Hi Alex and list,
In my case, Keymail and Keyweb work just as well with KS8 as they
did in KS7.5.
However, I definitely wouldn't rush to upgrade.
Keychat is elegant in some ways, but lacks some very basic
features found in nearly all instant messaging programs, and, of
course, cannot interact with anything other than the JabberstXMPP
protocol. You'll probably get a false sense of unpopularity as
you stare at Keychat's empty contact list, and then you'll
probably shrug resignedly and resume chatting with all your IM
contacts as usual, on your PC.
The virtual memory warning was interesting at first, but it gets
real old, real fast. Whenever your virtual memory fluctuates
around the less-than 3% threshhold, the BrailleNote repeats the
"virtual memory is low" message.
Keybook forceably using Eloquence would be annoying, except that
it doesn't really do that, so I have no idea why that was
mentioned in the release notes.
The GPS demo puts files on your flash disk that you can't delete,
even after the trial expires, unless you delete them with another
version of Keysoft, then reinstall 8.0, as others have indicated.
There will also be a constant "navigation" selection in your main
menu, whether you like it or not.
Audible support and the new printing engine are two of the
features I haven't tested yet--but ultimately, after nearly two
years of waiting, I expected an absolutely stellar upgrade, and
KS8 doesn't deliver.
If you've already paid for an SMA, there's probably no harm in
installing this upgrade, but to everyone else, remember to put
your money where your mouth is. If you buy KS8 (or did so
following its release notes), you're supporting this kind of tiny
upgrade for the future. I would highly recommend that those
thinking about renewing their SMA's hold off on doing so until
the next preview comes out, so you can see whether the upgrade
really appeals to you.
I still love my BrailleNote, and the whole concept of Keysoft is
pretty brilliant. However, I have a message to Humanware: listen
to your customer base. If you'd developed a new Word engine or
an SDK, rather than a chat client supporting none of the popular
IM networks, people would be a lot happier. Indeed, in 2004, a
Humanware representative declared that we were about a year away
from an SDK. And between June and December of 2005--just six
months time--three new applications were added to Keysoft (namely
a database manager, interactive fiction client and FM radio),
along with Eloquence, and a range of other enhancements. And KS8
is what we get after two whole years of work.
Get on the ball, Humanware!
Cheers,
Grant
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