives.

As for what's left to be done before the Beta release can be, well, released, the Joomla Project summarizes:

Summer of Code and Joomla 1.6 time again

Wednesday, 03 March 2010 18:37

UPDATE 3/19: Joomla was not chosen as a project for the 2010 GSOC program. Read the news from Joomla.org.

It's amazing to think it's almost time for another Summer of Code, Google's annual festival of Free and Open Source (FOSS) student software projects.

Joomla has benefited enormously from the GSOC projects over the past five summers. Last fall we reported on a number of innovative features developed for Joomla 1.6 by GSOC students, including advanced front-end editing, multi-site management, and an improved administrator UI template for the Joomla backend. Time will tell if their code makes it into the Joomla 1.6 beta release expected soon.

For GSOC students to work with the Joomla Project, they must have an approved project and mentor. Last year, Joomlashack's own TJ Baker volunteered as a mentor, an experience he says he greatly enjoyed. "Mentoring a GSOC student is an excellent way to give back to Joomla, and to learn from your mentee too!"

Interested in becoming a mentor or a student in the Google Summer of Code this summer? Applications are due by March 12th and you can find all the details on the Joomla Community blog.

Joomla 1.6 drives forward with developer conference

Monday, 02 November 2009 16:48

The steady march to Joomla 1.6 picked up further steam recently with the release of the project's second alpha release.

Joomla 1.6 Alpha 2 became available last week, and shows the development team is making great strides toward a next generation Joomla.

Front and center in this new release is the long-awaited Access Control Level feature, or ACL. A first release of the "nested categories" and a new backend template made it in the second alpha as well.

With Joomla 1.6 getting closer to a beta release (anticipated sometime in the next few months), the Joomla leadership team is hosting the first-ever Joomla Developer Conference in early December.

Joomla 1.6 beta delayed for second alpha release

Monday, 21 September 2009 19:15

When will we see Joomla 1.6 Beta? After a second Joomla 1.6 alpha release, says the Production Leadership Team.

Joomla 1.6 promises to provide several powerful new features to our favorite CMS. One new feature in particular is slowing down the development of a beta release of 1.6, but the wait appears quite worth it.