Magento 1.1 Open Source Shopping Cart Released

[mandy]

Coming in version 1.1:

1. Performance Improvements: Since the 1.0 release we have been working on improving the performance of Magento and the 1.1 release will see further gains (as much as 40% performance improvements in the catalog and sales modules).
2. Admin UI improvements: Changes will be made to only load data when necessary, improving the responsiveness of the Admin Panel.
3. Web Services API: A highly requested feature which will make integrating Magento with 3rd party software much easier. The API will be added for the catalog, customers and sales modules.
4. Virtual Products: These products which do not require shipping information and/or inventory management add to Magento’s product types by allowing for store owners to more easily create and manage products.
5. Customer Defined Product Options: This functionality will allow customers to define text, images, etc. for products.
6. Bundled Products: One of the most exciting features, this will allow store owners to create built to order products and will further extend the product options available in Magento.
7. Improved support for EU and Canadian taxes: The tax rules and functionalities for EU and Canadian taxes will be added to the Core, which should be especially exciting to the Magento community outside of the US.

full announcement and video: http://www.magentocommerce.com/blog/comm...1-features

[Kristijntje]

The Magento 1.1 Beta is now available for download

download: http://www.magentocommerce.com/download
release notes: http://tinyurl.com/magento-11-beta
announcement and installation instructions: http://www.magentocommerce.com/blog/comm...available/
1.1 demo store: http://demo11.magentocommerce.com/

[mandy]

1.1 released.  A review:

Summary of New Features
This new release includes hundreds of bug fixes and performance improvements including SEO-related fixes, improvements in the Admin components, and also adds support for Canadian and European taxes. Expanded product options will win over the hearts of those who sell customized products, with custom product options, personalized products, and virtual or downloadable products. And an exciting new feature is a Web services API, which opens the door for Magento to be integrated with any application via a Web Services API.
Performance Issues Addressed
The company says one of the main goals for Magento 1.1 was to examine bottlenecks in the platform and improve performance. This new release addresses the key concerns of many 1.0 users, including many bug fixes and slow page-loading times. Changes have been made to the Admin so that data are loaded only when necessary, improving the responsiveness of the Admin significantly.

The company claims a 40-percent performance improvement. Some 1.1 alpha users reported performance improvements of 70 percent in their tests, while others complained that while the new version is much faster, it remains relatively slow. Many factors can influence the speed of the program, including server and caching settings, so if a store remains slow after upgrading, the store owner should seek out additional measures to improve the store's performance...

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/news...hp/3761361