Unfortunately (?), although I am on the Beta now, because I don’t have the issue with the curl, I can’t actively take part in this testing. If you do have a problem though, I suggest you jump on-board because the more people WordPress has testing, the quicker your issue will get fixed.

BloggersBB and a few smaller forums I run will certainly NOT be going 4.0, at least for the first few months. In the future, who knows, as support for the 3.8 series ending might force me to make the upgrade…

Why I’m Not Upgrading Anytime Soon

So I thought I might as well explain why I’m not upgrading anytime soon. I am not just jumping on the bandwagon of haters and I am certainly not simply dazzled by IP.Board’s latest version.

1. vBulletin Solutions Disappointed Me

What I mean by this is that the new team in charge, not Jelsoft, has disappointed big time for me. vBulletin had the huge edge over competitors like IP.Board, phpBB, and SMF because of not only their extensive features, but the smooth coding and the excellent support. After the change in ownership, a lot of the coders leaving led to not just a drop in support, but also a free-fall in the quality of the coding. Supposedly there are ~200 queries running with the Publishing Suite and the bugs are rushed to completion. vBulletin always stood strong for the “Big Boards” and I strongly believe that a good portion of it was because of the excellent coding. The state the 4.0 is at right now certainly will set off smokes for most forums.

2. Forced Pricing

I don’t mind paying for quality software, but I am sensitive when people force me to pay for certain products that I feel is not worth the price. At the current state of 4.0, I’m glad I didn’t jump on Internet Brand’s promotional pricing structure. Software prices should be based on the overall quality of the software and the support provided. I personally believe 4.0 is a step-down from the 3.8 (when comparing comparable stats and features) series and support is at most, as good as it used to be. I don’t understand an increase in prices when the software’s quality drops and the support for it stays the same.

3. vBulletin’s Release System

So the new pricing structure states that 4.0 publishers will, for a one-time fee, get all updates in the 4.0 branch. This means that you may have paid for a forum license that may last only 18 months, the current speculated date. Paying $195 for a forum software or $285 for the Publishing Suite isn’t a cheap solution for anyone and having to pay that every time for every major update is not cool at all. It’s not as if vBulletin 4.0 is a huge jump from the 3.8 or far superior to competing scripts.

4. Subsequent/Minor Release Schedule

I always believed coding should have some time constraints, bu when a deadline is set, it should be set with a very clear picture on how finished the product will be. The stability of the Gold release shows a sheer lack of scheduling sense and it just makes me wonder how big of a difference the two updates that the management team has set in January will bring to the software.

5. Others’ Reviews

vBulletin 4.0 just might not suit my tastes. However, if it is still excellent and performs, I will use it. IP.Board doesn’t exactly fit my style, but I would use it if I had a license and had a need to use it. The problem with vBulletin 4.0 though, is that it isn’t just me. Threads questioning the readiness of 4.0 and the reviews of 4.0 show that most people are disappointed with 4.0 See how it’s not just me?

Am I Never Upgrading? Am I Leaving vBulletin?

Certainly not. I still think that 3.8 is an extremely powerful, complete, and effective software that does what I require it to do for my communities. I will stick with using vBulletin for my communities until 3.8 becomes way too outdated or I just need support. I am considering the option of possibly using IP.Board, but as I grew up using vBulletin, I may consider purchasing a license maybe a year from this post.

Regarding upgrading to vBulletin 4.0, I’m definitely holding off. I’m going to see how the 4.01 and the 4.02 release comes out to be. If it looks like it has the potential to really outshine the 3.8 series, I’ll start looking into upgrading and see what modifications I have for the boards right now are available with 4.0. If nothing much changes, you can be sure to NOT see any of my communities running the 4 branch. Maybe 5, but probably not 4.

Are you a vBulletin-based community owner? If you are, are you planning on upgrading to 4.0? I’d like to hear your opinion as communities mean much to me and therefore, softwares are pretty important.

Are you a vBulletin-based community member? Did any of your communities recently upgrade to 4.0? I’d like to hear your opinions too regarding your end-user experience on 4.0 as I’m always looking to make my communities better for my members.

Just did some testing with it and it isn’t Photoshop, but if you don’t have Photoshop on your computer, don’t want to turn it on, or just need some quick editing done for a simple upload on your blog, WP’s built-in capabilities should suit you just fine.

Well, guess what? OIOpublisher is running an awesome 90% commission affiliate program for the month of January! Heck, you don’t even need to be a paid customer to take up on this offer, so it is an awesome way to get some cash if you are any good at marketing off products!

If you’re a blogger and have been looking to get OIOpublisher, this might just be the right time to get it too! Think about it.

1. You buy a license.
2. You sell one license through your affiliate link.
3. You’re bound to pick up other sales through OIOpublisher.
4. Income is positive!

Check it out.

Also, since the last post and this post, I got myself a netbook, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to blog a bit more often now that I’m really mobile. The new baby is the Samsung NC10! Yes, it is a lot better than its counterparts like the ASUS Eee PC, Dell Mini, and the Acer Aspire. Atleast, from what I’ve experienced with the NC10 so far.

As of now, I have some mixed feelings about the software. I’ve been a Firefox user for several years now and one of the reasons that I can’t use any other browsers is because of the plugins. Thus, I honestly don’t have any immediate plans on changing. While I do like to embrace new technology, I honestly can’t be a pioneer this time around.

HOWEVER, I want to say that Chrome seems to have some nifty features which I am quite looking forward to. Anyways, I really can’t comment any further on a software that I can’t use yet, so I’ll shut up for now and see if Google can wow me again.

Google Ad Manager is basically an ad management tool that is backed by Google. What’s great about it is that you can hook it up with your Google AdSense account to really optimize your ads like mad! Note that you’re not restricted to AdSense and can use other ad networks too, which is a big bonus!

Unfortunately, I was never able to get into their beta program, so this is quite exciting for me. I’m already in and checking it out. From what I’m seeing so far, it looks pretty cool and promising.