Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

wordpress

WordPress creators re-create Twitter (sort of)

Automattic (the creators of WordPress) has created a microblogging service, but it's not for everyone--and that's the point.

It's called Prologue, and it's a new theme for WordPress.com users and blogs running off hosted WordPress installs. The goal of the theme is to let anyone setup a microblog, either for themselves or as a group--both public and private. Users can post short, to-the-point messages to their blog without having to go through WordPress' primary interface. It's essentially doing what Twitter can't, which is letting people create their own private groups and tag their … Read more

WordPress creator pulls in $29.5 million

Automattic, the company best-known for blog publishing software WordPress, has raked in $29.5 million in Series B funding. Originally reported on several blogs, the funding round was confirmed by Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg in his personal blog Tuesday evening.

The most notable of the investors is the New York Times Co., which joins existing Automattic investors Polaris Ventures, True Ventures, and Radar Ventures. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Automattic turned down an acquisition offer several months ago from a "larger Internet company." Mullenweg's only apparent reference to this in his blog post was his … Read more

Yahoo Shortcuts: It's everywhere you want to blog

Yahoo recently launched an interesting tool for Wordpress bloggers: Yahoo Shortcuts. It's important, not so much for what it does but for the trend it indicates.

But first, here is what it does: It's a plugin that people running Wordpress blogs can install for free. When it's installed on a Wordpress server, it monitors what the blog's author is writing, and lets the writer know that it has related links it can automatically insert. Locations get links to maps, products get links to prices, public companies get links to stock prices, and so on. For each … Read more

IPKarma adds karma to your comments

Correction: IPKarma does use e-mail addresses instead of IP addresses to track users. The namesake is a "recursive acronym." More over at the FAQ.

IPKarma is a new karma system to help track users who comment on your blog. The twist is it doesn't just track them for you, but also for any other blog owner who has the plug-in installed. It tracks each user by their IP address (not their username or e-mail address) and automatically creates a user profile for them when they leave a comment. Similar to SezWho (coverage), other users can then click … Read more

Odiogo does really cool text-to-speech for blogs

Here's a neat service for blog owners who want to add another layer of distribution for their content. It's called Odiogo, and it will take any written blog entries and turn them into spoken word. It uses an integrated player that sticks itself on top of every blog post, and lets readers listen to any post in lieu of reading.

I came across the service while reading a post on UNEASYsilence about hacking the new eeePCs to run a hacked version OS X Leopard (which apparently runs about as well as it can on the aged processor), and … Read more

OneClick your way to a shapelier blog

We don't often give a lot of attention to WordPress (for Windows or Mac), Movable Type and other self-publishing blogging systems. They often require a bit more determination than merely creating a Blogger or Livejournal username, password, and some pithy-kitschy title to show the world how witty you truly are.

WordPress has two very strong aspects: The installation really does take about 5 minutes, and it's highly customizable with plug-ins that absolve the user of having to be a CSS expert. OneClick is a two-part plug-in for WordPress and Firefox that simplifies the plug-in experience even further.

… Read more

CNET Live - Episode 24 - Show Notes

Had a great time co-hosting with Molly today, chatting with Matt Mullenweg from WordPress and taking your calls. Good stuff today!

Watch the show on CNET TV.

Things we Crave

Battle of the non-violent robots

Gold and diamond-plated MacBook

First Look

RIM BlackBerry 8820

Guest Matt Mullenweg from WordPress. Download of the Week

WordPress.

Insider Secrets

Upgrade a Sony PS3 hard drive.

Your calls

Alex Osborne's Linux on Palm LifeDrive project.

Transfer files to Motorola Razr V3c from MacBook by Bluetooth from About.com.

More steps for using the iPhone … Read more

Apple's iWeb gets tight Google integration, widgets

Apple's iWeb, one part of the iLife consumer apps suite, has received an interesting update this morning. iWeb is Apple's consumer-level Web site creation tool, and it gives users a simple way to drag and drop various Web site elements as well as fill in the included templates. The latest version is getting integration with two of Google's services: AdSense and Google Maps. iWeb users can now sign up for AdSense right inside the application, and pick how they want it to show up on their site. From the looks of the screenshots, it's much easier … Read more