Download WordPress 2.3 beta 1

A few days ago, the developers of WordPress released the first beta version of the 2.3 series published. The beta can here downloaded and takes up just over 0.98MB as a zip file. WordPress is open source blogging software made available under the gpl license. According to the makers, the software can run within five minutes on a computer with PHP and MySQL installed. In addition to ‘blogging’, it is also possible to expand WordPress by means of plugins or to give the package a different appearance by using themes. WordPress 2.3 has many improvements over the 2.2 series. Among other things, a notification is given when a new version of a plugin is released and articles can be linked through the built-in tag support:

The past 3 months we’ve been working feverishly on the next version of WordPress, 2.3. Today we’re releasing the first beta of 2.3 and we’re hoping the more adventurous and savvy among you will help us test it.

Some of the features of 2.3 include plugin and core update notification, built-in tags support, faster javascript, and SEO-friendly URL redirection.

However all of the new functionality is still very rough, so only test the beta if you are comfortable troubleshooting PHP issues, filing tickets, and backing up your data religiously.