For WordPress 3.1 the first release candidate (RC1) is available now. A release candidate version comes before final release and after beta version.
So one can implement the latest release but it is advisable to test it first to your test servers. Because there are variety of plugins and configurations available so it might happened that something has been missed so not to use it directly on your live site.
By Andrew Nacin, An RC comes after the beta period and before final release. That means we think we’re done. We currently have no known issues or bugs to squash. But with tens of millions of users, a variety of configurations, and thousands of plugins, it’s possible we’ve missed something. So if you haven’t tested WordPress 3.1 yet, now is the time! Please though, not on your live site unless you’re extra adventurous.
WordPress 3.1 Beta 1 was released for Thanksgiving, after that WordPress 3.1 Beta 2 was available on 15 dec 2010. So we can assume that the release candidate comes as a Christmas present.
Things to be taken care of :
- You can test your themes and plugins, so that if there are any compatibility issues it can be figured out in the final release.
- Any known issue you may find here.
- If you are testing the release candidate and think you’ve found a bug you can post it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums.
Download Link : WordPress 3.1 RC 1