Upgrading to Betaness

I’ve upgraded almost all the blogs in the Lawver Blogging Network (didn’t know I had one of those, did you) to the new beta version of Movable Type. So far, it’s awesome. New interface, especially for plugins. The new icons are much nicer than the old ones, and the interface seems a lot snappier. I like that you can do almost anything to one of your blogs from the main screen, and well, it’s just better, OK?\
The only problem so far is that MarsEdit is saying I have a bad password, when I know it isn’t. Not sure what that’s about, but I’m sure it will get fixed shortly. Ok, there’s another problem too: The FlickrPhotoset plugin no longer works, which is sad, because I love that plugin. Now, I’ll have to start using GetXML to get my list of photosets too (that’s how I get the recent photos).\
I’d been flirting with WordPress for a project at work, and I just hit a brick wall. It’s not that WordPress is bad. It’s not. It’s very good, but you have to know too much PHP in order to tweak it. So, it’s back to MT, and talking folks into buying a license for it.\
The power of MT comes not from its technology, but from the template system. I love the fact that I’m not locked into a programming language to use it. I can have my templates spit out PHP, Tcl, or anything else. With most of the other blogging gigs out there, you’re stuck with PHP whether you like it or not (and I’m ambivalent at the moment… I never have enough time to spend getting to know it).\
If you see anything funky, please let me know.\
Update – A Couple Tips:

  • If you created a new user for yourself and deleted Melody when you installed, you’ll need to go into the database and tweak your record in mt_author. Set the author_is_superuser field to 1 and update that row.
  • If you use something like MarsEdit to post to your blog, you’ll need to edit your user and add the xml-rpc password. You can do this by clicking your user name at the top right corner of the regular Movable Type admin screen.
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Categorized as blogging

By Kevin Lawver

Web developer, Software Engineer @ Gusto, Co-founder @ TechSAV, husband, father, aspiring social capitalist and troublemaker.

8 comments

  1. So? Was it a painless upgrade? I’m wondering if I should download it for the beatnikpad or wait until it’s gone gold…

  2. Other than FlickrPhotosets not working, and the thing with the superuser, it was fairly painless. MT-Blogroll had some “issues” as well, but I’m just playing with that. It wouldn’t kill me if it didn’t work 100%.

  3. I tried to leave a comment on the photo section but it wanted me to register. I tried to register but it said someone already had Auntie M. Is that me? I’ve no idea so I am asking if I need to register at the flicker thing or not.
    Mu favorite picture was the one from inside (from the window with the curtains) and did you blog about being at the beach?!? I am lost.
    Also, how can I flicker? I set up a blog at blogger (!) and I post pictures each time I blog but this looks nicer with the photos on the side. Any hints for me? (Remember to speak S-L-O-W-L-Y as I am NOT good with these little boxes! Thanks!

  4. I tried to leave a comment on the photo section but it wanted me to register. I tried to register but it said someone already had Auntie M. Is that me? I’ve no idea so I am asking if I need to register at the flicker thing or not.
    Mu favorite picture was the one from inside (from the window with the curtains) and did you blog about being at the beach?!? I am lost.
    Also, how can I flicker? I set up a blog at blogger (!) and I post pictures each time I blog but this looks nicer with the photos on the side. Any hints for me? (Remember to speak S-L-O-W-L-Y as I am NOT good with these little boxes! Thanks!

  5. Do you mean Flickr in general, or put Flickr pictures on your blog? I do it the geeky way (which is harder than the normal way, really, and probably a huge waste of time since the easy way probably looks better to begin with). Just sign up for Flickr (it’s free… just pick a username that’s not taken yet), and then go to the “Do ou have a Blog?” link on the homepage, and you can see all the cool stuff you can do with Flickr on your blog. If you need help, let me know.

  8. Ok, I set up a flickr account. I made a new address even. But for the life of me I cannot find where on the home page it says “DO you have a blog?” Any help? I didn’t know which email address to send this to. Can you tell me that too? 🙂

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