Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: December 2010

Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use a specific wallpaper for a longer period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it. That’s why we have decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers for over 12 months. To make them a little more distinctive than the usual crowd, we’ve decided to embed calendars for the upcoming month. So if you happen to be searching for a specific day of the month, isn’t it better to show off a nice wallpaper with a nice calendar instead of launching some default time application?

This post features 40 free desktop wallpapers, created by designers across the globe for December 2010. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free.

Please notice:

• all images can be clicked on and lead to the preview of the wallpaper;
• you can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our desktop wallpaper calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?

So what wallpapers have we received for December 2010?

December 2010 Wallpaper

“For December 2010, illustration of myself Wishing” Designed by Benoit Chartron from France.

• preview
• with calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600

Christmas Stuff

“Some of the things that come to my mind when thinking of christmas..” Designed by Jaro Mlkvy from Slovakia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Starleaves

Designed by Fabio Toscani from Italy.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Spider web

Designed by Mohd. Aaqib from India.

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• with calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Wicklow Winter

“Winter at the Sugar Loaf Mountain in County Wicklow Ireland.” Designed by Neil Bradshaw from Ireland.

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• with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1336×768, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1336×768, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440, 2560×1600

Fun in the Snow

“A girl and her friend, The Snowman, being silly in the first snow I love December. Happy Holidays, everyone!” Designed by Anca Varsandan from Romania.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Peace

“Let’s give our children the greatest gift off all — PEACE! Happy Holidays to everyone.” Designed by Kim Carney from USA.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1600

Christmas Past

“Christmas old style.” Designed by Carmelo Ortuso from Australia.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Frosted Glass

“An illustration of someone who wiped a frosted window and is looking down on a town and lake below.” Designed by Shawn Rinkenbaugh from United States.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Cosy Retro

“Something warm and cosy for a cold December.” Designed by Ron Gilad from Israel.

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• with calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1440×1152, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1440×1152, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Burnout 2010

“The Year of the matches is quite over!” Designed by Hansjoerg Schneider from Switzerland.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440

Fresh & White

“Have a break, get out of your Design studio and go breathing. What if we raced or a had snowball fight?” Designed by Maureen Chaffurin from France.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1440×900
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1440×900

Sad Waters

“Based on the song Sad Waters, by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Ophelia’s myth. Photography by the author, made in Cantabria the first morning of 2010.” Designed by David Fernandez Rementeria from Spain.

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• with calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 2560×1440

New Santa … New Gifts

“A year’s collection of happiness, wrapped inside a small gift.” Designed by Narendar . N from India.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

Holly Light

“Warm lights sourrounding our Chritmas Festivities are like a warm touch, a hug from our beloved.” Designed by Ester Liquori from Italy.

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• with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050
• without calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050

Christmas Icons

Designed by Davide Vicariotto from Italy.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Cosy Socks

"One of my favourite months of the year is December. The whole month feels festive and I love the reds and green’s we have everywhere. So to celebrate the beginning of December, here are a pair of cosy red christmasy socks! I have spent all of November creating the design based on the photograph and making it in red for the theme of Christmas. Have a great December everyone! " Designed by Sasha Bell from England, UK.

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• with calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

Snowy December

Designed by Rosanna Bell from England, UK.

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• with calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 2560×1600

Happy New Year

"December is time for Christmas rush, presents and greetings letters! We wish you and your friends all the best and Father Frost (russian Santa Claus) will take care of the rest." Designed by cheloveche.ru from Russia.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Fallen Icon Mozart

“This month of December is flooded with commercial apsects of the Christmas Holiday(Thanks Coca Cola) I want to pay homage to a fallen young icon Mozart.” Designed by Jeremiah Selengia from Tanzania.

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• with calendar: 800×480, 1280×720, 1440×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 800×480, 1280×720, 1440×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

Snowy Love

Designed by Brad Cerasani from Canada.

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• with calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Waiting for Christmas

“I wish you a merry Christmas!!” Designed by yellowbook from South Korea.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Winter Atmosphere

"I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood." Designed by Jaro Mlkvy from Slovakia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Snow White

"The falling snow, wrapped up warm in colourful wintery gloves. Have a wonderful winter everyone!" Designed by Olivia Bell from England, UK.

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• with calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

Inspiring Well

“Celebrating the new coming year.” Designed by Peter Yee from Malaysia.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050

Flower Bokeh

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from the Netherlands.

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• with calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

The Greatest Gift of All

“Today Christmas is all about buying presents, but actually the most important thing is to have someone to share the Christmas time with. That’s what this wallpaper is all about. The two birds – Milo and Pipita – are a wallpaper series and usually they argue about things men and women argue about. ” Designed by Nicole Bauer from Germany.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Angel

“All writers and reader of the fabulous Smashing Magazine feliz navidad y propero a–o nuevo!” Designed by Fresh&Eazy, Steffen Schmitt from Spain.

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• with calendar: 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

Christmas Eve

“Wishing you a merry christmas” Designed by Ray Templates from India.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Khaos

“Photography + Light Painting, a simple way to make design.” Designed by Jose Tenorio from Costa Rica.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1920×1200

Frozen

“White and blue – like a December with a lot of snow and a blue, sunny sky. Hopefully!” Designed by Lotum from Germany.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

December Dream

Designed by Christine Bradway from United States.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Winter Wonderland

"The design was inspired by the Christmas story with charming characters that bring joy and magic in this festive occasion." Designed by Jo‹o Lima Jr. from Brazil.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1024×768, 2560×1440

Waiting for a Winter

Designed by Adam Piotrowski from Poland.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Learn to Recycle

"We should care more about our planet." Designed by Adam Laki from Hungary.

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• with calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Casual Catwalk

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from the Netherlands.

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• with calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

West Christmas

"In west, Santa Claus uses a .44" Designed by Blackjack.

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• with calendar: 1152×864, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080
• without calendar: 1152×864, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080

Snowy Ladybug

Designed by Tooshtoosh from Israel.

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• with calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Happy Festivus

“Seinfeld in 1997 proposed a holiday, Festivus, for the rest of us. This desktop wallpaper reminds us of the non consumeristic nature of Festivus, sit back enjoy a drink and join Kramer, Frank Costanza, Jerry and Elaine in the airing of Grievances and challenge one another to feats of strength after dinner.” Designed by Jenny Heath from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Smashing Snowman

“He’s a smashing snowman, isn’t he?” Designed by Megan Burleson from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Join in next month!

Please notice that we respect the ideas and motivation behind artists’ work which is why we’ve given artists full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. And this is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us, but designed from scratch by the artists themselves.

Thanks to all designers for participation. Join in next month!

What’s your favorite?

What’s your favourite theme or wallpaper for this month? Please let us know in the comments! And have a smashing December, folks!

(ik) (vf) (sl)

© Smashing Editorial for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: december, Wallpapers

Donncha: WP Super Cache 0.9.9.7

WP Super Cache is a full page caching plugin for WordPress that makes your website run much faster!

I’ve just released a new version and the biggest change in this one is the addition of Content Delivery Network (CDN) support thanks to Mark Kubacki who allowed me to integrate his OSSDL CDN Off Linker plugin. (Please go visit his blog and say thank you if you use this feature!)

The CDN support simply rewrites images, CSS and Javascript files so they point at a different hostname. That hostname can be another virtual host on your own server (aka “Poor Man’s CDN”) pointing at your WordPress install or a fully fledged CDN. If your CDN supports “origin pull” then all the files on your server will be copied there as they are requested by visitors. Otherwise you’ll have to transfer the files over manually.

Apart from that, bugs have been fixed, a few features have been tweaked including the uninstall script which has been streamlined somewhat.

I also added links (on the “Easy” settngs page) to some plugins and tools you may find useful in making your site run faster.

Problems? Go to the forum and someone may already have had that problem and solved it. If not, post there and you’ll get a reply.

Related Posts

• WP Super Cache 0.8.4, the garbage collector
• WP Super Cache 0.8.7
• WP Super Cache 0.9.9

WordPress for iPhone/iPad v2.6 Released

Attention Apple-gadget-owning WordPress users! Have you been using the WordPress iOS app for iPhone and iPad? Or maybe you tried it a while back and thought it wasn’t for you? Either way, the new release — v2.6 — will knock your socks off. Why? A bunch of reasons:

• Video. Record, upload, attach, and play videos within the app. Yay for being able to catch your friends’ and co-workers’ most embarrassing shenanigans creative moments with iPhone video and publish them immediately for all the world to see on your WordPress site.
• A total rewrite of the way local drafts are handled, to prevent the unintentional loss of your pending posts.
• Autosave/post revisions. Bam! One of the “oh, thank goodness” features of the web app makes it into the iOS version.
• Easier setup. Faster and easier process for adding your sites to the app.
• Media Library. We’re gradually getting closer to the media management you’re used to in the web app.

There are also numerous bugfixes and performance enhancements in this release, so if you haven’t been using the app lately, you should consider giving it another try. I’m personally pretty excited to start using the iPhone version more often now that there are all these fixes and new features. Especially the video upload. You know, for those creative moments that make life fun.

You can read the full 2.6 release post on the WordPress for iOS blog, and can download v2.6 from iTunes/the app store. Happy mobile blogging!

* * *

Not an iPhone user? We’ve still got your on-the-go back! Check out the WordPress apps for Android, Blackberry, and Nokia (beta). They’re all 100% GPL, of course, and we’re always looking for contributors to the development projects, so check the blogs if you have mobile dev skills and want to get involved.

Apache Status From WHM

Community links: Open source motivations edition

What’s more fun to do over the weekend then catch up on WordPress community links? Set up the Christmas tree? Clean out the gutters? Shovel the driveway?

Alright, if you have to. Chores are chores. But when you’re done, reward yourself with a hot coffee and a good dose of WordPress reading. We have a truckload of links for you, so settle in.

The full list of links is after the jump.

In blog posts this week:

• Alex King, a well known WordPress plugin developer and entrepreneur, posted his thoughts on what motivations exist for WordPress plugin developers today. Chris Olbekson followed up with his own thoughts, as did Joost de Valk. Jeff Chandler started up a commentary at WBTC as well.
• WooThemes posted a preview of the upcoming launch of WPBundle. They also shared a few thoughts on the increase in support time that’s required of them with so many themes released.
• Dev4Press redesigned their site.
• James Dalman at WP Design Coach is now accepting themes for review on his new blog.
• Jeff Chandler wrote up how anyone can contribute to the WordPress.org theme review process. He also started a discussion around the legacy that plugins leave behind when they are deactivated.
• ThemesForge has decided to post 24 theme tips throughout December. I love the attitude and initiative behind the posts so far.
• WP Plugins has an interview with plugin developer Jonathan O’Shea.
• Matt Mullenweg was on The Big Web Show with Jeffrey Zeldman.
• Dre on the Sucuri blog wrote up yet another WordPress security post. These posts are always good reminders to secure your WordPress site. While we’re on the topic, WPZine has a collection of WordPress security plugins this week too.
• Brandon Cox wrote a really interesting post on how one particular WordPress theme ad depicted developers.
• 9seeds’ plugin WP Event Ticketing seems to have a few issues with the popular WordPress theme Thesis. They’ve posted a fix that should take care of the problem, though.

There were a few WordPress resources posted fresh this week too:

• DBS>Interactive created and released the Template Tag Reference Guide this week.
• Sarah Gooding at WPMU.org listed myself and WPCandy in their list of 50 people to follow for WordPress news on Twitter. Thanks Sarah! They also put up a collection of plugins to use with Foursquare.
• Paul Andrew posted a collection of plugins for integrating Flickr into a WordPress blog.
• Jean-Baptiste Jung posted a solid roundup of WordPress code snippets.
• iThemes has released the video tutorials in their Builder Basics series for free online.

Finally, in WordPress tutorials this week:

• WPEngineer has been laying into the tutorials this week, with a custom login page tutorial and a walkthrough of the upcoming post formats feature.
• WPBeginner has a new tutorial up showing how to add the official LinkedIn share button to your WordPress blog. They also have a nice roundup of plugins for managing images with WordPress.
• Vladimir Prelovac posted about how to disable post revisions and delete them from your database.
• Scribu showed how to insert a banner between posts, without editing the theme files.
• Chris Coyier put together a tutorial showing how to make the WYSIWYG editor really WYSIWYG.
• Sumeet Chawla at Nettuts+ put together a tutorial showing how to create an FAQ page with custom post types.

Wow, that may be a record for number of WordPress related links in a roundup post (for us). Who gets the plaque?

That’s it for links this week. If you run across something link worthy, don’t hesitate to let us know about it. If it’s worth a story we’ll jump on it, and if it’s best suited for a community news post it will show up in this space next week.

Joost de Valk redesigns, leaves behind, and teases thine minds

Joost de Valk has made multiple announcements in the last day or so.  We learned during his WP Community podcast yesterday, where WPCandy’s own Ryan Imel was the featured guest promoting the new WPCandy iPhone app, that Joost had completed a redesign of Yoast.com.  I believe he actually launched the new design with Ryan on the show. The site takes on a more professional look than the previous format, and for good reason it appears.

In a blog post published late last night, he announced he’s officially going it alone.  He’s worked with Orange Valley since 2008, a Dutch web marketing firm.  He says about the move:

“Why leave then?”, you’ll ask. Because it’s time. It’s time for me to be a true entrepreneur, and not an employee. I’m a very ambitious guy: being one of the best SEO’s of the Netherlands, which I think I can fairly call myself, is not enough. I want to be amongst and compete with the best in the world. Some people might think that’s arrogance, I’ve decided that doesn’t bother me anymore.

So it is, with some pain in my heart, that I wish them all the best, I’m certain they’ll do great things.

Joost said one priority is to spend more time developing his WordPress SEO plugin, which has both free and premium options. But he also teased an upcoming startup, which I’m sure we will all be interested in hearing more about. The only real hint he provides is that he will be working with many of the people he already works with, including Frederick Townes. Townes is the Founder and CEO of W3 Edge, which created the extremely popular W3-Total Cache Plugin. Frederick was also responsible for the redesign of Yoast.com.

You can view the full announcement on his blog.

The knights at Themes Kingdom launch Firsty, their first WordPress theme

Themes Kingdom has announced the launch of its first theme–the very appropriately named Firsty Theme. It is a blog/portfolio theme.

Firsty Theme comes equipped with features including a flexible homepage, automatic image resizing, and a built-in contact form. You can see a full list of the features on the Themes Kingdom announcement post or just figure them out for yourself with the demo.

Become a member at Themes Kingdom for $19 a year to get full access to Firsty Theme and all the great themes that are sure to follow.

You can also follow the knights at Themes Kingdom on Twitter at @themeskingdom.

Orman Clark releases new WordPress theme on ThemeForest

Orman Clark, a UK based web designer, has created a WordPress theme called Repro. He usually makes free themes over at PremiumPixels.com, but Repro is a premium WordPress theme released over at ThemeForest. Some of Repro’s features include, but not limited to:

Repro is suitable for content producers at all levels, personal bloggers, newspapers, online magazines, community blogs… you get the idea 

Repro looks great out of the box but also acts as the perfect black canvas for those looking to customise and develop their own content-focused site.

Valid XHTML Strict 1.0 Tableless Design

Unlimited Colour Schemes (colour picker)

Full Localisation Support (contains .po/.mo files)

10 Widget Areas

8 Custom Widgets

Extensive Theme Options (unbranded!)

You can follow Orman on Twitter or be a fan of PremiumPixels.

iThemes gets patriotic with Americana blog theme

Matt Danner from iThemes has released their newest Builder child theme, Americana. You can demo Americana here. Some websites are already using it.

Here are some of the features of this new theme:

• Full width modules – Don’t get stuck in the box. Break out with this awesome full width style.
• The Power of Builder with Unique Style – Our Builder theme offers you simple layout control, infinite widget areas, and more settings than you can shake a stick at (if you’re into that). With Americana, you can take advantage of all of this power, but with an awesome design that you can customize to meet your needs, or the needs of your clients.
• Alternate Module Styles – This is our first Builder child theme to offer you Alternate Module Styles. Basically, this allows you to easily have multiple styles of the same module. Rather than me babbling on trying to explain it, check out the video below that demonstrates Alternate Module Styles in action.

Americana is available for download if you are an existing Builder or All Access Pass customer on iThemes. Buy iThemes Builder for $127.

You can follow Matt on Twitter.

Apple Updates Universal Dock with Metal Remote, Power-Brick

Apple has updated its Universal Dock for iPods and iPhones. Now, instead of being a $50 box full of plastic parts, it’s a $60 box of plastic and aluminum.

Gone is the old white remote, the one that was the exact size and shape of the little cookies that come with coffee in certain cheesy hotels, replaced by the hefty new aluminum model that comes with the AppleTV.

The plastic inserts are all still there, with adapters for the iPhones 3G/S and 4, all iPod Touches but for the first one, and the previous-generation Nano (the new touch-screen Nano is too small for a dock, it seems.

There is also one addition which should have been included from the beginning: a USB power adapter so you can charge the device as it plays it’s sweet music (or video, with yet another adapter kit).

Available now. And I have one question: why isn’t there a remote-control dock for the iPad, huh?

Universal Dock product page [Apple]

See Also:

• New Universal iPod Dock from Apple
• Rumor: Apple to Issue Keyboard With iPod Dock
• New Aluminum Apple Remote, No Longer Free