https://mojang.com/2014/04/minecraft-1-7-6-pre-release/
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.
This pre-release also comes with a lot more Minecraft Realms improvements,
crash fixes, optimizations and general bug fixes.
// The Minecraft and Minecraft Realms teams