Category : Music and Digitized Voice
Archive   : CDBOX305.ZIP
Filename : HISTORY.DOC

 
Output of file : HISTORY.DOC contained in archive : CDBOX305.ZIP
ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.10A (to be released soon!) ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

- Brand new *HOT* screens - (you'll understand the pun when you see them!)

- Background animations. Animations like balls, parachutes (and plenty of
others, including new ones), don't take control away at all. You can still
move around, select and play songs.

- Increased song capacity (currently 1000 in v3.05).

- Rearranged display for several formats.

This version is not released yet since it's still under development, but all
which is mentioned above is already there. Currently I'm working on:

- 16-BIT STEREO !!! CD-Box will split into two "flavors", the one you have
now, and CD-Box Gold for 386 or better with 16-bit stereo support. The two
flavors will evolve in parallel with only this difference (for starters).
The routines used will be those from DMP (DSMI interface by Otto Chrons).

- support for .MOD-like formats (.NST, .669, etc)... see above.

- volume control for more formats.

Note to registered users: YES, free upgrades to all CD-Box v3.xx version will
apply to CD-Box Gold.


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.05A ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

NOTE: all CD-BOX.* files are now named CDBOX.*. This is to ensure CD-ROM
filename compatibility. So if you have already used CD-Box before, please
rename your files accordingly, especially CD-BOX.CFG which should now be
called CDBOX.CFG.

Major improvement: "Files..." mode has (thankfully) disappeared, replaced by
the much more powerful and intuitive "Drives..." mode. Also, the pilot
lights at the top (.CMF .MUS .MOD etc...) can be used as a filter to select
which song formats to load and play. See documentation for details.

Minor improvements:

- annoying flicker removed
- logo at startup - look for it on other products coming soon!
- reader (the green thing that reads the CDs) redrawn, rendered rather
- new mouse cursor!
- added "forgotten brackets!" message when scanning CDBOX.CFG
- some animations have been added, changed, or improved
- "player returns error n" message added if player can't play song
- much prettier error handler (but I hope you never see it 🙂
- small documentation files like this one cleaned up

Changes:

- VGA detection routine has been changed
- Repeat loops in .VOC files are limited to 20

Known restriction: CD-Box will not play hardware-compressed .VOC files.
Currently, I have a choice between volume control and support for
hardware-compressed. Since the high majority of sounds are not compressed,
the choice was made in favor of volume control (for now). Compressed samples
are skipped during playback.


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.04A ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

- graphic routines completely changed, 20 KB shorter (10 KB compressed)! This
miraculously solved some remaining mouse bugs!
- finally a bug free read-only media support (much more difficult than I
thought 🙂


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.03B ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

- still more memory free for songs.

- read-only media support even better - all write errors are ignored!

- the bug causing registration screen to appear randomly even if you
registered has been fixed.


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.03A ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

- "bubble help" added (Manual button introduced) -> help is F1, manual F2.

- one extra small animation to greet registered users.

- CD-Box can be run from a read-only media (CD-ROM) and will warn the user
that changes are not saved.

- executable code is compressed too, thanks to LZEXE by Fabrice Bellard, so
that CD-BOX.EXE now holds in 220 KB (I can't do much better!)


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.02A ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

- the first ASP CD-Box in history! 🙂


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.01A ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

- songs that CD-Box can't analyze are not extracted from archives the first
time they are encountered.

- external support for ANY FORMATS and ANY NUMBER OF FORMATS. Just add the
extension name, the player and parameters in CD-BOX.CFG and presto! CD-Box
uses it.


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.00B ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

- drastic Lempel-Ziv & Huffman compression schemes reduce the size of
graphics, so CD-BOX.EXE shrank from 395 KB to 295 KB (I can still do
better!)

- the drawback: graphics & animations take slightly longer to load

- the solution: a cute little "WAIT" disk appears 🙂


ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸
³ Changes in v3.00A ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;

Major improvements:

- RAY-TRACED GRAPHICS

- FULL INTERNAL .VOC SUPPORT

- FULL INTERNAL .ROL SUPPORT
(great news for AdLib users!)

- INTERNAL .WAV SUPPORT
(same as .VOC, but 8-bit mono only, I've only got a SB!)

- files can be played from any drive and/or directory; CD-Box can also recurse
directories when scanning (/S parameter). Examples: CD-BOX \ /S
CD-BOX A: B: D:\MUSIC

- the documentation has gone through major surgery and is directly available
from CD-Box (press F1)

- I've tried to make CD-Box (the program, the registration procedure, support,
etc) conform to the ASP standard. I am NOT a member yet, the application
is in progress!

Bug fixes:

- the .MOD volume controls and the volume the song was played at weren't
always consistent when a new .MOD started playing - fixed
- CD-Box won't crash when extracting .VOC length (even if infinite loop)
- CD-Box won't try to analyze again (when you press Rescan) files that for
some reason could not be analyzed at startup
- files that cannot be extracted are now ignored (instead of stopping CD-Box)
- outrageous playing time for .MODs - fixed
- unknown blocks in .VOC samples are skipped instead of crashing (oops!)

Small improvements:

- Random mode will ignore clicks on other mode-buttons (Files, Goto...)
- Infinite .MOD songs should always terminate (disallowed backward jumps)
- Percent bar updated while scanning
- Index of archives maintained instead of searching through the disk each time
a song needs to be exploded -> much faster to start playing (drawback:
increased memory usage 🙂
- Building the file index is MUCH MUCH MUCH faster
- CD-Box can be run from any directory, it will look for all its kids in its
own directory anyway (including SONGS.DAT)
- memory fragmentation much decreased!
- checks that temporary drive/directory is valid
- protection about viruses and hacks
- Esc key cancels current mode and hints user for quitting
- /O switch added & Register button
- sprite manager much improved; notice how the sprites can move past the
borders of the screen (without hanging the computer of course)
- one new animation
- uses 80286 & 80386 specific instructions in some routines if proper CPU
is detected
- DefaultBNK= command added
- Text=yes command added (you can now use players that display something)
- Again button added to repeat current song
- some buttons have more than one keyboard equivalent (Rewind & Forward!)
- Registration much easier & better (extra programs!)
- SoundBlaster port & IRQ automatic detection
- CT-VOICE.DRV no longer needed, but BLASTER, yes
- volume & echo control for .VOC & .WAV
- the same volume is kept throughout the whole session (instead of being reset
to full each time you start playing a selection)
- .WAV made more robust (some .WAV don't follow exactly the WAVE format
definition, like KLAXON1.WAV - CD-Box reads some of them anyway)
- CRASH! error messages are more "context-dependent"
- added .PAK support

Changes:

- duplicates are now only reported in debug mode (CD-BOX/D).
- removed Driver= command from CD-BOX.CFG (it was useless when you think about
it, the player doesn't necessarily detect it the way CD-Box does)
- /I switch changed, now displays more technical data, not for everyday use
- it's not MDI anymore, but MID. I was fooled by some software which uses the
MDI extension, but it turns out after all that both extensions are used
for the same format, and MID is much more used (thanks to Windows for
instance).
- BLASTER variable highly recommended!


*** CD-Box v2.30 down to v1.00... omitted (included in full documentation)


*** Coming attractions:

- Support for .LZH and .ZOO archives when I find a quiet extractor
- Capacity for two thousands songs & huge .MODs
- About internal .MID support... I'M ALMOST THERE!
- Audio CD support
- Anybody out there got .MID or .MUS routines I can use or get inspired by?
- Much faster manual viewer (+ manual "context-sensitive")


  3 Responses to “Category : Music and Digitized Voice
Archive   : CDBOX305.ZIP
Filename : HISTORY.DOC

  1. Very nice! Thank you for this wonderful archive. I wonder why I found it only now. Long live the BBS file archives!

  2. This is so awesome! 😀 I’d be cool if you could download an entire archive of this at once, though.

  3. But one thing that puzzles me is the “mtswslnkmcjklsdlsbdmMICROSOFT” string. There is an article about it here. It is definitely worth a read: http://www.os2museum.com/wp/mtswslnk/