AIM Triton 0.6.17 Released

[Harrison H.]

It hasn't even started to install before it says it. It is during the initial system requirements check I take it.

[bscabl]

To answer your questions, no I don't use a proxy and yes I'm using an AIM-only screenname. It hangs at "Validating..." until I press cancel and connect again. After that, the systray icon remains dim since I guess it thinks I'm not connecting; in other words, even though I've reconnected it doesn't light up again.

And what about my Preferences saving problems? I deleted all traces of it and reinstalled but I still can't save my preferences.

PS: I'm installing via AIM Ad-Hack (which downloads the new 0.6 beta for me and does all that other Plaxo/Browser blocking junk.)

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try installing w/o adhack to see if its something we did..

[bscabl]

I did everything you said and I'm still getting the connection problems. I even skipped AIM Ad-Hack and did an install from the official site.

When I send an IM it still makes the Windows default beep, and my preferences still do not save :(

For what it's worth, I get a bunch of crashes caused by "stic.dll"

//Time to uninstall for good

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ah, beat me to it..

sorry that didnt work for ya

[bscabl]

I would like to see cloning abilities such as those implemented in aim ad hack...aim ad hack has true cloning...i find it easier to manage with cloning with aim ad hack than it is with linking screennames which i find to make less sense...maybe you can implement both options (both with having the option to either clone the client or else link screennames) so that then it will be more flexible...dunno if those are good ideas or not but those are just some things i think would make aim a better overall client and a client that is ahead of the rest.  I also like how the developers seem to be taking in feedback...keep up the good work! :)

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now that the extra tray icon thing is fixed i plan on farting around a bit more and seeing if i can duplicate what we did on 5.x with cloning..

[Randolph]

now that the extra tray icon thing is fixed i plan on farting around a bit more and seeing if i can duplicate what we did on 5.x with cloning..

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:o

[SULAX50]

SULAX50, you're doing a good job...and it is coming along nicely.  I also appreciate you taking the time to converse with members of this forum to get their feedback...that alone makes me respect your team and project more (since you are talking AND RESPONDING to the 'more advanced than your average user' who will actually explore all the uses of this program).

Lastly, yes-it does suck that all the other crap (AOL explorer, Plexo, etc.) is installed with it.  I am assuming this is not a decision you make, but rather other's in a higher position.  Regardless---thank God we have AIM AdHack.  It is one of the first program's I install from my thumb drive on any customer's pc that I work on that already has AIM installed.  You should try it...

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Thanks for the great feedback and for all the participation everyone gives us here at neowin. We are working hard to try and reach out the community while at the same time writing code.

I can tell you definitely we are not the ones who decided to put in AOL Explorer, Plaxo or other services bundled into AIM. Thats not to say I am sad to see certain ones in there. For example if you go to my blog, you can see I am a music freak. I listen to AOL Radio or MP3s about 9 hours a day in the office and gym. I actually like how it is shipped with the client. Plaxo is another cool product. Someone a few posts up said they liked it.

Of course to each their own. :) That is why AIM Ad Hack exists, to give people the option of installing what they want. Hopefully our mgmt sees the need for options too. I think they are, its just a matter of when we will see it in the installer. I think things are getting better, we still have a lot of work to do.

[bscabl]

:o

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im still messin with it, its not as easy as last time :I

[Randolph]

im still messin with it, its not as easy as last time :I

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Thats great to hear. I will be sending you a PM shortly.

[SULAX50]

im still messin with it, its not as easy as last time :I

586597260[/snapback]

Cloning can be tricky in the new service model. Cloning the IM engine is easy. Usually to test p2p I can run many instances of the IM engine, but when you start adding in the other services challenges ensue.

Also, I this maybe deserves its own thread, but I don't want to hog up the message boards, yesterday we launched the presence API. Details can be found here:

http://www.aim.com/presence/main.adp

This really is the start of good things to come. We now have some more developers here at AOL on board for blogging and we have our own developer forums that the public can post questions on, so tasks like what you are doing bscabl we can start to help on. Well maybe...I can't tell you how to remove ads. ;)

[Veedems Veteran]

Also, I this maybe deserves its own thread, but I don't want to hog up the message boards, yesterday we launched the presence API.  Details can be found here:

http://www.aim.com/presence/main.adp

This really is the start of good things to come.  We now have some more developers here at AOL on board for blogging and we have our own developer forums that the public can post questions on, so tasks like what you are doing bscabl we can start to help on.  Well maybe...I can't tell you how to remove ads.  ;)

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https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=378870

Someone sort of beat you to it. As for hogging our boards, as long as we don't become one big advertisement for you, don't worry about it. We've been pushing to have more technically inclined people sign up and a dev of such a large project is definitely someone who falls into that category.

As for this version of Triton, I'll probably install it today to give it a whirl and then come back and bitch about the processes again :p

[SULAX50]

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=378870

Someone sort of beat you to it. As for hogging our boards, as long as we don't become one big advertisement for you, don't worry about it. We've been pushing to have more technically inclined people sign up and a dev of such a large project is definitely someone who falls into that category.

As for this version of Triton, I'll probably install it today to give it a whirl and then come back and bitch about the processes again :p

586598849[/snapback]

Ah...guessed I missed it. Trying to write code with my left hand, and type responses on a different machne with my right. :D

As always bangbang, I enjoy hearing what you have to say.

[bscabl]

Cloning can be tricky in the new service model.    Cloning the IM engine is easy.  Usually to test p2p I can run many instances of the IM engine, but when you start adding in the other services challenges ensue. 

Also, I this maybe deserves its own thread, but I don't want to hog up the message boards, yesterday we launched the presence API.  Details can be found here:

http://www.aim.com/presence/main.adp

This really is the start of good things to come.  We now have some more developers here at AOL on board for blogging and we have our own developer forums that the public can post questions on, so tasks like what you are doing bscabl we can start to help on.  Well maybe...I can't tell you how to remove ads.  ;)

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yea, ive noticed its a bit more complex this time around... i seem to have the basic flow of how it all comes together mentally mapped, but every time i grep a file for triggers it points me someplace i hadnt expected.. its kinda fun :) just like back when i started on aim version whateveritwas..

:)

[Veedems Veteran]

ok my first impressions of using it:

The Bad:

1. Had problems, as others have reported, logging on the first time. It locked up at "Validating" with aolsoftware.exe chewing up CPU cycles heavily.

2. I chose to install via AIM Ad Hack because this extra stuff is starting to make me a little less enthusiastic.

3. The toaster design is god awful and relies on the user running Luna Blue

4. Even though I exited everything, aolsoftware.exe still runs until I end task.

5. The search bar and bottom tabs on the buddy list should definitely be made optional, still.

6. Lacking many standard features such as ability to set one's buddy icon and a default font.

7. Doesn't acknowledge away message background colors. (bright blue is killer when it's black bakground is removed)

8. When set to "use buddy's expression sound" and buddy had no custom sound set, no sound played when the buddy signed on

9. Profile viewer missing drop down of 10 most recently checked profiles as in 5.x.

The Good:

1. The new aolsoftware.exe process is nicer than having the same thing spread across multiple processes.

2. The sign on window is a normal size and not trying to force the user to dock it, which I am really glad to see (maybe in previous release too?)

That's about it. The Good list seems short but that's only because I'm comparing this build to what I can remember from the last one.

[dubya]

Three things:

- What is "aolsoftware.exe" and why does it need to be running in addition to "aim.exe"?

- Why do aolsoftware and aim take up a combined 40MB+ even when minimized/unused?? In version 5.9, aim.exe was the only process (that I knew of) running, and when minimized it used a total of <4MB!

- How can I setup Triton to audibly notify me only when the first message is recieved (similar to the option in the latest 5.9)?

Cut down on the bloat, change the system tray icon back to the original for God's sake, and allow me to completely exit Triton with just two clicks and you'll have a winner.

Edited September 30, 2005 by dubya

[SULAX50]

ok my first impressions of using it:

The Bad:

1. Had problems, as others have reported, logging on the first time. It locked up at "Validating" with aolsoftware.exe chewing up CPU cycles heavily.

2. I chose to install via AIM Ad Hack because this extra stuff is starting to make me a little less enthusiastic.

3. The toaster design is god awful and relies on the user running Luna Blue

4. Even though I exited everything, aolsoftware.exe still runs until I end task.

5. The search bar and bottom tabs on the buddy list should definitely be made optional, still.

6. Lacking many standard features such as ability to set one's buddy icon and a default font.

7. Doesn't acknowledge away message background colors. (bright blue is killer when it's black bakground is removed)

8. When set to "use buddy's expression sound" and buddy had no custom sound set, no sound played when the buddy signed on

9. Profile viewer missing drop down of 10 most recently checked profiles as in 5.x.

The Good:

1. The new aolsoftware.exe process is nicer than having the same thing spread across multiple processes.

2. The sign on window is a normal size and not trying to force the user to dock it, which I am really glad to see (maybe in previous release too?)

That's about it. The Good list seems short but that's only because I'm comparing this build to what I can remember from the last one.

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First thanks for the comprehensive list, also thanks for cross posting on my blog. Executives don't come here to neowin (AFAIK), but they do go to my blog so it is always helpful to see what you guys are thinking being posted there too.

Onto the List!

1. So you are having issues signing on too...that really is wierd. Did you install overtop a previous install of triton or get autoupgraded? I am starting to wonder if this install is causing the login problem everyone is seeing. I am shocked we are not seeing it. I assume if you cancel when stuck at validating you can try again and get online?

2. Can't fault you there. I can't talk about what we are doing about having options in the installer, but I am hopeful that we will give users options since that is a hallmark AIM experience.

3. Toasters are the bain of my existence wrt incomming IMs. Why they open a task tray item is beyond me. We have a bug filed against that, and hopefully the toaster team fixes it. In terms of appearance I am not sure what changes are happening there. Functionality needs to be fixed ASAP.

4. Sounds like a service is not shutting down properly...I have an idea who the guilty culprit is and will follow up with that group. (you don't have AOL Explorer installed right?)

5. I think you can pull them out if you know where to look on the machine. ;)

5a. Sorry I can't be more specific at this point.

6. Icon picker and setter is coming via JAMS. Default font, I will need to follow up with someone...but what exactly do u view as the default font? The ability to set what font you want, or are you looking to use the old style AIM WIN font?

7. We probably have a bug assigned to this issue now.

8. Urgh. I wrote all the sound code in AIM 3.x, 4.x, and 5.x. The logic is quite painful. I am no longer writing any code related to sounds. I will get with the engineer to give him the logic I used in the old aim win clients.

9. Yeah we are missing that feature...not sure what the plan is there.

We are getting there. I am most concerned about this sign on issue.

[SULAX50]

Three things:

- What is "aolsoftware.exe" and why does it need to be running in addition to "aim.exe"?

- Why do aolsoftware and aim take up a combined 40MB+ even when minimized/unused??  In version 5.9, aim.exe was the only process (that I knew of) running, and when minimized it used a total of <4MB!

- How can I setup Triton to audibly notify me only when the first message is recieved (similar to the option in the latest 5.9)?

Cut down on the bloat, change the system tray icon back to the original for God's sake, and allow me to completely exit Triton with just two clicks and you'll have a winner.

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aolsoftware.exe is the replacement name for AOLHostManager process. If you have been following my blog over the past 3 months, we need to have this process since we are now behaving in a service oriented architecture model (SOA). Without getting into detail, that I can't expand on anyway, AIM.exe is the actual aim application, and when aim needs to talk to a service that is not part of the aim.exe process it has to go back to the aolsoftware.exe process.

I agree the size is large...but it is getting better. We were seeing spikes up to 2 gigs! We fixed that issue, but I am not sure how low we can go...hoepfully 50% more but no promisses.

[Veedems Veteran]

Back and forth lol. I'll also cross post this on your blog:

1. I couldn't even click cancel. I couldn't do anything as CPU useage was at 99%. I eventually got the taskbar menu to come up and closed AIM.

2. That's reassuring to here. I hate having to install to my C: Driv, nevermind being forced to install other software.

4. Explorer is not install.

6. In AIM 5.x, I can go to "Preferences/Font" and set my default outgoing font. I can't seem to do this in Triton.

The key thing here is that this is the first version I haven't uninstalled immediately. It is MUCH more useable, though clearly still a beta.

[SULAX50]

Back and forth lol. I'll also cross post this on your blog:

1. I couldn't even click cancel. I couldn't do anything as CPU useage was at 99%. I eventually got the taskbar menu to come up and closed AIM.

2. That's reassuring to here. I hate having to install to my C: Driv, nevermind being forced to install other software.

4. Explorer is not install.

6. In AIM 5.x, I can go to "Preferences/Font" and set my default outgoing font. I can't seem to do this in Triton.

The key thing here is that this is the first version I haven't uninstalled immediately. It is MUCH more useable, though clearly still a beta.

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HA! We got you bangbang to use Triton and keep it, it only took 3 months ! :D j/k

We are hoping to get to font preferences soon.

I will work with our QA on the sign on problem. This only happens the first time you sign on or all the time? And when you exit aim from the task tray can you confirm that aim.exe is out of the process list. BTW, you don't have to cross post any follow ups to my blog if it saves you time.

[Veedems Veteran]

It happens every single time I exit AIM and reopen it.

BTW, I forgot one simple bug. After typing in my username, I naturally hit tab to get to the passwrod field except that, in Triton, the field never gets focus unless I use the mouse to select it.

edit: The login problem actually doesn't happen every time. It seems to be completely random. When I exit aim, aim.exe properly ends. It's only aolsoftware.exe in the process list.

[autodefe]

It happens every single time I exit AIM and reopen it.

BTW, I forgot one simple bug. After typing in my username, I naturally hit tab to get to the passwrod field except that, in Triton, the field never gets focus unless I use the mouse to select it.

edit: The login problem actually doesn't happen every time. It seems to be completely random. When I exit aim, aim.exe properly ends. It's only aolsoftware.exe in the process list.

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Glad I'm not the only one with the connection issues.

And yeah, the tabbing between username and password is something I wish they'd fix too.

Edited September 30, 2005 by Opio

[y_notm]

Glad I'm not the only one with the connection issues.

And yeah, the tabbing between username and password is something I wish they'd fix too.

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Tabbing works, the order is just completely out of whack.

[Harrison H.]

No solution to get this working for x64?

[Randolph]

I can also confirm I have the same sign-on issue. AND I used the regular AOL Triton install (w/o ad hack)...and it gets stuck at "validating..." after first run.

[SULAX50]

I can also confirm I have the same sign-on issue. AND I used the regular AOL Triton install (w/o ad hack)...and it gets stuck at "validating..." after first run.

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Just an update on this issue. One QA engineer saw this issue and we are trying to go back to see what solved the issue for them. For those that are having the sign on problem, do you have AIM Today launch at sign on as a preference? Also do you have AOL Explorer installed? Thanks to anyone who can get me that info.

[Randolph]

Just an update on this issue.  One QA engineer saw this issue and we are trying to go back to see what solved the issue for them.  For those that are having the sign on problem, do you have AIM Today launch at sign on as a preference?  Also do you have AOL Explorer installed?  Thanks to anyone who can get me that info.

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Yes. When I say I installed without AIM Ad Hack, it installed all of the stuff bundled with Triton. And yes the AIM Today option was checked.