Yesterday, July 4th, 2011, WordPress 3.2 launched. This launch was mostly about making WordPress smoother, easier to use, and faster. It upped its requirements, dropping support for old browsers such as Internet Explorer 6 (which even Microsoft doesn’t support anymore, and encourages you to upgrade), and added some pretty nice enhancements to the interface.

The first thing you’ll notice is the Admin interface looks different. No more “title bar” at the top of the screen and the various settings/options down the left now appear “docked” to the side of the page, much like Chrome’s tabs when you use side tabs (see screenshot below). Another great feature is the new “distraction-free” writing/posting interface. It’s super clean and simple and pops-down a bar with basic controls when you move your mouse to the top. It really takes away all the typical “clutter” of the WordPress post interface, and lets you focus only on writing. This is an excellent feature for the real “writers” out there.