vBulletin 5

[M@rc]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 12, 2012) - vBulletin Solutions today announced the upcoming release of vBulletin 5 Connect. Coming later this year, vBulletin 5 Connect is the next major release of the undisputed standard for community software. Packed with more than 125 new features and enhancements, the software includes groundbreaking innovations and unparalleled tools for building websites that deliver new levels of social interaction and ease of management.
Built on a new core architecture, vBulletin 5 Connect gives web developers and site owners a significantly streamlined setup and administration experience and the fastest version ever of the software. The all-new UI has been completely overhauled and includes new sharing tools and social functionality, and photo and video sharing has never been easier.
"Community is the heart of this product," said Joe Rosenblum, CTO of Internet Brands (which owns vBulletin Solutions). "To create this version of vBulletin, we combined our experience operating over 150 forum sites with extensive market research and interviews with our customers. We think this is the best-ever platform for building and sustaining strong community-driven websites."
New features of vBulletin 5 Connect will include:
Sleek new UI with extensive social integration
Category-leading mobile optimization
Simplified site set up, customization and management
New core architecture for improved search, better performance and easier modifications
Dynamic tools for content discovery
Expanded photo and video sharing capabilities
Full integration with VigLink
More than 100 other new features and enhancements
vBulletin 5 Connect maintains the excellence achieved in previous versions for site security, moderation controls and customizability. These will continue to be provided along with best-in-class customer support and the broadest range of third-party plug-ins. An album of vBulletin 5 Connect screenshots can be accessed by visiting vBulletin - Internet/Software - El Segundo, CA | Facebook.

source: vBulletin Announces Simpler, More Social Community Website Software

Also, the screenshots :

#1 - http://i46.tinypic.com/1ieq9g.jpg
#2 - http://i50.tinypic.com/rtpyt0.jpg
#3 - http://i45.tinypic.com/zjasza.jpg

What are your thoughts ?

[blacknight]

My first reaction is to wonder how much the upgrade is going to cost me

[paul]

I definitely won't be rushing out to get this, after the debacle of

• the complete change of licensing model of the vb3 -> vb4, once IBB took over
• delays and errors on vb4
• issues and delays on vb4-mobile

just the general bad taste I have in my mouth of being invested in this product that used to cost $30 / year, to get updates and now you have to pay $150+ to upgrade per release.

[M@rc]

The beta is now out.

My first reaction is to wonder how much the upgrade is going to cost me

A new license will cost you $249. To upgrade, it will cost you $209.
However, you can use the official coupon code CONNECT to save $25 on your purchase (expires on the 30th of September 2012 according to vBulletin.com).

For everyone that is interested, you can try out their demo: Forums - vBulletin 5 Demo

After some time on their demo, I've been getting errors such as - "Error. Invalid Data" (just by going deeper into the forum).

You guys might also want to read this blog post: vBulletin 5 Connect Beta
...and a comment by Shawn from Digital Point (included in blog post) -> http://www.technologically.net/wp-co...2/09/vb5-2.png

I also did some speed tests and I noticed vB4 loaded faster than vB5.
On a private test install, vB5 is slightly faster than the demo provided by vBulletin.com, I must say.

So what are your thoughts?

[blacknight]

I'm going to have to check it out in more detail.
Unless there is something "magical" about VB5 I can't see why I'd want to upgrade. As Paul said, the entire VB3 -> VB4 thing was a bit of a disaster and left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths