At this busy holiday time, it's a small but heartfelt JCM issue, wishing Joomlers all over the world a very Happy New Year! The start of a new calendar year is a time to look back on the past year, and look to the future. What did 2014 bring for the Joomla Project? And what does 2015 have in store?
A lot happened in 2014. Highlights include:
- The new Joomla Extensions Directory has a clear, advanced search function, as well as a new review and scoring system: http://extensions.joomla.org/
- The Volunteer Portal is the new hub where Joomla volunteers share what they are doing. This is a big deal, because for the first time the work of all Joomla volunteers is presented in one place, making it easier to get an overview of the many areas of the project, easier to report group activity, and easier to get involved. It’s only a few weeks old and is still onboarding the work of all the teams: http://volunteers.joomla.org/
- The new Joomla Resource Directory makes it easy to find professional service providers close to you via an interactive, worldwide map: http://resources.joomla.org/en/
- A new Joomla Demo site allows you to try Joomla for 90 days : https://demo.joomla.org/ and soon to come, a free hosting option on joomla.com: https://magazine.joomla.org/issues/issue-sept-2014/item/2304-joomla-announces-new-demo-site-and-free-hosting-option
- The third Joomla World Conference was the first JWC to be held in Latin America. Fue fantástico!: https://magazine.joomla.org/issues/issue-dec-2014/item/2407-latin-power-in-joomla-world-conference-2014
- Open Source Matters (OSM) got a new website: http://www.opensourcematters.org
You may be wondering, how can 2015 ever top all of that? Well, the Joomla Project is going to try, and the following are just some of the plans in store for the new year:
- The Production Leadership Team is hard at work on the next major release, Joomla 3.4. If you’re interested in helping out in the Developer Network, visit http://developer.joomla.org/
- The fourth Joomla World Conference will be the first one over to be held in South Asia, in beautiful …., India! Keep November 2015 open and stay tuned to http://conference.joomla.org for details.
- The Certification Team is zeroing in on the finalization of the Administrator exam. Follow their progress here: https://www.facebook.com/joomlacertificationprogram
- And you won’t want to miss the next JandBeyond conference on May 29-30 in Prague!: http://jandbeyond.org/
- A proposal for a new structure and methodology for the Joomla project is being prepared and will be presented to the community for feedback this month. Progress can be followed in the team reports on the Volunteers Portal: http://volunteers.joomla.org/working-groups/structure-team#reports
- The Joomla Community Magazine is planning a redesign of the magazine with a targeted launch date of July 2015. More language versions are coming, as well as improved navigation and a beautiful new layout.
- The Community Leadership Team (CLT) has more site upgrades in the works.
What will 2015 not have? Support for Joomla 2.5. It’s time to bite the bullet and migrate - you’ll never have to do it again! https://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1839-this-is-the-last-release-of-joomla-25-now-what.html
The end of a year and the start of a new one, is also a time to say Thank You to everyone who works so hard, volunteering time to make Joomla not only a fantastic, empowering CMS, but also a place where being involved is a meaningful and worthwhile human experience.
postcard design by Chiara Aliotta