IRC client TalkSoup 1.1 released

I am pleased to announce that after months of work a new release of GNUstep's IRC client, TalkSoup, is ready!
Being essentially abandoned the last released sources (alpha version)have been  imported some time ago in GAP with Andrew's consent. I also merged in some enhancements from the GIT repository code.

This new release was really started because the original code was not working at all anymore, it did not compile on certain platforms and elsewhere it crashed really often.

• Very important Crash fixes due to Strings vs AttributedStrings
• Native XCode port to Mac (both PPC and x86 do work), no GNUstep makefiles necessary
• Memory leaks and fixes as recognized by clang's static analyzer
• Tweaks to the user interface
• Import and addition of the IGNORE plugin
• Fixes to work on current GNUstep runtime and on MacOS
• Preference fields send action on end editing, not enter
• Install plugins locally inside Application resources with .bundle extension
• Fixed myriads of crashes due to code using "id" instead of an explicit type and thus picking up the wrong methods
• 64bit fixes with NSInteger/NSUInteger

Due to the change of plugin placement, you may need to delete your defaults.

Check more on it's GNUstep Appliction Project page, where you can download it or go to the savannah project page and learn how to check out the SVN sources.

Here the most classic and nostalgic setup: my iBook running Debian (without evil systemd) and the classic GNUstep theme and WindowMaker. Works fine!

Here instead on my other iBook, still running MacOS. Do you see some similarity? Although TalkSoup did run in the past on Mac, this is a native XCode build. Having it run on my ol' clamshell makes me feel cozy.

And something less common too, to prove the enhanced portability: GNU/Hurd on Debian, with the Sleek theme from GAP:

GNUMail and TalkSoup getting back to MacOS

In the effort of peppin up and removing bitrot from TalkSoup, the GNUstep IRC client, I am doing  a native build of it on MacOS.
Apparently there was a port in the past, but it was not an Xcode build and it uses may tricks.
I have already ported the application the core and the main bundles: this pointed out many weak parts of the code and many more warnings than I was getting on GNUstep.

Soon I will be able to make a new, updated release!

The application works now much better! x86 and PPC... so I can enjoy a chat on my iBook:

Also GNUMail has progress: before running only on ppc and 10.4, now the application runs fine also on x86!
During this process I am also trying to modernize GNUMail's code gradually: the application was written for GNUstep, but the Macintosh port was port with a lot of conditional code, 10  and years ago GNUstep was less complete. A lot of these exception can now be removed. I am going to investigate each of them and remove as many of them.