Klango Network

We’re back after short holiday break.

Today we present you long awaited list of features of a new, upcoming version of Klango.

Fasten seat belts!

The upgrade to Klango 2.1, in contrast to previous ones, has a leitmotiv. Our motivation in designing it was to add features which would improve the structure of the Klango Community and provide a new way of inviting less experienced computer users to join the Community.

• Klango Groups will be the central, new functionality which will appear in many places in Klango 2.1. Each Klango User will be able to start her/his group with its own (private or public) forum, webpage, favorite media, polls and notes.
• For each group, its administrator (or owner) will be able to create a customized “mini-Klango” program with its own name, graphical elements (background, logo), audio theme, invitation sounds and so on. The group’s owner will be able to fully customize contents of the (simplified) main menu of her/his mini-Klango. However, there will always be a possibility of switching to the full, regular interface of Klango. Each mini-Klango will have its own installer executable designed for private distribution. Think of your family, classmates, students, clients, coworkers, …
• There will be also several other new social features in Klango 2.1 such as statuses (like in Skype or msn), a possibility of adding descriptions to contacts, better geo-search results and more.

We hope that above-listed features will diversify the Klango Community and thanks to mini-Klangos it will be a lot easier to invite new, less experienced users.

We also take care about User’s private web space:

• Micro-blogs will no longer be micro in Klango 2.1. All existing blogs will be moved to a new website running WordPress engine. It means that it will be possible to comment posts, to create static (non-blog) pages, to switch graphical themes, to provide a RSS-feed and so on. This long anticipated step will make your Klango Blog a fully-fledged part of the global blogosphere.

As a complacement to all these features, Klango 2.1 will contain several new, built-in functions and some additional Klango Programs will be released:

• We hope that new Klango Prompter function will help many people in using computers. It will be a player (and designer) of simple text scripts which will work in a background and will be operated by using some hotkeys. In the first version, Klango Prompter scripts will be linear and should be treated as a step-by-step how-to instructions user can listen to during performing more complicated computer tasks.
  Because we’re not able to provide valuable assistive scripts (we’re not assistive tech specialists), we decided to open this mechanism by allowing everyone to create, edit, add and share such scripts. In short: it will work similar to the Klango Polls. We hope you, as an experienced computer user, will use Klango Prompter to share your computer knowledge with others.
• There will also be a simple “Keyboard Trainer” application available (it still has no final name). We decided to add such program, because it’s obvious that good keyboard typing ability is crucial one (not only) for beginners.
• Klango 2.1 will be the first Klango which will provide a simple access to RSS feeds and web pages in general. With the new QuickWebView function each Klango User will be able to access a text representation of web page and will be able to use all klango-textarea goodies on it such as translator or save-as-mp3. One of the QuickWebView’s main purposes is to provide a possibility for group owners to link to her/his existing web materials. Reading of RSS-feeds is the second important thing here. Of course, there will be new types of items in the Open Media Catalog - RSS-feed and webpage.
• We will finally start testing our peer-2-peer procedures in action. Together with the Klango 2.1, a Simple Chat application will be released. We (the Klango Users) will be able to create or join existing chat rooms. We will be able to chat in several rooms simultaneously. Because it will be rather a test p2p application (MeetPlaces in the future will be the main one), there won’t be a voice option. Despite of it, the program should be interesting for everyone who love “dynamic discussions”.

There are a few purely technical issues touched or solved in Klango 2.1. Some of them are:

• famous “realtek issue” - those crappy soundcards should no more be a barrier to anyone who wants to play with Klango.
• there should be less problems with SAPI 4 voices, because our code for them has been revisited (once again).

…and another long awaited feature:

• support for external media codecs (DirectShow filters) such as K-Lite Codec Pack. This, of course, should eliminate to minimum quantity of “non supported media format” messages.

Besides all listed features, we’re also preparing a Big Surprise, which should be surprising even for hard-core Klango Users.

So, you know the features. Now the plan.

The list is closed, majority of new features is up and working, but all functions still need to be fine-tuned, polished, put together and tested.

The release date (and the Big Surprise) will be announced in two or three weeks.

If it comes to tests, this time they will be closed. We will ask for them a hundred of most experienced and most active Klango Community members.

This time we will also try to release full non English translations together with the program (which means that translators will appear on the list of testers).

At the end, let us briefly summarize what Klango 2.1 will contain:

• Klango Groups;
• fully customized, “private” mini-Klangos and installers;
• improvements to existing social features;
• new Klango Blogs based on WordPress;
• Klango Prompter: “social step-by-step how-tos”;
• “Keyboard Trainer” for keyboard beginners;
• an access to RSS feeds and web pages through the QuickWebView;
• a simple, peer-2-peer text chat;
• a support for external media codecs;
• solved “realtek issue” and better SAPI 4 compatibility;
• The Big Surprise;
• …and more (non listed minor things).

We hope that 2009 will be the Year of Klango.

It depends on you, mostly.

So… Spread The Word!