PixInsight Forum (historical)
PixInsight => Release Information => Topic started by: Juan Conejero on 2011 May 01 05:07:22
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Starting from version 1.7, each new PixInsight Core version will have a code name (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_name#Project_code_name).
So the next PI version is officially known as: PixInsight Core 1.7.0 "Starbuck"
Starbuck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick#Starbuck) is the young first mate of the Pequod, the whaleship in Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick). This name has been suggested by Fernando Ballesteros of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia, Spain.
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And also is the provider of the coffee that keeps you awake ;)
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My first thought as well, Carlos. A reference to the drink that fuels the PI development team. :D
Steve
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Hi
He is also my favorite character from battlestar galactica >:D
Harry
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There are more Starbucks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbuck
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Hi
He is also my favorite character from battlestar galactica >:D
Harry
correction: she is my favorite character from BSG >:D
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Hi
Off topic I know but origanal and best Dirk Benedict :P
Harry
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"Not that there's anything wrong with that."
In business code names are generally used when the version number or actual product name hasn't been decided yet. We had products like orca, panda, blue whale etc. that eventually hit the market with boring names like DD580, DD600. Marketing was typically behind the curve and wouldn't decide on model numbers until the product was nearing completion. Generational shifts are also a good reason to introduce code names so you don't have to keep on saying 'the old one' and 'the new one'. We had Ren and Stimpy back in '94 to indicate such a change. Our customers were generally unaware of these code names unless they needed to know our roadmap in great detail.
I don't really see the use of introducing code names for PI releases that already have a numbered version but I guess it's in fashion. I don't see the need for Android 3 to be called Honey Comb for example. Either is 3.0 or it's Honey Comb. No need for both. In the case of Android it's actually confusing. Manufacturers can use a zexy code name instead of admitting they're only at 2.1 for example. Numeric versions have the great advantage of being able to tell which one is newer. Forget about that with code names.
In summary, I'm curious what the business reason is for calling 1.7 Starbuck. It's cute and I don't mind but I would like to understand the rationale.
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The rationale behind PI code names is much simpler than that: I just want to add a higher level of 'warmness' and 'coolness' (yeah, sounds contradictory :)) to the PI project. In this sense code names are like 'faces' for PI. Nothing related to business, actually (not intentionally on my part, at least).
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I think PI is plenty cool and warm without code names but hey, everyone is doing it so jump on the bandwagon :)
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A bit off topic... who wrote that entry in Wikipedia? We'll need one for the "PixInsight" word... ;)
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[...] I would like to understand the rationale.
I think PI is plenty cool and warm without code names [...]
???
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Seems bizarre to me. In a marketing sense it doesn't seem to make sense. You're trying to promote the name PixInsight and get that to be the word that people think of when they think of high end, top quality, highest performance astro imaging software (or whatever the desired descriptions are).
Now the message will be confused with a pile of short lived code words. If version 1.7 was going to be the latest version for the next 5 years then that would give time and space for a code name to take hold, and give a reason for a marketing splash (i.e. helped by a new code name) to be used at the release of version 1.8. But I hope version 1.8 is not 5 years away. And secondly, nobody needs to be told (in a marketing sense) when version 1.8 comes out, the software update tells them.
And it makes each code named version sound like a different product....."I use Starbuck"...."Oh I use StarChaser"....."Actually mate that's just the latest release of the same product called PixInsight and if you'd used it in the last month it would have told you."
And when someone on the forum talks about a feature in Starbuck vs a feature in StarChaser I will need to go to my wall chart that shows the code names vs Version Number history to work out which came first.
Sorry to be negative...just my two pennies worth.
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Well, while others discuss this very important topic, I went to http://www.codenamegenerator.com/ to come up with some fancy code name, and the thing gave me this:
Yamoussoukro Rat Snake Phalarope
Wonderful!
PS: JC is not a person you'd hire for your marketing department, gents.
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i got the release email, but no link... guess i'll just check the distribution area...
edit: w00t!! there it is! O0 O0 O0
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I got "Yellow Lead Duck". Much better but seriously off the point. A many, erh, a gigaton worth of thanks for this release. I know that I will save only in Project mode as my work is never ever finished.
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Does one need to download the update from the dist site as opposed to enjoy the auto-update functionality?
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I got mine from the distribution site. Downloading as I type.
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That is interesting. Just downloaded the 1.7 (PixInsight 01.07.00.0695 Starbuck (x86) © 2003-2011) version for Mac 32-bit.
The creation date of the binary (after de-archiving) is: Dec 3, 2010. ????
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Time scale of software developers is strange ;)
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I don't have a problem downloading it, but why isn't available via the repository?
Or maybe it will be available later?
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Hi Rogelio,
The new version is almost completely different from 1.6.9 -just a few files remain the same as in the previous version, so an automatic update wouldn't make too much sense. On the other hand, it fixes some bugs in the update system that would prevent correct installation of PI 1.7 from PI 1.6.9.
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The creation date of the binary (after de-archiving) is: Dec 3, 2010.
That's true :) That's the date when I created the application bundle (which is just a directory with a special structure on Mac OS X). I've reused the same bundle to build the final release on Mac OS X.
By the way, 1.7 fixes *lots* of bugs in both Mac versions. The 64-bit version is now much better and has a lot less of GUI glitches. Let me know how do you like it.
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Hi.
Just download new 64bit windows 1.7 , install it and got:
Registering target image 56 of 56
Loading target file:
C:/MO/RAW/2011.05/tulip/HA/32bit/tulip-011-HA-15m.fit-R.fits
*** PixInsight API Error: CreateImage(): Low-level API function error
API error code = 1:
Unknown error
(try to starregister some files).
drop down to 1.6.9? :)
P.S. Maybe wrong topic...?
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Hi,
This is a bug that I am fixing right now. Please refer to this thread (http://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=3081.0).
Workaround: Please use the 32-bit Windows version to calibrate, register and integrate your images while I publish an update to the 64-bit version. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions can be installed on the same machine without problems.
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Couple of notes/wishes, if you will:
1) if "codename" has been introduced for some reason then... why it's not mentioned on the initial "load screen" that simply says "Pixinsight Core 1.7"? "StarBuck" should be there, shouldn't it?
2) structure of "scripts" menu has been changed... Is it possible to have <All Scripts> item in a way we have <All Processes> for processes? Sometimes it's faster to look through long list with all entries instead of jumping through several branches in the menu tree.
Thanks a lot!
PS: GPU support... will it be in the list of main features planned for 1.8 general release?
Or could we expect it earlier? Thanks O0
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I realize this was a huge undertaking but what happened to the help files or rather the associated screens with information about the tool? Version 1.69 had some but version 1.70 has none, nada. For those who have been whining about help files, this doesn't help. It's the single biggest complaint I hear from people who won't even download the trail unless they have a manual or help files regardless of what other resources they have available. Ray Gralak's comment to the announced new version was:
"RE: [SBIG] OT: Announcement - PixInsight 1.7 released
Is there FULL documentation included? :-)
-Ray Gralak
Author of Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC)
Author of PEMPro: http://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: http://www.gralak.com/apdriver
Author of PulseGuide: http://www.pulseguide.com
Author of Sigma: http://www.gralak.com/sigma"
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I realize this was a huge undertaking but what happened to the help files or rather the associated screens with information about the tool? Version 1.69 had some but version 1.70 has none, nada.
True. While one always has to filter out "for fun" remarks from what are genuine comments and concerns, the help from the tools that was already done and present in 1.6.x is gone in 1.7. And that I wouldn't label it as an improvement.
Again, leaving aside disgruntling remarks regarding the documentation, at this point in the maturity of the project, at least newly developed tools should be released along with their corresponding documentation. I'm not going to take a shortcut here - Juan, you have gotten used to put formal organized documentation as a VERY LOW priority thing, and as much as this is your baby and you take it to wherever you want following whatever your own thinking decides to take it, I think it's about time (it was a while ago) you make a habit to at the very least, slow down in the release of a new version that comes with new tools, until their, at least basic documentation is released along with those new tools. You're already spending the time creating the text in the rather descriptive tooltips, and sometimes that and just a bit more is all it takes to at least get the doc page of a given tool started.
Let me say this... I much rather have the projects functionality live and working than if you had spent the time writing full docs for the whole application. Most people here probably feel the same. But I at least wouldn't have minded a bit of a wait if that's what it took to bring this application to the level of excellence that anyone would expect from a mature software like PixInsight. It seems as if it was really fun to develop a template/formatting framework for documentation, but then actually adding content to it was, well, boring and uninteresting... Thing is, even the most hardcore PixInsight's users will devour your documentation once it's written. Don't think it'd be useless or pointless. Nobody's asking for a quick fix to "learn PixInsight" here. At least I'm not and I believe I'm not alone.
I'll say it as I see it: you're very inconsistent with the release of organized documentation within the software. I suggest you either step up and get it done, or don't do it at all, and be clear about that, but this "bits and pieces" approach to me reflects poorly in the overall impression of what today is the best astroimage processing application on the galaxy by far, regardless of whether one must have that to become fluent in using the software or not.
Since you like programming so much, you could start by writing an internal tool to extract tooltip text and generate raw documents explaining the parameters that can then be fed to the documentation repository or something, as a starting point. That's not probably what I'd do, but hey, whatever works.
And you know I tell you all this because "I love you man"... 8) (no, not THAT way)
As for the disgruntled comments, they'll continue to happen with or without documentation. That is not why the documentation should exists.
There it goes...
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I realize this was a huge undertaking but what happened to the help files or rather the associated screens with information about the tool?
Hi,
Just update the platform.
Vicent.
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I realize this was a huge undertaking but what happened to the help files or rather the associated screens with information about the tool?
Just update the platform.
It wasn't happening yesterday when I tried it. It did now, thanks for adding the fix to the repository.
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Hi,
I just wanted to do the update.
However, all I get is a notice :
http://update.pixinsight.com/: Parsing repository update information: Invalid platform 'version' attribute value: 1.7.0:1.7.9 (line=16,column=58)
Actually I don't know where the problem might come from
Regards
Chris
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Is this the same as this one http://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=3073.0 ?
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Again, leaving aside disgruntling remarks regarding the documentation, at this point in the maturity of the project, at least newly developed tools should be released along with their corresponding documentation.
Bla bla bla... ni puñetero caso...
Que jodido es a veces tratar con gente inteligente....
:sad:
Smoothed up translation: Blah blah all falling on deaf ears. Dealing with brilliant minds sometimes is just not easy...
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starbuck and starbuck at starbucks:
(http://i.imgur.com/t5q7I.jpg)
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That's cool. I heard he wasn't so happy that a woman played his part on the restart so I'm glad to see this pic.