Frankly, when I started the project over a year ago now I didn't think it would take quite this long. But I wanted to make sure, for once, that things actually worked right and the script was as fully featured and well-tested as I could manage before I launched it. So that's where we are now.

Well, almost.

If you were a MySQL user of PHP-Update, or want to use the MySQL version of the new script, you'll have to wait just a few weeks more. I haven't quite finished off the port yet, despite my best efforts, but I'm determined to get it done soon.

OK, so new features. Well, the script uses Ajax for things like comments, the gallery and also the admin area to make using it a much smoother experience. At long last, we have trackbacks in the blogs (something I've been promising since, I believe, v1.2!) and it's really easy to manage them. The interface for multiple users has been improved to make it much clearer what you're doing, and I've added fairly comprehensive anti-spam protection for comments, guestbooks and so on.

You can also now manage podcasts with the script as the blog supports file attachments - and all the old features are still there too, and should be easier to use.

If you want to upgrade your PHP-Update site to the new system, there's an upgrade script included in the install package which will do pretty much everything automatically - just click a couple of buttons and wait a few minutes. But watch out - if you use a customised template, it probably won't be auto-supported and you might need to change it a little bit (though it should be fairly simple... I've done a few templates already and they're very easy to manage).

Incidentally, if you want a forum on your site too, the new fuzzylime (forum) was launched today as well. It is, I believe, the first full forum of its kind - in that it barely even looks like a traditional forum, but has all the features you would expect, plus more, such as RSS, password-protected forums and so on. You can find it cunningly hidden at http://forum.fuzzylime.co.uk.

Thanks for all your continued support. I'm delighted we've finally got here and I'm really keen to hear what you all think of the script - either in the comments here, in the forum, or through e-mail. I'd love to hear from you all.

This change does mean one more thing - the end of PHP-Update. It's been a great project and of course it will cotinue in its new name. I'll be able to offer limited support for it through the fuzzylime message board, but I really recommend upgrading your site.

Also, the PHP-Update mailing list isn't being moved across to the fuzzylime (cms) site. So if you want to get updates, enter your address in the box on the right!