What's new in StackApplet 1.5
Nov 17, 2011
- Today, I am pleased to announce the release of StackApplet 1.5. After much planning and hard work, version 1.5 is now complete and has passed all of the testing stages. There are a number of new changes in this release and I'll try to briefly touch on some of the major ones below.
- First and foremost, StackApplet has gained a new platform: Microsoft Windows. There is now a Windows installer for StackApplet that will install and configure the application. The installer includes all of the GTK+ runtime libraries as well as replacement modules for Linux-only functionality like AppIndicators and pynotify. The program runs in the system tray area and the menu can be opened by clicking on the icon.
- Secondly, StackApplet now integrates into the messaging menu, allowing you to keep track of new comments and answers while you're away from your desktop. There is even an option that enables an entry for StackApplet in the menu when the application is not running.
- Thirdly, the preferences dialog has been completely replaced by an interactive AJAX-based web page that you can view in your browser. Changes to settings are applied instantly and there are many more customizable options. You can even reorder items in the menu by dragging-and-dropping them.
- The translations for StackApplet have been updated and I take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in translating StackApplet into your language. There are now 11 translations for StackApplet, allowing many more people from all over the world to use the application.
- Thank you to everyone who helped make this release a success!
New in StackApplet 1.5 RC3 (Nov 9, 2011)
- Unless a very serious security bug is discovered, this will be the last release candidate before StackApplet 1.5 is officially released - an event planned for later this month. This release candidate and the previous one (rc2) weren't originally planned for but were brought about by necessity due to some rather unfortunate bugs. However, I believe that all of these bugs are now fixed and everything is working properly.
- I know that this is probably overstated but it is extremely important that any new bugs are reported right away so that they can be addressed in a timely manner. Any modifications to the current set of translations are welcome as well.
New in StackApplet 1.5 RC1 (Aug 1, 2011)
- Not much has changed since the last beta release. Some minor code tweaks were made and some new translations were added. Speaking of translations, a very big thank you to all of you who participated in adding the new translations to StackApplet. Your contributions are very much appreciated and truly make StackApplet a global application.
New in StackApplet 1.5 Beta 2 (May 18, 2011)
- There are no major changes in this release. A new Dutch translation was added as well as some minor bug fixes. Probably the most significant improvements in this beta are the enhancements to the status icon on Windows. There were some nuisances with the menu as well as a couple of issues with settings.
New in StackApplet 1.5 Beta 1 (May 11, 2011)
- There are quite a few changes introduced in this release so I'll try to go over them here. First and most significantly, StackApplet is now completely multithreaded. This means a huge increase in stability and perceived performance - interacting with the icon is instantaneous now and the interface just feels faster.
- Another change you'll notice right away is the switch from the GTK preferences dialog to a new web-based preferences page. The page is a lot easier to style and much more interactive. The page communicates with the applet via an included HTTP server. You can now rearrange items in the menu, select associated accounts, and all of these changes are instantaneous - they immediately take effect. Also, I wrote a small JS library to import the translations from Python - making it completely effortless to translate the web interface.
- Lastly, you'll probably notice that there is a Windows installer. StackApplet is now available as an all-in-one installer for the Windows platform - simply download the installer and give it a try. A lot of work went in to making Windows equivalents of Ubuntu/Linux specific modules, such as 'pynotify' and 'appindicator'.
- As always, feedback at this stage is crucial. Please file any bugs you find (remember to specify the platform) and report anything that doesn't work. Also, some of the translations are outdated. Any help there would be appreciated.
New in StackApplet 1.4.0 Beta 3 (Oct 27, 2010)
- This is the last beta in the 1.4 series before the release candidates are created. This means that there will be no new features added to StackApplet 1.4 - only major bugs will be fixed. Please thoroughly test this release and report any bugs.
New in StackApplet 1.4.0 Beta 2 (Oct 21, 2010)
- More changes have been introduced with the second beta in the 1.4 series of StackApplet.
- An import module has been added to ease the transition from 1.2 / 1.3 to 1.4.
- Also, a light icon has been added for those using a light theme.
New in StackApplet 1.4.0 Beta 1 (Oct 11, 2010)
- The port to AppIndicators is complete and the road to 1.4 is getting a lot smoother. All that remains is some testing and the fixing of quite a few bugs. Please download and test the DEB provided and report bugs as you find them. Note: you must rename ~/.stackapplet if you have an older version installed.