21 APR 2008 - BIM updated
A new update for Bytessence InstallMaker is available. Version 3.6 contains some small bug-fixes and new languages, like Russian, Turkish, French, Kazakh and Greek. It is highly recommended that you download the new version if you use BIM. The changes aren't big but new features will be added soon, when the other projects will be finished.Click here to go to the download page.
17 APR 2008 - work in progress
I am glad to announce that a new MPx conversion program is on the way. Bytessence AMVConverter has become obsolete and will not be supported anymore since it works just for Action based players. The new software is created to replace it and it will be able to convert for all major players like Actions, RockChip, Anyka and Sunplus, will feature a brand new interface and of course it will work on both Windows and Linux.Stay tuned!
26 MAR 2008 - BPK 2.5 is now available
This new version of BPK brings some fixes and corrects some design flaws. There have been reports for the old versions that stated that it's easy to misspell the password while saving a container thus impossible to open it back. Hopefully, with the new password input dialog there won't be any incidents of this type. A set of importers and exporters were added as well, to extend a bit the compatibility between BPK and KeePass (and in the future some others). These are however still under development and they may have some limitations/bugs inside. Please read the help file for more information. If you encounter any problems, don't hesitate to send me an e-mail and i'll do my best to help you find a proper solution. It is possible that in the future the encryption algorithm and the hashing one will be replaced with better ones (AES/Rijndael and SHA2). It will take however some time until I find the proper implementations. You can click here to go to the BPK download page.10 MAR 2008 - Bytessence Install Maker 3.5 and Bytessence PassKeeper 2.1 are out
Both BIM and BPK had some flaws in the old versions so I decided to release a fix for them. BIM had a serious problem with the uninstaller, it failed to delete all the empty folders after the program has been removed. It has been a bit of a pain to fix this, but now it works really nice with the new strategy. Here's the removing scheme in the new version:- First uninstall all registry keys, values, unregister modules, terminate the un-needed processes
- Start removing the installed files (these are stored in the uninstallation script)
- Scan the remaining folders (if any)
- Make a list of them and sort them by depth (very important as the "RemoveDirectory_()" API in Windows needs the folder to be completely empty so it can't delete a folder in a folder)
- Start removing them from the biggest to the smallest depth
- Remove the registry Add/Remove programs key
- Prompt the user to reboot (if needed) , clean up and quit
As for BPK, the problems with the toolbar on Windows Vista are now (hopefully) fixed. You can get it now in two forms, ZIP and installer (depending if you use it portable or as a normal program).
An update will come for the AMVConverter as soon as PureBasic, the programming language I work in reaches version BETA 3.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you need help or you found a glitch in one of the programs.
26 FEB 2008 - Bytessence Install Maker 3.4 has finally arrived
After a few weeks of work, I managed to finish version 3.4 of BIM. It now has a new look, all the reported bugs were fixed and new tools were added in the package. Also, this is the first version of BIM that is Unicode-ready. This time the code was tested on both Windows(TM) XP and Windows(TM) 98. I wish to thank to Michel Van Passel, Arno Krumpholz and Steve Van Dokkumburg for reporting errors in the program. Hopefully, this version will work better than the old ones. You can find the detailed list of changes on BIM's page. If you find this tool useful, please consider a donation.13 FEB 2008 - BIM Updated
Today a new version of BIM is available. Thanks to Steve Van Dokkumburg for reporting the bugs. He also created a very nice graphics set that is now available in the BIM resources page. Starting with the next release, the program will come in 2 versions. An ASCII-one and Unicode-ready one. It would be unfair to drop support for Windows 98 users directly. The next update will take some time because I want to remake the main window and improve the usability.12 FEB 2008 - New version of Bytessence PassKeeper
A BPK update has been released. Version 2.0 adds a new, better and more secure database format, account group management, improved user interface, drag-and-drop and a new tool. A secure file shredder is now included in the program. It can permanently delete files from the storage mediums with 7 methods: Simple, Russian GOST-P50739-95, British HMG-IS5, US Army AR380-19, German VSITR, Bruce Schneier and the well known Gutmann method. This way you can destroy old BPK databases or other sensitive files and further protect your privacy. However, be careful what files you delete.An update is on the way for BIM as well. It should have come with BPK, but I delayed it because of some problems regarding unicode. I might have to drop support for Windows 98 because I don't use it (so I can't throughfully test it), it doesn't support Unicode (and adding Microsoft's Unicows is not acceptable, the installer would be huge) and finally: not many use it today... Afterall it's 10 years old, isn't it? Being one man, I can't support two versions of BIM at the same time, it would be too much. I am stuck now between compatibility problems. Either let it in ASCII for Win98's sake or use Unicode and have extended language support. If you have suggestions, drop me a line.
02 FEB 2008 - AMVConverter updated
A new version of the amv converter for mp4 players has been released. All the languages created by the users are now working perfectly and were included in the package. This release introduces Unicode support and minor fixes and additions to both Windows and Linux versions. Unfortunately, this tool will be deprecated soon due to the fact that Actions, the company behind the ATJ**** chipset series has now released on the market new chips (ATJ2135 and ATJ2137) that play AVI files directly. It seems that the AMV format begins to die slowly, but irreversible. New players using this chip have already emerged and as far as I can see they will become very popular soon.You can find the new version here. Also, don't forget to donate if you find it usefull.
28 JAN 2008 - BIM 2.5 takes off
Another update was made today to BIM, fixing a few minor bugs and adding the possibility to install fonts. If your program needs custom fonts resources you will find this very handy. Also the first external translation (German) made by Arno Krumpholz was incorporated in the new package. This version should be very stable. Also I have improved a bit the documentation and fixed some translation glitches. Another good thing is that if you're running Windows 2000, XP or Vista you won't need to run BIM under an administrator account anymore.You can find the new version on BIM's page.
23 JAN 2008 - BIM 2.4 released (milestone)
As in the 2.0 version some bugs slipped in, rendering the shortcut creation task useless, I decided to release a new version. This one knocks-out all the previous builds, adding lots of new features, stability, optimizations and improved user interface. The new image preview system alows you to view the graphics on a simulated installer window, making editing easy. The main window can now also be resized, the installer has been fixed and now all is much faster.I wish to thank all users for the bug reports. Hopefully, this version won't make any problems. If you find any error or bug, please contact me. Cheers!
16 JAN 2008 - BIM 2.0 finally released!
Bytessence InstallMaker has reached version 2.0, bringing new features and new fixes to existing problems. I am sorry the release took so much time, but some parts (the stub and the uninstaller) had to be rewritten from scratch because the old versions couldn't be extended. The controls lists begun to be very big and cluttered and the event handling was a labirynth, making me lose the control inside. This is my biggest project so far, totalling aproximately 10,000 lines of code. For the experienced programmer this isn't much but I needed many cups of coffee to make it work :).The new code performed much better in my tests and I hope there won't be problems. (As always, there could be bugs still left in the program. If you discover one please contact me for a fix.) The new release features new graphic themes, UI improvements, new path variables and introduces <much> better user interaction. Also, I have created a resources page where you can find custom themes made by users. And if you have some free time it would be great if you could contribute with some translations, so all people can use the program and the installers in their native tongue.
In other news, the site suffered some minor design changes too.
03 JAN 2008 - BAMVC 0.8 released
I decided to start the new year with another AMVConverter update. Some improvements were made for both platforms and the Linux version almost looks the same with the Win32 one. Probably the biggest improvement is that the interface can now be easy translated into other languages. The source code was also optimized, split into modules and some parts (code, images) that were left in from previous versions were also cleaned out. XPToolbar support was dropped for OS compatibility reasons, but the program hasn't lost any functionality. I for one prefer functionality insted of eye-candy. If you want to contribute to the project, you can help me translate it into other languages. Currently only 2 are supported: English and Romanian.I am proud that BAMVC became pretty popular, especially on MyMpxPlayer.org, the biggest MPx users portal. Mr. Binh Tang, the administrator and mantainer of the website has sponsored our project. I wish to thank him this way for the support. It's great to see that my software worths atention. If you have a player, make sure you visit MyMpxPlayer, you'll be amazed how much information you will find there. Starting with firmware for players, themes, tutorials and guides and finishing with reviews and product opinions.
The next update will most probably feature the InstallMaker. Some brand-new features are on the way :). I'll keep you updated.
News from 2007 were archieved.