It’s been a long time since a post. Using the WordPress 2.7 revamped Dashboard for a start again feels great!

Yes, it’s here. The WordPress release 2.7 codenamed “Coltrane”. Almost everything in the Dashboard has been raised to a whole new level. The new Dashboard gives you a unique sense of usability while being aesthetically beautiful.

Coltrane is a combined effort of more than 150 people who contributed directly to the code according to the WordPress Blog. A plethora of new features has been included based on the feedback of countless WordPress users. This set of new features, I feel, makes you focus on the content of your blog rather than managing it. Some of the major new features that you will instantly notice in Coltrane include:

• Automatic Upgrade  - Yes, freedom! No need to FTP newer files to your host anymore!
• Plugin Browser/Installer - Install plugins right from your dashboard without downloading them.
• Sticky Posts - Keep an important post or an announcement stickied on your front page for as long as you want.
• QuickPress - Post a new entry in a wink!
• Drag and Drop in Dashboard - Change the layout of your Dashboard while dragging and dropping layers.
• Bulk Editing of Posts.
• Comment replies from Dashboard.
• Add media without creating a post.
• A new design and layout.
• A revised Dashboard.
• And a whole lot more…

For a complete set of features and a video preview, head over to the WordPress Blog Post on Coltrane.

There is a poll for your favourite thing in WordPress 2.7, which was put while 2.7 was in Beta, on the WordPress Blog. You can head over and cast your vote here. I just love the new Dashboard and it is my favourite new feature in WordPress 2.7. Which feature in the new WordPress 2.7 do you like the most?

With the rise of the social network culture and more and more new social networks coming to life, socializing over the internet is picking up. So a nifty addon for your browser that packs in support for some major social networks, IM services and also provides you with a handful of other useful features - all combined in a sexy, slick and smooth looking user interface would be something that would make your life a lot easier. Well, that is exactly what you get with Yoono!

So what is Yoono? As the tagline of Yoono reads, it helps you socialize your browser. Yoono is a browser addon for Mozilla Firefox that sits besides your browser tabs and keeps you updated with what your friends are doing across social networks including MySpace, FaceBook and Twitter. It also supports major IM services including MSN, Yahoo!, GTalk and AIM. Even Flickr, Piczo and FriendFeed are supported. You’re never gonna miss an IM while Yoono is running in your Firefox window!

Yoono in action!

Want more? Well, Yoono also synchronizes your bookmarks with its servers so that you can share your bookmarks across different computers. You can view links related to the content you are currently browsing, and you can also post Web Notes regarding something you love, something you find funny or even something you hate. This ’something’ might range from anything between links, images, text or videos. Yoono also has additional widgets that support mail, newsfeeds, videos, photos and music.

I’ve been using Yoono since a week on Firefox 3, and so far I’ve been impressed. It silently hides as a vertical bar in my browser window, showing me a popup whenever I have a message waiting. I’ve faced some minor connection issues, where it keeps on getting disconnected, but that seems to be a problem with Firefox 3. This addon is a must for people who have been addicted to IM and social network services!

Much has been already talked about Yoono. With more widgets still in the making, it might truly become the social networking browser plugin of all times!

You can install Yoono from its Firefox Addon page here. Incase you want to check out some more news and features, headover to Yoono.com.

Until next time,
Akash.