In case you are using Mr. Coolmann’s WordPress statistics plugin, Wp-Slimstat, then you might enjoy this unofficial release. Besides making it WordPress 2.5 compatible it also blends nicely with the new colour theme.

Installation - current users

To install, download Wp-Slimstat v.1.0.1, deactivate plugin, overwrite old file in your plugins directory with the new one and activate.

Installation - new users

Grab the code (including instructions) from the author directly. Before activating follow the simple steps as outlined above. This ensures the plugin is 2.5 compatible before activation. However, new users need a few extra files which is not included with the update.

Install and use at your own risk. It worked for me and should for you as well (I hope).

This marks my first post here on Blogvaria using the new and possibly better admin panel and features in WordPress 2.5. I’m also happy to report that all my plugins seems to work and that my theme handled the upgrade painlessly.

I’ve been running this blog on WordPress 2.2.x for some time now, but after reading several warnings about Technorati (and possibly others) planned index exclusion of vulnerable blogs I’ve decided it’s time to upgrade. After a quick test on localhost I didn’t see any reason not to go ahead.

However, things might break and I would really appreciate feedback in case you discover something out of the ordinary.

More updates will follow I’m sure, and soon a new theme which I will share as always.

Last night I visited noupe.com as I saw from the log they are listing my jQuery navigation menu. Besides the obvious increase in self-esteem I also found a great list of probably the best looking, and working, WP themes around. So if you are looking to enhance your blog, this list is definitely worth a look.

To end this post I would also like to say a big thank you to all of you mentioning my work. Really do appreciate all the visitors you are throwing me

Following my recent upgrade to WordPress 2.5 (RC1) on my other blog/website I could not get my favourite statistic plugins working. The first, WP Slimstat, is no longer under development and is not compatible with WP 2.3 and above. The latter, Popularity Contest, is supposed to work with the latest WP versions but triggered a fatal error during install (at least for me).

At first glance it would appear I’d have to look somewhere else for alternatives. On the other hand I could dive into the code and try figuring things out myself. I decided on the last option.

Fix - Alex King’s Popularity Contest (v.1.3b3)

Fixing the installation error was far easier than anticipated. This is what you need to do if you experience any difficulties or plan on upgrading:

• If you have an older version deactivate the plugin.
• Download the latest release (link above).
• Open popularity-contest.php and scroll down to line 59. Replace

  require('../../wp-blog-header.php');

  with

  require('../wp-blog-header.php');

• Upload the edited file to your plugins folder (sub directory popularity-contest)
• Reactivate the plugin

I tried posting a comment mentioning the problem, but it went into comment heaven. The issue will most likely be solved with the next release (but I couldn’t wait…).

Update: In case you are doing a fresh install you might also need to create the DB tables manually. More about how to do this here.

Update - Camu’s WP Slimstat (v.0.92)

To avoid repeating myself please see my post “How to view and collect visitor statistics” for a proper solution. This tiny update should keep WP Slimstat working until the WordPress team decides on more DB changes. With any luck this might take awhile…

The “IP to Country database” update is not necessary, and will only apply for new log entries. However, to keep the data more or less correct it is probably a wise decision to have the database more up to date.

Feel free to let me know if you have any difficulties running these updates, or know of other plugins you’d liked “fixed”.

This is just to announce that my design/development blog has been successfully updated/upgraded to WordPress 2.5 RC1. As most of you probably have noticed already the WP 2.5 release candidate was announced earlier today on the WordPress development blog.

Following yet another astonishingly easy upgrade I’ve also tested plugin compatibility against the latest version. The following post “Running on WordPress 2.5 RC1” should answer a few questions for those of you considering an early upgrade.

I don’t see any backsides throwing yourselves at it, as the new admin panel and the overall speed seams fantastic. Congrats to all of you WordPress developers, this sure was a pleasant experience. Thank you!