Today, the long-awaited Halloween Update is released as Alpha 1.2.0 (and a _01 hotfix) - slightly ahead of schedule! Fulfilling most promises from the beginning of the month, it's easily the largest single Minecraft update, with heavily-advertised features like biomes and "The Nether". #minecraft

Today, PCGamer and IndieGames each publish previews of the highly-anticipated Halloween Update, revealing the new dimension's provisional name: "The Slip" (This could be changed last-minute to "The Nexus" or something else). They also show how the portals work and the Slip mobs in action. #minecraft

Today, Riyuzakisan on deviantART posts renderings of a 'realistic' version of the upcoming Ghast mob. #minecraft

Today, more progress on biomes in the final days of the Halloween Update's development. Biomes support different terrain features and monster spawns, making for a much for varied Minecraft world. An example of such a world is shown in a video to music that sounds a lot like C418's work. #minecraft

Today, progress on biomes is shown on the dev blog. A system of rain and temperature determines the type, dividing the world into regions of varying tree density, ground covering, terrain, and sky/grass color. #minecraft

Today, user wookie4747 shares an "Island Survival" map they created based off of an isolated naturally occurring island at spawn in a world they made. The community has a positive response to this map, enjoying the challenge limited space and resources provides. #minecraft

Today, Bobby Yarsulik puts out a new song in anticipation of the Halloween Update: "See You In MineCraft Hell". The background is a screenshot of the dimension previously shared, and the lyrics have information based off of the PCGamer article the other day. #minecraft

Today, the first in-person Mojang meeting is held, with all but one of the employees present. The hours-long weekend meeting established where to take Mojang. Jakob (working on a separate game) and Jeb (web dev + Minecraft) will be formally introduced to the community at a later date. #minecraft

Today, PCGamer does an article about the upcoming Halloween Update, showcasing the new Ghasts and portals for the first time. They cover fast travel, biomes, and new block types like what they deem "Australium". #minecraft

Today, Kiershar posts a follow-up to yesterday's video, taking a ride on the cannon themself. In other news, minecraft.net remains down. Work on the game can continue, however. #minecaft

Today, minecraft.net goes down again, this time not to logistical issues, but a DDoS attack. In other news, the texture for the new mob mentioned yesterday (named the Ghast), is revealed #minecraft

Today, a status update on the Halloween Update is given on the dev blog: It's going well, if behind schedule. The new dimension is implemented, plus 6 new blocks and 1 new mob for it. Portals still need to be added, along with biomes and all the advertised smaller features, like lanterns. #minecraft

Today, Kiershar releases another video about the mechanics of Minecraft, this time exploring how to mitigate TNT damage #minecraft

Today, user RazorKnight uploads a video of a TNT city exploding, with over 10,000 blocks composing the skyline down to bedrock. Thanks to their powerful computer, the end result is attained, but is somewhat underwhelming due to all the water... #minecraft

Today, Minecraft AutoMap is publicly released, software that automatically updates and displays a 2D map of a Minecraft world. #minecraft

Today, user colorfusion ports Minecraft to Scratch! It's "very glitchy and slow", not to mention 2D, but features both mining and crafting, so it qualifies. #minecraft

Today, user Cnaff observes a glitch in world generation. It appears to be a chunk border between a winter world and a regular world. Some users wonder whether biomed have been added, but there hasn't been an update. #minecraft

Today, user Kiershar uploads a video on a passive mob farm (that can also serve double duty as a hostile mob farm during night. Kiershar has been uploading a number of videos on more complicated aspects of Minecraft recently. #minecraft

Today, a physical comic about Minecraft is published in the University of Victoria's campus newspaper. #minecraft

Today, Kiershar uploads a tutorial on how to find diamonds, the most powerful material in the game #minecraft

Today, the first image of the new dimension is revealed on the dev blog: #minecraft

Today, user brt5470 uploads Minecart Interstate V3.0, a high-quality video of a lengthy minecart track through a Minecraft world. #minecraft

Today, a new Minecraft podcast is launched, titled "The Shaft". Hosted by Brent Copeland, Wilson, and Eric Fullerton on the Dead Workers Party website, and sponsored by Mynecraft (a Minecraft server hosting service), the inaugural episode introduces the format, hosts, and game. #minecraft

Today, user Richlarrousse uploads a huge build of the Titanic in Classic. Clocking in at over half a kilometer long, it's significantly larger than the real life ship (269m). #minecraft

Today, user RiskyChris shares their quality-of-life inventory script. This mod allows users to quickly transfer items and stack of items, saving Minecrafters from carpal tunnel. #minecraft

Today, Vareide makes another trailer for Minecraft, this one shorter and showing off various large builds. #minecraft

Today, in a new development, Minecraft's first pre-announced update is revealed! The Halloween Update promises to be by far the largest update so far, featuring new gameplay mechanics, better multiplayer, new blocks, and even an entirely new dimension to explore. #minecraft

Today, Bobby Yarsulik (creator of "The Minecraft Songs") uploads a gameplay video of his own. Not wanting to add to the torrent of Let's Plays, however, he takes a different approach with this short video. In other news, The Winnipeg Sun carries a page dedicated to Minecraft. #minecraft

Today, an update is given on Mojang: the search for an office continues as they wish not to commit to a 3-year lease as a brand-new startup. 2 artists have been scoped out as potential new employees for when accommodations are settled. Company-forming and hiring continues to go smoothly. #minecraft

Today, Minecraft gains its millionth registered user. Of these users with accounts, only 30% have actually bought the game, but that still makes for almost 300k Alpha players, and that percentage continues to grow. #minecraft

Today, user H K posts a waterslide video, similar to one that went viral a few weeks ago #minecraft

Today, user ArmInfect posts a video of over 9000 TNT exploding in a survival multiplayer server. The TNT was hacked in (otherwise it would require killing an army of Creepers), but it was placed manually #minecraft

Today, another "megaobject" is built in Minecraft. Similar to the last in scale, it's also very different, as this is possibly the largest redstone machine ever built. It consists of miles of wire in complex patterns, forming a computer inside of Minecraft that must be seen to be believed #minecraft

Today, user Halkun shares a 1:1 skeleton model of the USS Enterprise from Stark Trek, made in Classic. The model was largely constructed using maps of the starship, google earth, and importation into a Minecraft world. Filling out the decks will be a community-involved undertaking. #minecraft

Today, a YouTube video is shared of a supposed UFO in Minecraft. Some say it's just an animated edit to a video, but the X-Files music playing makes a compelling argument for some. #minecraft

Today, user Palegothic makes a thread asking where the community first heard about Minecraft. Origins vary from the TIGSource forums in the opening days of development to YouTubers, reviews, and word of mouth right up to the free weekend. #minecraft

Today, after a tumultuous week, minecraft.net finally stabilizes. The server infrastructure is all set up, bugs have been fixed, and 140 accounts that didn't get upgraded properly were remedied. Development and work on building Mojang can now resume. #minecraft

Today, Alpha v1.1.2_01 is released, fixing sound by allowing the files to be downloaded from the cloud instead of a central server. Classic mode also returns to minecraft.net

Today, the Free "Weekend" comes to an end as minecraft.net is back up! The code has not been modernized quite yet, but by the power of cloud computing, most functionality has been restored. Classic remains offline, as does the game's audio resources, but Alpha can be purchased once again. #minecraft

Today, user Guennor makes a post on the Minecraft Forum about the horror aspects of Minecraft. Many share their own experiences, saying Minecraft is even scarier that games designed around horror. #minecraft

Today, the free weekend bleeds into Monday, as a test shows the site still can't handle the pressure. Mojang gets some help from TkTech, a user on the #minecraft irc channel who is helping code the website to run better, and Tom Costello, who sets up an unofficial support page. #minecraft

Today, while Minecraft continues its "free to play weekend", Alpha server 0.2.1 is released to patch a few bugs. Unfortunately for Minecraft servers, accounts are currently impossible to verify, which makes moderation difficult. #minecraft

Today, Minecraft Alpha v1.1.1 is released as a Seecret *Saturday* update, after a delayed release. It adds sneaking, a way for players to move slower and avoid falling off edges, making building bridges far easier. A critical bug is fixed soon after release with Alpha v1.1.2. #minecraft

Today, the popular webcomic Penny Arcade is the latest to join the Minecraft hype, making a comic strip combing drawings with screenshots. In other news, the absence of an in-game crafting tutorial is noted. A solution could be a "tech tree", a menu where recipies are unlocked. #minecraft

Today, Bobby Yarsulik uploads a live acoustic version of his Minecraft song #minecraft

Today, Mashfiq on the Minecraft Forum asks others what their first impressions of Minecraft were. As a game that looks like it belongs to the 90s, Minecraft can be unassuming at first. #minecraft

Today, Quintin Smith from Rock Paper Shotgun writes an article about his first experience playing Minecraft, as part of a series this week covering the rapidly-growing indie game. #minecraft

Today, the latest version of Minecraft (Alpha v1.1.0) is reuploaded to fix a bug. In other news, Mojang Specifications officially has 3 employees, hiring Daniel Kaplan as a "business guy" to make the company a real thing. In other other news, user Bananapielord joins the Let's Play fray. #minecraft

Today, user Clawhammer0816 asks if there's any chance of Minecraft coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Reactions are mixed, with some liking the idea, some saying it's impractical, and a few asserting the superiority of PCs as a gaming platform #minecraft

Today, user Kid2277 starts a thread on the Minecraft Forum for people to share when and how they found out about Minecraft. Answers range all the way from last week to the start of development in May 2009 #minecraft