FIXES

• The discovery of an undocumented procedure in our development environment has led to a solution to the overheating problem. This affected laptop users especially, and was due to the application using %100 of the available CPU power. This has not been tested extensively, but rewritten server components using this fix have reduced CPU usage by 80%.

• Some XP users were experiencing crashes when tuned to a channel with a Sequence object (an object that automatically plays a series of channels). This object has been rewritten, but since the problem was not universal, full confidence in the solution will have to wait until after the upgrade.

• The text object has been rewritten for efficiency when there are many updates to the contents. This has been the source of slowdowns for some users, particularly when there is a lot of message traffic in chats and auditoria.

• The entire messaging structure has been rewritten, including the server component. Problems with BBS and auditorium channels, such as out of order or missing messages and corrupted schedules should occur with less frequency, if at all.

• Some unique identifiers, such as host names in the auditorium, used the member's current IP address. This is not usually sensitive information since it is not displayed under normal circumstances, and during peer-to-peer operations is easily deduced anyway. Nevertheless, such identifiers will no longer employ IP addresses.

• The Channelizer has been completely redesigned and member channel uploading re-enabled. A new Channelizer channel will explain what it does and how it works.
  

NEW CAPABILITIES

• WEB PAGE DISPLAY: A new browser object expands the Interocitor's reach into the World Wide Web. Members can design their own navigation components and leverage content they may have created for the web. NOTE: For technical reasons, this component does not support the OS9 version of the Interocitor.
  

• NEW SOUND ENGINE: We are including the Fluid Soundfont player in the upgrade. This is a SoundBlaster-compatible sound engine that allows custom instruments to be included in channels. Part of this component is a 2MB General Midi sound bank, which you can upgrade using the Interocitor to a 4, 5 or 8MB version for higher fidelity. NOTE: Currently this engine is not used for Standard Midi File playback (Quicktime is used). A future update will add this capability.
  

• TRUE 3D: Shockwave3D-compatible objects and worlds can be displayed within the Interocitor. This is a very complex new type of data (the Channelizer currently offers only rudimentary editing of these objects) that displays semi-realistic, real-time rendering of the kind found in games such as Doom and Tomb Raider. Future updates will expand the control and editing of these objects. Currently, a bowling alley/chat is under construction.
  

• PRINTING: A keypress will allow you to print the Interocitor screen, automatically fitted to your printer settings. Channel builders can create formatted output of any object or object value in a channel .
  

• UNIVERSAL POPUP HELP: Any object can now have 'hints' attached to it. Right-clicking (control-click on Macs) will popup any help information that the channel builder may have included.
  

• NATIVE WIDGETS: You can now design channels using the standard OS controls. These have the appearance of the buttons, menus and sliders that your operating system and standard applications use. Channels will look 'native' on different platforms.
  

• MEMBER BBSs & AUDITORIA: Members can design channels that include their own message boards or auditoriums. These formerly hidden objects have been rewritten to ease and automate their creation and management.
  

• COMPUTATIONAL AGENTS: Objects for the manipulation of numbers, strings, lists and data trees, as well as many new 'behavioral' agents, have been added to the list of agents. This allows the creation of application-style channels, such as calculators, games and data editors.
  

• 1 MB CHANNEL SIZE: As bandwidth distribution has increased, the 100 KB limitation on member channels has been raised to 1 MB. Additionally, there is no limit to the number of channels you can create.
  

• NEW DATA ENCAPSULATION: You can now import many more kinds of data into your channel, such as Midi files, Soundfonts, video etc.
  

• SURPRISES!: Depending on progress before the upgrade, a few other bells and whistles.