WordPress 2.x: Definite Progress

The new (beta) version of WordPress has a couple of really cool plugins that are almost worth the upgrade just by themselves.

The first is Askimet Antispam — it uses a WordPress API interface to determine what is and is not spam, and it integrates nicely with the WordPress layout. You can see how many spam attempts have been blocked right from the dashboard, as well as under the manage menu.

The second godlike plugin is also under the manage menu; it’s a backup plugin. As expected, it backs up your entire database (with a cool progress bar, btw) to a .sql file that you pull down to your local system.

On the negative side, the beta actually seems a bit slower than 1.x, and as mentioned in a previous post I still don’t get all the post editing options in Safari.

Overall, though, I’m happy with where the package is going. The upgrade was simple and worked as expected the first time. With any luck they’ll make some improvements to the speed and Safari compatibility, and at that point we’ll be golden.