Hello Robert,
On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:35:28 +0100 GMT (01/Mar/09, 4:35 +0700 GMT),
Robert Tomanek wrote:
>> rewriting IMAP code was confirmed and is under development right now, this
RT> Care to point to the exact source of this information?
RT> I mean: when and where did Ritlabs make any obligations as to:
RT> (1) What exactly is going to be fixed,
RT> (2) By when,
RT> (3) In what version.
RT> This question is addressed to everyone. I'll be glad if someone could
RT> find references to their past "promises" (that they never kept).
Kindly see the attached famous interview from the year 2000, promising
improved IMAP(4) support from v2. It does not say what exactly they
were going to improve though. Somebody might find other references.
--
Cheers,
Thomas.
Cannot open file "C:\Program Files\The Bat!\cookies.txt"
http://thomas.fernandez.hat-gar-keine-homepage.de/
Message reply created with The Bat! 4.1.11
under Windows XP 5.1 Build 2600 Service Pack 3
--- Begin Message ---
Hello users,
We are finally done. I hope you all find it as informative as I did!
LG> - Why did you decide to write an e-mail client package?
We started using e-mail in the end of 1996 when I was away from the
rest of other RITLABS guys and when Internet service providing had
just started in our country. Before that, I was extensively using
FidoNet mailing. I was surprised that none of the e-mail clients I
tried was satisfactory for me (though I did not do a lot of mailing) -
the main complaint was the absence of templates. So, when I came back,
the first program I wrote was a small gateway program to convert
Internet e-mail into FidoNet Netmail to read Internet messages using
an FTN mail reader, and finally came to the conclusion that the next
program I will write would be an e-mail client which will suit my
needs plus fulfill the suggestions of my colleagues. In February 1997,
we were expecting a big job from the Moldavian Air Traffic Service
Authority, but they never came through with the final decision. While
we were waiting, I started writing The Bat! (codenamed A-mailer), the
first quick and dirty version was ready in one month, when no company
came up with a good job for us, we decided to release The Bat! to
public and announce it from our site as a Wide Area Beta.
LG> - Did you base it from another e-mail client package?
If you mean something intentional, then the answer is no. :-) Some
interface details like the three-panel main window were used in
Netscape, PM Mail and several other clients, so it was just like
making a car - some common (and considered as natural) principles were
used, but it is not possible to say that a particular package was used
as a "prototype".
LG> - Why did you choose the name "The Bat!"?
Almost because it does not contain the word "mail" :-) Pigeons are too
heavily used as postal mascots... About that time, we were listening a
lot of Meat Loaf with his albums "The Bat Out The Hell" and "The Bat
Out The Hell II", so I think that this was the real cause to choose
such a name :-)
LG> - What is the goal of your software?
To make life easier :-)
LG> - How long/much do you work every day on TB?
It depends on what do you mean by working on TB. We don't do only
programming. A lot of time is spent supporting users via e-mail, so it
can be from 8 to 20 hours :-)
LG> Do you have other jobs in addition to RIT Labs?
No, we own RITLABS and we work here exclusively.
LG> - Do you have any corporate philosophy on your products?
Yes. :-) The most important thing about our philosophy is that we
always help each member of our company (or at least to not interfere)
to unleash his potential and express himself.
LG> - How is RIT Labs structured?
Currently, 6 people are working at RITLABS including Max and myself:
4 programmers and 2 administrators/managers/promoters/etc. We are not
a usual enterprise - we are almost a team of enthusiasts/hobbyists
who is also making some money out of what they do. :-)
LG> Who works there?
People who like to make something good for mankind in relation to
computers :-) The names are: Stef, Max, Sergey, Stas, Diman and Igor
LG> Is it an office type setting or do you do most of the work from
LG> home?
We are working at an office, because it is the best place to work as a
team and because we are trying to be a bit official :-)
LG> - Did you imagine that TB would be this successful?
We were sure that any work that is done with care and love should be
successful.
LG> - Do you have formal training in software Engineering?
My University diploma states that I am a specialist in Computer
Science, but I think I am a mathematician specialised on Graphs
Theory. :-) Max has finished High School and soon went to professional
programming.
LG> - Did you work for any software companies before you started this
LG> project?
Yes. But it was too many years ago :-)
LG> - Do you have any statistics, e.g. which countries were most of these
LG> sold to?
The Bat! is most popular in Germany and the US.
LG> - Are there many changes to the GUI? If so, do you have a couple of
LG> screenshots for us to see?
The general concept will be absolute flexibility in interface
customization. We will make screen shots later - when the program will
be almost ready for Beta-testing.
LG> - v2.0 is rumored to have been built from the ground up (not from
LG> version 1.x), is this true?
Well, almost. There are only a few things that will not change too
much.
LG> - Will v2.0 be backwards compatible? Meaning if someone has problems
LG> with it, can they reinstall v1.x and still have all of their
LG> messages, filters, and acccounts accessible?
No. Well, we will make some export/import routines in both versions
that will allows downgrades, but it will not be automatic.
LG> - When will the beta be released?
Do not know yet. Soon, I hope :-) I suppose (but not promise) that it
will be February of this year.
LG> - Will there be an improved auto-format in v2.x?
Version 2 will have an alternative editor which will be fully
compatible with Windows editors, but it will have extra features like
optional virtual space. It might even just be a plug-in.
LG> - Will v2 be faster than v1.x in regards to message bases etc.
Yes, we hope it will be much faster, especially on very large
message bases.
LG> - Is there a planned port to Linux?
We are planning to make the Linux version when Delphi for Linux will
be available (this year, as promised by Inprise, Inc).
LG> Will you charge for it?
We will make the decision when The Bat! / Linux will be ready -
it's too difficult to set the price when nothing is done :-)
LG> - v2.0 is rumored to support 3rd party plug-ins. Is this true? How will
LG> they be implemented (.dll or scripted etc.)
Yes, that is true. It will be possible to extend The Bat! using DLLs
AND scripts.
LG> - How extensive will the plug-in support be? Meaning, can new menu
LG> items, macros, functions etc. be added?
Almost everything will be plug-in/script driven (menu items, toolbar
buttons, macros, filter actions etc. included).
LG> - Are there any changes to the filtering subsystem? For example,
LG> grouping of like filters, copying filters between accounts ETC.
Yes, we plan a lot of changes in filtering system including grouping,
action lists, more criteria etc, etc. The definition of the account
will also be changed. User accounts within The Bat! and mail accounts
will be clearly separated.
LG> - Are there any changes to the address book? i.e. Different address
LG> book support for different accounts.
Yes. Also, large address books will not require much memory.
LG> - Will v2.0 support non-fixed width fonts?
Yes.
LG> - Will v2.0 support customizable kludges? i.e. X-**** like X-Website:
LG> http://www.pcwize.com
It will be possible even in the next 1.xx, hopefully :-)
LG> - v2.0 is rumored to allow us to redefine shortcut keys. Is this true?
LG> Can we create new shortcut key combinations?
Yes.
LG> - In regards to PGP, will v2
LG> - preserve the date of decrypted PGP messages?
Yes, but I must say that PGP messages will be handled in a completely
different way :-)
LG> - decrypt also the attachment and bind it to the decrypted message?
Yes.
LG> - use auto-decryption and auto-signature-checking as configured by
LG> user?
Yes.
LG> - encrypt attachments to encrypted mails, too?
Yes.
LG> - sign not only the plain text part of a mail, but include
LG> the attachments?
Yes, it will support PGP/MIME and S/MIME.
LG> - There is a rumor floating around that TB will include a usenet news
LG> reader. Is this true?
I think so. We still have not decided on what it will look like - as a
plug-in or as a built-in function...
LG> If so, why have you decided to do this? How much overhead (bloat)
LG> will this add.
I expect it as extra 20-30K of code :-)
LG> Why did you decide to include it in TB as opposed to a completely
LG> separate application?
I think that extra size speaks for itself :-) It is not a separate
application - it is actually an extension of existing features. News
groups will be just another kind of folder, accordingly to the new
"ideology".
LG> - Will v2.0 finally support threading by "References:" headers only
LG> (i.e. there is no "in-reply-To:" header).
Yes. We did not do it in the current version because of the message
base format...
LG> - Version 2.0 is rumored to support scripting. Can you give us an
LG> example of a short script?
I cannot give you an example now simply because we still have not
decided on what scripting language is the best for our purposes. I guess,
we will end up making it possible to add a script language plug-in so
users can choose what scripting language they'd like to use :-)
LG> - Will we be able to use scripting in templates to create things like
LG> our own macros? Meaning, can we call scripts (like the %include
LG> macro), or must they be inlined in every template we want to use
LG> them in?
Of course :-) This is one of the primary objectives...
LG> - How extensive is the scripting? Can we call other programs to
LG> perform functions.
OK, now I will make it more clear: everything will be script-driven.
Plug-in DLLs will implement functions that may be called from scripts.
So, virtually, it will be possible to do anything.
LG> - Will the scripting support error control? For example, will it
LG> address the long standing bug of not checking an address book group
LG> to see if an address actually exists before performing the "remove
LG> address book entry" function on the actions tab in filters?
Yes.
LG> - Will version 2.0 fully support HTML both in sending,
Yes.
LG> and viewing href'd images?
This will be possible when we will write our own Web browser - I
guess, this is a topic for another interview, but you should wait for
it for several months :-)
LG> - Will v2.0 support hooks for virus scanning attachments to messages?
Yes.
LG> - Will v2.0 fully support MAPI?
Yes.
LG> - Will IMAP(4) support be improved ??
Absolutely. This is another big improvement planned for version 2.
LG> - How big (filesize) do you expect v2.0 to be?
Well, I hope that it will be smaller than v1.xx executable, but I
cannot really predict anything on this subject.
LG> - How much do you expect v2.0 to cost?
I think the price will not be much higher than that of v1.xx
LG> How much will the upgrade from v1.x cost?
It depends on many factors. We will make the decision about this when
we start Gamma-testing. :-)
LG> I just got two friends of mine to register TB a couple of days
LG> ago. Is there any special provisions for upgrading these people
LG> who buy it so close to the v.2 release date?
Yes, I think so. But this is my personal opinion which can be
different to my colleagues' opinion. Let we talk about it when the
release date will be really VERY close. :-)
LG> - How many of the items on the wish list are going to be addressed in
LG> v2.0 that I didn't cover above?
I really cannot answer this question now, because v2 is going to be
very different. What I can say now is that I personally promise to
read the wish list carefully and do my best in fulfilling all wishes
(I think other our guys would agree with me).
Leif Gregory
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