The Joomla! project is proud to announce that our application has been accepted to be a mentoring organization for the 2012 Google Summer of Code™ program (GSoC). The GSoC helps support university level students who get the opportunity to work with mentors on a variety of coding projects that will all be contributed back to the student's mentoring organization.

This year's Joomla! GSoC application was led by Chad Windnagle (Primary Administrator), Andrea Tarr (Secondary Administrator), and Elin Waring. Key supporters and contributors to the application process include Michael Babker, Robert Deutz, Andrew Eddie, Louis Landry, Jacques Rentzke, and Matt Thomas.

After learning of Joomla!'s acceptance into GSoC, Chad had this to say:

I'm really proud of the community effort that got put forth to be successfully accepted into GSoC this year. When I first found out that we were working on the application, and we had a week to go, I was really worried we wouldn't make it in time. A lot of really great people have put their heads together to make this opportunity possible, and the project can't thank those folks enough.

We have gotten accepted into the Google program, but now the fun is just beginning. This is a major win, and now we have a whole summer to mentor students and run this program successfully. I hope when we reach the end of the summer we can all feel just as successful about Joomla!'s participation in GSoC as we do right now.

Those interested in serving as a mentor for a Joomla! 2012 GSoC student project may register here:
http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/org/google/gsoc2012/joomla

Here is the Frequently Asked Questions page for the 2012 GSoC:
http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/document/show/gsoc_program/google/gsoc2012/faqs

The Joomla Project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Joomla 2.5.3. This is a security release. The Production Leadership Team's goal is to continue to provide regular, frequent updates to the Joomla community. Learn more about Joomla! developement at the Developer Site.

The update process is very simple, and complete instructions are available here. Note that there are now easier and better ways of updating than FTPing the files.

Download

New Installations: Click here to download Joomla 2.5.3 (Full package) »

Update Package: Click here to download Joomla 2.5.3 (Update package) »

Note: Please read the update instructions before updating.

Instructions

• New installation and technical requirements
  
• Migration from Joomla! 1.5.x

Want to test drive Joomla? Try the online demo or the Joomla JumpBox. Documentation is available for beginners.

Please note that you should always backup your site before upgrading.

Release Notes

Check the Joomla 2.5.3 Post-Release FAQs to see if there are important items and helpful hints discovered after the release.

Statistics for the 2.5.3 release

• Joomla 2.5.3 contains:
  
  • 2 security issues fixed

Security Issues Fixed

• High Priority - Core - Privilege Escalation. More information »
• High Priority - Core - Password Change. More information »

Joomla! Bug Squad

Thanks to the Joomla Bug Squad for their dedicated efforts investigating reports, fixing problems, and applying patches to Joomla. If you find a bug in Joomla, please report it on the Joomla! CMS Issue Tracker.

Active members of the Joomla Bug Squad during this last release cycle include: A Firoozmandan, Akarawuth Tamrareang, Alain Rivest, Andrea Tarr, Andrew Eddie, Bill Richardson, Brian Teeman, Chris Davenport, Christophe Demko, Denise McLaurin, Dennis Hermacki, Elin Waring, Emerson Rocha Luiz, Francisco Marzoa, Ian MacLennan, Jacob Waisner, Jacques Rentzke, James Brice, Janich Rasmussen, Jean-Marie Simonet, Jennifer Marriott, Jeremy Wilken, Kevin Griffiths, Loyd Headrick, Mark Dexter, Matt Thomas, Michael Babker, Mutuga Kigumi, Neil McNulty, Nikolai Plath, Ofer Cohen, Prasit Gebsaap, Rachmat Wakjaer, Rob Clayburn, Roland Dalmulder, Rouven Weßling, Rune Sjøen, Samuel Moffatt, Shaun Maunder, Sudhi Seshachala, Tim Plummer, Tom Fuller, Troy Hall, Viet Hoang Vu.

Bug Squad Leadership: Mark Dexter Coordinator; Elin Waring and Marijke Stuivenberg, Team Leaders.

Joomla! Security Strike Team

A big thanks to the Joomla! Security Strike Team for their ongoing work to keep Joomla secure. Members include: Airton Torres, Alan Langford, Bill Richardson, Elin Waring, Jason Kendall, Marijke Stuivenberg, Mark Dexter, Michael Babker, Rouven Weßling, Samuel Moffatt.

The Joomla Project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Joomla 2.5.2. This is a security release. The Production Leadership Team's goal is to continue to provide regular, frequent updates to the Joomla community. Learn more about Joomla! developement at the Developer Site.

The update process is very simple, and complete instructions are available here. Note that there are now easier and better ways of updating than FTPing the files.

Download

New Installations: Click here to download Joomla 2.5.2 (Full package) »

Update Package: Click here to download Joomla 2.5.2 (Update package) »

Note: Please read the update instructions before updating.

Instructions

• New installation and technical requirements
  
• Migration from Joomla! 1.5.x

Want to test drive Joomla? Try the online demo or the Joomla JumpBox. Documentation is available for beginners.

Please note that you should always backup your site before upgrading.

Release Notes

Check the Joomla 2.5.2 Post-Release FAQs to see if there are important items and helpful hints discovered after the release.

Statistics for the 2.5.2 release

• Joomla 2.5.2 contains:
  
  • 2 security issues fixed

Security Issues Fixed

• High Priority - Core - SQL Injection. More information »
• Medium Priority - Core - XSS Vulnerability. More information »

Joomla! Bug Squad

Thanks to the Joomla Bug Squad for their dedicated efforts investigating reports, fixing problems, and applying patches to Joomla. If you find a bug in Joomla, please report it on the Joomla! CMS Issue Tracker.

Active members of the Joomla Bug Squad during this last release cycle include: A Firoozmandan, Akarawuth Tamrareang, Alain Rivest, Andrea Tarr, Andrew Eddie, Ashwin Date, Bill Richardson, Brian Teeman, Chris Davenport, Christophe Demko, Denise McLaurin, Dennis Hermacki, Elin Waring, Emerson Rocha Luiz, Francisco Marzoa, Ian MacLennan, Jacob Waisner, Jacques Rentzke, James Brice, Janich Rasmussen, Jean-Marie Simonet, Jennifer Marriott, Jeremy Wilken, Kevin Griffiths, Loyd Headrick, Mark Dexter, Matt Thomas, Michael Babker, Mutuga Kigumi, Neil McNulty, Nikolai Plath, Ofer Cohen, Prasit Gebsaap, Rachmat Wakjaer, Rob Clayburn, Roland Dalmulder, Rouven Weßling, Rune Sjøen, Samuel Moffatt, Shaun Maunder, Sudhi Seshachala, Tim Plummer, Tom Fuller, Troy Hall, Viet Hoang Vu.

Bug Squad Leadership: Mark Dexter Coordinator; Elin Waring and Marijke Stuivenberg, Team Leaders.

Joomla! Security Strike Team

A big thanks to the Joomla! Security Strike Team for their ongoing work to keep Joomla secure. Members include: Airton Torres, Alan Langford, Bill Richardson, Elin Waring, Jason Kendall, Marijke Stuivenberg, Mark Dexter, Omar Ramos, Rouven Weßling, Samuel Moffatt.

The Joomla! project is submitting an application to Google to participate in this year’s Google Summer of Code™ (GSoC) program. To be an applicant we need to have some help from our community. We are looking for talented individuals who are able to work well with students to be mentors, as well as for the community to generate ideas for the GSoC students to build.

For Mentors:

Participating in GSoC is a great opportunity for the Joomla community to collect some energy from new blood in the Joomla project, pairing talented individuals eager to learn with skilled mentors, community members who can guide and assist navigating the seas of Open Source Development in the Joomla Project.

If you would like to mentor projects this year please visit the Mentor page where we will be posting up mentor information. This will be a short list of requirements from you, as well as an application form that you will need to fill out. We welcome anyone to submit to be a mentor.

For Ideas

There are two major categories in the Joomla! Project where students will be able to contribute to this year. Unlike past Programs where there was only the CMS to work on, this year students can choose between working on the Joomla CMS itself or the Joomla Platform Project that the CMS is based on.

If you’re a developer who has some time this summer to help out, we invite and encourage you to add an idea to the Joomla GSOC Idea Page for 2012, as well as add to the discussions in the Joomla GSOC Google Group.

The March issue of the Joomla Community Magazine is here!

Our stories this month:

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

If You Want To Build A Lighthouse..., by Paul Orwig

FEATURE STORIES

Interview with Steve Burge of OSTraining, by Alice Grevet

Meet Paul Orwig: An Interview with the New OSM President, by Gabe Wahhab

Best Ukrainian sites made ​​on Joomla CMS, by Denys Nosov

PROJECT NEWS

Leadership Highlights from February 2012, by Alice Grevet

SITEBUILDERS

Joomla and Smartphones, by  Hagen Graf

DESIGNERS

No Programming? No Worries!, by Graeme King

ADMINISTRATORS

Joomla ACL: Improving usability by customizing the login screen for different access levels, by Jen Kramer

DEVELOPERS

Managing Your Modules Has Never Been So Easy, by Ofer Cohen

HELP WANTED

The Joomla! Project Wants You - March 2012, by Paul Orwig

Help Wanted: International Joomla! Shop Team Members, by Dianne Henning

BUSINESS MATTERS

Make More Money By Properly Setting Your Hourly Rate, by Gabe Wahhab

Releasing A Commercial Extension? Top 5 Things Every Developer Must Know, by Gabe Wahhab

Why Your Clients Need a Mobile Joomla Site and How to Sell it To Them, by Luke Summerfield

EVENTS

2012 J!OSCAR Awards Announced - Nominations close April 27, by Victor Drover

JoomlaDay events in March 2012, by Jacques Rentzke

Joomla Groups Enhance Your Exposure to the Community Worldwide, by Tuan Bui

THE JOOMLA! HAIKUS

Post your haikus for March, by Paul Orwig

In our next issue

We want to publish your Joomla! story in the next JCM issue! So take a look at our Author Resources content to get a better idea of what we are looking for, and then register to become a JCM author and submit your Joomla! story!