14 DAY TRIAL // WordPress 3.1 is well on its way now with the first release candidate version now being available for download. Launched on Christmas Day, WordPress 3.1 RC 1 is a basically completed version of the upcoming release. If the release candidate proves reliable, it will be pushed as the final release. At launch, there were no more known bugs or issues with the blogging software.
"The first release candidate (RC1) for WordPress 3.1 is now available," Andrew Nacin announced on the WordPress.org blog.
"An RC comes after the beta period and before final release. That means we think we’re done. We currently have no known issues or bugs to squash. But with tens of millions of users, a variety of configurations, and thousands of plugins, it’s possible we’ve missed something," he added.
"So if you haven’t tested WordPress 3.1 yet, now is the time! Please though, not on your live site unless you’re extra adventurous," he warned.
While WordPress 3.1 RC 1 should be very close to the final build, it's still intended for testing purposes and should probably not be installed for "mission-critical" sites. While it should be safe for most people, with so many users, some issues are bound to pop up.
WordPress 3.1 is an evolutionary release, so there's not that much to get excited about, but it does come with some interesting new features. One that should be greatly appreciated is the possibility to add links to internal content from the editor by simply searching for the posts you want.
The menu bar WordPress.com users are used to will also be making an appearance in WordPress 3.1, enabling administrators or publishers to more easily post new content or access the dashboard.
The plan was to have WordPress 3.1 out by the year's end, and if things go smoothly this may happen yet, but with only a few days left in 2010 the release might get pushed back into 2011.
WordPress 3.1 RC 1 is available for download here.