ExpressionEngine 2.1 has finally been released after a very long testing period. Hopefully, this means they’ve worked out lots of bugs!
We are very excited to announce the release of ExpressionEngine 2.1. This version marks the end of the public beta period. We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the literally thousands of people who participated in the public beta. Your contribution was invaluable in helping improve and finalize the application. Thank you!
Overall, I can’t really see what’s new with this release, other than the fact that it’s 2.1 and they’ve upped their prices. If someone knows where there is a list of new features in comparison to the old version, I’d appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
Positives:
Theming appears to have become easier and WooThemes has jumped on board providing themes for this release which is good because that’s one of EE’s weak areas is a lack of available themes for new users.
Negatives:
I could do without the new look for the dashboard which I find, visually, to be a bad bubbled WordPress meets ExpressionEngine kind of look (but that’s just my opinion).
You can learn more about this new release on their website: http://expressionengine.com
About Mike Johnston
I'm not affiliated with Ellislab or ExpressionEngine, and honestly I'm rather shocked that you found more negatives than positives. Let me brief everyone on the positives.
The new dashboard is quite an improvement in my opinion from version 1.6.x. The old dashboard didn't offer drop down functionality which consumed more tedious time navigating page by page through a complex menu hierarchy. Version 2.1 has a drop down hierarchy that makes navigating a breeze.
If you don't like the new look, there are plenty of themes you can install. There is even install a theme that emulates the 1.6.x classic look and feel.
EE 2 was rebuilt from the ground up on the PHP framework CodeIgniter. This enables faster load times and enables the community to build more powerful addons. It also comes with a new fieldtype API, that gives you custom fields for multi-select boxes, checkboxes, etc.
You're mistaken about the pricing structure. ExpressionEngine 2 is a one time purchase and you own it forever. If you want to have continual access to new releases or upgrade downloads after a year, it's only $19.95 for an entire year.
Thanks for clarifying the pricing structure. I'm glad to hear they chose to set it up that way. I've adjusted the post accordingly.