vBulletin 4.0 Released

[LiNuX]

vBulletin announced version 4.0 a few days ago, with a lot of added features and improvements. They are proclaiming it to be the most powerful forum software ever and it does grab my attention.

I plan on upgrading to 4.0 soon just as soon as they fix all the bugs. One day after 4.0 was released, a huge security hole was found and I believe a few big forums were negatively affected. They released a patch for the fix, however, knowing vB, they'll find more fixes soon. I don't plan on upgrading in 2009, hopefully they fix all security holes by January 2010 so that I can upgrade our forum with less worries.

There are major changes to templates, so it may take me a few days just to get through all the template changes but I will do my best to ensure our current themes keep working, but I have no idea what changes were made so I can't make any promises. We may have to get a new set of themes.

You can find some screenshots of the new vB 4.0 software below:
Purchase vBulletin, the most powerful forum software available. (http://www.vbulletin.com/index.php?do=screenshots)

And see a list of all the features here:
vBulletin-The Most Powerful Forum Software Available (http://www.vbulletin.com/index.php?do=features)

I'm excited about the changes, but really not liking the upgrade fees. I used to renew for around $60-$70 per year, don't remember which, now renewal for the license is $175 looking at the site.

I'll keep this thread updated with more vB 4.0 news if any.

[LemonRising]

Sounds awesome
Can't wait to give it a run, but good call on waiting.
fo sho

[LiNuX]

I always wait. I've learned from the past that no matter how good something seems, it always has flaws. The version we are on right now is probably the last bug free version. The only reason I didn't upgrade to 3.8 is because not much changed and I kept seeing one patch coming out after another week after week. Not worth it to upgrade every week and worry about security flaws.

Although later versions of 3.7 has patches, they aren't as bad as the 3.8 fixes.

[suesam21]

Well chances are there that version 4 is with bugs. Also suite edition which costs 285$ is best buy package, it has everything cms, news system etc etc. I prefer vb over IPB as it saves lot of money in longer run.

[LiNuX]

Yeah I saw the suite, don't think I'll be able to jump to that.

And I also prefer vB over IPB :) definitely more worth it. I almost went for IPB with this forum but changed my mind soon after thinking about it.

[suesam21]

That's good decision you made. IPB is overpriced and with hidden software update fees. I mean just look at cost 145$ + support fees and driver,add-ons cost. It goes more than 300$ in 6 months.

[LiNuX]

yeah, and vB has far more addons and a majority of them are free. You have a few paid ones and they are really good. vbSEO was making it big but I don't know what happened with that mod, haven't looked in a while.

And the things they've done with vB4 makes other CMS look pretty useless.

[suesam21]

Yes, that is major improvement of adding cms/news system. I'm thinking on the line that there is no need for any CMS bridge now(like earlier custom wordpress/drupal bridges were available). Now Anyone who wants to build community with blog/news then vb4 suite is perfect and all-in-one package.

me too haven't seen vbSEO mod on new version forums as of yet.

[LiNuX]

I'm sure there will still be bridges, unlike vb4 suite, CMS like Wordpress, drupal, joomla, mambo, etc. are free. You save a ton of money that way. Sure it's a bit of work, but what can you do if you don't have the money.

[suesam21]

In case of no money there is only mybb and smf which are worth to use as alternative to vbulletin. and most of the bridges of cms are very poor for these two forums.

i think if vbulletin is costly for people then they should get IPB instead.

[LiNuX]

This forum used to be SMF before vB and there was a plugin that worked like vBadvanced which didn't require a bridge with any other CMS. Forgot what it's called but I'd say SMF is closer to vB than myBB. I have limited exp with myBB and that's mostly with helping clients that use mybb.

[suesam21]

So is it possible to convert SMF to Vbulleting ? I was looking for any tutorial on that one cause i have one old blog which is on SMF and i'm planning to move it to vbulletin with it. Any idea ? Or there is some installer that helps do the stuff ?

[LiNuX]

So is it possible to convert SMF to Vbulleting ? I was looking for any tutorial on that one cause i have one old blog which is on SMF and i'm planning to move it to vbulletin with it. Any idea ? Or there is some installer that helps do the stuff ?

Yeah, there are converters for each system that allows you to convert from other forum softwares. Most have them, some don't. We used to be YaBB followed by SMF then vBulletin. Easy process once you get the hang of it, can take some time and it's always recommended that you have a backup of some sort of your physical files as well as database.

For vB, the converter should be in the "install" folder if I remember correctly.

[suesam21]

Thanks, one more question is i purchase vb classic 4.0 and want to install it on main domain where my earlier forum is do i need to upload the vb files on /public_html like SMF ? or vb can replace it automatically ?

[LiNuX]

Thanks, one more question is i purchase vb classic 4.0 and want to install it on main domain where my earlier forum is do i need to upload the vb files on /public_html like SMF ? or vb can replace it automatically ?

Upload them to a subfolder then when running the conversion, vB will ask you where the SMF install is. All you have to do is point. It'll usually be /home/username/public_html/

[joshr]

I have to admit, I'm very impressed with the level of effort you put into maintaining this community Linux. I'll be looking forward to the new software when you deem it time to upgrade. Keep up the good work mate...

[LiNuX]

I have to admit, I'm very impressed with the level of effort you put into maintaining this community Linux. I'll be looking forward to the new software when you deem it time to upgrade. Keep up the good work mate...

thank you :) May take a few more months as vB is finding new things wrong with the new software from time to time now.

[Exodyus]

Will JunaWeb have a support and install for vB 4.0? :D :D

[LiNuX]

Will JunaWeb have a support and install for vB 4.0? :D :D

No because it's a paid software. Can't just provide an install, it's only privately given out to those with licenses.

[Exodyus]

So what you're saying is you didn't make it on the 'A' list. Lol...

Oyie. How good is it?

[LiNuX]

So what you're saying is you didn't make it on the 'A' list. Lol...

Oyie. How good is it?

I don't even know what you mean by the first line. It could be because I'm tired..

It has a lot of new features, but it's glitchy, buggy, etc. There are still a ton of exploits. I'd rather wait for them to fix all the major security holes before going into it. Although I haven't checked up on it in about 2 weeks. Haven't heard of any new upgrades in the meantime though.

[youthism_is_me]

Awsome!!!!! thats so great ....what is it???

[suesam21]

Upload them to a subfolder then when running the conversion, vB will ask you where the SMF install is. All you have to do is point. It'll usually be /home/username/public_html/


Thanks a lot Linux for the help, i appreciate your help for this. :)