IMDispatch / News: Recent posts

Version 0.5 of IMDispatch adds several new features, including support for formatted text, typing status, and setting profiles. Stability has also been dramatically improved, with better rate limit handling, proper signal handling (including restarting on SIGHUP), and bug fixes.

The next version, 0.6, will focus on completing a few missing features like password changing, as well as preparation for using the program in a 24/7 server daemon environment. 0.6 will likely be the last 0.x release, to be followed by beta releases of version 1.0 (which will include better documentation).

This latest release focuses on important new features. The most significant enhancement is the addition of logging capabilities, enabling the recording of conversations and important system events. Also added are controls for manually blocking and unblocking users, the ability to view status summaries and warning levels, and intelligent use of away and extended status messages. More features will be added in the next few releases, including typing status, profiles, and improved rate-limit handling. Users should feel free to request features and submit bugs.

This is the first "alpha" version of IMDispatch, meaning the major functionality is complete. Highlights of this release include a new configuration file format and major bug fixes. Future releases will focus on additional features, including support for logging and statistics. This software is still undergoing major development, so please do not use it in a production environment.

Version 0.2 of IMDispatch, which contains enhancements vital to real-world usage, is now available from <http://www.sf.net/projects/imdispatch>. Although the software is not yet feature-complete and is not yet suitable for deployment, potential users of the program are invited to submit bug reports, feature requests, and general comments through the aforementioned project page.

The first ever release of IMDispatch, a new Perl script that uses Net::OSCAR to bring the telephone support paradigm to instant messenging, is now available from the IMDispatch project page. The software is at a very early stage of development, and has only gone through light testing, so it should not be deployed in critical environments. IMDispatch is off to a promising start, and input from potential users of a single screenname, multiple representative system over AIM will make its future even brighter.