[ticker-announce] Sticker 3.1 release candidate 1 available

[Phillips, Matthew]

The first release candidate of Sticker version 3.1 is now available. This release should fix most outstanding bugs and adds a number of small but handy features. It also significantly improves support for Mac OS X and Linux and should now be fully functional on those platforms. The list of changes is attached at the end of this message.

Sticker 3.1 RC 1 is a recommended upgrade for all 3.1b2 users. You can download it from:

  http://tickertape.org/projects/sticker/index.html#downloads


Changes in 3.1.0 RC 1
-------------------------------------------

Sticker 3.1 RC1 is a stabilisation release and aims to address all
known bugs reported against beta 2. Various minor features have been
added where they have been judged as unlikely to introduce new bugs. It
is not intended to add any further features before the 3.1 final
release.

A key change is that 3.1 RC1 significantly improves support for Mac OS
X, fixing all known showstopper bugs and adding OS X specific
improvements such as a fully-functional application menu and autohide
support.

    * Reduced CPU usage on Mac OS X from unusable levels to below
      10%. Further reductions await improvements to SWT's animation
      timer support.

    * Updated to SWT 3.1. SWT 3.1 significantly improves support for
      Linux, Solaris and OS X and this update fixes various bugs on
      both platforms, including truncated text in combo boxes on OS X.

    * Added full application menu support for OS X, including support
      for accelerator keys for the Preferences command and other
      common commands.

    * The docking default location has been changed to the top of the
      screen on OS X so it appears under the main menu. This works
      better than at the bottom, which is often used by the dock.

    * The currently active presence status is now shown as checked on
      the status menu.

    * Reduced the sensitivity of Sticker's "idle detection" logic to
      reduce likelihood of mouse jitter affecting accuracy.

    * Now tries to use a shortened version of the local domain in the
      default user name if available e.g. "user at dsto" rather than
      "user at sticker". If a domain is available, it is also suggested
      as a presence group default.

    * Fixed a bug that was hiding subscribed "personal" groups in the
      preference window.

    * The Windows installer no longer installs Sticker as a startup
      item for all users, just the local user.

    * The Escape key no longer exits Sticker.

    * Message actions "Beep" and "Mark read" can now be negated
      (i.e. can specify "Do not beep" and "Mark unread").

    * Added "Copy Message" command to ticker context menu.

    * Disabled auto hide for Gnome. Will be re-enabled when it's implemented.

    * Improved the order and naming of message actions.

    * Fixed error when using a scope combined with "*" for Elvin
      connections.

    * Fixed problems with launching the system default browser for
      opening attachments. No longer requires workaround for Firefox
      users on Windows and users of any browser on OS X and Linux.

    * The "Online People" window is now titled "People Online" for
      consistency.

    * The Messages Window and message composition dialogs now appear
      as top-level windows on Windows and Gnome (they are now visible
      in the taskbar).

    * Autopopup now works correctly on OS X.

    * Fixed problems with presence status sometimes showing Sticker as
      offline when in fact it is connected. This often occurred after a
      server restart.

    * Now executes a full reconnection cycle if disconnected for more
      than 30 seconds. This works around various reported but
      intermittent errors that seem to be due to the auto-reconnection
      logic in the Java Elvin SDK.