So, if you are using WordPress 3.2 – here is how you can get into the new full screen editor.

1. Log into the Dashboard
2. Either go to Posts > Add New or Posts > All Posts > the post you wish to edit
3. In the default editor, look for the toolbar button that has arrows pointing in four directions and click it

That is all you need to do.  This distraction free writing mode comes in handy for those of us who like to clear away all the clutter and mess around us before we start writing.  This feature clears away the sidebars, menus, and options; leaving you only with an interface to write in.

If you have not upgraded yet – why wait? You can pick up WordPress 3.2 from the WordPress.org website.

Here are just a few suggestions the developers give when it comes to figuring out reasons to use this fantastic little micro blogging service.

• Journal. Realistically keep a journal, 280 characters only takes 2 minutes!
• Travelling. You’re too busy having fun to write down every detail!
• Business. Keep track of your business life.
• Sport. Running a marathon? Track your progress.
• Food Diary. Losing weight or getting fit?
• Target Progress. Record progress of a large task.
• Backwards To-Do List. What did you get done today?

By bounding you to 280 characters, the website forces you to skip the fluff and get right down to business.  You can sign up and give it a shot at 280daily.com.

I have just started to play with WordPress 3.1 today.  One of the biggest updates that people will either love, or love to hate is the new admin bar that is displayed across the top of your website when you are logged in.  It gives you quick and easy access to some of the most popular administrator features of WordPress.  What if you do not like it? There is a pretty simple way to disable it from showing up.

From the admin bar in WordPress you can click on your name to be taken to your profile editor or from within the admin section of WordPress go to, Users > Your Profile. Next, look for where it says, "Show Admin Bar" and simply un-check "when viewing site".  You can also select to view the new WordPress admin bar in your dashboard too.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the Update Profile button.  You are done!

To learn more about WordPress 3.1, be sure to check out the feature I wrote over on the Site5 blog. There I go into a few more of the new abilities that WordPress 3.1 has to offer.

I spent much of my weekend playing with the beta version of the new Windows Live Writer, and I do have say – they have won me over again.  This program is sleek, it gets the job done and really – it is hard to believe that it is put out there by Microsoft for free, because there is no close competitor to Windows Live Writer out there. So lets take a look at why you might want to switch your blog updating to this magnificent tool.

The biggest improvement by far is how they got rid of the sidebar, and moved everything to the top of the program window.  I often write with a browser open on the left – and Windows Live Writer open on the right, so I need all the screen real estate I can get.  This new look gives me more space to write – and hides more of the features I don’t really need or use.

It supports a number of different blogging platforms – including WordPress, so that is always a positive. Another feature I like is that they moved the tags, categories and set post date all to the top, so it is easier to remember to set them. In the previous versions of Windows Live Writer, these were dumped in on the bottom of the window and often overlooked.

Want to give it a shot? You can download and try out the Windows Live Essentials beta of Windows Live Writer.  Just be careful during the install, because it will also ask you if you want a ton of other products you might or might not want to install just yet. I give it two thumbs up, a nice improvement on an already nice blogging program.

When you go to set up your first blog though it, you will notice that it supports a wide variety of services. You can blog through Windows Live Spaces or set it up to work with an external service – like an installation of WordPress on your web hosting account.

The fact that it downloads part of your theme to show you how your blog post will look on the Web (via the Preview tab) is also a really nice touch.

Here are some of the other features worth mentioning:

• Image border treatments (including Instant Photo)
• Crop and tilt photos
• Insert multiple photos
• Toolbar alignment commands enabled for images
• Insert and upload Windows Live photo albums
• Insert and publish video to YouTube
• Server-side tagging (for supported blogs)
• Type-down filtering in the Open dialog
• Twitter, Digg and Flickr Plug-ins
• Improved blog account setup

If you are using Windows, there really is no better blogging tool out there.  I have tried a lot of them, and time after time I keep coming back to Windows Live Writer.

Pick up Windows Live Writer today and give it a shot.  If you have a better suggestion, I’d also love to hear about it in the comments.

Mystique

This is the best free WordPress theme I have seen in a while.  It really does a great job at creating top commercial template features in a theme that is free for everybody to use.  You can learn more about it, and download it at its official website.

AllTuts

This theme, put out by Site5 looks great and gives off that vibe of a really professional theme.  The entire theme is very polished looking and doesn’t hold back when it comes to features.  You can grab it (and a few more great WordPress themes) over at Site5′s free WordPress themes website.

LightWord

I really love the simple themes out there too, so LightWord has to go on my list.  This theme comes with two or three column support, it is AdSense ready, and just looks really nice.  If you are looking for a sleek, yet simple WordPress theme, you could not go wrong with LightWord.  You can pick it up on its official website.

Arras Theme

Magazine themes for WordPress are growing in popularity these days, and if you need a free magazine-like theme to get started with, Arras theme is the one to pick.  Simply put, it has tons of features, alternative styles, includes a slideshow feature and really the list goes on and on.  You can pick it up on ArrasTheme.com.

Thematic

Now you might say this theme is a little simple, right?  Well that is the best thing about it.  The Thematic theme for WordPress is simply a framework to use to design your own great looking WordPress powered blog.  You can pick it up at  Themeshaper.com.

There you have it.  These are some of the best WordPress themes I’ve run into that simply do not suck.  Have another theme in mind that should have made it on the list?  Want to tell me which one is your favorite?  Drop your feedback, thoughts and suggestions into the comments.

1. Screen grab to WordPress! – This addons ads to Screen Grab! by allowing screen captures to be uploaded to WordPress (2.5+) blogs
2. One-Click Installer for WP – Install plugins or themes on your self-hosted WordPress blogs with a single click (needs the related WP plugin to work; not intended for WordPress.com) .
3. WordPress.com Sidebar – Get quick access to your wordpress.com account from your browser sidebar.
4. MMD WordPress.com Extension – This extension adds a tiny statusbar panel that shows you your blog hit count for your WordPress.com blog.
5. Blog This in Windows Live Writer – Adds a button to Firefox which starts a new Windows Live Writer blog post prepopulated with content and title from the current web page. Blog the whole page, or just selected snippets.
6. WordPress Helper – The Firefox extension WordPress Helper helps you working with WordPress by providing useful help and tools.
7. WordPress Post – This extension lets you post the text you select in your browser directly to your WordPress blog.
8. easyComment-a-Blog – Filling out Blog Comment Forms automatically with ease.
9. Deepest Sender – Deepest Sender is a client that will allow you to post to blogs from directly within Firefox. It is primarily a LiveJournal client, although it supports Blogger (GData) and WordPress (metaWeblog) too.
10. DashBlog – lets you quickly collect videos, images, text/quotes, songs and screen-captures from any web page and publish them to your blog (word press, blogger/blogspot, tumblr) and/or twitter.

Know of another good one that didn’t make the list?  Let me know about it!

The install is simple, and famous for being able to be done in 5 minutes or less.  As far as features go, you have link management, post categories, tags, auto-saving of posts, categories, and more.  It would take me days to list them all.

Here is video of WordPress 2.7 doing what it does so well:

You have plugins and themes included too, which means you can customize and add features you might need, but the developers for got about. Here are a few more usual WordPress links that any WordPress fanatic should have handy:

• Themes Directory
• Plugins Directory

I haven’t had much time yet to really play with an appreciate the newest version of WordPress yet, but from what I have seen thus far – WordPress 2.7 is a great improvement visually over the previous versions.  You can pick up WordPress via WordPress.org.

Are you wanting to find a weblog or CMS system that is user friendly and easy to use out of the box?  Well, the people behind Zomplog describe themselves as being focused at helping you with publishing your content rather than learning a lot of code. 

As far as free blogging scripts go, Zomplog appears to have all the bells and whistles.  It is highly extendable, and tons of great features.  Here is a little more from the developers:

Just because Zomplog is easy to use, that doesn’t mean it only lets you do basic things! Zomplog supports static content, or pages, if you like. This way you can easily use zomplog as an simple content management system! Want to be a broadcaster? Zomplog lets you create podcasts or video podcasts (vodcasts) on the fly! Just upload, and everything else is taken care of!

Sounds great, right?  The only big problem I had with them was I could find no install guide via their web site.  I had to download the the script, and then hunt through the files in there for one called “read me”.  I did finally find it, however it was a lot of work.  Nothing too surprising in there, setup the script, your databases and you are good to go.

There are a number of various themes and plugins to check out too, to help you mold your Zomplog powered blog to something you can use or that you need.  If you are the type of person who likes to play with a script before you install it, you can have a look around at the interface on the demo hosted by OpenSourceCMS.com.

Zomplog is another fine blogging script alternative worth checking out.

Designed for speed and ease of use, WikyBlog has a unique AJAX enhanced tabbed interface that enables users to view and edit multiple files within the same page. Custom templates, file attachments, a flexible user privilege system, and Google Maps number among its many features.

To check out more features WikyBlog provides, visit the features list.  The install process does not look too complicated.  From what I could find, you just need to upload, create your database, and configure.  They do note you might need access to mod_rewrite and a .htaccess file too.  That should not be to hard to get setup on today’s usual shared hosting plan.

Want to give it a shot for yourself?  Check out the live demo on OpenSourceCMS.com.

All in all, WikyBlog looks nice if you are looking for a change, however the navigation interface confused me some.  Almost like they are trying to do too many cool navigational tweaks.  However, I would still suggest giving it a shot if you need a new way to manage and collaborate on your own blog.. err.. wiki… umm… WikyBlog!