While this is not strictly Joomla related, it is the fastest way for me to publish the photos for family and friends - so here you go!

This post is for all Joomla! Extension Component Developers - We have been reviewing more and more components recently and those that are insecure are all falling over on basic PHP Security principles.  There are some very basic things that a developer MUST do in order to prevent releasing code that could compromise a users site/server - and I have finally found a book that covers these with just the right amount of detail, all in a very thin book thats easy to read on the loo (or train!)

Essential PHP Security is written by Chris Shiflett and is the first ever book recommendation I have ever made - if every Joomla Developer read this book, and applied its principles then there would be less hacked sites through components (mambots, modules, templates) - If I could afford to purchase a copy for every developer I would - I cannot recommend it highly enough! (Yes its an affiliate link - but even if you just go to Amazon and buy it yourself you will not be disappointed! its really a GREAT book!)

Update: I just found a companion site to the book at http://phpsecurity.org/ - this is work looking at also if you are in two minds as to whether to buy the book!

Wow so many people keep emailing me asking about Form Generation in Joomla 1.5!

We have already stated several times that Phil-a-form is not compatible AT ALL with Joomla 1.5, not even with the legacy plugin enabled.

This is because of the complex way that PAF is coded, and the fact that even though Joomla claims backward compatibility, there is really little - why on earth rename the mambots folder! just one of many reasons why Phil-a-form will not work in Joomla 1.5.

But Good News Is Coming!

For over a year now (well ok, we started over a year ago but development has been pretty much done recently), we have been developing a new bread of form generation extension for Joomla - code named (funny) Joomla Forms.  We have built on all our experience in this area (we were the developers of the first ever Mambo Form Component - and have been copied a lot since) and using this experience, along with all the neat new features available on the web today - we have created a brand new form generation and processing extension for Joomla (Yes it will be compatible with Joomla 1.5.x and Joomla 1.0.x !! )

DO NOT KEEP ASKING us to tell you when it will be released we will drop hints from time to time in this blog.

If you are using Joomla 1.0.x You can purchase Phil-a-form today - and get a free copy of “Joomla Forms” when it is released!

We are pleased to reintroduce the live chat buttons on our sites and in the help pages of our components - while we acknowledge the great importance of live support and its benefits, we also remember the the reason we withdrew live support/chat last time - abuse and time sinks.

We have also added the live chat facility to our new components Joomla Tags and Joomla Knowledgebase, this means you can chat to us any time while administrating your site with our components! Cool Eh?

Please feel free to use the new chat for asking questions and for getting immediate support - but do not be offended if we are to the point - there is only a few hours in each day and we need to strike the right balance between talking and coding

Have fun!

P.s. - The chat system works - there is no need to test it!!!!!!! Only use it if you need to!

We are excited! We just released our first ever fully native Joomla 1.5 extension - it is Joomla Knowledgebase which is now available for Joomla 1.0.13 and Joomla 1.5 both natively (That means you do not need the legacy plug-in layer in Joomla 1.5).

However that is only the start of our news! We have already credited the Joomla 1.5 compatible Joomla Knowledgebase to our existing customers of Joomla Knowledgebase for Joomla 1.0.x - you are now getting TWO components for the price of one! (Along with 3 mambots/plugins included for free!)

EVEN MORE GOOD NEWS Coming…. the latest version boasts the following new features…

• 100% compatible with OpenSEF and sh404SEF, two of the leading SEF extensions for Joomla 1.0.x
• Totally JoomFish aware and has content elements and language files making full translation of JoomlKB into any language a real possibility!
• A granualar layout technique powered by the world known smarty templating system - no longer do you have to hack code to get great layouts - just use your wywiwyg editor and smarty syntax
• Reliable comment SPAM PROTECTION provided by an API to the absolutely fantastic spam filtering service at Akismet - FREE FREE (API Key needed but thats free too!)
• Completely UTF-8 compatible - any language supported in Joomla 1.5 and almost all languages in Joomla 1.0.13

Why not check out the condensed FEATURE LIST or view a VIDEO or try the DEMO for yourself?

Convinced? You can purchase Joomla Knowledgebase for a special offer price (limited time only) at the following link

Watch out for more great components in the run up to the New Year - oh and by the way - HAPPY CHRISTMAS! *Only 23 days to go!!*

We are so excited about this one! This is our second component build upon our own bfFramework and replaces our old mosKnowledgebase component.

Joomla Knowledgebase will be released to a select few under a closed beta program later today - once we have received and processed the feedback from that we will be releasing our first public beta of Joomla Knowledgebase.

Joomla Knowledgebase now uses our bfFramework, that has been recently upgraded to provide xAJAX 0.5 RC versions and other enhancements such as object caching and templating.  With templating you can design and publish internal templates to areas of Joomla Knowledgebase with ease!

Joomla Knowledgebase is an elegant knowledgebase/FAQ/Content manager for Joomla.  In its final state there will be two versions, one for Joomla 1.0.x and one for Joomla 1.5 - both components will have the same features (But can only be installed on the version designed for - you buy once and get both versions!)

We are busy developing a migration strategy for existing mosKB users, and redeveloping a dedicated website for Joomla Knowledbase - as soon as it is finished we will let you go and play with the online demo

If you are a current mosKnowledgebase user - and are happy to test beta software, then please contact us letting us know your experience level with mosKB and with PHP Code - we can add you and a few more testers in the coming days…

We are pleased to announce the release of mosListMessenger v2.0.8 to address some niggling bugs. The main issue was the stalling of messages, and the inability to resume the queue. Other improvements have been made to the mass import/export of users and the confirmation of users requests.

Existing customers can download the latest version by logging into myJoomla.com

Upgrade instructions can be found in the FAQ

Man are we on fire today!

From Joomla Tags revision version v0.1.607 , OpenSEF 2.0.0-RC5_SP2 is now fully supported !

There are a few additional steps to take to get around “features” (read bugs) in the OpenSEF RC but nothing major:

* Add a link in the Joomla Menu to this component - leave that unpublished (or published if you want)

* In OpenSEF Configuration -> Features: Turn off Enforce Canonical URLs

* In OpenSEF Configuration -> Components: Choose to Alias this component - this overrides a known issue.(Your alias can be whatever you like - as long as the box is checked!)

Well its Friday 13th and on-time we are pleased to announce the first ever preview of the upcoming Joomla Tags Extension for Joomla. (Don’t worry - you soon will be able to download the real thing!)

We have put online a demo site that allow you to login and play with the new framework. Take a look specifically at these things:

• The ability to create and assign different layouts to each tag
• The ability to tag items on the front end with no page refresh
• View the new Tag Cloud - with its dynamic interface
• See one of the two new modules for Tags
• See the new tab in the Edit content screen, with its new functionality to search for tags to add
• Take a look at the frontend content editing screen - you can now add tags from there too!
• Fully xHTML valid on the frontend.
• See the new maintenance screen - full of tasks to make life easier

We are still working out a few niggles with the framework over the weekend before we release files to the public. This are minor really.

• We need to test the migration from Tags Component
• We need to complete the language support
• The Object caching needs tweaking for performance
• The installation of the component needs to be completed.
• The unpopular step of ionCube encoding the license file needs to be automated
• Review of UTF/Special Chars integration (Almost done!)
• a few other things…

We invite you to provide feedback TODAY and all weekend in the new dedicated forum at

http://forum.phil-taylor.com/index.php/board,16.0.html

Remember that all the frontend screens can be configured by the new Layout Manager - you have complete control over what the frontend looks like - we have not yet put much effort into the template layouts so do not be put off by them at the moment - when you click a tag it doesnt have to show the title only - it can and will show a lot more once we sort out the new default layouts.

We now invite you into our demo site. The Administrator usernames are admin, admin1, admin2, admin3, admin4, and admin5. The password for all these accounts in “admin”. If you get session expired messages then maybe someone else is also using the same admin user, try another one or create yourself a new admin account.

The demo is refreshed every hour!! All new users will be deleted then.

The URL of the Joomla Tags Public Preview is:

http://www.joomla-tags.com/demo/joomla1.0.12

(Dont forget - to login to the administrator console and select Joomla Tags from the components menu to see a fantastic new framework in operation!)

(The Joomla 1.5 Demo will be available soon too…)

PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK !!!

Further to our recent announcement we are excited to give a very first glimpse into the new Joomla Tags component.

We have uploaded a snapshot of our Ultimate Joomla Tags Extension to our live site (This one!)as we wanted you to see the new Tag Cloud formation. (Don’t worry about the look - we have yet to complete the CSS Styling - and anyway the new system allow you to have full control over the output using your own templates, using the smarty system)

What do you think?

(We are still aiming and on course for a closed beta this Friday! - Keep watching!)