  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-==-=-=-WinDisc 3.20-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


 Release Notes:




Version 3.20 Features and Fixes:

                  - New parameter: running Windisc W will cause WinDisc to
                  wait for 10 seconds before trying to identify a disc 
                  after it has been inserted. This will give the cd-rom
                  drive time to finish whatever it is that they do when
                  you insert a new disc (i.e. when you put the disc in 
                  and the light goes on for a few seconds) before WinDisc
                  goes trying to get information from it. This should
                  help resolve problems in two areas:
                    
                      1) Mis-identification - sometimes, WinDisc wouldn't
                         "realize" that a cd had been inserted, as the
                         drive was going through its reinitialization while
                         WinDisc was trying to get information, so what it
                         got back was a bunch of zeros - indicating no disc.
                      
                      2) Crrrashhh! - Apparently, some systems would crash 
                      when WinDisc tried to access the drive while it was 
                      still initializing. The "W" parameter should solve 
                      this too.
                  
                  If anyone still has problems, please get in touch with me
                  (see the readme.txt file for information on how to reach
                  me) As I only have two systems at home to try this on, its
                  difficult to tell whether or not it'll work on others. 
                  The only way for me to find out what does and doesn't work
                  is to hear from users!
                  
                  - New option in setup dialog: Now in the setup dialog is
                  a checkbox for "Expanded SysMenu". Checking this option
                  will add the Disc Information, Jump To Track, and Volume
                  (if applicable) options to the system menu. This way, 
                  you can click on the system menu, and be able to access
                  these dialogs without double clicking on the WinDisc 
                  status screen. (Good when running WinDisc minimized)
                    
                  - Timer Killed: In version 1.0 of WinDisc, is used timer
                  number 123, and in later versions number 5. Anyway, I was
                  initializing with timer 5, and trying to kill timer 123 
                  when the program shut down. Oops. Now, however, I'm using
                  timer #1. As I understand it, if you use timer 1 in the 
                  init, it will automatically detect the next available 
                  one and use it. If this causes problems, I'll fix it in
                  the next version. (Maybe make the timer number an option)

              * * * New registration algorithm: Registered users may notice
                  that their registration code is rather short. I will be
                  implementing a new registration code algorithm in the
                  _next_ version of WinDisc. Prior to its release, I'll be
                  sending registered users their new codes, so they don't
                  miss out. 
                  


Version 3.13a Fixes  
             
                  - Oops, just before compiling version 3.13, I reinstalled
                    Borland Pascal, and forgot to adjust the memory options.
                    It seems as though some users were getting an error 202
                    (stack overflow, if I remember correctly) I have fixed
                    this by increasing the memory sizes...the problem should
                    be fixed now.

Version 3.13 Fixes  
 
                  - Some users are still experiencing lockups. I think 
                  this is cause by WinDisc checking to see if the device 
                  supports software volume control. To test this theory,
                  I've added the "v" parameter, which skips volume control
                  checking. (And turns of volume control) This _should_
                  alleviate the problem, if, in fact, thats what the
                  problem was. Also, I'm now documenting the "d" parameter,
                  for debug mode. This parameter will cause WinDisc to
                  display several dialog boxes before the main window
                  appears. They will give information, as well as tell
                  what taks are being performed in order to get WinDisc
                  going. If you are having troubles getting the program
                  to run, please run it with the "d" parameter, have a
                  paper and pencil in hand, and write down what the 
                  message boxes say <especially the final one, if it
                  locks up after getting to that point>.
                
Version 3.12 Fixes  
 
                  - I (finally) figured out why the volume control didn't
                  work on some machines. It seems as though besides the
                  wDeviceID ID of the drive, there's also a separate
                  mci device ID, which you need to use for setting the
                  volume. I was using the wrong one! The mci device id
                  on *my* system is 3, and the wDeviceID id is 2. I 
                  just assumed that you added 1 to the wDeviceID, and
                  it would work. Apparently not, as I heard from several
                  users. I happened to stumble across another bit of 
                  code in the program where I was using the mci id, and
                  it hit me - duh! Everything works now. 
                  
                  Go ahead and try it now. If the volume control works, 
                  good. If not, come back and read this next paragraph.
              --- It doesn't apply to those who WinDisc functions properly
              |   for.
              |
              | |- - There's also a new feature...
              | | Some people have their cd audio input coming from
              | | a line-in jack, as opposed to the little cd-connector
              |-| thingy. (The little plug with 4 wires, going from the
                | cd rom drive to the sound card) Anyway, for those using
                | the line-in jack, if you start WinDisc as follows:
                |            
                |   WinDisc L 
                |
                |-It will use the line-in jack for volume control.
      
Version 3.11 Fixes  


                  - Version 3.11 adds the MCI_WAIT flag to the operation
                  that initializes the CD-ROM drive. Before adding this,
                  WinDisc crashed when running under NDW 3.0. (And maybe
                  some other programs)

Version 3.10 Fixes  

                   - 3.10 Changes the way animated icons are handled.
                   The result if this change is that the system won't
                   slow down very much when using the animated icons.
                   A "Jump to Track" dialog has been added, allowing
                   you to...jump to a selected track. This dialog
                   can be brough up by double clicking the Left mouse
                   button. The CD Info dialog is now accessed by
                   double clicking the middle mouse button (if present).
Version 3.02 Fixes  
                   - Just added another animated icon.
 
Version 3.01 Fixes: 

                   - 3.01 is basically a bug fix for 3.0. I seem
                   to have made a mistake somewhere that caused
                   WinDisc to lock up on some systems. I (think)
                   it has been corrected. There is also a new
                   feature: A setup dialog that lets you choose
                   a few options, including: The icon you'd like
                   displayed on your Windows desktop, whether or
                   not you'd like to "animate" the icon, and finally,
                   whether to keep WinDisc as the topmost window at
                   all times. These settings are kept in a WDISC.INI
                   file, so they will remain the same each time you
                   start WinDisc.

Version 3.0 Fixes:
 
                   - Internally, most everything is the
                   same as version 2.0. However, a few new
                   features have been added. On systems
                   capable of adjusting CD-ROM volume through
                   software, a volume control can be brought
                   up by double clicking the right mouse button
                   on the display area of the WinDisc window. Note:
                   on systems where WinDisc cannot detect the ability
                   to control volume, double clicking the right mouse
                   button will do nothing. Generally, only systems
                   where the cd-audio output is being fed through
                   a sound card will allow this type of control. For
                   more information, check your CD-ROM and/or soundcard
                   manuals.
                     Information on the current CD can be obtained
                   by double clicking the left button on the display
                   area of the WinDisc window. This information
                   dialog shows the order in which tracks will be
                   played (for programmed/shuffle modes), the length
                   of the entire CD, as well as titles for all tracks
                   on the disc.

Version 2.0 fixes:

                   - First of all, a special note -
                   Previous updates have mostly been re-structuring
                   and fixing of existing code. Version 2.0, however,
                   is a complete re-write. While I was able to remove
                   some of the "gunk" in the code in order to get the
                   speed increase in version 1.10, the basic structure
                   of the program prohibitted me from optimizing it
                   to my liking. Therefore, I decided to go ahead
                   and start (mostly) from scratch.
                     While trying not to get too technical, I'd
                   like to explain what I've done differently in 
                   version 2.0 of WinDisc. 
                     Many users complained about WinDisc running slowly
                   in the background. I tracked this problem down to the
                   fact that in versions 1.xx, the CD-ROM drive had
                   to be polled roughly 8 times per second to get all
                   of the information necessary to keep things going.
                   While this didn't slow down systems using newer,
                   high speed drives, users with older drives couldn't
                   take it. This is where the main difference between
                   versions 1.xx and 2.0 are most visible. Due to some
                   discoveries I made. (ahem - reading the Borland Pascal
                   manuals) I was able to reduce the number of times
                   the drive needed to be polled from somewhere between
                   5 and 8 to only 1 time per second. In theory, some
                   users could experience up to an 800% increase in speed,
                   although it is highly unlikely. Most everyone should
                   notice a major increase, at least 400-500%. Beta testers
                   have reported it to be faster than most other CD players
                   they have used, and only slightly slower than Microsoft's
                   Media Player. [ But hey - My name isn't Bill Gates, and I 
                   didn't put a billions of dollars into the development 
                   of WinDisc :) ]




   Speed increase    - Please see above note.
                     
  CD Index File    - The old file format for CDINDEX.IDX, the file
                     holding names of CDs and tracks, was, for lack
                     of a better word, pathetic. I have come up with 
                     a kinder, gentler, smaller format which works 
                     much better, making the file about 1/20th the
                     size of ones created by WinDisc 1.xx. There is
                     a utility included (convert.exe) that will convert
                     your old 1.xx files to the 2.0 format.

  Pointer disposal - It seems as though the 1.xx versions didn't properly
                     dispose of memory on program shutdown, thus not
                     giving back some of the system resources (as can
                     be checked with the help|about dialog in the 
                     program manager) This has been fixed in version 2.0
  Registration       - It is now even easier to register! In the About
                     dialog, there is now a line where you can enter
                     your registration number, thus eliminating the 
                     need to wait for your key file in the mail.
                     (Registration numbers will be provided by telephone,
                     e-mail, fax, and snail-mail!)
                    
 
Version 1.10a fixes:

 Trial period      - Due to the release time of version 1.10 (late October)
                     I have decided to move the date at which the program
                     becomes "crippled" to August 1st 1994, rather than
                     January 1st.

Version 1.10 fixes:
 
Speed Improvement  - Users of older, single speed CD-ROM drives complained of
                     WinDisc slowing down the system. I have traced this problem
                     to some extra API calls made during the update procedure that
                     is called once every second. I have reduced the number of
                     calls made by 60%, so in theory, things should speed up
                     quite a bit now!

No disc problems   - Problems occurred when no disc was
                     in the drive. It seems at this time,
                     that this has been corrected.

Error Messages    - I have traced several of the error
                     codes returned by the Windows Multimedia
                     System, and replaced the generic "Could not
                     initialize CD-ROM drive" message with more
                     messages more descriptive of the problem. Also,
                     if the above message is received, it is accompanied
                     by the error number returned to WinDisc. This
                     should help in pinpointing any problems you have.
                     (just tell me the error, and I'll try to locate it!)

Version 1.02 fixes:

   CD-Recognition    - Some CDs were mis-identified.
   Shuffle Button    - Some users were experiencing problems
                       with shuffle mode.
   Large/Small Fonts - WinDisc now automatically resizes itself
                       so it can display all information, whether
                       you are using large or small fonts.
   Screen Updates    - I have added a little code, so the display
                       only updates if information has changed.
                       This will help speed things up when
                       WinDisc is running in the background.
   Icon              - Besides a new icon, Version 1.02 also
                       allows you to keep WinDisc as the
                       topmost window, so you never lose it!

 Version 1.01 fixes:

   Crashes           - Some users, particulary those with CD-ROM drives
                       using caddies got errors when pressing the eject
                       button while no caddy was inserted. This problem
                       has been taken care of with a MCI_GETDEVCAPS_CAN_EJECT
                       call at program startup.


