Dan Philibin

Unfortunately, I will not be in line to get an iPhone 3G this weekend. Instead, I will stick with my first-generation iPhone that I purchased last August.

Smashing Magazine has a nicely written article on the ongoing debate on whether links should open in new windows. In the end, it basically comes down to user preference, although they argue that you should think more about your users rather than about your site.

Michael Castilla and I finally launched the latest version of WPCandy.com this morning. The new site packs twice the features of the old site, a new logo by Matt Davey, and a kickin’ new site design by Sam Brown. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

Today I came across an extremely helpful snippet of code for hiding “expired” posts in WordPress. It’s a few lines of PHP that you place inside The Loop to check for a custom field named ‘expiration’. If the date in that custom field is after the current date the post is excluded. Otherwise, it’s shown in the list. While it isn’t implemented as a plugin yet, I’ll see what I can do to make that happen. Snipplr’s WordPress Post Expiration Code

For those of you experiencing problems uploading files with WordPress 2.5, I’ve been directed to a post over at Hongkiat.com with a simple .htaccess fix. This tip has certainly come in handy for me as I’ve had to use this with almost every WordPress installation I’ve used since 2.5 came out.

WordPress 2.5 Image Upload Error

One of the biggest usability problems for me with my iPhone is its screen. While others may complain about the lack of physical keyboard or quiet ring volume, I find it annoying to use a glass touchscreen that’s smudged with fingerprints, grease marks, and who knows what else.

Luckily, PowerSupport’s Anti-Glare Film Sets are here to save the day. These thin films are actually matte screen covers that cling right to your iPhone or iPod Touch’s screen. Not only do they make the screen feel easier to use, but they also do an amazing job at staying put and keeping smudges from yucking up the screen. The films clean super easily with just the wipe of a clean thumb across the surface, and they don’t scratch very easily.

PowerSupport sells anti-glare film sets for many of Apple’s screen-bearing products, including the iPhone, iPod Touch, and MacBook.

I had a few minutes at Starbucks before a client meeting yesterday so I decided to tackle the next plugin on my idea list. With the Login Logo plugin, you change the logo on WordPress’s login screen to an image of your choice via a simple options screen. It’s a two step process with a built-in image upload form, a text box for the image URL, and a submit button. I’ve released this plugin over at WPCandy, so head on over there to download it.

CushyCMS is an awesome content management system for your clients. It isn’t your typical CMS, however. Instead of installing software on your server, CushyCMS works with your server to let clients edit specific text areas on your site. By assigning classes and titles to elements in your HTML, CushyCMS will find these areas and allow its content to be edited. CushyCMS is free to use - sign up today!

Review written at WPCandy

A few weeks ago I posted a list of 30 improvements I’d like to see in WordPress 2.6. Item number one? Customizable color schemes - possibly with COLOURlovers integration. Two weeks later, I’ve found a plugin that hits the nail on the head. The Admin CSS Designer Tool is an amazing new plugin that introduces the ability to change your site’s admin colors with built-in COLOURlovers functionality. Looking at the video demo on Ozh’s blog, it looks like a pretty functional plugin. Read the review

Barus Unver has a WordPress plugin on his blog that puts the category selector back on the side of the new post screen. Gone with the advanced category selector and ‘Related’ area that ship with WordPress 2.5, and in with the good ol’ simple sidebar category selector. Download Barus’s plugin »

Article written over at WPCandy.

I have been using WordPress pretty frequently for about a year now. I’ve written two plugins and counting for the blogging CMS, ran a site dedicated to customizing themes for a while, and have been working hard with the rest of the WPCandy team to create the third version of the site, which I’m sure will be a huge hit among the WordPress community. I haven’t been using WordPress nearly as long as other people, but I have a good feel for the system, both front-end and back-end, and I have compiled a list of 30 things I think should be changed, added, or built in to WordPress.