The WordPress team has released a maintenance update to the WordPress 2.6 branch. This release includes several improvements for international users, it also fixes permalink problems faced by blogs hosted on IIS servers. This release does not require a mandatory update, so you can continue using WordPress 2.6 if you are happy with it, although you may want to upgrade to this release if you have been facing any of the bugs that were fixed in this version.

I am going to be in San Francisco this weekend, attending the WordCamp on Saturday and staying till Sunday. Since this is my first trip to the Bay Area, I am hoping to meet and catch up with a lot of friends and colleagues. True to my style, I waited till the last minute to confirm my trip and ended up in a hotel in the Financial District. But I am hoping to not let my lodging gaffe cramp my plans. Just send me an email or a twit or use the Contact Form above if you would like to get together. [EDIT] Suggestions and SF advice much appreciated. 🙂

M (removed due to sponsored links) Adsense and widget ready, seven column, fixed width brown WordPress theme Ubuntu WP Three column, widget ready theme named after the popular operating system Ellise (removed due to sponsored links) Ellise is a 2 column theme, right sidebar position, widgetized and adsense ready. PureCSS PureCSS theme is a pure CSS WordPress theme, no image. The theme is compatible with latest WordPress, widget, valid CSS and XHTML, and has been tested with in Firefox, Internet Explorer 6 &, Opera, and Safari. mts Gossip Rag Gossip Rag is a simple, two column, localized, widget ready, fix width WP Theme for gossip or celebrities. NYC Reds Fluid four column outfit with news slider built into the frontpage, widgetized sidebar and footer columns with typical WordPress, built in are recent comments with gravatars, related posts, social bookmarking enabled.

Matt Mullenweg & Joseph Scott Discuss The WordPress Themes Directory: Ian Stewart from ThemeShaper interviews Matt Mullenweg and Joseph Scott about the new WordPress Themes Directory. There are some insightful answers to questions about the new directory and the direction it is being taken. Quote from Matt (and agreed upon by Joseph) that is worthy of note:  . . . there are a ton of features coming soon that will be my favorite.

SodaHead Polls Create a free poll for your blog with images and a fully customized look in seconds. Advanced Tagline Advanced Tagline gives the option to have multiple taglines for your blog and display them at random or sequentially with each page view. I created it mainly to learn how to write WordPress plugins and also to familiarize myself a bit with MooTools. ISIS Ad Management ISIS is a widget for wordpress, you can use it to Display 125*125 Ads in your sidebar. wp-syntax-rettke Out of the box, WP-Syntax colors code using the default GeSHi colors. Per the authors advice in the ‘Advanced Customization’ section of Other Notes, you can configure GeSHi yourself by handling the wp_syntax_init_geshi hook and configuring it programmatically. A generic plugin for folks who wanted to configure GeSHi following this approach. Disqus Plugin The Disqus WordPress plugin integrates Disqus into your blog. Disqus is a powerful […]

New DISQUS WordPress Plugin 2.0: DISQUS, the external commenting system has introduced a new version of their WordPress plugin that will allow bloggers to import their old comments into DISQUS and will allow for moderation of comments from within the WordPress administration area. New features introduced with this version of DISQUS include: Comments are indexable by search engines (SEO-friendly) Export and import of comments (Can WordPress import comments if you choose to get rid of DISQUS?) Automatic synchronization between Disqus.com and your WordPress comments Uses the new Disqus API Moderate/administer your blog right from the WordPress admin LaughingSquid and Mashable both have reviews of the new DISQUS. Is this going to help you switch comments? It appears that the plugin is only compatible upto WordPress 2.3 Thanks to Otto in the comments for the heads up.

WP Coda WP Coda is a single column theme designed to mimics the functionality of the very popular Coda website 4Marilyns A 2 column fixed-width, free WordPress theme, with righthand sidebar, enabled for widgets. Influkantur A simple and clean two column WordPress theme Star Press Star Press is a three column, red and white, widget and gravatar ready, fixed width theme Atahualpa Fluid width, 2 or 3 columns, rotating or static header image(s), options page, Gravatars, highlighted author comments. Flexi Blue Fixed width, widget ready, right sidebar, three column, gravatar ready theme

WordCamp SF 2008 is getting closer, many users may have already signed up for the event, for those who have yet to do so, you can purchase your ticket by visiting the sales page. If you are visiting the WordCamp there is another exciting event planned for charity, the WordPress Scavenger Hunt 2008 will be held the day after WordCamp SF on August 17th. The WordPress Charity Scavenger Hunt will have teams of four running amok in San Francisco for two hours, unravelling clues, finding weird stuff and completing tasks for points. The winning team with the most points will get the grand prize: lots of WordPress schwag, plus special surprises! Team registration fee is $40 for a team of 4 people, all proceeds will be donated to 826 Valencia, a local non-profit that helps kids refine their reading and writing skills. If you are looking to have a bit […]