Fixed a problem was identified in the OS9 release of version 1.5.2. The issue is not in the Xtra code, but in the optimizer functions in the compiler (Code Warrior) used to assemble the Xtra. On a small number of machines running OS9 the Xtra registration routine would fail due to a bug in the compiler optimization settings when running a projector from an alias in the desktop or a projector that included the BuddyAPI Xtra. Version 1.5.3 was recompiled with a different optimization level in the affected files to work around the compiler issue. Users that are not delivering Classic projectors do not need to upgrade, as OSX and Windows versions are not affected.

This version addresses two different issues on the Mac Classic build that could cause the system to freeze or produce distorted recordings when recording to files in 8 bit sample depth. OSX and Windows are not affected, so the update is not necessary for users that are not delivering products to Mac OS 8 and 9.

MaxLoginWait property has been added to Nebulae.cfg. This option is used by the server to determine the maximum allowed time for each client that tries to login to the server, in order to avoid an issue where a lost or malformed login packet would hang the login thread. The default value for this property is 15 seconds, and after this time the user socket is automatically disconnected if a successful login could not be completed.

Improved group disconnection code when the user leaves a movie: this avoids a rare issue where an user could be disconnected from a movie but would still be present on some groups created by server side scripts.

Changed error handling when using encrypted login messages. Encryption keys shorter than 20 characters were not being handled correctly, generating an exception in the server.

Users reported that on some Shockwave installation the DswMedia folder is not present. The useDswMediaDirectory environment property has been improved to allow the Xtra to create a DswMedia folder at the default location if one does not exist. Check the documentation and sample movie for instructions on the updated behavior. Movies published with 5.1 will continue to work.

Version 5.1 uses a smaller buffer recording buffer size, and this could create problems with older audio drivers with high latency. The behavior has been changed to match the previous buffer size used in version 5.02 (minimum of 128 ms.)

useDswMediaDirectory environment property is now available in Shockwave. This allows Audio Xtra to automatically locate and use the Shockwave DswMedia support folder as the soundsDirectory, useful to save files in the Shockwave environment. peakVolume environment property is added. This returns the peak volume for the last audio buffer during a recording, and can be used to display a level indicator representing the recording volume to the user. Sample movie and documentation updated to reflect the new features.

Fixed a timing issue that could cause bad AIF file recordings when using axRecordToFile, under OSX only, in fast systems with multiple processors. OS 9 and Windows were not affected. Default recording settings for Windows are now 22,050/16/1. Version 5.0 used 22,050/16/2. This change is meant to improve default compatibility with older systems equipped with 16 bit sound cards. Some scripts in the tutorial sample movie have been changed to include missing error messages and default initialization of sound settings on Windows. Entries for axConvertToFile and axConvertToMember have been improved. Added missing error codes. Added technote detailing limitations of MP3 conversion.

The scrollWindow function was accidentally disabled in version 4.02, and is now restored. Users that are not using this function don't need to upgrade.

Mac OSX Startup scripts have been updated to include the -Dfile.encoding=ISO-8859-1 option, necessary for Nebulae to translate characters correctly on machines running the Japanese/Chinese/Korean versions of OSX and Java 1.4 virtual machines.

Some JDBC drivers could throw a NullPointerException error when they receive an empty list as the parameter for an SQL.executeQuery message.

Contrary to what the documents indicate, messages sent to a ServerSide script user directly or via a group always had the ServerSideScript user listed in the "sender" parameter of the incomingMessage handler. This behavior has been fixed, and the correct sender is now available.

Audio Xtra, originally developed by Red Eye Software and formerly distributed by updateStage, has been purchased by Tabuleiro. Audio Xtra records sound to external files, cast members or to memory. The Xtra is available for the Windows and Mac platforms, including OS 8.1-OS9.2 and OSX, is Shockwave-safe and downloadable.

We have been working for the past few months on a new release of Audio Xtra that is available today. Version 5 includes a number of changes and new features, like support for multiple audio devices, USB microphones and webcams, as well as code changes contributed by both updateStage, Red Eye Software and Tabuleiro. All known issues present in version 4.11 were addressed in this update. Audio Xtra 5 was redesigned for Director 8.5, MX and MX 2004, and runs on the Windows and Macintosh platforms, with no additional components required.

Free upgrades are available for a limited time only for users who purchased or upgraded recently through updateStage.

This free update introduces a number of small changes in order to improve compatibility with popup windows containing JavaScript code that attempts to close, manipulate or resize the window content.

The new CloseWindowRequested event indicates when a script in the HTML page is requesting to close the browser window. Documentation, sample movies and behaviors have been updated to incorporate this new property.

The Xtra can now detect when a script in the HTML page has repositioned the content, common in popup ad windows. The result is that the browser window no longer exhibits redraw artifacts in this situation.

Behaviors have been improved to wait until the browser sprite is loaded before navigating to an initial URL. This avoids redraw issues in some situations, and it is recommended that all users update their code to use the same technique.

The sprite.title property now returns the title of the HTML page for local files as well, matching the behavior of network addresses and WebXtra 3. Fixed a bug that caused an error when writing large text strings to the sprite.html property.