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AOL Ex First Release Candidate .. umm.."released!"
Last night we "released" the first AOL Explorer 1.5 Release Candidate.
We are getting close to our GM: this build is pretty solid in terms of stability. No new features since the last Beta release: just bug fixes. We may have a couple more Release Candidates in the next few days, but this guy is pretty solid.
Since we are getting close to our final release of AOL Explorer 1.5, we need you to download it and pound on it (dl at http://beta.aol.com/projects.php?project=aolexplorer)
I also wanted to note an historic moment here : ) This is not a huge deal, but in my memory, this is the first time we have used the term "Release Candidate" for AOL Beta software. A moment of revered silence please...
In the past (AOL 5.0, 6.0, AOL Explorer 1.1, 1.2, etc), we have put out lots of beta releases (at least once a week) and essentially hope that our Beta testers will drink from the firehose of downloads. In my opinion, we gave the Beta testers too many builds without enough changes in between builds.
We are trying a slightly different approach with AOL Ex 1.5. We have had only a few Betas (only two Beta releases plus this first Release Candidate). We are letting the Beta testers know we are almost GM by calling it "Release Candidate." We have tried to have higher quality Betas too.
Hopefully the end result is a more sane process that gives the users better quality software.
And hopefully, by using the term, "Release Candidate," you will know we are serious about shipping software : )
-Rice
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I really am enjoying this build of AOL Explorer. I am infatuated with the desktop widgets - they are a fabulous tool!
Regarding the widgets, has there been any discussion about adding/altering the features offered within the windows? For example, a wysywyg editor in the journals tab, even if it were simply an add link/image button, or perhaps a spell check feature?
I know you're close to GM, so I'm just wondering about down the road.
Many thanks for your hard work and dedication to the AOL community.
Best regards,
Charley
CDittric77 -
When will AOL Explorer allow us to right click on an email link and load it into a TAB vs. a secondary window.. This feature is long overdue and works great in FireFox and Internet Explorer 7.0.. ALso what would it take for the MAIL tab to show us like an RSS feed of our email via the INBOX but also just individual click on the email we want and load that message vs. the entire mailbox.
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Hi.
Please consider adding AOL Explorer's own Download Manager in the upcoming beta tests.
Thanks so much.
4/1/06 8:04 PM
GREAT feedback. We love getting the feature suggestions.
The good news is that we have already been considering ALL of the features you have suggested. Hearing you all suggest the same list of features validates our thoughts on where to go with this thing.
HOWEVER, the bad news is that we really have about only a handful of engineers that are dedicated to AOL Explorer, and the list of new features we want to do is very long.
We are still in the Requirements Phase of the next version of AOL Explorer, and hearing these suggestions from you will certainly add more priority to these features.
I cannot guarantee anything of course, but please keep the suggestions comin' my way....and I will do the best I can.
Thanks,
Rice