We are getting closer and closer to the final release of Spark 2.5, and I thought I would give a little insight on some of the stuff that’s new, stuff that’s coming, and stuff that’s hidden. It doesn’t do anyone any good when we have features within the client that no one knows about. So why don’t we begin…
The New Stuff
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Jingle VOIP Calls: This is the one big feature that we have been working on for quite some time, and it’s really starting to kick some serious booty. Besides being one of the only, if not the only client using Jingle right now, we are coming up with all sorts of ideas. From conferences to just better interaction with others, it’s just a blast to finally get to talk with some of the people who we have been chatting with daily. Give it a try, you can make a call from either the roster or inside any of the chat rooms. Basically anyone using Spark 2.5.0 Beta 4 should be able to talk with one another.
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Recent Conversations: Try ctrl+e inside of the Contact List, this allows you to see the last 10 users you have chatted with. I use it all the time.
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My Favorites: Try ctrl+t inside of the Contact List, you can see the most “Popular” people related to you. Now granted, it may be a person that you just have to put up with constantly, but I like to be optimistic about it.
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Copy To and Move To: I actually added this because I’m still having troubles scrolling down the contact list using drag and drop mechansims. This feature allows you to do mass move or copies of contacts into other contact groups.
The Hidden Stuff
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Task List: Using ctrl+F5, you can add tasks that are persisted directly onto your server, so they are mobile. This feature, as is the next one, have been in the product forever, but yet, no one seems to know about them.
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Notes: Using ctrl+F6, allows a simple notepad that is persisted directory onto your server. I use it for daily reminders, etc.
Still Brewing (But should get in the release)
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I have a shiny new Mac on my desk in order to get the OSX build up to snuff. So, two things that I’m going to be jamming on. The first one being better growl notification. The second one being better dock notifications via text and animated icons.
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Jingle Discovery - we need to see who can actually talk.
I hope you find this helpful. Always fun to discover new things
Cheers,
Derek