Important Kunena 1.5 - Joomla 1.5 native - Status

Can we wait on 1.09 and go right to 1.5 native from 1.08? Or do we need 1.09 first?

You can upgrade directly, in fact you could upgrade even from fireboard 1.0.0

1) Is the Kunena 1.5 version thats being released April 3rd a final version or testing one?

Is our first alpha and SHOULD NOT BE USED ON LIVE SITES YET, that said, I haven't yet found any problem on it

How compatible is it to Community Builder?
We've been delaying release of 1.0.9 to get a CB integration as tight as possible, working hand&hand with CB team. All changes are also being applied to 1.5 branch once they are tested.
That said, they will not be in tomorrow build, integration with CB for it will be same as current in 1.0.8, they are still been tested in 1.5, but a new build including them will come soon after testing them properly.

Is there an easy conversion from Fireboard 1.0.4 to Kunena 1.5?

Yes, if you're on j!1.0.x, uninstall fb 1.0.4 and install latest kunena, if you want to keep your settings, please first run fb_converter.
If you're on a j!1.5 system, no need to uninstall

Thank you. Me and my 20.000+ users are looking forward to this release

Remember, this release is NOT TO BE USED ON LIVE SITES

And just a reminder, ALWAYS BACKUP BEFORE UPDATING ANY COMPONENT

Excellent responds, thank you for the information, and more importantly, for providing us for this very appreciated script.

I know this is an extimate question, but are there any plans of the final 1.5 release before the end of April? I have already informed my users about kunena and need to update them with more information if available.

It will depend on how well the testing of the upcoming betas and RC goes... we can't promise any dates

A best practice is NOT to plan around things you cannot directly control. I think you are getting ahead of yourself informing your users of an impending release. If you need information the boards have updates whenever they officially occur.

Is Kunena 1.5 coming out today? I'll be waiting for it all the evening

The development team have said that it will be released today, unless something unexpected shows up. So you have to take their words for it. Be patient and give them some space to breathe!

Anyway the 1.5 release is a alpha release and not for production site, so it should not be to impatient.

A good practice of implementing a stable release:
1. Give the developers a week or two extra to solve unexpected problems and your self some time to prepare and also checking for reported problems.
2. Set of some time to go through a install in a test environment.
3. Plan the install in the production environment and notify your users.

For my production sites I'm planning rolling out Kunena 1.0.9 within 1 month. But for my test environment I'm probably starting with 1.0.9 and 1.5.0a over the weekend.

My point is, don't rush an update. Set up a realistic timetable with room for the unexpected.

And remember that the development teams have ordinary jobs to look after, so don't expect anything before late this evening CET.