Global Moxie
http://globalmoxie.com/blog/bm2-feature-complete.shtmlWe Have Liftoff: Big Medium 2 Is Feature-Complete
If you’ve been considering Big Medium 2 but have been waiting for a stable update, this is it. This release-candidate version is ready for mainstream use.
The countdown has lasted 66 weeks: Sixteen months since the first public beta of Big Medium 2. Since then, I’ve released 54 updates and added over 1000 features, changes and bug fixes. Over 100 intrepid beta testers have put the software through its paces, many of them powering their production sites with the new Big Medium.
This week, at long last, Big Medium 2 hit escape velocity with its first feature-complete update. While still a test version, this first release candidate is stable, with all of the features that will be in the final official release. I invite you to take it for a ride and discover just how much fun you can have editing a website.
Ready for mainstream use
If you’ve been considering Big Medium 2 but have been waiting for a stable release, this is it. This version is ready for mainstream use. (A release candidate is software that’s in the last stages of beta testing. It’s an “I think it’s done” release, but testing continues in order to shake out any show-stopper bugs before the commercial version is set loose.)
Many thanks to all of the Big Medium faithful for your enthusiasm and patience over this long development cycle. I think you’ll find that it’s been worth the wait, and that the result is more than a little cool. But don’t take my word for it. Here are a few of the reactions Big Medium has enjoyed in the last several weeks:
“Big Medium is a joy to use.”
“This is by far the most amazing software anyone can buy for under $10,000.”
“This is certainly restoring my excitement about web development.”
“I always wanted someone to do a program like this. Simple, elegant and effective.”
“This is the greatest CMS software I have ever seen. The execution of Big Medium is spot-on, particularly the administration sections.”
“Beautiful interface. Installed with absolutely no problem. I AM IMPRESSED.”
“Keep up your amazing, creative work. I keep recommending Big Medium to my colleagues, and I will only create sites in Big Medium now.”
“Big Medium is an awesome product! I don’t know how I survived without it for so many years.”
Find out for yourself. Download Big Medium 2 and give it a spin.
What’s new in Big Medium 2
The new version shares Big Medium’s original spirit of friendly, humane software, but it’s really a whole new app from the ground up. The new interface is polished and elegant, and the features go deep. Here are a few of the highlights among the 100+ new features in Big Medium 2:
- Site search
- Image galleries and slideshows
- Automatic image sizing
- Basic version control and edit history
- Scheduled publication
- Podcasting
- Visitor comments
- WYSIWYG CSS style editor
- Streamlined template editing and sitewide templates
- Limit editors to specific content sections
- Copy content between sites
- Share/reuse images and documents
Big Medium is designed to be easy and intuitive to use -- easy enough that you won’t need instructions for most routine operations. That said, this baby packs a lot of features. If you want to explore everything that you can do with Big Medium 2, I wrote a book just for you.
Big Medium 2: The Complete Guide covers every inch of the Big Medium 2 interface and feature set. The book is available as a free PDF download.
Got questions about any of Big Medium’s new features? Ask away in the Big Medium 2 forum, or shoot me a note at support@globalmoxie.com.
What’s ahead
I expect that there will likely be a handful of release candidates before the final version of Big Medium 2 is launched, probably around Halloween Christmas.
These release-candidate updates will fix bugs and add additional designs to Big Medium’s theme library. (Big Medium 2 currently comes with only one theme. Although creating a large library of design themes is unlikely to become a primary goal, the final version will include several more designs to help you get started.)
Aside from the addition of these new themes, new-feature development is closed for Big Medium 2.0. If you find something missing that you’ve just gotta have, of course, let me know. I’ve got a spiffy list of features on my wish-list, and I’ll soon start pulling together the road map for Big Medium 2.1. If you have a feature you’d like me to consider, post your suggestions in the forum, or shoot me a note at support@globalmoxie.com.
And hey: Thanks
In the last year, I’ve received daily suggestions and feedback from enthusiastic beta testers and other members of the Big Medium flock. You folks have been generous with your ideas, support and encouragement, and I couldn’t have made this software without you. It’s for you and by you. Sincerely, thanks. I hope you like the end result.