The Power of Change
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
The Power of Change
John's Intro:
It's Episode 627 and we have plugins for Changing Emails and Describing Text… and WordPress News. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z!
– ‘good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you happen to be hiding out there on the globe today! Coming to you LIVE from …'
Amber's Rant:
Welcome to Episode 627 – The Power of Change – We've got a couple of great in-depth plugins to cover for you, some recent news in both the WordPress World and the Tech World in general, and some awesome WordPress Tips!
I hope everyone was able to get a glimpse of natures firework show on Friday night! I managed to get my entire little family outside and starring at the night sky – it was amazing! Sometimes looking like lightening almost as the waves hit – I noticed that the colours showed up way more vibrantly in the pictures I took then what I saw with my eyes though, how about anyone out there?
A few reminders before we start the show today….
Reminders:
- Reminder that our show is now every other week, and that it starts at 12:30 PM Pacific Time, with a pre-stream starting around 12:15 PM Pacific Time. Pre-stream is where we twiddle with the dials and knobs and really just warm up our voices, so join in for some entertainment value!
- Our show notes for each episode can be found at wppluginsatoz.com – the newest show notes will be up within 24 hours and on our front page!
- Don't forget that this is a value for value show, and that you are a big part of it's creation! You are our producers, and we need you to help us produce! Get out there and hit some like buttons, share an episode or two, and let people know that you help to produce the longest running WordPress Plugins podcast!
That's it for reminders, don't forget to stick around until the end of the show for some possibly life altering advice!
...When you see this in the notes, it means we didn't read this on the show. The only way to find this information out is to read our Show Notes!
…You can send any questions/suggestions or notes saying ‘hi' over to me at amber@wppro.ca, or hit up our site wpppluginsatoz.com/contact – Be creative with the title so that the spammer eater doesn't eat your note though!
Let's start the show with this weeks Featured Artist:
Artist:
Sir Rogue of the Tavern – Barron of the Cowichan Valley
https://theroguesoasis.com/
This is so super cool! probably very inspired by the light show we got to watch on Friday evening.
We would love some new art from our Producers out there! If you are so inclined, you can send it into us at https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/. If you need some inspiration, you can always go to our site wppluginsatoz.com and check out our Art Vaults – you will find the link for it on the left hand side.
…We can NEVER have too much art!
Breaking News in the WordPress World at large!!
…If I missed something, shoot me a link at amber@wppro.ca – it may show up on the next show!
News this week:
WordPress Vulnerability Report – May 8, 2024
(https://solidwp.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-may-8-2024/) – In this report there are 219 vulnerabilities, though there are so far 135 patches made for the plugins.
The 84 plugins needing patching are up at the top making it easy to figure out what to pay attention to. Be sure to follow the link and have a look through for your own or your clients sites!
Themes currently with vulnerabilities: ‘Adventure Journal', and ‘Unique'.
WordPress Vulnerability Report from PatchStack
(https://patchstack.com/database/) – These guys always have the latest information on what is going on regarding the latest in vulnerabilities. At the time of writing this, the most recent issue was 7 hours ago and it was a cross-site scripting vulnerability on ‘WP SMS'. Be sure to have a look through both of these sites to get as much information as possible!
WordPress 6.5.3 Maintenance Release
(https://wordpress.org/news/2024/05/wordpress-6-5-3-maintenance-release/) – This minor release features 12 bug fixes in Core and 9 bug fixes for the block editor. The next major release will be 6.6 and is currently planned for July 2024 – so I would start preparing now – make sure everything is as up to date as possible and make sure that you have backups for the backups!
You can find a roadmap here: ROADMAP for 6.6
Matt Mullenweg publicly ponders ‘year of iteration'
(https://jamesgiroux.ca/matt-mullenweg-publicly-ponders-year-of-iteration/) – There is a lot talk regarding Mullenweg suggesting taking a year off – the main quote being tossed around is
“…a year to loop back on already implemented things and iterate, bug-fix, and simplify before moving onto a ton of new functionality.”
This quote was part of a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) where he started with commentary about release leads and priorities of the project, and the perception people regarding his control levels. Considering that ‘WordPress is losing market share among the top 10K, 100K, and 1M websites with job redundancies, flat lining revenue, and fewer developers joining the ecosystem' (quote from PostStatus), so going forward with a year of fixing what's already broken I think sounds like a fantastic idea.
Another aspect that needs addressing that is being talked about is the growing divide between the WordPress codebase and the developers able to understand it; this article goes through and talks about all these points and more.
Open-Source cybersecurity is a ticking time bomb
(https://gizmodo.com/open-source-cybersecurity-is-a-ticking-time-bomb-1848790421) – I found this to be an interesting article because although it is talking about open-source for Androids and the Internet in general – open-source is how pretty well all plugins are made as well. When this article talks about the near miss XZ utils had regarding a back door – that is an issue that we have been facing with plugins since day 1, and it is becoming a very serious issue with the older plugins having unlocked back doors that people are targeting because so many people don't bother removing their old plugins ‘just in case they might use it again'.
Definitely something to be aware of, and to think about when you are going through your plugins and deciding what you do and do not use.
10 old-school Windows programs you probably didn't remember until now
(https://www.xda-developers.com/10-windows-programs-forgot-about/) – I thought this was so cool! Fantastic throwback to my childhood – I guess to other people's early years with computers in general.
Napster – would take up to 2 or 3 days to fully download a single album of music – but so worth it!
Netscape – I was able to find so many things! Not always answers to what I was looking for – but so many things!
Pinball Space Cadet – I probably spent as much time on that game as I did down at the arcade! Saved money too!
MSN Messenger – I forgot that existed!
Nice stroll down memory lane with these programs. Don't remember BOB though.
The Extras – check out our Facebook, or Twitter page for even more!
6 biggest WordPress moves while Mullenweg was on sabbatical
(https://thewpminute.com/6-biggest-wordpress-moves-while-mullenweg-was-on-sabbatical/)
For a more comprehensive list of everything going on at WordPress this last week: https://poststatus.com/early-opportunity-to-test-wp-6-6-wp-6-5-3-released-5ftf-documentation-core-proposals/
3 Key observations about the Google March 2024 core update
(https://searchengineland.com/google-march-2024-core-update-key-observations-440148)
StellerWP Acquires LearnDash add-ons from WIsdeomLabs
(https://www.learndash.com/stellarwp-acquires-learndash-add-ons-from-wisdmlabs/)
Convesio Acquires WooCommerce Marketing Automation Platform Growmatik
(https://convesio.com/blog/wordpress-business/convesio-acquires-woocommerce-marketing-automation-platform-growmatik/)
Envato acquired by Shutterstock in $245M deal
(https://jamesgiroux.ca/envato-acquired-by-shutterstock-in-245m-deal/)
FBI issues advisory as hackers strike: email admins do this 1 thing now
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/05/08/new-fbi-warning-as-hackers-strike-email-users-must-do-this-1-thing/?sh=2664652d3d65)
Have we reached ‘peak' WordPress?
(https://jamesgiroux.ca/have-we-reached-peak-wordpress/)
Clicking this fake Chrome update could drain your bank account and leak your location
(https://lifehacker.com/tech/android-malware-poses-as-chrome-update-steals-bank-info-location-call-history)
Negating all VPNs may have been possible since 2002
(https://www.techspot.com/news/102892-negating-all-vpns-may-have-possible-since-2002.html)
Microsoft admits it can't fix windows 10 KB5034441 “0x80070643 – ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE”
(https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-admits-it-cant-fix-windows-10-kb5034441-0x80070643—errorinstallfailure/)
Leading through emotional tremors
(https://jamesgiroux.ca/leading-through-emotional-tremors/)
Microsoft is bringing passkeys to all users
(https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/microsoft-is-bringing-passkeys-to-all-users)
‘Deadbots' and the ‘digital afterlife industry' risk haunting the living, researchers warn
(https://thenextweb.com/news/deadbots-digital-afterlife-warning)
Dragon Rating Time!
John's Plugin
Change Admin Email
https://wordpress.org/plugins/change-admin-email-setting-without-outbound-email/
The Lowdown:
This plugin allows an administrator to change the “site admin email” option, without sending a confirmation email from the server. This can be useful for testing purposes, localhost setups, or any other situation where outbound email is disabled on the site. A new “feature” of WordPress 4.9 is that the administrator cannot change the site admin email without outgoing email setup on the server. This plugin restores the administrator’s ability to change this setting without sending a confirmation email. Note that the “site admin email” is the global email used for admin purposes on the site. It is the “from” address when the site sends an email. The “site admin email” may be different from the administrator’s personal user email, which is associated with the administrator’s user account.
Rating 5 Dragons
WordPress Tips
We would love to hear some tid bit tips from some of our producers out there – what did you figure out by breaking something? Or what did you need to learn in order to help someone? You can send these tid bits into me at amber@wppro.ca
Making Sites
Don't be afraid to reach out and ask for help when you need to figure out something that you don't know well – such as coding. Sure, you could probably figure out where the issue in the code is, and then figure out how to fix it – but could you do that as quickly and as well as someone who specializes in reading and writing that particular code?
It may be tempting sometimes to go ahead and just figure it all out on your own in order to both save yourself money by not paying someone else, and also to make more money by charging your client more – but in the long run, taking longer and not having the best result to offer will lose you clients which loses you thousands in the long run.
Beginners Tips
You're not always going to have sites you are working on, so make sure that there are other things that you can work on. Also, there is going to be work that is not building at times – work like fixing SEO, doing excess research to figure out an issue – that work is just as important so don't put it off.
…Some random entertainment in the World of WordPress!
…Matt's Famous Quotes
https://www.idrlabs.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg.php
…The hall of shame via Automattic:
transparency.automattic.com/tag/hall-of-shame/
Amber's Plugin
Alt Text Describer
https://en-ca.wordpress.org/plugins/alt-text-describer/
The Lowdown:
We had a gentleman from the Prisakaru team reach out to us to let us know about their plugin called Alt Text Describer – it is an AI plugin that fills in the Alt Text for you in your images.
I have to admit, I didn't believe it would work very well – I have tried out quite a few of these plugins at this point… and none of them were really worth bringing to the show is what I found. They would explain things in a very… off kilter and generally rather incorrect way.
This plugin though, it does a great job! I even tried to trip it up with some kind of abstract images – and it still managed to describe them fairly well! I had an image of a rough sketch skeleton that didn't have a full body – that is essentially what it added into alt text for me.
Now this is uncommon of me to recommend a plugin that does this, but you have to go to their site and get yourself an API key. You can click on ‘free trial' and just use your Google account to login and get the API key, although you are still needing to log in. In this case, I think it's worth going through all the extra work to get this tool if it is something you could use.
So once you download and activate this, you will find the plugins dashboard on the left hand menu – click on it and you land on the plugin's dashboard. Here you add in your API key, choose your language, and decide whether or not it will generate alternative texts on image upload.
If you click on ‘Describer' tab at the top of the plugin dashboard, it will bring you to a page showing you how many images you have, and how many images are left without an alt image added into it. You also see how many credits you have left, and each image that has an alt text, and what that alt text says.
About the credits – you have 1 credit for each image. You get 15 credits with your free trial – just enough to really test it out with some abstract images and what not. You need to go to the site and into your account to get more credits – and their prices are fairly reasonable. You can get:
100 credits for €4.00-Euro ($4.31-USD or $5.89-CAD)
500 credits for €17.00-Euro ($18.31-USD or $25.05-CAD)
2,500 credits for €65.00-Euro ($70.01-USD or $95.79-CAD)
10,000 credits for €200.00-Euro ($215.41-USD or $294.73-CAD)
I was also told by the Prisakaru Team the following:
…we are extending our plugin capabilities and plugin will be available on Shopify and Prestashop too.
I think this plugin is worth at least giving it a go for the free trial – hands down the best Alt Text Plugin I have found to date! I am very excited for anything else they come out with as well!
Rating: 5 Dragon
Earn yourself a Producership Credit!
There are a lot of ways that you as our Producers can utilize us as your tool to help yourself out, and help us at the same time – get a producership credit, do an interview, donate some time to get your name up here, all kinds of things! You can look further into the Producership credits options by going to our site wppluginsatoz.com and clicking on Time, Talent, or Treasure in our main menu.
Miscellaneous Announcements from us and Producers:
Have an announcement like a meetup, or to announce you'll be on stage at a WordCamp? Let us know and we will add it here and help get your news out to the world!
WordCamp Porto, Portugal – May 17-18
WordCamp Vigo, Galicia, Spain – May 25-26
WordCamp Montclair New Jersey – June 1
SOMOS: Encuentro WordPress LGTB+ – June 1
WordCamp Krakow, Poland – June 7-9
To see the entire list you can follow the link here in the show notes, then click on ‘More WordCamps' right below the list of the next 5. https://central.wordcamp.org/
If you are interested in finding a WordPress Meetup somewhere around the world you can go check out the places here: https://www.meetup.com/pro/wordpress/
Keep checking back every week to find out what else is going on!
And remember, the show notes found at wppluginsatoz.com have a whole lot of extra information to grab up that we don't read on air so be sure to check them out!
How to reach us:
We have a real brick and mortar address where you can send in art and/or notes – you can find the address in our show notes!
WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall
20-754 E Fairview Rd.
Victoria, BC V9A 5T9
Canada
We also have virtual addresses too!
John:
- My website: http://www.johnoverall.com/
- WordPress Emergency Support: http://wppro.ca/wpemergency
- email: john@wppro.ca
Amber:
- email: amber@wppro.ca
Today's Plugins we covered were:
John’s Plugin:
Change Admin Email By John Dee
- Allows admin to change ‘site admin email' without sending confirmation email from server
- Great for testing purposes
- Removes the need to have email setup on the server
Rating: 5 Dragons
Amber's Plugin:
Alt Text Describer By Prisakaru
- Generates alternative text for images using AI
- Fully automatic process
- Helps with your SEO
Rating: 5 Dragons
Q & A Time with Amber – Catch this info on our YouTube Channel
If you have questions you would like to have asked on the show, send them in to me at Amber@WPPro.ca – let's see if we can stump my dad!
- I have read in a few places about companies trying to simplify things like their two-factor authentication process and logins – do you think that simplification is going to make them more vulnerable or really just leave at about the same level they were before?
- I keep reading about this passkey that Microsoft is bringing out in an attempt to get rid of passwords – it seems like a really good idea on paper; what do you think about it?(‘passkeys use two unique keys – one stored on the service, and the other on the device, protected by a PIN or biometrics. So, in order to log into a service, it is no longer enough for the attacker to know the password, or the PIN. They also need physical access to the user’s device, which stores the other half of the key.')
Questions asked after closing credits:
- Switching domains from something like ‘woocomerce.com' over to ‘woo.com' and then back again – how badly do you think that would mess with your SEO? Or would switching back to the original domain fix all the SEO issues brought on by the first switch?
- I've been hearing about AI making search quality worse – weren't search programs already a form of AI? How could additional AI make the search program worse?
