the finger-keyboard synapse

OS X BitWise major overhaul coming soon

Version 1.0.2 was a major overhaul of the Linux version of BitWise, and now 1.0.3 will be a similar overhaul for OS X. Just like with the Linux version, the primary reason is upgrading to the latest wxWidgets sources. Because wxWidgets is a very actively developed project, many significant changes and improvements are made over time, and the official releases simply don't keep up with the changes. Not all of the changes are wxWidgets-specific, however, many of them are changes that we have made to the OS X version of BitWise. Here's a preview of "major" changes:

Changes we've made:

• Window menu now provides access to all open windows, as well as the contact list whether shown or not.
  
• "Zoom Lines" when a window opens or closes are no longer displayed, window opens or closes immediately.
  
• Distortion/stretching on corner popups eliminated, especially on the watermark graphic.
  
• New windows no longer self-iconize to avoid stealing focus, falling on Z-order instead.
  
• Double-confirm of file replacement when receiving a file fixed, now asked only once.
  
• You can now specify how long (in seconds) the dock icon will bounce for an alert.
  
• Behavior of clicking dock icon conforms more to Apple's interface guidelines.
  
• Option-Enter now works to insert a newline according to Apple's guidelines.
  
• Preferences and About are now available from everywhere.
  

Changes courtesy of improvements to wxWidgets:

• Metal appearance preference now available
  
• Controls appear more native than previously.
  
• Lines / visual artifacts when scrolling and typing in text controls no longer appear.
  
• BitWise no longer freezes while popups are being displayed.
  
• Unicode now fully supported.
  
• When a window is created in the background, it can be activated by clicking anywhere on it (not just title).
  

With these and many other improvements, we're really excited about the next release. Version 1.0.3 Alpha 2 will feature the above improvements for OS X, along with other new features for all versions such as contact alerts, finer control of allowing access to shared files, an improved voice chat window, along with much more. Look for it very soon!