Minecraft 1.5 is out today, with several long awaited improvements, some bug fixes, and of course some new bugs:
Achievements have been added to the game. You can access the Achievements from the options menu when you hit the Escape key. More will be added over time.
Statistics have been added to the game, tracking all sorts of things from falls to deaths, etc. You can access your Statistics from the options menu when you hit the Escape key. More will be added over time.
Weather has been added to the game.
Booster/Break Rails have been added to the game. They will boost powered carts, and slow down unpowered carts. Recipe: Three gold ignot on the left, three gold ignot on the right, Stick in the middle, and Redstone on the bottom.
Detector Rails have been added to the game. Detector rails act like pressure plates for minecarts. Recipe: Three Iron Ignot on the left, three Iron Ignot on the right, Iron Pressure Plate in the middle, Redstone on the bottom.
Other interesting stuff:
Some bug fixes introduced in 1.5:
New bugs introduced in 1.5:
The official full release of the game is now set to 11/11/11 as well.