If you’ve been tracking our download page, you certainly noticed that we uploaded last week a brand new 0.7.0-rc1 to replace 0.6.1 as the default download. This is because we are very confident that this new release is already way better and more stable than the older version and, though we haven’t yet completed the whole suite of tests, we prefer having new users installing and using that newer version rather than the old one.

For one thing, this new version is fully exploiting the new capabilities of the newly released Chandler Server 0.7.0 now deployed on Chandler Hub (see Jared’s post). The new protocol (Morse Code) used by 0.7.0-rc1 is much faster than what we used before so sharing is really improved. Also the level of interoperability between the Desktop client and the new Web UI client is way better.

Second, having new users starting with the new Dashboard and Triage workflow is more in tune with what Chandler is all about now. It’s not your old “Calendar Application” anymore…

And last, the new version supports an “export/reload” feature so schema changes in the repository database do not become migration headaches and data loss is non existent. This is pretty important for users in general and new users in particular.

So, what’s separating us from a formal release announcement? Well, tests, tests and more tests. We’re currently getting through the complete list of test scenarios and test plans and we’re creating a new RC (Release Candidate) every other day or so. RC 2 is now up for download and we’re expecting another couple of RC to crop up between now and the final release, the one with the QA stamp of approval. When’s that? ETA is Monday September 10th. Considering the current rather low rate of bugs logged, we’re pretty confident we’ll make that date. After all, we’ve been in debug mode since 3 months now so super-scary-blow-up-the-house bugs are unlikely to crop up now. It’s more about corner scenarios and making sure we’re really complete in our assessment of the product quality before putting it in everyone’s hands.

In the meantime, if you’re daring enough and not afraid of a couple of bugs that could hide here and there, take a spin at the new Chandler Desktop 0.7.0-rc2 and help us make the wait even shorter by testing it in your own environment.