I found this article by Chip Bennet to be interesting; it is about the difference between a theme’s template files for home pages and front pages. There is a difference, of course, and I like his proposed changes to the nomenclature throughout.
Use home.php.
Simple, right? But what about a custom page template, such as template-blog.php? Can’t a Theme also use that? Not to put too fine a point on it, but: no. That would be _doing_it_wrong().
I found the article from Post Status, a blog I recently found which has a great roundup of interesting WordPress news and not so annoying as others.
This article will explain how I edited some files in WordPress to allow for the ability to change post formats while using the Quick Edit feature.
This technique will allow admins and editors to quickly change a post’s format without having to click through to the edit post page, saving a lot of time and frustration for those interested in going back through their archives and assigning post formats to hundreds of previous posts, like I did.
Since this technique requires editing core WordPress files that are part of the open source software one must install on their server, it is likely that this technique will need to be repeated when the next updated version of WordPress is released.
What we want:
Highlighted is the post format edit dropdown menu in the Quick Post options on the “All Posts” screen. This change now allows me to edit post formats of posts without visiting the post edit page for each post.
Why we want it:
The frustrating aspect of all of this is that this previously was the functionality of the Quick Edit feature – but it was removed in WordPress 3.6 as a result of this ticket.
At the bottom of the ticket, one lone voice of dissent can still be heard.
I think this was a mistake.
Better to improve and to add something than just remove…
In the Quick Edit box we could add some inputs appearing and disappearing like the edit post page…
But Alexandru not only said something. He also did something: he opened a WordPress ticket of his own. And then, the WordPress open source community started hacking away at a solution, to be included in an upcoming release. But I couldn’t wait.
It worked like a charm and I am now able to revise WordPress post formats from the quick edit options again.
Update: Oct. 12, 2013
It looks like Helen Hou-Sandi has come to the rescue, and though she doesn’t agree this functionality should be added back into the Quick Post options, she said she “would be okay with restoring in bulk-edit,” which now that I think about it, makes a lot more sense and I can’t wait until the next version of WordPress is released so I can ditch my changes and continue using an unaltered core of WordPress.
Three weeks ago, Helen fixed it and closed the ticket, and to date is among 404 closed tickets for the upcoming WordPress 3.7 milestone.
Of course, if you disagree and want to find a way to add post formats back to the Quick Edit post, follow the links above and edit your WordPress core files. At your own risk.
Google announced today that they are shutting down Google Reader after a three month sunset period ending July 1. We’re being told to use Takeout to save our data to transfer to another provider not powered by Google.
We’re being told they (“as a company”) would like to focus on fewer products that have a bigger impact.
I’m asking that they reconsider.
I’ve used Google Reader since 2007 when I found it necessary to learn as much as I can as quickly as possible. Then, I was transitioning from a full-time hard-nosed and low-wage Reporter/ Photographer/ Layout/ Whatever else who was used to covering anything and everything in small Texas towns to an online copy editor using a complicated hand-rolled CMS system at a major metropolitan daily.
Google Reader helped me follow the best of what the web had to offer in the realm of online tutorials, web standards evangelists, web savvy marketers and even what my friends and colleagues were doing to make the world a better place.
I want it to stay just like it is keep getting better because I know how to use it and I don’t want to have to find another non-Google solution that won’t care about my data as much as the Data Liberation Front marketing campaign by Google claims it does.
Of course, we’ve feared this was coming. The last time Google did anything new with Reader was late 2011.
But, still. Google — if you’re listening — What are you doing? Google. Staaahhhppp.
I like Windows 8, which I’ve been using now for more than a week.
Do you like my desktop? When I don’t anymore, changing it is easy.
It’s just like Windows 7, but with an improved Windows Explorer (albeit with a Ribbon-esque interface; you remember Ribbon, it’s how you suddenly no longer knew how to use Microsoft Office a few short years ago) and faster boot times.
My favorite thing about Windows 8 is that most of the tricks and techniques I’ve developed over the years from working with Windows still work. Want to switch to another open application? Tab + Alt still delivers. Want to do something technical in Windows Explorer? Right click still gives me a great context menu. Want to personalize nearly every aspect of the look of my machine? Better than ever, Windows 8 is bright and Personalization has never been easier.
And there’s this whole new Metro interface on top of it, too, with live tiles that remind me of Android widgets (and don’t refresh automatically that well, either.)
Some of the first apps for Metro include the People app, which allows me to track my friends’ activity across Facebook and Twitter and a few other services, allowing me to comment and engage without opening a browser. I love how I can lock this app to the left or right side of the screen so it only takes up a fifth of the screen, while I run other Windows 7-era programs in the rest of the space.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS 5.5 on the right and People app on the left.
The mail app is cool too, yet no integration for Yahoo Mail yet. It seems as though for the consumer preview launch, Microsoft worked to make the services that had APIs work while skipping those that are more closed.
For years, Yahoo Mail has charged its users who wanted to connect it to Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird or other mail readers; now that one comes built into Windows 8, I wonder how fast that will change.
Seriously though; why am I still using Yahoo Mail?
Back to the subject of Windows 8 – I’ve read a lot of reviews that complain about how hard it is to use. And there is something to that. You’ll have to learn how to use the Windows key, something I’ve neglected to mess with since its widespread adoption on PC keyboards a few years ago because all it used to do was bring up the Start Menu that I never used anyway. Pressing it brings up the Metro UI. Pressing it and “C” at the same time reveals the “Charms” menu; revealing where you can usually dig into the settings of Windows or the app you’re using or quickly share something with someone somehow.
In Vista and later in Windows 7; I pinned all my most-used programs to the taskbar or the desktop. I kept all the programs organized in the Start Menu, but rarely did I need to use it.
Now, I can do the same thing in Windows 8, pinning frequently used programs to the taskbar, desktop and now the nifty Metro interface.
The much-talked about “Metro” interface updates the most popular desktop OS so that it resembles Android and IOS.
Windows 8 is great, and I think that if it is a success, every desktop PC and laptop will likely have a touch screen.
That is, if tablets don’t continue to take over the entire PC market.
If that continues to happen; Windows 8 will be a contender for the best tablet OS.
If you’re brave and you don’t mind waiting for the download/install process (2-3 hours), you can download the Windows 8 Release Preview from Microsoft’s website.
On Friday, in a whirl-wind week of WordPress updates and announcements, a new commenting system was released as part of the WordPress.com Jetpack plugin update.
The new commenting system, which I have enabled on this site, continues to allow users of this website to leave a comment by simply adding their name, their e-mail address (which stays confidential) and an optional web address to a simple form at the bottom of the page.
As it always has been, if you have a Gravatar and sign in to leave a comment this way, the photo you uploaded to Gravatar will display.
For example, see this comment here: https://brandonmoeller.com/blog/2012/06/09/recent-pickings/#comment-885
The new commenting system also allows you to comment on the posts by signing in with your Facebook, Twitter or WordPress.com accounts. If you’re like me, you’re likely already signed into one of these accounts, so clicking the icons for the service you wish to sign in as is somewhat seamless, once you agree to install the new wordpress.com facebook app on your profile.
As of this writing, two of my friends apparently have already done this for other wordpress.com sites.
Lemme know what you think about the new commenting system below in, you guessed it, the comments section. Especially if you can’t tell much of a difference.
Facebook has announced the launch of a new WordPress plugin that it has developed to integrate its most-popular social network with the most-used, self-hosted publishing platform.
This sounds really cool. For years, we’ve relied on workarounds coded by the community.
It’s good to hear that the Facebook developers have finally stepped up and done it themselves. More stability, I hope! And with luck, this plugin will progress as Facebook does.
This solution will likely replace a few others that I currently use, including some of the functionality of Otto42’s Simple Facebook Connect plugin. However, Otto’s work is still vital to this website – as I likely will keep the integration of his Connect to Facebook feature to allow visitors to comment here using their Facebook profile.
One annoyance observed right-off-the-bat: When you save a draft; your “Facebook status on your timeline” and “Mention Facebook friends” data is lost. Luckily, Firefox remembers my form data.
UPDATE: 3:45 p.m. – The Simple Facebook Connect plugin conflicts with the new Facebook plugin. Duh. Deactivating it ended a three-hour-long headache of trying to get the new plugin’s “Facebook Social Publisher” and “Facebook Author Message” function to work. Which is very cool, by the way.
UPDATE: 11:37 p.m. – I found this post where Simple Facebook Connect plugin author Otto42 reports that he’ll likely eventually drop support for his awesome and years-ahead-of-its-time plugin, in favor of supporting the official Facebook plugin. Otto42 is a frequent contributor to WordPress and I’m interested to see what this new plugin will do in terms of freeing up his time to focus on other matters.
Google 
