Release Schedule
 

Update: 16 May <== link, clicky


A few people have asked about a "Release Schedule" for Minion. While I still want to maintain that I cannot make any guarantees on dates given that issues can pop up anywhere, I can give some information about what's going on.

Here's what must be completed before it can enter beta:

• Verify that Java's doPrivileged() calls are releasing taints correctly - Est 2h - Complete
• Implement addon ignoring (the current popup menu is simply a placeholder) - Est 12h - Complete
• Implement login for premium users (the current login is simply a placeholder) - Est 8h - Complete
• Allow for saving of security permissions of modules so that the user is not asked to verify permissions on every login - Est 8h - Complete

I add another 8h for reserve time and estimate 8h per day. That's a total of 42 hours or 6 days (rounded up). So we'll estimate a week.

Once that has been done, I want the guys involved in alpha to give it a solid week of testing to verify there aren't any critical issues prior to release. On that schedule, we're looking at about 2 weeks right now.

Here are upcoming risks:

• Over the next few days I will be spending a bit extra personal time with family that is over to visit. To offset this, I will also have a lot of travel time during which I can work.
• I start an internship on May 18, and the days leading up to that will likely be relatively packed with organizing things. Fortunately, this is during the time that others will be doing testing.

So, if all goes smoothly, I'm trying to push out a beta release on the 17th of May. If anything changes for that, it will be posted here. Similarly, I will be posting daily updates regarding its progress in an effort to keep everyone informed.

Post-beta release, we are going to go through several phases to get to a release product:

• 17 May 2009 - Beta - Our bug tracker for the software will be opened up and the software will be available to anyone whom wishes to risk their computer exploding. At this point the software should be relatively safe, but bugs should be anticipated.
• 31 May 2009 - Beta 2 - At this point it is expected that critical bugs for all OSes should be fixed. This phase will be advertised as a "stable beta" where we hope to draw in a wider audience to isolate less frequent issues. During this time, usability issues and API issues should be addressed.
• 28 June 2009 - Release Candidate - The release candidate client should have no known bugs. Any known bugs should be reported immediately to avoid them being put into release. This phase will operate in code freeze mode. No new features or usability improvements will be given attention until post-release. Only bugs will be acted upon at this point.
• 12 July 2009 - Release - The release will mark the first release-quality version. It is anticipated that this version will be very stable and usable by a global audience without fear of things going wrong. Post-release, new features and usability improvements will be given attention once again. The roadmap for resolving those issues will be generated at some point after release.

wot abot mre cowbell?

No rush, I can wait.

It's done when it's done. Don't be like Blizzard and feel pressured into rushing a great project just because the public is losing their patients. I know the longer I wait, the better the program will be, so I've been leaving you guys alone and letting you all do your work.

Thanks for the progress update all the same! :D

Don't worry, I wouldn't post this schedule if I wasn't relatively convinced I could meet it :)

keep up the good work, waiting anxiously

Thanks for the update Shirik. Glad to hear it's going so well at this time and I'll happily blow up my computer trying to brea....errrr test the beta :)

They really should leave the practicing medicine bit to the doctors...


Sorry! >.< I had to... :o

SOMEbody had to, anyways.

Very much looking forward to it! I can tell that a lot of hard work is going into this project, and that definitely makes me excited about the end result.

Good luck with its continued development! ;)

(PS. Don't run yourself too ragged.)

(PPS. Where the hell do you get all of those fantastic emoticons, Cairenn?)

Re PS - couldn't agree more, telling him to take it easy on himself

Re PPS - hehehe, go go Google! :)

/hijack off

Heh. Good times... :banana:

Oh... whoops. :o

Sorry, I was tired. :confused:

I'm very much looking forward to it, too! But don't jump the gun on it, we all will wait patiently for it to be done ;) Go, Shirik, go! :D

Cool. Mark your calendars, everyone!

Awesome Shirik.:D

Is this meant for other sites that want to write a module? And are there any modules like this in the making?

Oh, nifty. The proposed release date is my birthday. :D

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out, it sounds awesome. :)

I'm not exactly sure how far I want to go with code signing right now. The idea behind this is that if a module wants "extra special permissions" such as the ability to load native C code instead of Java into the module, it must be signed. This is for security reasons.

The distinctions between signed and unsigned modules has yet to be determined.

really keen for this.. looking forward to dropping the now terrible curse client! great work!

I'm very excited for this since a certain other updater I really really like no longer works (thanks guys...). But anyway, as long as it works for Mac, works well, and isn't crippleware *cough*curse*cough*, then I'm happy.

Right on, us macusers get enough grief about gaming as it is... Give us something to show off to our Microsoft Suckling friends!