Folks,

According to Dan's request here are couple of things that are new with 2.3
beta:
* Interface changes
  We have now new Morphic menus (I just love them) and a preferences panel
  with help messages for most entries.
* Sound stuff
  MIDI input is available from class MIDISynth.
* Numerical stuff
  The new coercion scheme is in 2.3beta, we have array math and a brand
  new wavelet transform hanging around (see class FWT).
* Weak classes / finalization support is now part of the standard image
  [Note: Some people were already running into this - you really need a
         new VM for this stuff to work properly]
* Pluggable primitives
  Those of you not having been to OOPSLA, PPs are a way of extending the
  virtual machine without actually modifying it. PPs are pluggable in such
  that they're called by name, not by number and that they can reside
  in an external library (e.g., a DSO on Unix, a DLL on Windows, and
  whatever it's called on other systems).
  An example is FFT>>pluginTest which should be about a factor 60-100
  faster than the regular (interpreted) FFT. If it isn't, then it's
  because your VM does not support PPs, but the FFT will still run.
  Implementors: Have a look at class InterpreterPlugin and it's subclasses
  to see how this works (yes - I ought to write a bit of documentation
  about this stuff ;-)
* Balloon
  This is a vector graphics engine that will hopefully bring a new quality
  of graphics into Squeak. For the moment it's still in preliminary state
  but for those of you who want to get an impression, here are two things
  to try:
  - Playing with TrueType fonts (Yeah!!)
    Just open one of those guys from the file list and enjoy ;-)
    [Note that TTFs are not yet used outside this example]
  - Playing with MacroMedia Flash files
    Flash is a vector graphics package designed for vector graphics
    content delivery over the internet. Many sites use this to enhance
    their web pages and it's a lot of fun to play with. If you have access
    to any .SWF files just open them from the file list.
    [Note: The integration into Scamper didn't make it for the beta.
     It will be in the final 2.3 and I'll post a couple of links
     for you to play with].

I think that are the biggest changes in 2.3 beta [Dan - did I miss
anything important?!]

Cheers,
  Andreas
-- 
Linear algebra is your friend - Trigonometry is your enemy.
+===== Andreas Raab ============= (raab at isg.cs.uni-magdeburg.de) =====+
I Department of Simulation and Graphics      Phone: +49 391 671 8065  I
I University of Magdeburg, Germany           Fax:   +49 391 671 1164  I
+=============< http://isgwww.cs.uni-magdeburg.de/~raab >=============+