Update: 1.7.6 pre-release 2 has been released to fix some crashes and bugs. Bug fixes:
[Bug MC-11607] – Right click with undyed Leather armor part on cauldron with water still lower water layer
[Bug MC-31468] – Holes in bedrock and Replaced any block using Arbitrary tnt and flame bows
[Bug MC-33086] – Save-all causes lagspikes on larger maps
[Bug MC-40615] – Child animals obsessed about their parents, even after growing up
[Bug MC-47723] – Broadcast settings – report to Mojang, links to previous bug reporting facility
[Bug MC-48826] – “replace” directive in sounds.json does not work
[Bug MC-51206] – Hopper: java.lang.NullPointerException: Can’t place skulls in multiplayer
[Bug MC-51953] – Almost instant motion sickness due to distorted rendering
That’s a lot of numbers, but now Minecraft 1.7.6 pre-release 1 is available for testing! This is a huge step towards one of the most requested features since the birth of Minecraft; Name changes! This version provides complete support for identifying players through unique IDs and not by names, so that no matter what a player is called they will remain banned/whitelisted/oped/etc on servers. People have come to us with a lot of questions about this service so here’s a few FAQ about name-changes:
That’s a lot of numbers, but now Minecraft 1.7.6 pre-release 1 is available for testing! This is a huge step towards one of the most requested features since the birth of Minecraft; Name changes! This version provides complete support for identifying players through unique IDs and not by names, so that no matter what a player is called they will remain banned/whitelisted/oped/etc on servers. People have come to us with a lot of questions about this service so here’s a few FAQ about name-changes:
If I ban a player “Foo” and he changes name to “Bar”, will he stay banned?
Yes. Same for whitelisted players and oped players. They also keep their inventory, pets, statistics and everything they own on a server.
Can I steal somebody’s name? Can I call myself “Dinnerbone” too?
No. I am Dinnerbone and names are still unique. You cannot have the same name as another player, they will have to change their name for you to be able to take it.
How will this work with mods? What about my custom stuff on this one modded server?
Ask your mod maker/server owner. They should be able to support this system easily, but we aren’t responsible for mods or servers!
Can I already change my name? Where do I go? Will it cost? How often can I do it?
We will enable name changing when we feel that enough users are using 1.8 or higher, so that servers have time to switch to the new player formats. We do not have any details on how name changes will be performed or any restrictions that will be required to actually perform a name change. We want it to be easy and freely available, but we also don’t want people changing their name every 5 minutes!
So where do I change my name?
Read the previous answer!
I’m a server owner, what do I have to do when I update to 1.7.6?
Nothing, really. The server will update itself, but it’s entirely possible that it may require your input if it finds an issue (nonexistant players, for example). If your server fails to start then check the log, otherwise it’s ready to play!
Is this compatible with 1.7.5?
No, sorry. We had to change the protocol to support the new player formats.
I’m scared. I need a hug.
Aww, here you go little guy. *hug* Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
Swedish developer Mojang, creators of the world-conquering Minecraft, made a whopping revenue of 2.07 billion Swedish krona (approximately $326m/£196m) last year, up from 816 million in 2012.
Of that, 816 million krona ($128m) was profit, and 821 milion went on licensing fees into a separate company company owned by Mojang co-owner and Minecraft creator Marcus “notch” Persson, the Wall Street Journal reports.
We are going to GDC this weekend, so there will be a pause in snapshots for a short while. But before we get on the plane, we wanted you to have the latest changes to play with.
Please report any and all bugs you find in Minecraft to bugs.mojang.com. If nobody reports a bug, we can’t fix it!
Suddenly, a new Minecraft update! Tomorrow morning (Wednesday February 26) we are going to update Minecraft to version 1.7.5. This is a relatively small update from 1.7.4, and brings the following…
Minecraft Realms adds mini game support (as described in this YouTube clip)
Several server-side performance improvements and bug fixes
Preparations to bring Minecraft Realms to more countries!
: minecraft 
