Movable Type 4 Beta is out

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Six Apart just released a beta version of the upcoming Movable Type version 4, and a brand new movabletype.org web site where you can download it in a couple of clicks. Be aware though that it is a real beta (not a "web 2.0 beta" joke), it has known issues and is not suitable for production use. There is a fairly extensive FAQ that goes through the new features and where 6A is going with MT (i.e. open source the core, sell "components" around it like the "Enterprise" component).

From what I've seen so far, it's the most important release for years, and I'm happy to see Six Apart show some momentum again with a product that had felt a little like the unloved black duck in the past years.

A few reports to read:
- 10 Ways Movable Type 4 Will Rock Your Blog by Jesse Gardner
- an article from Duncan Riley at TechCrunch
- Arvind offers a developer's perspective and seems very happy with the new plugins and components architectures. He also says the out-of-the-box WYSIWYG editor beats competition including his own plugin. At last, no more WYSIFUC ;-), MT 4 ships with this very much needed feature!

I'll give it a try when I can, though a look at my new schedule shows that my next "coming back from the dead" window just jumped to mid-September.