The beta test is going really well (at least, I haven’t found any major data damaging bugs, or been able to break it in any way). Therefore, I’m going to reset the site templates to the new defaults.

The site templates control how these pages look. I’d done a little customisation of the templates (adding things like the rotating banner at the top of the page with all the family photos) but I never quite made it look the way i wanted. The new templates have a few new features too, so be prepared for some strange looking pages while I experiment.

Things may look much the same to the casual viewer, but behind the seens there’s been an update. The site is now run using MovableType 3.2(beta). Beta means that it’s still being tested and it’s not guaranteed to work without problems. As this site isn’t critical (it’s just me playing around) I’ve decided to try the beta and report any feedback. I’m glad I did, my version of RedHat Enterprise Server is getting a little long in the tooth (waiting for the latest version to be tested by my managed server provider before moving to a brand new server) and some of the software was a little too out of date for things to run smoothly.

SixApart (and especially Shirley) are doing a wonderful job responding to Bugs. First point of note – they work Sundays just like me! So when I posted my bug on Sunday evening I got a reply within an hour. The reply identified the problem, so I could go and research my particular set up to find out if that was the cause. It was, so not only is my server now updated an running 3.2Beta happily, future users of the software will benefit from an improved version that will hightlight the problem (the install routine should spot things like old software, but this particular one got though).

So, everyone wins from Beta software being tested on sites like this – before it hits production sites like …erm.. can’t think of any other than SixAparts own sites. Now I’ve re-enabled comments may be you can suggest some.