R2 Is Here

Hi folks...here is a long-awaited update on some new Journals features.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this was supposed to be a heads-up letting you know about the changes ahead of time, but I got the dates messed up, so here's what we've got.

First off, I haven't said much about specific release dates previously because they always move.  For example, this release had been significantly delayed due to problems found in testing -- the launch date had moved so many times, I wanted to wait until the day before we were sure to launch before I said anything.

It typically works better when you don't screw up the date.

As to specific R2 problems, here are some updates:

* Spellcheck: This is only supported for Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers, so if you're using another browser, you probably won't be able to use spellcheck.

* Owner/Edit Buttons Not Appearing: Some AOL in-client users aren't seeing their blue owner buttons for creating entries or editing their Journals. The tech folks are investigating. In the meantime, a workaround is using a standalone browser, like Internet Explorer, that's separate from your AOL client.

If you are experiencing other problems, please let me know.

Next, I know you're unhappy with the new 728x90 ad banners on top of all AOL Journals. I presented my best arguments to my management as to why we were better off leaving things as they were, but as you can see, I was not persuasive enough.

A tiny comfort is that since the ad infrastructure was already in place, it required very little work to turn them on.

Next, this release, called the R2 release, is the first of a series of releases that you will be seeing on close to a monthly basis. R3 is scheduled for December; R4 for January and R5 for February. All dates and features are subject to change, so I don't want to get too specific, but here is what we're working on:

• Custom Skins - The ability to customize the look and feel of your Journal with graphic templates and a drag-and-drop interface


• All About Me Character Limit -- The ability to have more characters in your All About Me area


• Moblogging -- Mobile blogging, this will allow you to send pictures, text and eventually video to your blog


• Shared Blogging-- The ability to have mulitple authors to a blog


• A Whole Bunch of Other Updates -- Including a lot of infrastructure changes you hopefully won't notice; updates to give you better rostering for your Journals, and more

Now that the R2 release is out of the way (barring the pending fixes mentioned above), the following releases should go a lot more smoothly. I will keep you in the loop -- as I mentioned, dates move and features shift, so I will try to tell you a day or two before a firm install date.

I will also try to talk more about the new, shorter development cycles later today.

In the meantime, please keep sending me your feedback and problem reports. Thanks -- Joe