14 DAY TRIAL // The second beta of the upcoming WordPress 3.1 has been released. WordPress 3.1 Beta 2 comes with more bug fixes and is another step towards the final release. If everything goes according to plan, WordPress 3.1 should land before the end of the year.
"The second beta of WordPress 3.1 is now available!," WordPress.org announced. There aren't any other details other than the boilerplate warning of not using the beta release for a live site.
"It’s that time in the release cycle again, when all the features are basically done, and we’re just squashing bugs. To the brave of heart and giving of soul: Won’t you help us test the new version of WordPress?," WordPress' Jane Wells asked when the first beta was released.
"If all goes well, we hope to release WordPress 3.1 to the world at large by the end of the year, though that is (as always) subject to change/dependent on how the beta period goes," she added.
WordPress 3.1 won't be a major upgrade over the current WordPress 3.0, but it does come with a nice list of new features that some will find very handy.
One very neat and, perhaps, overdue feature is internal linking. When writing a new post, you'll be able to search through previous ones and link directly to the post or to a search or filter. It should make linking to your existing content a lot less cumbersome.
Another feature to expect in WordPress 3.1 is the admin menu bar at the top of your blog, like you get on WordPress.com. The bar is very similar to the WordPress.com one, in both looks and functionality. It enables you to manage the content on your blog, write a new post or page or approve comments, but also manage the internal workings and settings.
WordPress 3.1 Beta 2 is available for download here.