Jason (oh) has posted the official release notes on what is DK4.1 here.
Most of you will notice the design first. Remember, this is an interim iteration. We are busy with the photo uploader, some moderation tools that we started developing under the meteor blades regime, and will soon help me do my new job, Project CSMAS -- the community self-moderation adjudication system which we now pronounce "Christmas" (thanks Bob Johnson!), and some other more mundane backend issues. But after that's done, we're going to start focusing on a wholesale re-architecting of the site. I love shaking things up, continuing to innovate, and with a beefed-up tech team, we can now be more aggresive on that front.
So that's in the future. But one feature that should prove awesome is the new Help Desk. In oh's piece linked above, Elaine/Elfling explains why it rocks:
The helpdesk is tied into our scheduling and project management software, so entering bugs there means that they go right into our system and can be pulled fairly effortlessly to the top of anyone's to-do list, or given a lower priority as is appropriate. Once we have examined it and pulled it in, you'll be able to see that we've done so. And, when we've marked it complete, you'll be able to see that too.
There's a shared single signon, so if you follow the link from Daily Kos, we'll be able to see your username automatically if you're logged in. (This is a big step up from the "contact us" form, where the software does not send it automatically and no one ever provides it.)
One of the justifiable complaints during the DK4 transition process was that people submitted bugs, then ... crickets. With a small team, they had to focus on the code, not on responding to everyone. It was a tough tradeoff to make, and created confusion and disappointment amongst people submitting bugs. Now, with our cool new bug reporting system, you'll see that the dev team has seen and acknowledged the bug, and you'll get notification when it is fixed.
It's not the most glamorous feature, and it's not something the bulk of readers will ever use, but it's the kind of foundational pieces the dev team worked on all summer. As we become more aggressive in rolling out new features, the new Help Desk will better support community bug squashing and allow the developers to more efficiently acknowledge and sort those bug reports.
And efficiency equals speed, hence quicker updates! Can you tell I'm psyched?
In addition, the Help Desk has a knowledge base, which means that users will be able to search for solutions to common problems, and make it easier for Elaine (who doubles as user tech support) to fire off one-link responses to tech support emails.