Howdy! I know it seems as though "Elvis has left the building" based on the lack of posts here but rest assured, such is not the case! The reason for the post sparseness is that we have been hard at work building out Mentations to eventually achieve a V1.0 non-beta baseline. The highlights of progress made thus far include the following:
- Added voice commands and speech synthesis - see the Voice Activation & Speech topic in the online help (http://www.mentations.com/products/Mentations/Help/webframe.html) for more info. Users have found this functionality to be especially helpful in mobile usage scenarios using Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPCs). These capabilities allow you to ask Mentations to read the current news/blog/weather/etc. headlines as well as entire news articles, all while you're driving along or doing some other multitasking;
- Created Mentations Lite (https://www.gpinc.biz/mentationsweb/), an entirely web-based interface for access to your Mentations interface even when you aren't at your own computer. Using AJAX, it was possible to achieve much of the look and feel of the desktop client (although the functionality is still lacking);
- In support of RSS and blogs, we have added the ability to import and export OPML to facilitate easy personalization of the interface;
- Also to facilitate mobile usage, we have added a variety of location-based functions including the ability to receive live GPS readings from a connected (wirelessly or otherwise) GPS device and then to see a map displaying nearby locations within a 10 mile radius related to your interests as well as the ability to see the locations of any friends and family who are also using Mentations. This functionality is available through the new Mentations Vicinity Map as well as the Mentations relationship screen;
- Added a new football-oriented theme;
- Added the ability to minimize Mentations to your system tray versus the taskbar for easier access to the application;
- Added the capability for you to completely customize the Mentations interface through the addition of "Unmanaged Interfaces". You can either start with one of our interface templates or build out an interface entirely from scratch with whatever categories, feeds, and graphics you feel are appropriate versus being subjected to our version of reality ;^). You can then choose to make this new interface public for others to enjoy too! It will even be posted on our website in our forthcoming Mentations interface gallery;
- We have added the Mentations Helm which provides a screen where you can build your own interfaces from scratch or from pre-existing public interfaces. Included with this functionality are the Calculation Scripter and Web Service Request Builder tools. Once you are satisfied with your creations, you can choose to make them public interfaces and if approved, they will be posted to the forthcoming Interface Gallery on our site for all to see/use! Btw, if users click on offers while using any of your interfaces, we will split any revenue received with you 50/50! Furthermore, you can also show your own offers from within your interfaces which of course you can keep 100% of any revenue from;
- Also, we have added support for international (i.e., non-U.S. based) users which is a good thing since, as it turns out, over half of you fall into this category! Currently, this means primarily that you'll be able to see weather for your locale, but other international content will eventually follow. Fyi, you can change your location by right-clicking on the background and then clicking "Preferences". This will launch the Preferences Wizard. From within the wizard, make sure to check that you are an international user (if applicable) and then enter your city and country;
- Further, we have included better screensaver integration such that the Mentations desktop client can actually be automatically launched by the Mentations Screensaver;
- Finally, we have created the "Mentations Mini" gadget (see http://www.mentations.com/MentationsMini.htm for an example). This gadget provides an easy way for you to post a miniature, read-only version of your current Mentations interface on your web page for others to be able to see how you're doing at a glance! If you don't have your own website, you can also link directly to ours for people to see your Mentations Mini. Sample HTML/hyperlink code can be automatically generated by right-clicking on the Mentations background and clicking "Tokens" -> "Email Footer". As the label implies, this is also a great footer to add to the bottom of your email messages!
As you can see, we have been quite busy! Fyi, a complete listing of all enhancements/fixes made to Mentations can be found on the Mentations News page (http://www.mentations.com/news.htm).
In closing, any suggestions or feedback regarding the current release of Mentations (Version 0.81) would be greatly appreciated! Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time at support@gpinc.biz.
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