KMess 2.0 alpha released
May 11, 2008 -- We're happy to announce the first preview release of KMess 2. Over the past 4 months we've been really busy porting KMess to KDE 4 and making it stable again. This release marks the end of those porting efforts.
Currently, KMess 2 still looks much like KMess 1.5.1 but is run as a Qt 4 / KDE 4 application. The real development of new features, like support for msn-http and webcams, is just about to begin. Some features, like receiving hand-written messages and fast retype of previous sentences, have been added already.
We're using it as our main client already, but there might still be some issues lurking. Please test this alpha release and tell us how it's working for you!
KMess 1.5.1 released
April 6, 2008 -- A new version of KMess has been released. This is a maintenance release, that fixes annoying bugs found in the previous KMess release. The most obvious fix is the picture browse button, which didn't work in our provided Autopackage.
We've also added some minor features. Contact pictures can be displayed the contact list too, and the chat window gained support for spell checking. More information can be found in the changelog.
Meanwhile, the development of KMess 2 is also making good progress. The porting to KDE 4 is complete and we're proceeding by implementing the new planned features for KMess 2.
KMess 1.5 released
January 9, 2008 -- The KMess development team is very pleased to announce version 1.5 of KMess, a MSN Messenger client for KDE!
After a long time of development from version 1.4 first, and the 1.5-pre series after, we've been able to obtain a very stable and feature-filled version. This will also mark a great moment: KMess 1.5 will be the last version based on Qt 3 and KDE 3. The next major version will be based on Qt 4 / KDE 4, and we expect more exciting improvements in the near future.
Release highlights:
- reliable fast file transfers
- automatic download of display pictures
- full support for custom emoticons
- Native KDE-styled balloon notification popups
- Right-click options for links and emoticons in the chat window
Users of KMess 1.5-pre2 will might notice that file transfers have become stable while operating full-speed. The chat windows received some final love and the notification ballons got a total make over to make use of native KDE popups. We also added the ability to send custom emoticons, and added the necessary improvements to make it stable, polished and worth releasing.
Users of the last official stable release (1.4.3) will notice the quite some new interesting features. Most parts of the user interface have been improved. Combined with rich colorful chat styles it's a refreshing breeze for the eyes.
Enjoy!
KMess 1.5-pre2 released
18 March -- With so many fixes and improvements in CVS, it's time to release a second preview of KMess 1.5. This release fixes some critical issues of 1.5-pre1. Not all reported bugs are be fixed, in that case the release would be called "1.5" already. However, it's recommended to install this version, as it greatly improves the user experience of KMess.
Release highlights:
- added support for now playing information
- added file transfer previews
- fixed critical bugs with the direct file transfer
- fixed clickable links in the chat window
- fixed problems with emoticon styles
- fixed problems with the installation
- updated many translations
The now playing feature detects media from Amarok, Kaffeine, Noatun, KsCD and Juk. Other players are added later, based on popularity of the player. The current KDE media players have a major advantage here, as these applications don't require linking to another library.
For the file transfer previews, KMess uses the same KDE functionality Konqueror relies on to create previews. This means KMess can send previews of all file types supported in Konqueror, including OpenOffice, HTML and video files! This is a great way to impress your friends using Windows.
Finally, the chat window has sine neat features for all geeks out there. Links without www. or http: are still recognized as links. So, writing things like slashdot.org, or dot.kde.org work as well! As new option, it's also possible to disable the shaking effect of a nudge.
Enjoy!
Developer blogs added
26 November -- The website aggregates developer blogs as of today. With this feature, we can keep you informed about the progress in KMess, idea's for a next release. It will be mixed too with stories about Linux / Open Source views, personal thoughts or technical stuff.
Website moved to www.kmess.org
23 November -- The KMess website has moved from kmess.sourceforge.net to www.kmess.org. This should give the website a nice speed boost. This move also allows us to add some interesting things to the website (aggregating blog feeds).
KMess 1.5-pre1 released
9 October -- KMess 1.5-pre1 is a preview release, to enjoy newly added features. Some MSN features are annoying to miss in a conversation with buddies using the official client. Therefore this release adds support for receiving winks, nudges, custom emoticons, and offline chat messages. File transfers are also improved, and chat windows are more visually appealing now.
Release highlights:
- fast file transfers
- receiving custom emoticons
- receiving winks
- receiving offline-im messages
- receiving and sending nudges
- displaying a personal status message
- rich colorful chat styles
- different emoticon themes
- visually appealing improvements to the user interface
It's possible there are minor things that could use some improvement, but nothing serious that would be a blocker. Instead of waiting much longer, this preview release allows you to enjoy the new features *now*. More incremental improvements will appear in the final 1.5 release later.
Enjoy!
see all changes...KMess 1.4.3 released
8 April 2006 -- KMess 1.4.3 contains some essential bug fixes that were only available in the development version until now. This allows everyone to enjoy using KMess while the development still continues. No major features were added, these will appear later in KMess 1.5. Users and packagers are recommended to upgrade to this version. For more details, see this list of changes.
KMess 1.4.2 released
8 November 2005 -- Some users validly reported KMess crashed on their systems. This is something we hope to prevent in the future, since it's not fun we have to release another revision to fix crashes. KMess also had problems with the font selection in the settings dialog, contacts without a display picture, and new contacts adding you while you're online. For more details, see this list of changes. Those bugs are solved in this new release and a translation for Slovenian has been added.
KMess 1.4.1 released
27 September 2005 -- KMess 1.4.1 has been released. It's recommended to upgrade, because this release fixes two crashes that made KMess difficult to use. One crash happened with MSN Messenger 7.5 clients, the other one occured when a contact was invited while not being present on your contact list.
KMess 1.4 released
1 September 2005 -- A new version of KMess has been released. This is a maintenance release which fixes many bugs from the previous versions. This includes long standing bugs and issues of early KMess versions that couldn't be fixed during the 1.4-pre1 release.
The most important fixes are the issues with file transfers, saving chat logs and settings, crashes, and resuming of chat sessions. More information can be found in the list of changes and the Changelog file in CVS.
You can download the latest packages from the download page. This release also includes experimental support for the Autopackage installer, which allows us to produce distribution independent installers/packages.
New features will be included in the next releases, including: user interface improvements, support for MSN Games, webcam receiving and MSN protocol enhancements.
KMess 1.4-pre1 released
8 May 2005 -- There is a new release of KMess, the MSN Messenger client for Linux and KDE. This release fixes the login problems, and problems moving contacts to different groups.
The new features include:
- MSN picture transfer support
- an improved contact list dialog
- a new set new emoticons
- a new file transfer dialog
- many small bugs/compilation errors are fixed
- moving contacts is fixed
- login problems are fixed
More information can be found at the forum announcement and list of changes.
We could also use your help translating KMess, or creating RPM packages.
If you feel you can help, don't hesitate to contact.
KMess 1.3 released
15 October 2003 -- KMess 1.3 has now been released, including many new features from the previous 1.2 release. Most importantly, this version supports the new MSN protocol, and continues to operate after the lockout of the old protocol. Also, there is a new popup balloon system and a powerful chat format editor.
KMess 1.2.1
16 May 2003 -- Following numerous bug reports on the forums, KMess 1.2.1 has been released, which should fix the compilation problems that some people have been having.
KMess version 1.2 released
4 May 2003 - KMess is available now in a new version. It ships new features like:
- Users can start as invisible rather than online.
- Users can have blank, unsaved passwords but retain user settings.
- Text can be formatted with /italic/, _underlined_, and *bold*.
- Groups can be reordered.
- You can show or hide offline contacts.
- Emoticons are shown in the contact list.
- Contacts can be dragged to move between groups and dragged into a chat to be invited to it.
- A background picture was added to the contact list.
Otherwise many bugfixes were committed to CVS since the last release.