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Ecto 3 has been released in alpha form, and I'm giving it a try.

First, some good things: ecto 3 seems to care more about WordPress than ecto 2, including the addition of a "slug" and a "password" field. I like the new look and I have to believe I'll like the plugin architecture as we move forward. I like that ecto 3 uses a different data set so I can test it concurrently with my daily ecto 2 use.

The preview window's absence is puzzling. Ecto can't seem to remember that I prefer to edit in HTML mode and, when it does, annoys me by putting the <p> tags in my text. I don't like the inclusion of the "Extended Entry" in a disclosable area with "Summary" and "Extra." I don't really care for the manner in which you adjust the time (by grabbing the hands of an old-style clock), though I do like the effect of dimming the screen for things like Word Count, Adjust Time, etc. The "save as draft" and "allow comments/trackbacks" buttons in the lower left are going to need to be made far more visible as well.

I've not run into many bugs yet, but I have seen some small bugs. That's to be expected, as the software is not yet beta let alone release candidate. And by small, I do mean small: the "Import Media" toolbar button has a tooltip that says "Calculate Text Statistics," for example.

P.S. One of the first plugins I hope to see is one that will upload, via FTP, an image and then include it (embed it) in an entry. I've never liked WordPress' default behavior of treating uploaded media as an entry and the anal-retentive side of me hates wasting otherwise valid IDs which, prior to WordPress, acted as a post counter of sorts. I may have to write some AppleScript plugin to do just that when ecto 3 is released - I'm sure Transmit and ecto could work together.

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