JomSocial 3.0 Status Update
A few weeks ago I sent an email explaining the JomSocial testing process and updating the status of JomSocial 3.0. We got some great responses from that newsletter and I wanted to give you another update.
First, you can be sure that I read ALL your comments, whether they’re placed on Facebook or written on our blog. I take them to heart. One of the first things I remember reading when I took over the JomSocial project was that some people felt that they "Paid to be QA testers" every time they upgraded. That’s when I realized our testing process wasn’t comprehensive enough to support an application this complex.
2.8.4.2 Hotfix
A quick hotfix to deal with broken translations on some servers has just been released. This version also has a fix for the bug with changing the profile avatar.
This is another non-security, 2.8.4 hotfix release.
If you do not experience issues with broken English (en-GB) translation and innability to change avatar from profile page, you are not required to update to this version.
Please visit "My Account" page to download it.
Quick hotfix for Joomla! 2.5.10 and up
Recent Joomla! 2.5 update to build 10 and 11, rendered our installer obsolete causing every installation trough Joomla! Extension Manager to fail with the messages
· JomSocial 2.8.x require minimum Joomla! CMS 2.5.6
· Component Install: Custom install routine failure
· Error installing component
The 2.8.4.1 release which is now available for download in your account area will deal with this issue and will allow installation to push trough.
If you already had JomSocial 2.8.4 running on Joomla! 2.5.9 and lower, and then upgraded Joomla! to version 2.5.10 or 11, you don't have to update anything
This error was only happening at the installation of component through Joomla! Extension Manager
Status of JomSocial 3.0 and Our Testing Process
A lot of people have been wondering when we will release JomSocial 3.0 so I wanted to give you a quick update.
The development is done!
The development of JomSocial 3.0 is finished. We are no longer adding features or making changes. It’s done. Yay!
Stepping up our quality assurance process
As soon as I took over the JomSocial project, I realized that we had to make some significant changes in our quality and testing processes. The product had become so complex we really needed to make sure that all of the parts were working properly.
A couple of months ago, we hired top quality assurance expert Bryan Lamb to help us step up our game and produce a much more stable application. Bryan brings with him over 20 years of experience doing quality assurance and managing testing teams for large corporations such as Apple, Yahoo and Macromedia.
Bryan has introduced us to a few of the testing processes that big companies use, and we have been incorporating them into our development cycle.
In this photo you can see Bryan Lamb explaining about Quality Assurance process to the JomSocial team
Writing test cases
JomSocial is the most complex application available for Joomla. There are literally thousands of different actions that members, visitors and admins can perform. To build to the right quality, each of these actions should be converted into a “test case” and then be checked on all browsers, including mobile browsers.
Our goal is to have 1,500 test cases written and executed before the beta release.
The testing process
Once we’ve prepared all the test cases, we’ll start testing. This will be done in a few steps:
- Internal testing - Our team will test JomSocial in order to find bugs, styling issues and other other problems.
- External testing - Once all the bugs from the internal testing are squished, we'll have a specialist QA company perform the 1,500 test cases on different browsers and mobile devices.
- Beta testing - Once external testing has squished all the bugs, we’ll be ready for beta testing. Our beta testers will use different platforms and use Jomsocial in conjunction with other Joomla extensions and templates, to see what breaks.
About our new beta testing program
In the past, we used to unleash the beta version of JomSocial and ask for feedback. It didn’t really work. Only a few people actually reported bugs and few did it in a way that actually helped.
This time, Bryan will run a closed beta testing program. Anybody can apply to be a beta tester but we’ll be selective. We will be looking for beta testers who have a high stake in the success of JomSocial: in particular, third party developers, template developers, translators or those with active communities. We will also accept people who are passionate about JomSocial and are willing to take the time to properly test it and submit bug reports.
Hopefully this process will be easier to manage, yield a much higher quality of bug reports and allow us to fix the bugs quickly.
When we are ready for beta testing, I will let you know so that you can apply to be a beta tester.
Quality takes time
I know you’re keen to get your hands on JomSocial 3.0. I also know that you expect it to be as bug-free and as stable as possible. Reaching that quality is not easy. It takes time. We’re putting in the hours to enable the new JomSocial to reach you as soon as possible
So, when will it be released?
Realistically, we hope to start our beta testing program by the end of this month. Depending on the number and complexity of the bugs our beta testers find, we will probably need a few weeks to get everything working and a stable version ready.
It’s worth waiting for!
The good news is that JomSocial 3.0 is fantastic. Our designers have really come up with some great new designs that look slick both on the desktop and on mobile.
So, what’s new?
Here are some of the changes you can expect to find in the new release:
Bye-bye old introduction area.
The old design was looking a bit… well, old. The new version will let you use your own image to create a special look just for your site. Check out the screen capture below:
Away with you, old toolbar.
The toolbar was getting old, too. So we swapped it for a new, slick one. Take a look below.
Cover photos for profiles, groups and events.
Now you can use cover photos to give your profiles, events or groups a unique look. Check it out:
Responsive design.
Letting your visitors use JomSocial easily on their mobile devices was the most requested feature. It’s done. Take a look at these screen captures.
Improved usability.
Usability is a real passion of mine, so we’re stepping it up in this department too. I’ll tell you more about that in another newsletter.
This is a very partial list of all that’s new in JomSocial 3.0. It was worth waiting for, right?
Thank you for being so patient!
I know it’s hard to wait when you have projects that depend on a new release so I just wanted to thank you for bearing with us while we take JomSocial to a whole new level of quality, design and usability.
Any questions or comments? Post them below, I’d love to hear from you!
JomSocial 2.8.4 is here!
We are happy to announce that our JomSocial 2.8.4 bugfix release is now available . You may retrieve the latest version from your Account area: www.jomsocial.com/component/account/
What are some notable fixes and improvements in this version?
1. Fixed compatibility issue with JoomlaXI Profiletypes - Thanks JoomlaXI Team :)
2. Improved support for Joomla 3.0 which is planned to be officially made compatible in JomSocial 3.0.
3. Popup window consistency. Tidy up the cWindow
4. A more stable avatar changing/uploading/cropping functionality
5. Proper developer view for DEV version
6. Over 30 other bugfixes and code improvements
For a complete list of the change log, please click on the link bellow
www.jomsocial.com/features/whats-new
To upgrade, you may uninstall the old and install the latest JomSocial 2.8.4
If you want to get your hands dirty with upgrade patches and the change log, kindly follow this link:
www.jomsocial.com/forum/bugfixes-and-upg...x-to-jomsocial-2-8-4
The First Draft of Jomsocial's Roadmap Is Now Complete
When I took over the JomSocial project a couple of months ago, I promised you a roadmap. It’s time to deliver!
Creating this roadmap wasn’t an easy task. We didn’t just slap a few features into a document. We considered:
- What you, our customer wants.
- What can technically be done, and in a reasonable amount of time.
- What we should not do because it might hurt performance.
- The correct timing of each feature.
I flew from California to Malaysia where JomSocial’s headquarters are located, to meet the team in person and get this done. We then went step-by-step through a process that would allow us to plan the way ahead.
Step 1 - Your suggestions
If you were one of the many people who put a suggestion on jomsocial.uservoice.com, thank you! They were a great help. There were more than 500 suggestions there and we started by discussing each one. Some didn’t make much sense and others could have caused performance issues. But a lot of the suggestions were great. They made it to the next step.
Step 2 - Poker anyone?
We then presented each suggestion to the development team. We discussed them all, and rated their difficulty on a scale from 0 to 100. To do that, we used “Planning Poker” (www.planningpoker.com), a great tool used widely in large development teams.
This process helped us flush out each task, make sure everybody was on the same page and produce a rating. We were able to finish one release (version 3.4) in one day. That’s why you can see details of this release on our roadmap. We still have to go through the same process with the other releases. As soon as they’re complete, we’ll update the roadmap with their details too.
Step 3 - Deciding priority
When it came to deciding which suggestions to develop first, we looked at the number of votes the feature received on uservoice as a consideration. But there were some things that were pushed high on our to-do list because they’re so important. We also decided to avoid huge releases and focus on one feature for every smaller release, you'll see that versions beyond 3.6 focus each on one featue, ie: Events, Groups, Videos, etc. This will allow us to work faster and better!
Here is the summery of the upcoming versions:
The Roadmap
Version 3.0 - Responsive Design + Joomla 3.X Support
Responsive design just has to be done, and sooner rather than later. That’s why we’re working on it now. It will be ready in April. Responsive design means that JomSocial will look and work great on your members’ mobile devices. As more people use their smartphones to surf the net, shopping and communicate, we need to make it easy for them.
You can see a few examples below.
Version 3.2 - Bootstrap
The next item on our list is Bootstrap support for both back and front ends. Since Joomla 3.x is built with Bootstrap, which is now the standard in the Joomla world and beyond, it’s important that JomSocial adhere to it. Having everything Bootstrapped will create more stable applications and take care of many of the design issues we experienced in the past.
Version 3.4 - ACL
ACL support will let you control who can do what on the front and back ends. It also means that you will be able to easily integrate JomSocial with other extensions that support ACL. For example, you'll be able to allow cummunity members access to downloads or forum categories.
This is a very big undertaking because almost every file of JomSocial will have to be modified. But it has to be done.
Also on version 3.4 will be various items related to the stream, like adding smilies support, “Like” on comments and more. You can read about it in our full roadmap.
Versions 3.6 and beyond
There are still plenty of other suggestions to work through. We’ll narrow them down and rate them. My aim is to release the details of one of the versions once a month.
I hope this process makes sense to you all. To view the full roadmap, click here.
What is the timeline for each version?
At this point it's too early to make a good estimation for versions beyond 3.0 (April 2013), as soon as I know, I will share with you.
Version 2.8.4 has been released
On this minor release, we have fixed a few bugs reported by our customers. Read more about it here..
Promotion!
Next week I will be sending a special birthday promotion, stay tuned!
Please comment below if you have any feedback.
JomSocial 2.8.3 is now available. Three exciting updates!
We have just released JomSocial 2.8.3 to fix several minor bugs and features a few cool improvements for your JomSocial community. This release is part of our continuous effort to improve our communition with our users by having frequent minor releases as compared to accumulating fixes into a single large update.
Improved compatibility with sh404SEF and other SEF components
One hidden gem in JomSocial 2.8 is an added support for Facebook Open Graph protocol in JomSocial Photo album and gallery. In JomSocial 2.8, Facebook is now able to retrieve the correct thumbnail for the particular photo in a gallery mode, thanks to our inclusion of OG metadata. The downside was, we had to alter URL generation of photos to use ampersand instead of hashtag which confuses SEF components.
Read more: JomSocial 2.8.3 is now available. Three exciting updates!
Good Things Are Happening @ JomSocial
A couple of weeks ago I announced that JomSocial was now a part of iJoomla. The responses have been great! The congratulations from JomSocial’s users have really warmed my heart. I want you to know that I read all the comments and suggestions, and I’m having daily discussions with the team about the different ideas and issues everyone has reported.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support, and to give you a little update on what we’ve been working on.
New Video Tutorials
As everyone familiar with iJoomla is aware, I love creating video tutorials. Our YouTube channel now has over 500 videos, including a video tutorial for every feature on each one of our products. Our customers love them because they can easily find a simple explanation for everything they want to do.
So we’re going to do the same for JomSocial.
One of our leading support guys, Eric used to be a teacher and hardly anyone knows JomSocial better, so he’s going to be explaining how to use each of JomSocial features.
So far Eric has produced two excellent videos to guide you through two of the more complicated areas of JomSocial:
You can view those tutorials and new ones, as they come, on our videos page. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel and be notified as new videos become available.
This is just the beginning though. Our plan is to create a complete JomSocial video course powered by Guru (our Joomla LMS). Watch out for it!
New Documentation Wiki
I’ve also noticed that our documentation page was a bit outdated so Sinisa, another excellent support specialist, has been busy adding around 20 new documentation articles and moving and updating the previous ones to our new wiki. It’s looking great and I’m sure you’re going to love it. You can see the new wiki here.
Our goal is to make the wiki helpful and easy to use. From now on, it will be updated regularly by Sinisa, Hung and Chris.
JomSocial Responsive Design
Our talented designer Harry has also been busy creating a responsive design for JomSocial. You can see the some of the designs on the header of this page. These designs aren’t the final, but they’ll give you an idea of how JomSocial will look on a mobile device.
Road Map + UserVoice
We’re still discussing our road map and what we should put on it. It is a complex task and we’re taking it seriously. It will probably be a few more weeks before we have a real roadmap with a list of features. What I can tell you is that we have been looking closely at your suggestions on jomsocial.uservoice.com so if you haven’t posted a suggestion there yet or haven’t been voting on ideas, now is the perfect time.
New Bug Tracking System
We are determined to not let any bugs fall into any cracks! So we've started using a very powerful bug tracking system that will allow us to do just that. We've also been moving bugs from our old system to the new one and improved our internal processes for bug tracking.
If you encounter any bugs, please post them on our new "report bugs" forum and, once verified, we will add them to our new bug tracking system to be fixed for the next release.
That’s all the updates so far. I haven’t forgotten about the special iJoomla promotion and the JomSocial promotion. They are both coming soon.
Comments?
Thank you for reading my post. If you have any comments, please leave them below . I’d love to hear from you!
JomSocial 2.8.2 is ready! Features over 70 new updates.
We are happy to announce that JomSocial 2.8.2 has been released.
What are some notable fixes and improvements in this version?
- Performance improvements in Videos area to better handle tens of thousands of videos. (Yes, some of our users do have that many videos).
- Improved support for Joomla 3.0 which is planned to be officially made compatible in JomSocial 3.0.
- Facebook logic update in Hellome module and status imports.
- Fixes for multiple IE issues due to our recent exercise to trim down the size of our templates, which is by the way much much faster than JomSocial 2.6.
- A more stable avatar cropping feature.
- Good news for Metric users. You may now able to use Km instead of Miles in events, configurable in the backend.
- Compatibility update for IE users to fix html4 photo uploader.
- Numerous adjustments in activity stream.
To upgrade, you may uninstall and install the latest JomSocial 2.8.2.
For a complete list of the change log, language updates and upgrade patches, please view this link.
JomSocial is entering a new age with iJoomla.com
My name is Merav Knafo. I’m the founder of iJoomla.com and I’ve got some big news for you: JomSocial project is now a part of the iJoomla family.
I’ve been a big fan of JomSocial for years. Azrul and his team have done a great job with the development, and now that Azrul has decided to move on to a new adventure, I really wish him all the best! He deserves it.
Who is iJoomla?
iJoomla has been around since 2005 — pretty much since the beginning of Joomla. We launched our first product, iJoomla Magazine, in early 2006 and it took off right away. Since then, we’ve released many more products with a strong emphasis on powerful features and easy usability. Some of our products, like Ad Agency, are already integrated with JomSocial. We’re very familiar with it and we’ve always been big fans.
So there was a reason that Azrul turned to us when he decided to move on. He wanted to be sure that JomSocial was in safe hands. He knew that we’re seasoned Joomla developers and that we’re here to stay.
Stronger Support, Faster Releases!
Since I came on board a couple of weeks ago, I’ve become aware of some frustration regarding a couple of issues: support and releases.
Support is Back on Track
The support at JomSocial had a couple of hiccups last year when it switched to a ticket-based system instead of a forum. I’m happy to report that support now has improved dramatically. I’ve spoken to each of the support staff and I’ve been am very impressed by their dedication and passion for helping our customers. I’ve heard again and again that it makes their day to help you and to get a “Thank You” note on the forum.
If you do need help, please give them another try. I’m sure you’ll be impressed.
Releases and Road Map
I plan to have a clear road map for the continued development of JomSocial ready within a few weeks, and to implement much smaller release increments. The next release will focus on making JomSocial responsive and will also include a new, modern front-end template. Each new release will then focus on one main feature. This will prevent you waiting for new releases for too long and will allow us to be more focused.
How Does the Change Affect Your Licenses and Support?
Licenses, support and everything on the JomSocial site and forum will remain the same. We’ll just work hard to make it even more awesome.
As part of the iJoomla family you will also enjoy the best of what iJoomla has to offer. Look forward to an email from me later this month with a special offer, exclusive for JomSocial customers.
Are You a JomSocial Extensions or Template Developer?
If you’re a JomSocial extensions or template developer, we’ve added a new group on Facebook just for you. Please join today and keep in touch. You’ll be able to communicate with the developers directly, ask questions and get help and updates.
Are You a JomSocial affiliate?
JomSocial affiliates will need to add the new JomSocial product on plimus.com by January 21st, 2013. (The new product has the date January 2, 2013.) You don’t need to change your links but do make sure you add the new product, otherwise you won’t receive commissions earned after January 21st.
Comments?
Thank you for reading my letter. If you have any comments, please leave enter them below. I’d love to hear from you!
Merav Knafo
Founder
iJoomla.com
Pirated Joomla Extensions and Templates and how it affects you.
Piracy, or warez is sure an easy way to get hold of digital software nowadays. I remember our bittersweet surprise soon after the release of JomSocial back in December 2008, somewhere around Christmas when we discovered that our baby, JomSocial 1.0.21 was already available on the net.
JomSocial Nulled 2.8.0
In a way, it did help people to get to know JomSocial and other extensions. Piracy allow users to digest the quality of the extensions before purchasing it, or for developers to get familiar with our structure (and boy have I said that our JomSocial templates are well commented for easy modifications?), or for other Joomla developers to integrate with JomSocial without having to subscribe or contact us directly. To a certain extent, piracy does work wonders.
Soon, coupled with a meteoric rise of Joomla 1.5, I began to notice something peculiar. There were groups claiming that they have released JomSocial 'nulled' / 'cracked' / 'removed site checking' and it is now safe to install JomSocial without us blocking its features & functionality. We had a good laugh, as JomSocial is a GNU/GPL software. It means there is no such 'nulling' / 'cracking' required in order for you to use JomSocial at its fullest. Our source code is readily available, well commented, and not encrypted at all. As such, there is no point of having to null or crack JomSocial.
We figured, well perhaps these groups were merely chasing popularity and we couldnt be bothered much.
Piracy will cost you.
Then I notice something more sinister. Instead of actually removing codes to emmm 'null' JomSocial, some devillish groups are actually adding more codes into the core. This all started when I begin to see issues with blank cWindow popups, Ajax requests failures, and other unexplained codes in our output.
I have been debugging Joomla sites since Mambo days (2006), and I have seen countless sites fell victim to numerous exploits. This is one of the easiest ways for irresponsible entities to manipulate your site into whatever clever use they can think of.
In Joomla, pirated extensions and templates are freely available on the net and unsuspecting users would simply download and install these rogue extensions without a second thought.
At the moment of writing, I am actually debugging a site with a very nice looking Yootheme template that seems to have something foreign in its output. My inspection shows that it has a hidden div next to the footer that links to some funny Russian sites and it can be traced to an altered file in Yootheme's Warp library. The same encryption can be found in numerous other templates available for free on the net. And it will take a keen eye and experience to locate and remove such a code.
If you are using pirated templates and extensions, take note. Piracy will cost you.
JomSocial 2.6.3 released, the last of 2.6 branch
With the imminent release of JomSocial 2.8, we are happy to announce the immediate availability of JomSocial 2.6.3.
This version will be the last of JomSocial 2.6 branch, resolving a number of minor updates in JomSocial core and a single important update for Facebook Connect. This update is to keep up with Facebook's latest breaking changes on 6th December as announced in Facebook Developer Blog. A new security restrictions for OAuth authorization prevented JomSocial from retrieving user status without updating to the latest specification. A patch for this FBC has already been released in our Forum but has now been superceeded with this release of JomSocial 2.6.3
To upgrade to the latest JomSocial 2.6.3 version, you have two choices. The simplest and most recommended option is to uninstall older version and install the latest package.
For more experienced users and for those who have customized JomSocial with your own set of modifications, you may be interested with our upgrade patches, available in our Bugfixes and Upgrade patches forum.
In case JomSocial 2.8 is released by the time you have finished reading this, you may download JomSocial 2.6.3 by using this URL:
Have a good year ahead!
Blogging made easy in Joomla
The main JomSocial.com website went through a successful Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 2.5 migration a couple of weeks ago. Some questions pertaining to our blog area were raised, in particular about the component that powers our Joomla blogging system.
Well, it might be a surprise to most of you to know that the Joomla blog component is actually a standard Joomla com_content component. Yes, you heard it right, com_content and its perfectly suitable to be a good Joomla blog extension.
Joomla! is a CMS, Content Management System and within its core is a powerful yet underutilized content publishing system. This is a component that exists since the days of Mambo CMS, gradually improved upon minor iterations with each subsequent releases of Joomla 1.0, 1.5 and the rest. Joomla is pretty much a good blog software in itself.
"What sorcery is this? It doesnt look like com_content at all. This is the com_content that I know."
With a bit of trickery, you can achieve the same layout as ours easily and turn your Joomla website into a Joomla blog community easily.
JomSocial 2.8 Beta 3, Free download
We are thrilled to announce that JomSocial 2.8 Beta 3 is now available for download for free. JomSocial 2.8 is set to continue our tradition of helping Joomla! community build amazing social site with incredible features. We received encouraging response and are eager to get a final build out soon.
JomSocial 2.8 Beta 2
Beta 2 build for the upcoming JomSocial 2.8 is now available for download. When we say "available", we really mean it. We have decided to open the beta build for everyone in the Joomla! community to play with. Every single Joomla! user will be able to login to our development forum and download the latest build
You may download your copy of JomSocial 2.8 Beta 2 here, http://www.jomsocial.com/forum/jomsocial-2-8-beta-2/1101-jomsocial-2-8-beta-two-is-ready
SWFUploader security notice
It has come to our attention that there is a XSS security issue with SWFUploader library used in JomSocial. In version 2.6, this library is no longer needed but are still being included along with the installer.
To protect your site against this vulnerability, simply delete this file, "/components/com_community/assets/uploader/swfupload.swf"
Something sweet for Joomla World Conference 2012
The upcoming Joomla World Conference, less than a week from now (16th Nov - 18th Nov) is perhaps one of the biggest global Joomla! event ever organized. I will be there on behalf of JomSocial Team and look forward to meet Joomla developers, users and enthusiasts from all over the world. If you happen to be there, we have prepared something sweet for you guys. :-)
Happy Halloween!
The JomSocial Team would like to wish a very happy Halloween to our beloved customers! Do not let those lurking monsters scare you. ;)
Some technical changes in the upcoming 2.8
I would like to share some notes on technical changes in the upcoming release of JomSocial. These changes won't be immediately apparent at first, but a lot of work were put into it. We believe that it is necessary, greatly enhance our code base and making our growth forward easier.
Stratos jump, 25% price fall for today
Felix Baumgartner parachuted into the New Mexico desert nearly 40km (25 miles) from Roswell as he successfully completed his first journey towards the edge of space.
You have to give it to the man, to anyone who pushes themselves to the limit. I stayed up until late at night (it was almost 2 am, my time) to watch the historic jump. He made it look all too easy. But we all know how much training and preparation has been poured into the project, with delays and setbacks. With grit, hard work and not to mention balls of steel, he made it safely, in style. Attaboy felix.
To mark this historic moment, we've decided to offer everyone a 25% off for all purchase in JomSocial.com . This includes new purchase and renewal for the next 24 hours. Use the code "stratos" at the checkout page.
