WordPress Users Still Await podPress’ Return

Any of you remember podPress? Yes, I’m talking about the popular podcasting plugin developed by Dan Kuykendall of MightySeek which halted development back in 2007.

PodPress was supposed to have resumed development back in August but two months has already passed and no news about its progress has been revealed at all.

Supporters of the plugin have been trying to contact the author for confirmation but to no avail. Rumors are circulating that podPress might not continue its development but some argue that this is not possible as there are already sponsors backing it.

Whatever the reason for the lack of updates on the plugin, I guess we have no choice but to wait for Dan to reveal any news. I’ll be sure to post updates regarding the progress of podPress here on BloggingPro so be sure to tune in.

Anyone else excited about podPress’ return? Be sure to leave your comments!

WordPress Role Management: New Plugin

I’ve never been happy with how WordPress deals with user permissions and roles. I’ve always wanted to customize it further, and while it is supposedly possible to do without a plugin, having a nice user interface makes the world of difference.

Justin Tadlock is currently working on a new Role Management Plugin that might add important features for those running multi-author sites.

Currently in beta, he is looking for testers for this plugin. What can it do?

• Edit Roles: Edit your user roles and their capabilities.
• New Roles: Create new roles for use on your site.
• Content Permissions: Adds a meta box on your write post/page editor that allows you to restrict content to specific roles.
• Widgets: Adds a login form widget and user-listing widget that you can use in any widget area on your site.
• Shortcodes: Creates shortcodes that you can use to restrict or allow access to certain parts of your posts and pages (or any other shortcode-capable area).
• Template Tags: New functions for use within your WordPress theme for various things.
• Private Blog: Allows you to create a private blog that can only be accessed by users that are logged in (redirects them to the login page).

If you are interested in testing it, or just starting to use it on your blog, head on over toJustin’s site, and grab your copy today.

Wordpress.com Blogs Now Has New Spell Checker Tool

Automattic, the company behind Wordpress, has just acquired a new grammar and spell checker tool called “After the Deadline“, last September 8, as a replacement for the old one used by Wordpress.com blogs.

After the Deadline helps you write better and spend less time editing. It basically works like your typical grammar and spell checker tools in word processing software, like words or phrases being underlined if the program suspects an error, as well as giving out suggested corrections that the user can choose from.

“When I first tried After the Deadline I was blown away; it was so much better than other checkers I’d used,” said Matt Mullenwag, founder of Automattic.

The new After the Deadline spell checker tool is now enabled on Wordpress blogs. Those who have self-hosted blogs can get the plugin here