Yes, Dolphin 7 final is available to download.
Should you install it on your live site and rush to be one of the first with all those cool new community features?
I wanted to make my thoughts clear with regard to using Dolphin 7 on a live site.
The first 'final' revision of any software will still have bugs.
Just because Boonex says its the final release does not mean there wont be problems with it. As with all of their previous Dolphin versions, it took a few months to really get their final version working perfectly. By then there were several patches available.
I am sure the same will be true of Dolphin 7 - there will be bugs and depending on the level of customization in the areas where Boonex releases a patch, it could increase the time to upgrade to the various patches.
Starting with D7 is both a good and bad idea - there may be some features of D7 that have a bug. You can disable that feature until a patch is made available.
But.. that means you go live without a feature or with a feature that may or may not cause a problem.
Some webmasters would argue the point to go with the proven version (6.16) on a live site and wait for at least the first major upgrade (Dolphin v7.1) before using it on a live site.
The call is completely yours, and you will get both sides of the argument where ever you turn.
If your site will have many many customizations, it might be worthwhile to go with Dolphin 7 and just release features that are proven bug-free. Building your site functions (and user tools) slower than we could with version 6.16
Starting with D6 and thinking that the developer can simply port those features to D7 is not entirely the case. We will of course build with the awareness of going to D7 within the code, but there will be additional hours of development to recreate the integration of custom code with the Dolphin 7 system.
There are pros and cons to both options.
The version to start with is entirely up to you. Developers are simply here to lay out the options, explain the pros and cons and take your direction.
If you'd like to discuss your upgrade to Dolphin 7 or start your own membership site using the leading community site builder - feel free to check out www.thedanielsolution.com A leading Community Site Builder on the Dolphin platform
