Mad Times

Sun, 14 December, 2008 – 9:34 pm

It's been just work, work, work lately. Christmas is creeping up so quickly, I just don't know where the time has gone this year.

A quick wrap up of what's been happening:

WordPress 2.7 was finally released this week, and not a moment too soon. WP 2.7 is the best version yet, the admin is beautiful and the features are great.

We finally took a day off work (on an exceptionally cold but sunny day) and got to the zoo, something we'd been planning to do since October. It was all worth it when I got to see what I went for – the new lion cub. I could have just stood and watched him for hours!

Work has continued to be busy, which is obviously good from a credit crunch / recession point of view. I'm just a tad bit tired and need a break! However, come Friday I'll be stopping work (well client work) for Christmas, and certainly can't wait! Although I seem to be arranging to sort out so much stuff over Christmas that I'll probably be busier than ever!

I won a competition the other week and got a premium WordPress template for free, so I need to get around to injecting my own personality into that, plus the 2.7 code (yes another job for Christmas). So I'll be updating the design of this site soon.

Both Dave and I won a bit of cash off the BloggingTips.com forum competition, so we put our winnings together and put it towards a new Sigma 10-20mm camera lens. I've not had a chance to get any shots with it yet, however I hope to have a play next week and see what I can capture.

I've been eying up Sam's iPhone with a major amount of jealousy! Frustratingly, I've got over a year left on my current contract (yes the one that had no improvement on it whatsoever!). I'm quite tempted to take on a second contract just to get the iPhone, and use that for business, then keep my other for personal for the time being until the contract runs out. But I do keep trying to tell myself to just wait!

And I've finally got Family Ski (We Ski) for the Wii, a bit of an early christmas present off Dave. It's not as good as the real thing, but it's good fun anyway. I've only spent about half an hour on it due to lack of time, but it's quite surreal shussing down, round the trails and paths, avoiding the silly people standing having a chat on the slopes (it's just like real life!).

However, hopefully I can take a long weekend here and there next year and get up to Scotland to do the real thing :D

Posted in Personal, WordPress | 6 Comments »

Upgraded to WordPress RC1

Sun, 7 December, 2008 – 12:00 am

WordPress 2.7 RC1 was released earlier this week, and this was the stage at which I was happy to upgrade this site to the new version. It's been a hard wait as I've had the beta version of 2.7 running on some smaller sites and also on my local install. Having to return back to 2.6.X version on my own site has been frustrating! However, finally I've upgraded, and uploaded my updated theme files to make use of the new features.

Most of it has gone pretty smoothly. I've not only updated to use the new comment pagination (after 25 comments, which is a rarity on my posts!), but I've also still kept my own comment styling and markup, using the comment callback function.

I have spotted a couple of issues or concerns however, but I'm not sure if this is down to the code I've used, so I'll be checking on these more in depth first.

The first is the comment count using the comments_number() tag. I noticed when I first added my updated theme files that one the post I happened to check, there was one comment displaying however the count said 2. On further investigation I did have a second comment on the post but it was unmoderated. Obviously not the outcome I'd prefer, as sometimes I just don't have a chance, or forget to moderate comments, so it would be confusing to some to see perhaps a heading of '4 Responses' yet only one displayed!

The second issue, or not really an issue but a strange finding, is that in the callback function you effectively rewrite your comment markup. You start with a list item so essentially you should finish with a list item. On the codex page for the wp_list_comments() tag, the callback function example has the closing list item tag, however, when you use this code in your theme, you actually get two closing list items. It looks like the template tag automatically adds the closing list item regardless of what you use. Obviously this is strange behaviour as it's assuming that you're using a list for your comments (which you should, but plenty of themes out there don't), and it leaves you with incomplete code in your function, which is not usually the case.

Hopefully the first issue mentioned will be fixed before the final release, and the second is more a case of whether it's considered normal behaviour or not. To me it isn't, and who ever wrote the codex page thought it wasn't either, but perhaps to the WordPress developers it's how it should be!

However, they're only minor issues, and the advantages and beauty of WordPress 2.7 far outweights those that's for sure.

All I'm now waiting for is the release of WordPress MU 2.7 for a couple of sites!

Posted in Blogging, WordPress | 5 Comments »

Updating your Theme for WordPress 2.7

Sun, 30 November, 2008 – 6:51 pm

With the release of WordPress 2.7 just around the corner, I've had a chance to look at the new features and the updates needed to your theme to make use of these new features. Whilst older themes will continue to work with 2.7 (just as old themes worked when widgets / dynamic sidebars were introduced, and when other various features such as built in gravatars have been introduced), there are a couple of additions that will improve your control over your site, and to use the new pagination or threaded comment system you'll need to add in the new, necessary code.

I've written about the new features and the comment code for the pagination over at Blogging Tips:

WordPress Theme Enhancements I
WordPress Theme Enhancements II
WordPress Theme Enhancements III

And I'll be writing about the code for threaded comments next week. Added the 3rd post above

I've already made these changes to my own theme in anticipation of the release of either the full 2.7 version or at least the release candidate version, that I've read is to be coming soon. For my comments file I still wanted comments and pings/trackbacks separated, so with a bit of alterations to the code on my post at Blogging Tips, I've now got this working. The only slight difference is the layout, however I've got a couple of final changes to do and then my theme is ready for 2.7.

So, if you want to make use of the new features in WordPress 2.7, mainly the comment pagination and/or threading, then I recommend making these changes ready for its release.

Posted in WordPress | 9 Comments »

Business and Updates

Wed, 19 November, 2008 – 1:26 pm

Just a brief update as it's been pretty mad round here lately. I'm now working about 60 hours a week trying to get all of my work cleared before Christmas, and people still want more done! I thought the UK, in fact half the world, was suffering a credit crunch, or maybe it's more a case of businesses now turning to their website and the Internet as a way to make more profit with less costs. Let's face it, if you do it right you can run a business straight off a site without the need for the overheads of a shop or premises. Still, it keeps us in business so whilst I'm exceptionally busy I know to be thankful that we have enough work coming in for both of us.

I have taken 5 minutes out however to redo my Blogging Tips Posts page, so that it's now split into the different subjects that I write on there. The latest two posts are also listed below my recent posts on my sidebar over there ->

I've set up a simple database table to hold this info in and when I have time I'll set this up as a plugin as it may be of use to others who write guest posts for various sites, or perhaps writes on a couple of other sites and wants to highlight those posts on their own blog.

So at present it's just work, work and more work. I will try and get back to getting on course with my WordPress CMS posts this week and try and grab an hour or two on Sunday to write a few for the forthcoming weeks.

Posted in Blogging, Business | 5 Comments »

Affordable Virtual Switchboard in the UK

Sat, 8 November, 2008 – 11:03 pm

Anyone running a small business and wants the flexibility to have business calls come to a varying specified number and then be able to schedule when these calls are accepted (ie. office hours only) needs a Virtual Switchboard! Also, if you happen to work with others but are not necessarily in the same location all of the time, again, a virtual switchboard could be your solution.

What is a Virtual Switchboard?

We know what a switchboard is right? Can accept calls, offer options (press 1 for this, press 2 for that etc). A virtual switchboard is simply software that does the same job, but you can control it online or via a telephone. You get a telephone number of people to call and then you can set up your options, upload your own voice files to read out the options, and set which number each option should call, or even set an option to just read out a message or accept a voicemail. If a call isn't answered, the user can leave a voicemail and this is then emailed through to you.

The benefits of a virtual switchboard is that you can:

  • Set up a number of options, each option can go to a different number around the world, to both landlines and mobiles.
  • If you're already on a call or don't want to accept the call, the user can leave a voicemail message that's emailed to you.
  • Set up options to just play a recorded message.
  • Set up options to just play a recorded message and then accept a voicemail.
  • You can usually get a local number eg. 020, 0151, 0161, either for free or for an additional cost.
  • You can schedule when your switchboard directs calls ie. your office hours, and it can just go straight to voicemail at all other times.
  • You get a call log of who's phoned you plus their number if it's not withheld.
  • It can all be maintained via website or telephone menu.

I've been using DM Club Switchboard for the last year and a bit, however it's not been without problems, so much so most of my clients have gone back to just using my mobile which defeats the object of having a switchboard! Plus they have a habit of phoning in the evening and/or weekends!

Press1 Switchboard

I recently signed up to Press 1 and I have to say that I'm already far more happy than I was with DM Club. First off, the web site works which always helps. The admin is pretty simple to set up too. The main points that I would recommend Press 1 for are:

  • When you're on the phone to another call the second caller gets a busy message instead of just going straight to voicemail, so that they're aware that you're already busy.
  • They don't charge for directing calls to landlines, so unless you need to go out and you change your redirect to your mobile, you won't pay call charges on top of the switchboard charge.
  • They offer a switchboard on 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers, but you can also pay for a local number to have redirected to your switchboard too, which means I can get an 0151 number and give people a better idea of where I'm located.
  • You can set it so that you get an email whenever someone calls your number, even if you don't speak to them.
  • They just charge you at the end of the month for your switchboard and any call charges accumulated.

Press 1 offer a 1 week free trial so if you're thinking of trying a switchboard out, give them a go and see what you think. After using a switchboard for almost 18 months I can definitely recommend that it's worth the (minor) cost and Press 1 have certainly impressed me so far. The costs for Press 1 vary depending on which number type you select however at the very cheapest, you can pay just £4.99 a month for an 0844 switchboard. Also, for a limited time (at a guess) if you use the promo code 'buynow' you can currently get your setup fee at half price.

Visit Press 1

Posted in Business | 4 Comments »

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