The latest release of WordPress, version 2.8 is now available.This new release includes improvements to themes, widgets, taxonomies as well as speed improvements. Not to mention numerous bug fixes – reportedly over 790.

Theme Improvements

One major new improvement is in the area of theme management. You can now browse the entire online theme directory and install a theme with a single click. No download and install necessary. Very convenient.

Widgets

Widgets have had a complete redesign. Widgets are now editable on the fly as well as a drag-and-drop administration interface. You can now have multiple copies of the same widget, too. Another nice feature is the ability to save inactive widgets, so you don’t have to loose all the settings for a widget that you want to temporarily deactivate. And programmers now have access to a nicer and more robust API for widgets.

AntiSpam Features

There are a number of new features to mitigate spam and enhance security. Some of these include options to not display low-privilege users’ email addresses and urls. If the spammers cannot display their web sites, they may start giving up.

There are many more new features. For the curious, a complete list is available in the WordPress Codex.