Anybody else having problems using the latest jQuery with Elgg 1.8? I'm using this https://github.com/mapkyca/elgg-jquery but using it disables Elgg's drop down feature.

Elgg's js uses deprecated .live() methods that are removed in the most recent jquery.  If you want to upgrade jquery beyond where .live() is available you need to upgrade everything to use the .on() delegation

I see, thanks Matt. Looks like I won't be using drop downs for now.

Probably worth reporting this on github and getting this fixed in core, yes? Anybody want to volunteer for either of those tasks?

Take a look at hypeThemeX, it uses a higher version of jQuery with jQuery Migrate (in silent mode), so Elgg's JS libs run without issues.

As a temporary solution you can try jquery migrate plugin which supports the deprecated APIs.

https://github.com/jquery/jquery-migrate/

Already raised a ticket for this @ https://github.com/Elgg/Elgg/issues/6679

Here's the code that works for me using the latest jQuery CDN, even the dropdown works now.

// Unregister Elgg's old jQuery
elgg_unregister_js('jquery');
// Always register the latest jQuery version without you having to do anything
elgg_register_js('jquery-CDN','http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js');
// Load our latest jQuery
elgg_load_js('jquery-CDN');

// jQuery migrate is necessary since Elgg uses old jQuery code
elgg_register_js('jquery-migrate-CDN','https://code.jquery.com/jquery-migrate-1.2.1.min.js');
// Load this important library
elgg_load_js('jquery-migrate-CDN');

// Unregister Elgg's Jquery UI
elgg_unregister_js('jquery-ui');
// Register CDN jQuery UI
elgg_register_js('jquery-ui-cdn', 'http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jqueryui/1/jquery-ui.min.js');
// Load CDN jQuery UI
elgg_load_js('jquery-ui-cdn');