New Joomla Version 2.5 Released Today

Good news for Joomla users everywhere! Joomla version 2.5 was released today! If you're already running version 1.7, the update is easy as pie. If you need to migrate from 1.5, check this link for detailed instructions on the migration process. For even more assistance, JoomlaChicago will host a live learning session on Joomla 1.5 migration at the JoomlaChicago meeting in March (Palatine, March 14th). Here are some of the highpoints of this major long-term release of Joomla version 2.5:

• Advanced SmartSearch Capabilities
• Multi-Database Support For Enterprise
• Automatic Update Notification
• Powerful New JPlatform Release (under the hood, for more power, less footprint)
• Much more!

THANK YOU to all volunteers who helped Joomla 2.5 take flight today! Developers & engineers, UX pro's, designers, marketers, infographic artists, documentation writers and 3rd party developers ALL "came together" to make this long-term release possible!

Joomla 2.5 adheres to Joomla’s newly-adopted six-month release cycle that began with the previous  Joomla CMS release of Joomla 1.7 in July, 2011. Downloading the latest version of Joomla is the best way to ensure organizational and personal security needs are being met since it will have the most recent updates to protect against the latest security threats. 

Get Joomla 2.5 Now, And Take Your Site Even Higher: 

• Download Joomla 2.5
• JRelease Announcement
• New Features in 2.5
• Changelog

Want To Get Involved?
If you, or someone you know would like to get involved in spreading the good word about Joomla, either here in Chicago or at an international level, LET ME KNOW, we'll get you involved! You'll be happy to know, there's a group of over 70 people working on improving communications and "evangelizing" Joomla! If you want to join this group, contact John Coonen today.

 

 

While we were in the midst of our JoomlaChicago meeting yesterday in Palatine, we got the good news that The Joomla! Project released the beta2 version of Joomla 2.5. You can download it and gie it a whirl at Joomla.org. While we don't recommend you use this beta version yet on your own live site, there's really no better way to get to know what's shakin' with the new version than giving it a test drive!

To help get Joomla 2.5 ready for release in January, Joomla! is throwing a bug squashing party!!! On December 10th at 9am (in your time zone), groups from around the world will be joining on Skype and in local locations to work on bug squashing and testing of Joomla 2.5.

Here in Chicago, we do not have a local business sponsoring a site for us to meet and take part as a group. Joomla itself is offering Pizza to the local groups that are registered by Dec 10th.  If anyone is interested in hosting the bug squash, we can register with Joomla and get free pizza for those taking part. As of now, no one has tried to arrange anything for the Joomla Chicago group.

If we don't get a host, you can still take part. You can join me and many others virtually in the bug squashing chat on Skype. You have to be invited to the chat by the organizer. You should also take a look at what you need ready to go in order to do this event. There is some pre-setup that needs to happen for you to be able to help test the software.

If you have any questions, I'm going to be getting myself setup for doing testing and possibly trying to fix bugs as well.  I have one or two that I know I want to try to see if they are already fixed.

Come on and help Joomla get 2.5 ready for launch in January. Join me and many others at the Pizza, Bugs and Fun 2011 event!

More information can be found here: http://docs.joomla.org/Pizza_Bugs_and_Fun_2011

 

If you are interested in hosting, feel free to contact me as well. I can help to coordinate everything.

Steve Jobs has passed away.   No matter if you are an Apple fan or not, you can't deny the impact this man had on the world of technology.    He was a visionary and one of a kind.    He will be missed.    Think Different - change the world.

Good news for folks wanting more structured training in Joomla, on a beginner or intermediate basis! JoomlaChicago members OS Training are holding two training sessions soon, and offering a 25%'discount to fellow members. All you need to do is enter the dicount code "jcchicago" when signing up, and poof! Discountio! Here are the links to the two sessions: http://www.joomlatraining.com/chicago/ http://www.joomlatraining.com/chicago-intermediate/ Now, here's the difficult part, forcing you to make a choice: the dates for training are on September 13th and 14th. The 14th is our regular JoomlaChicago meeting on the 2nd Wednesdqy of the month at Durty Nelloe's. Ha! Bottom line is, as long as you're getting your Joomla fix, that's all that matters, so it's a WIN no matter which you choose!

That said, providing first-timers an intro to Joomla! has served an important purpose for the past four years. It's given dozens of local folks valuable insights on how to go about implementing Joomla, while providing them with vital contacts to help them when they run into trouble. The question now is, should it continue?

 

So in this Quick Poll, we ask that if you're a registered member of JoomlaChicago, please login and vote. 

You have three choices:

Vote Yes = Continue offering KickStart during the regular monthly meetings
Vote Yes, But Not At Meetings = Provide a separate time and date for KickStart training
Vote No = Discontinue offering KickStart at meetings, and refer folks to local area training pro's or online resources

Please take a moment to vote on this important question:
Should JoomlaChicago Continue Offering KickStart Training For Newer Joomla Users?

{acepolls 1}

Thanks for your input! Once you vote, you can click to see the results. If you'd like to discuss this issue further, login first, then head to the KickStart Discussion to chime in!

Hi Ho:

Just wanted to report that I've been upgrading my sites to Joomla 1.7, and all is going well so far.  I like the one-click upgrade!  (One of the few advantages that Wordpress had over Joomla is now gone.)  In the course of my upgrading, I have discovered a couple things I thought I would share:

• I noted that item identifiers in Joomla menus had changed from IDs to Classes.  This was a pretty simple fix in my CSS.
• I did see some language .ini files get overwritten, so you probably want to make backups if you've been customizing your language files.

Other than that, the backup went smoothly/as expected.  I haven't done this yet on any sites with lots of third-party extensions, but I soon will!

 

So far this year, we have:

• 36 new members in 2011
• Held 5 free monthly meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of the month
• Additionally, held a free "Meetup Monday Night" during CMS Expo
• 8 local Joomla Chicago members were featured as speakers at the annual CMS Expo, receiving international exposure in the CMS Community
• Averaged 48 attendees per meeting, with 88 at Meetup Monday Night
• Offered over 16 FREE Learning Sessions on Joomla! CMS
• Provided free lunch for over 200 attendees
• Established new location for meetings in Palatine
• Member Mike Carson is planning JoomlaDay Chicago (Aug 5th & 6th)
• In the process of the 3rd major site update/upgrade to JoomlaChicago.com
• Received over 7,000 unique site visitors
• Over 150 volunteer hours by our Core Team on learning session planning, presentations, meeting planning, site development, writing design & admin
• Lunch Sponsors Arc Technology Group & JoomlaZoomla provided over 250 complimentary meals to JoomlaChicago attendees

Looking forward, in following our mission of providing the best resource for Chicago area Joomla! users, here is what is planned for us to accomplish for the balance of 2011:

• Hold 6 free monthly lunch meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of every month (July through December), 2011
• Provide 18 free learning sessions for those interested in Joomla! CMS
• As part of one scheduled meeting, focus on a business networking mixer local Joomla! enthusiasts
• Recruit at least 30 new members to participate in JoomlaChicago
• Provide support to the JoomlaDay Chicago event in August, 2011
• Complete our 3rd major site update/upgrade, using Joomla! 1.7+
• While keeping in step with the current site design, improve functionality of the site, with focus on establishing an improved Forum and User Profile/Directory
• Research additional location(s) in Chicago to hold monthly meetings

If you have suggestions on what to do to make the JoomlaChicago Group better, feel free to share them with a comment, or contact us via email, phone, or in-person, at one of our monthly meetings.

Pardon our dust over the next 10 days as we work on upgrading to the latest version of Joomla! We're moving from 1.5 to 1.6 via jUpgrade, so we'll have some minor hiccups along the way, especially when it comes to our 3rd Party extensions.

Key job functions would include:

• Working with a team to implement new web initiatives
• Updating and creating new content
• Performing software upgrades to existing websites
• Helping with ecommerce cart management
• Learning about site/server security and upkeep
• Performing website audits

Required Skills:

• HTML and css coding
• Understanding of databases
• Basic Photoshop skills
• Content management system experience a plus
• PHP programming a plus
• Knowledge of linux a plus
• Experience with video conversion a plus
• Working knowledge of social media

 

Our culture demands driven, energetic thinkers who possess leadership qualities and the desire for aggressive personal growth. Please send your resume and letter of interest itjobs [at] sourcebooks.com. This position is open immediately and require 15-30 hours per week (schedule is flexible).