If you are someone that likes to be ahead of the game, the first release candidate of WordPress 2.5 is now available for download.

Dougal lists the following new features:

• Faster load times.
• Multi-file uploads.
• New “Media Manager” for images, audio, video, etc.
• Built-in gallery function.
• Built-in (and pluggable) Gravatars support.
• New backend design.
• One-click auto-update for plugins.
• Reactivate plugins after a ‘Deactivate All Plugins’ action.

Along with the new features will come a period of adjustment as we get used to the new admin panel. Not only have the colors changed, but the location of many links and information has been moved.  You may also want to check out 10 things you need to know about WordPress 2.5 by TechnoSailor.

As we get closer and closer to the release I think I’m getting more and more excited. What feature are you most looking for to?

Note: As a reminder, this is just a release candidate which is designed for locating bugs in the software. If you are waiting for a more stable version of WordPress 2.5 you’ll want to wait until the official release.

According to word on the cyberstreet, WordPress 2.5 is due to be released this Monday.   This comes on the heels of a possible vulnerability found with WordPress 2.3.  So, what do you need to do to prepare for a major WordPress upgrade?

As always, Lorelle has us covered over at Blog Herald with her WordPress Upgrade Preparation Checklist.   Here are the first two (and probably the most obvious ones):

1. Check Compatibilities: Visit the WordPress Codex and check the WordPress Theme Compatibilities and WordPress Plugin Compatibilities lists to ensure that the Theme and Plugins you are using will work with the new version. If there is a Plugin your blog is dependent upon, check with the author to ensure you have the updated version.
2. Update Themes and Plugins: The Migrating Plugins and Themes offers tips on updating your Plugin or Theme for the latest version of WordPress.

Click over to check out the rest!

Another thing you might want to do is to treat each major upgrade as a reminder to do spring cleaning on your WordPress blogs.  I remove/intergrate as many plugins as possible, remove extra images I’m no longer using, update my Robots.txt file, and check Google Webmaster Tools to make sure everything is being indexed, etc.

It looks like the WordPress team has released what is classified as an urgent security release, primarily to fix a security flaw for WordPress blogs with registration enabled.   It is recommended that everyone make the upgrade as soon as possible.  The release also comes with a few minor bug fixes. 

According to the WordPress team, this could be a pretty easy upgrade, as you only need to override the xmlrpc.php file to fix the security concerns.   If you want all the bug fixes, you’ll need to do a full upgrade. 

As a quick side note, they are also recommending users of the WP-Forum plugin deactivate it until the author is able to fix a vulnerability. 

Back in November, it was announced that WordPress 2.4 would be delayed, moving its expected arrival date to January 24, 2008. Now it looks like it won’t be arriving at all.

According to several sources, it looks like the team wants to avoid a rushed release and instead focus on the March deadline for WordPress 2.5. As a result, we will not see a WordPress 2.4 at all, but instead move straight to WordPress 2.5.

It looks like in addition to the (unanticipated) new admin panel and security updates, we can expect some significant changes to the WordPress codebase. Due to the delay, I think this is a good move. I’m not a fan of rushed releases, so a little extra wait doesn’t bother me.