Some of you may have noticed that between 1.13am GMT+1 and 5.50am GMT+1 AcornRack was down with the following error:

Can’t connect to local MySQL server through socket ‘/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock’ (111)

The cause of this error was that the server was rebooted, the cause of which is still being investigated, and the mySQL server (of which the whole of AR is based on) didnt start back up automatically. This has now been fixed by adding the mySQL startup files to the system so they run on reboot. Apologies for any problems caused!

P.S There is an ongoing issue which some people may come across regarding the way your forum posts appear on your sites. This is due to a new filter which has been implemented to secure forum posts. If you are having issues with this please post refer to http://www.acornrack.com/forum/forum-thread-846125-11339-1219382137.html

UPDATE: The reason for the unexpected reboot is due to a power failure in the datacenter(datacentre).

Hey all,

Before I give you a run down on the progress of the testing, let me just say that EVERY single line of code in the next version has been rewritten. There is not one line of code used in AR1 which is used in AR2. Testing has to include every single section of the new version, including site creation, forum posting, admin panels e.t.c

Firstly, thanks to all the testers so far! Keep those bugs coming! Today we launched a new AdminCP which should be easier to use and navigate as well as provide extra information on your site if you need it. The AdminCP is using the same theme as the new layout so we are obtaining feedback on structure and colours (colors) used.

The variable system itself is turning out to be very flexible, for example with the new system you will be able to remove quite a bit of javascript from your code and make advanced customisations (customizations) easier to perform. The variables themselves are in fact objects, so you can perform functions on them such as length, number formatting and string manipulation.

I could divulge more however I’ll leave that to another time

Hello!

We have just contacted all the AR2 testers with details on the new system. This marks the start of AR2 testing. Obviously we can’t give any exact dates as to when testing will finish and AR2 will be launched. This depends completely on testing.

Over time I will spill the beans over a few features as they are signed off and completed, just to tease you a little bit!

TTFN.

Last week both myself and Chris looked through AR members who had contributed positively to the AR community. These chosen people were to be invited to help test the next version of AR. We have learnt quite a few lessons from the launch of AR version 1 and other sites similar to AR and have decided to obtain user feedback as early in the development process as possible.

Out of the 10 people who were contacted, 8 of them responded saying that they would be more than happy helping with the testing. We are putting the finishing touches to the test environment and should have something to test for them within the next few days.

Just a reminder on the testing schedule, the next version of AR will be mostly privately tested using these 8 core members plus extra members as we expand the testing. At the moment we are unsure whether or not to have an open testing session open to all members.

As testing progresses we will keep the AR community informed in how it is going as well as little snippits of information regarding the new version.

I’m excited, are you?