We are currently looking for volunteers to translate our documentation into other languages. Contact us if you are interested: info@mysternetworks.com

Saturday, October 26, 2002

We need to update this damn application! I mean just look at the last date we updated the PR version number. In other news, I am the man with no name! Zap Branigan

Saturday, July 27, 2002

New beta build available: Dev 14.3. Beta testers, head over to the SourceForge to test this beta build of Myster.

Monday, July 22, 2002

Myster PR 4 has been peaking people's interest for almost a week now. For our next step, we want to concentrate on building a healthy, communicating community. Chat and messaging would lead us firmly down that path. However, we value your input and so we're currently looking for your response with regard to what big feature we should concentrate on next.

Thursady, July 18, 2002

Well now. Its been months and months of silence and hard work. What do we have in store for y'all?

Public Release 4 has landed! GO GET IT NOW! There are so many improvements and enhancements that I don't know where to begin! The list was too long, so this entry was truncated. Sorry.

But first some other news:

Don't forget to visit SourceForge get the Myster source code. The Myster documentation has been completely rewritten. Before it was one page, now its 17 pages, complete with annotated screenshots and a table of contents. This new documentation, combined with the Myster FAQ should help you to master this fiery little application which, with your help, will one day change the world.

Friday, March 1, 2002

Myster PR 3.1 is now out.

Myster has been upgraded to PR 3.1 on all platforms which brings the Windows Versions back in sink with everyone else. We have made this a fractional upgrade because it offers only improvements in stability and efficiency. We will save the whole number releases for when we incorporate large changes in UI or new features. However, every upgrade of the Myster application brings tremendous value and should not be overlooked. Download the latest version. You'll be happy you did.

Friday, March 1, 2002

Myster PR 3 is here. Get it now from the download section of our site.

Some of Myster PR 3's improvements include:

Sunday, February 10, 2002

Myster PR 2.0.1 is out. The windows version is now at PR 2.1 and has a nifty installer.

Changes in in PR 2.0.1

Changes in in PR 2.1

Thursday, January 31, 2002

Myster has been updated to Public Release 2. The following changes have taken place:

We're still actively working on all upcoming features listed here. Instant messaging didn't quite make it into this revision.

Saturday, November 24, 2001

Well then, almost a month and a half has passed but here it is in all its 'glory'. Myster Public Release 1 can be downloaded from the downloads section of this site. A ton of sleepless nights, arguing, frustration and, yes, even work have gone into this latest offering.  We've compiled a list of the features added to Myster since the release of DEV 9.5.

All these features are in Myster Public Release 1.

So what's with the new name?

Yes, we've changed the naming scheme for different Myster builds. Myster hasn't been developed in the conventional way with releases every 3-6 months. New releases have been churned out every week or so on the SourceForge site although we've been behind on releasing the consumer version for a month and a half. What was going to be Developer Release 9.7.1 is now called Public Release 1 (PR 1).

Such releases will be incremented in whole numbers only (ie PR 1, PR 2, while the developer releases with continue to be churned out on a weekly basis over at the SourceForge site as source code (available through CVS if you like) as open source software under the GPL.

Some features listed here have already been mentioned. Some were last minute additions, but we thought it would be nice to throw a complete list up for a review of what's been done.

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

It's been entirely too long since I've updated you as to what's going on with Myster. That's because we've been SO busy adding cool features.

Here's a list:

(Note: connection window screenshot is just a conceptualization. No coding has been done yet but doesn't it look cool?) We seem to have fallen prey to a tempting affliction common to programming. We are constantly improving Myster without bringing out new versions. We've recently become aware of this and are working to finalize what we've got so that we can release a Developer Release 9.6. We realize the longer we wait the more you suffer so we're doing our best. It's coming soon.

Now, I'd like to take a minute to address the version name of the current Myster releases. The phrase "Developer Release" and the abbreviation "DEV" mean that Myster is still in the developmental stages and as a result is different from a 1.0 release in the following ways:

a) Myster is far from feature-complete. We are adding features by the day, week and month here. Each new release of Myster will be significantly different from the previous one in functionality. Just think, Myster never used to have a Multi Column List in it before DEV 8. And imagine not having a Tracker in DEV 9.5... When Myster Chat is implemented we'll all be wondering how we survived without it.

b) As a result of constantly changing code due to add-ons and new functionality, Myster's stability is also subject to change. We've set up a feedback email address for people to tell us what problems they've encountered while trying to use Myster. It's in our Contact section. Please use it. It's your only way to tell us if we've done something wrong or if there's something you'd like done differently. Our ears are wide open.

c) The reality of a "Developer Release" implies that Myster is still very young and indeed it is. Myster has only been a functioning distributed network for 6 months (since 2001/04/21: Developer release 7). Most of this time, Myster has been unpublicized. Indeed Myster is still largely unknown to the general public and we're being patient with its gradual growth as a peer-based file-sharing network. As early adopters of this new and exciting technology, we ask that you join us in our patience. If there are any mothers or fathers out there, you know how daunting it can be to raise a child. This is no different. Contribute to the Myster Network in the best way possible. Keep those servers up and running. It's like nourishment to a growing child.

Saturday,September 29, 2001

Well, it looks like neither the new Preferences Window, nor Myster Chat will be making it into DEV 9.6 but all the features listed below in green still stand. Many other new features slated for implementation are dependent on the new Preferences user interface. Until this is done we're holding off on all other features since they'll all require interfacing with the prefs.

Features slated but waiting include:

Speaking of the Server Stats Window, we're shooting for a revision of that being in 9.6 although the server names won't be present yet. We are replacing the current info setup with a MultiColumn List. This way you can see who's downloading what, and choose whether to kill those downloads if you wish.

On another note, it's been way too long since we've looked at the problems with Myster for Solaris. We'll see whether we can get a Solaris version out soon. Stay tuned. No such luck with Mac OS X though. There seem to be many things amiss with its VM and all we can do is wait and test. When we get somewhere with Myster for Mac OS X we'll let you know.

Saturday, September 22, 2001

Myster Dev 9.6 is looking good and acting wonderfully. As promised, Myster's Download Preferences have been retooled and everything is looking smooth and efficient. With the addition of default download folders,easier to understand download prefs and a more detailed Server Stats window, Myster Dev 9.6 promises to be so much more user friendly than 9.5.

Features added since DEV 9.5:

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Work on DEV 9.6 is progressing. Many bugs are being fixed and overall performance and speed of test builds is noticeably better over DEV 9.5. Myster's preferences interface and file path structure are on the drawing board again. Both will be rewritten but the new code probably won't make it to DEV 9.6.

There have been concerns that users can't properly set the file paths under 9.5 which is a bit of a shock to the whole team. As a result, DEV 9.6 will sport default folders for each category and you can reset the path if you want to. Myster's file organizing structure relies on files being put in their proper places so if the user can't do it Myster will have to.

Also, work on the Chat function in Myster has been put on hold until a working interface can be drawn up. More on this later.

Saturday, September 1, 2001

Myster DEV 9.5 is NOW OUT! Go get it from the downloads section of this site.

Wednesday, August 29, 2001

Myster DEV 9.5 is set for release. The web master is BACK and we're finishing the tiny details on both the site and program to make Myster the most enjoyable experience for all.

Features added since DEV 8:

Screenshots of all new features are covered in the documentation. Got to check it out!

Friday, June 1, 2001

Myster DEV 8 is now out. The multi column list is there as well as a whole slew of other new features.

In other news our Myster web master is spending the summer in Calgary as a bike courier so don't expect frequent updates on the consumer page until he comes back, however if you can't stand the thought of being without status updates, then visit the developer page at SourceForge.net.

Friday, May 18, 2001

The MCL is now complete and is being melded with the Myster app. Again, the screenshot has been updated to show its progress. This time we've included examples of past stages so you can get an idea of what's been happening.

Also, Myster is now opensource and has been given a cozy home at SourceForge.net The sourceforge page is not yet fully functional but will be up soon, at which time you will be notified here. There is also a link to this page at the sourceforge page so, for now at least, the homepage.mac.com/myster/ URL will still be alive and kicking.

Sunday-Wednesday, May 6-9, 2001

We have provided a screenshot of the work in progress.

Note: the multi column list is being built apart from the Myster application. There is a great deal to do before it can be integrated into the program.

Here's some funny code:

     public MCListHandler(MCList aBadParent) {
          this.parent=aBadParent;
     }

Another snippet of code:

     public MCList {
          Vector vector; //no dog food for Vector tonight!(...)
     }

Saturday, May 5, 2001

Official testing has begun. Time and good user feedback will make this network strong.

Saturday, April 21, 2001

Developer release 7 is here! Not long now before official testing becomes a reality.

NOTE TO SELF: Update Myster protocol docs!

Friday, April 20, 2001

New documentation put online.

Tuesday, April 17, 2001

Saturday, April 14, 2001

Thursday, April 12, 2001

Geeze has it really been three months? That's just sick... All I've been doing is bug and performance problem hunting. The current version is truly joyful to use. Myster DEV 6 gets rid of all the major bugs and a few of the minor ones too. If Myster prints an exception I want to know why! It shouldn't!

Sunday, January 28, 2001

Oops, some big ass, king kong bugs in that last codebase. here's a better one, without the bugs and with a sizable helping of performance improvements. It's called Myster Pro DEV 5 rev 1. This is arguably the most bug free / heavily tested release to date.

Friday, January 26, 2001

Well, no one made the deadline so I'm a bit ticked, but I managed to fix up what I did get and so we have another build. This build includes a new and improved progress bar, File Manager and IPPool/IPlist manager.

I've also eliminated many bugs I've come across.

Monday, January 8, 2001

Added Myster Pro DEV 4. New features are a bit too numerous to mention, but among the things changed are more documentation, the IPPool/IPlist manager is now complete (although undoubtedly buggy), and the protocol is now complete. The batching feature of Myster has been bug tested an implemented where applicable. It's been seen to speed up transfers quite a bit. Oh and with protocol completeness comes the working files info panel. This panel will show you how big a given file is.. There's also space to expand the number of properties a file can have.

November 13, 2000

Added Myster Pro DEV 3. New features include an improved Connection manager and the introduction of the Operator. The operator is responsible for starting a TCP connection. It then sends this connection a ConnectionManager object which figures out what action to take dependent on the connection number. Also Myster finally can batch connection requests, although this feature is untested!

October 28, 2000

Updated Myster Pro DEV 2 rev 1. Most of the changes are fixing stupid bugs with the MML and preferences objects. You don't need to have Myster Pro DEV 1 to use rev 1.

October 28, 2000

Deleted hotline server... (I mean why did I put it up??)

September 13, 2000

Created this section to make Myster news and updates available to testers.