It has been three years since the release of Drupal 6.0. Improvements have continued since then, resulting in Drupal 7.0. The developers have officially released it to the world. The latest release of the open source content management system that powers high profile websites like WhiteHouse.gov features a revamped admin interface, more flexibility options for content and more optimized code, writes Yahoo! News.

In fact, according to the developers, Drupal 7.0 is easier to use, more flexible, more scalable and 100 percent open source. Currently, analysts estimate that it powers some 1 percent of all websites in the world. With all the new enhancements in Drupal 7, that number is expected to go much higher.

Drupal founder and project leader, Dries Buytaert, estimates that approximately 1,000 people contributed to Drupal 7 improvements. On Friday, January 7, the Drupal community at large is planning a worldwide local release parties in some 88 countries around the world. Mashable recently named Drupal one of the 10 websites to watch in 2011, in large part because of the improvements promised by Drupal 7.

According to the reporter, Christina Warren, Drupal has always been well regarded in terms of its power and abilities. “That's why one of the big undertakings with Drupal 7 (and something that will continue to be a focus in Drupal 8) is in usability, especially from an administration perspective,” writes Warren.

Likewise, the installation process has also been revamped. Though Drupal might not quite match WordPress' famous "five-minute install" on live hosting environments, but on a local host, the process is just as simple, notes Warren on the Yahoo! News site.

Similarly, as per the description, the default installation includes built-in modules for things like OpenID support, forums and contact forms that user can enable or disable at will.

(source: http://it.tmcnet.com/topics/it/articles/131948-drupal-70-officially-available.htm)