diff --git a/wp-admin/cache-manifest.php b/wp-admin/cache-manifest.php
index 266fc1a700..9965678336 100644
--- a/wp-admin/cache-manifest.php
+++ b/wp-admin/cache-manifest.php
@@ -15,15 +15,10 @@ error_reporting(0);
 
 /** Set ABSPATH for execution */
 define( 'ABSPATH', dirname(dirname(__FILE__)) . '/' );
-define( 'WPINC', 'wp-includes' );
 
 require(ABSPATH . '/wp-admin/includes/manifest.php');
 
-$man_version = '';
-
-$files = get_manifest($man_version);
-
-$man_version = md5($man_version);
+$files = get_manifest();
 
 header( 'Expires: Wed, 11 Jan 1984 05:00:00 GMT' );
 header( 'Last-Modified: ' . gmdate( 'D, d M Y H:i:s' ) . ' GMT' );
@@ -31,10 +26,10 @@ header( 'Cache-Control: no-cache, must-revalidate, max-age=0' );
 header( 'Pragma: no-cache' );
 header( 'Content-Type: text/cache-manifest; charset=UTF-8' ); 
 ?>
-CACHE MANIFEST 
-# 
-# Version: <?php echo $man_version; ?>_20080710 
-# 
+CACHE MANIFEST
+#
+# Version: <?php echo $man_version; ?>
+#
 <?php
 foreach ( $files as $file ) {
 	// If version is not set, just output the file
@@ -42,6 +37,6 @@ foreach ( $files as $file ) {
 		echo $file[0] . "\n";
 	// If ver is set but ignoreQuery is not, output file with ver tacked on
 	else
-		echo $file[0] . '?ver=' . $file[1] . "\n";
+		echo $file[0] . '?' . $file[1] . "\n";
 }
 
diff --git a/wp-admin/gears-manifest.php b/wp-admin/gears-manifest.php
index eacbc4651f..6bd926b813 100644
--- a/wp-admin/gears-manifest.php
+++ b/wp-admin/gears-manifest.php
@@ -15,15 +15,10 @@ error_reporting(0);
 
 /** Set ABSPATH for execution */
 define( 'ABSPATH', dirname(dirname(__FILE__)) . '/' );
-define( 'WPINC', 'wp-includes' );
 
 require(ABSPATH . '/wp-admin/includes/manifest.php');
 
-$man_version = '';
-
-$files = get_manifest($man_version);
-
-$man_version = md5($man_version);
+$files = get_manifest();
 
 header( 'Expires: Wed, 11 Jan 1984 05:00:00 GMT' );
 header( 'Last-Modified: ' . gmdate( 'D, d M Y H:i:s' ) . ' GMT' );
@@ -33,7 +28,7 @@ header( 'Content-Type: application/x-javascript; charset=UTF-8' );
 ?>
 {
 "betaManifestVersion" : 1,
-"version" : "<?php echo $man_version; ?>_20081201",
+"version" : "<?php echo $man_version; ?>",
 "entries" : [
 <?php
 $entries = '';
@@ -44,10 +39,10 @@ foreach ( $files as $file ) {
 		$entries .= '{ "url" : "' . $file[0] . '" },' . "\n";
 	// If ver is set but ignoreQuery is not, output file with ver tacked on
 	elseif ( !isset($file[2]) )
-		$entries .= '{ "url" : "' . $file[0] . '?ver=' . $file[1] . '" },' . "\n";
+		$entries .= '{ "url" : "' . $file[0] . '?' . $file[1] . '" },' . "\n";
 	// Output url, src, and ignoreQuery
 	else
-		$entries .= '{ "url" : "' . $file[0] . '", "src" : "' . $file[0] . '?ver=' . $file[1] . '", "ignoreQuery" : true },' . "\n";
+		$entries .= '{ "url" : "' . $file[0] . '", "src" : "' . $file[0] . '?' . $file[1] . '", "ignoreQuery" : true },' . "\n";
 }
 
 echo trim( trim($entries), ',' );
diff --git a/wp-admin/includes/manifest.php b/wp-admin/includes/manifest.php
index 259cd21f33..e1acb084bc 100644
--- a/wp-admin/includes/manifest.php
+++ b/wp-admin/includes/manifest.php
@@ -2,136 +2,21 @@
 
 if ( !defined('ABSPATH') )
 	exit;
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function __() {}
 
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function _c() {}
+require(ABSPATH . 'wp-includes/version.php');
 
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function _x() {}
-
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function add_filter() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function esc_attr() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function attribute_escape() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function apply_filters() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function get_option() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function is_lighttpd_before_150() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function add_action() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function do_action_ref_array() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function get_bloginfo() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function is_admin() {return true;}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function site_url() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function admin_url() {}
-
-/**
- * @ignore
- */
-function wp_guess_url() {}
-
-require(ABSPATH . '/wp-includes/script-loader.php');
-require(ABSPATH . '/wp-includes/version.php');
+$man_version = md5( $tinymce_version . $manifest_version );
+$mce_ver = "ver=$tinymce_version";
 
 /**
  * Retrieve list of all cacheable WP files
  *
  * Array format: file, version (optional), bool (whether to use src and set ignoreQuery)
  */
+function &get_manifest() {
+	global $mce_ver;
 
-$wp_scripts = new WP_Scripts();
-wp_default_scripts($wp_scripts);
-
-$wp_styles = new WP_Styles();
-wp_default_styles($wp_styles);
-
-function &get_manifest(&$man_ver) {
-	global $wp_scripts, $wp_styles, $wp_version;
-
-	$files = array();
-	foreach ( $wp_scripts->registered as $script ) {
-		if ( empty($script->src) ) continue;
-		$ver = empty($script->ver) ? $wp_version : $script->ver;
-		if ( 'editor' == $script->handle ) $mce_ver = $script->ver;
-		$src = str_replace( array( '/wp-admin/', '/wp-includes/' ), array( '', '../wp-includes/' ), $script->src );
-		$files[] = array($src, $ver);
-		$man_ver .= $ver;
-	}
-
-	foreach ( $wp_styles->registered as $style ) {
-		if ( empty($style->src) ) continue;
-
-		$ver = empty($style->ver) ? $wp_version : $style->ver;
-		$src = str_replace( array( '/wp-admin/', '/wp-includes/' ), array( '', '../wp-includes/' ), $style->src );
-		if ( 'colors' == $style->handle ) $src = 'css/colors-classic.css';
-		$files[] = array($src, $ver);
-		 $man_ver .= $ver;
-
-		if ( isset($style->extra['rtl']) && $style->extra['rtl'] ) {
-			if ( is_bool( $style->extra['rtl'] ) )
-				$rtl_href = str_replace( '.css', '-rtl.css', $src );
-			else
-				$rtl_href = str_replace( array( '/wp-admin/', '/wp-includes/' ), array( '', '../wp-includes/' ), $style->extra['rtl'] );
-
-			$files[] = array($rtl_href, $ver);
-			 $man_ver .= $ver;
-		}
-	}
-
-	$images = array(
+	$files = array(
 		array('images/align-center.png'),
 		array('images/align-left.png'),
 		array('images/align-none.png'),
@@ -203,11 +88,11 @@ function &get_manifest(&$man_ver) {
 		array('../wp-includes/js/thickbox/tb-close.png'),
 	);
 
-	$files = array_merge($files, $images);
-
 	if ( @is_file('../wp-includes/js/tinymce/tiny_mce.js') ) :
 	$mce = array(
-		array('../wp-includes/js/tinymce/wp-tinymce.php', $mce_ver, true),
+		array('../wp-includes/js/tinymce/wp-tinymce.php', 'c=1&' . $mce_ver, true),
+		array('../wp-includes/js/tinymce/wp-tinymce.php', 'c=0&' . $mce_ver, true),
+
 		array('../wp-includes/js/tinymce/tiny_mce.js', $mce_ver, true),
 		array('../wp-includes/js/tinymce/langs/wp-langs-en.js', $mce_ver, true),
 		array('../wp-includes/js/tinymce/utils/mctabs.js', $mce_ver, true),
diff --git a/wp-admin/includes/post.php b/wp-admin/includes/post.php
index 351f0443c9..b37c2bb27a 100644
--- a/wp-admin/includes/post.php
+++ b/wp-admin/includes/post.php
@@ -1151,13 +1151,18 @@ function post_preview() {
 /**
  * Adds the TinyMCE editor used on the Write and Edit screens.
  *
- * Has option to output a trimmed down version used in Press This.
- *
  * @package WordPress
  * @since 2.7
+ *
+ * TinyMCE is loaded separately from other Javascript by using wp-tinymce.php. It outputs concatenated
+ * and optionaly pre-compressed version of the core and all default plugins. Additional plugins are loaded
+ * directly by TinyMCE using non-blocking method. Custom plugins can be refreshed by adding a query string
+ * to the URL when queueing them with the mce_external_plugins filter.
+ *
+ * @param bool $teeny optional Output a trimmed down version used in Press This.
  */
 function wp_tiny_mce( $teeny = false ) {
-	global $concatenate_scripts, $compress_scripts;
+	global $concatenate_scripts, $compress_scripts, $tinymce_version;
 
 	if ( ! user_can_richedit() )
 		return;
@@ -1334,7 +1339,16 @@ function wp_tiny_mce( $teeny = false ) {
 
 	$language = $initArray['language'];
 	$zip = $compress_scripts ? 1 : 0;
-	$ver = apply_filters('tiny_mce_version', '323');
+	
+	/**
+	 * Deprecated
+	 *  
+	 * The tiny_mce_version filter is not needed since external plugins are loaded directly by TinyMCE.
+	 * These plugins can be refreshed by appending query string to the URL passed to mce_external_plugins filter.
+	 * If the plugin has a popup dialog, a query string can be added to the button action that opens it (in the plugin's code).	 
+	 */
+	$version = apply_filters('tiny_mce_version', '');
+	$version = 'ver=' . $tinymce_version . $version;
 
 	if ( 'en' != $language )
 		include_once(ABSPATH . WPINC . '/js/tinymce/langs/wp-langs.php');
@@ -1350,7 +1364,7 @@ function wp_tiny_mce( $teeny = false ) {
 tinyMCEPreInit = {
 	base : "<?php echo $baseurl; ?>",
 	suffix : "",
-	query : "ver=<?php echo $ver; ?>",
+	query : "<?php echo $version; ?>",
 	mceInit : {<?php echo $mce_options; ?>},
 	load_ext : function(url,lang){var sl=tinymce.ScriptLoader;sl.markDone(url+'/langs/'+lang+'.js');sl.markDone(url+'/langs/'+lang+'_dlg.js');}
 };
@@ -1359,14 +1373,14 @@ tinyMCEPreInit = {
 
 <?php
 	if ( $concatenate_scripts )
-		echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='$baseurl/wp-tinymce.php?c=$zip&amp;ver=$ver'></script>\n";
+		echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='$baseurl/wp-tinymce.php?c=$zip&amp;$version'></script>\n";
 	else
-		echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='$baseurl/tiny_mce.js?ver=$ver'></script>\n";
+		echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='$baseurl/tiny_mce.js?$version'></script>\n";
 
 	if ( 'en' != $language && isset($lang) )
 		echo "<script type='text/javascript'>\n$lang\n</script>\n";
 	else
-		echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='$baseurl/langs/wp-langs-en.js?ver=$ver'></script>\n";
+		echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='$baseurl/langs/wp-langs-en.js?$version'></script>\n";
 ?>
 
 <script type="text/javascript">
diff --git a/wp-includes/script-loader.php b/wp-includes/script-loader.php
index 3acc097131..714daacfdd 100644
--- a/wp-includes/script-loader.php
+++ b/wp-includes/script-loader.php
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@
  * file.
  *
  * Several constants are used to manage the loading, concatenating and compression of scripts and CSS:
- * define('SCRIPT_DEBUG', true); loads the develppment (non-minified) versions of all scripts
- * define('CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS', false); disables both compression and cancatenating,
+ * define('SCRIPT_DEBUG', true); loads the development (non-minified) versions of all scripts and disables compression and concatenation
+ * define('CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS', false); disables compression and concatenation,
  * define('COMPRESS_SCRIPTS', false); disables compression of scripts,
  * define('COMPRESS_CSS', false); disables compression of CSS,
  * define('ENFORCE_GZIP', true); forces gzip for compression (default is deflate).
@@ -86,13 +86,7 @@ function wp_default_scripts( &$scripts ) {
 
 	$scripts->add( 'colorpicker', "/wp-includes/js/colorpicker$suffix.js", array('prototype'), '3517m' );
 
-	// Modify this version when tinyMCE plugins are changed.
-	function mce_version() {
-		return '20090503';
-	}
-	add_filter( 'tiny_mce_version', 'mce_version' );
-
-	$scripts->add( 'editor', "/wp-admin/js/editor$suffix.js", false, mce_version() );
+	$scripts->add( 'editor', "/wp-admin/js/editor$suffix.js", false, '20090503' );
 
 	$scripts->add( 'prototype', '/wp-includes/js/prototype.js', false, '1.6');
 
diff --git a/wp-includes/version.php b/wp-includes/version.php
index 103a32dd3f..2df7f1f520 100644
--- a/wp-includes/version.php
+++ b/wp-includes/version.php
@@ -17,4 +17,16 @@ $wp_version = '2.8-beta1-11380';
  */
 $wp_db_version = 10851;
 
-?>
+/**
+ * Holds the TinyMCE version
+ *
+ * @global string $tinymce_version
+ */
+$tinymce_version = '323';
+
+/**
+ * Holds the cache manifest version
+ *
+ * @global string $manifest_version
+ */
+$manifest_version = '20090517';