BOINC 6.12.26 is now the recommended client for public use.

The primary focus in this release is a feature called notices. The BOINC client software can now consume RSS feeds to deliver project information to the volunteer at the same time they are checking on task instance status. Volunteers will no longer be required to visit the various project homepages to find out the latest and greatest of what the various projects are doing. For those volunteers who participate in forums additional notices will be given for friend requests and private messages. We believe this will increase the project/volunteer interaction experience.

Projects are strongly encouraged to enable notices, details can be found
here:

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/wiki/ProjectNotices

Volunteers can change the frequency on how often they are reminded about new notices by adjusting the reminder frequency in the 'Display and network options' dialog in the Advanced GUI.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who helped test this release and all 6.11/6.12 releases throughout the development cycle.


----- Rom
BOINC Development Team

When I try to replace 6.10.60 with 6.12.26 on my win-64 machine, I get an error that it can't find the boinc.msi. I have returned to .60

Yeah, that happens. But that's a Windows error, as it went senile, it lost where it put the Microsoft Installer file (.MSI). it's the installer file of the older BOINC version that it requires to do an uninstall of that older BOINC version.

The easiest way is to do a repair installation of the older version, and then immediately install the new version. A repair installation of the old version will repair paths that Windows is missing about where it stored the uninstallation file.

And if that doesn't help, there's a lot more possible steps in this FAQ.

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What about messages that we used to be able to chain and see, such as the periodic updates and so on? How do we review what is happening when we try to update? There seems to be even less informaiton now.

CTRL + SHIFT + E will open the Event Log when you have BOINC Manager open in Advanced View.

Problems: I hardly know where to start.

1. Messages: The removal of 'Messages' and its replacement by something you have to memorize to get to is in the running for screwup of the year. When anything is wrong, or something strange is happening, Messages is the first place I look. Not only did you remove the most informational tab on the boinc window, you hid its replacement and changed its name.

2. Notifications: This changes the long established order of tabs with something that is empty most of the time, and its function is not clear. It is NOT a replacement for Messages, but most people will jump to that conclusion. I see no pressing need for 'Notifications'. What would they be used for, and how important are those notifications? If it is important (to the user), open a new window.

3. The help window does not show the new arrangement! It's no help at all.

4. Overall, due to these serious mistakes in human engineering, I spent hours trying to get my 6+ years of Boinc use to make sense of the new design. After a while I found the hidden 'Event Log' a completely new name undefined anywhere and not easily accessable. You would have to work hard to make it harder to find than that.

5. The requirement to log on to the system that Boinc is running on is brand new, and a change that is neither obvious nor necessary at all! I only found it after searching thru all the tabs and options. There is no reason I can see for this requirement, and it is a major operational change without any warning to the user. Worse, it has no benefit and no help info. The password requirement makes no sense for a resident Boinc, only if you wanted to control remote Boinc systems.

6. Despite my decades in IT, it took hours of wasted time to figure out how to use this mess. I don't appreciate wasting my time due to bad design and lack of any purpose for this new setup.

7. Frankly, I'm worried about Boinc's future based on the inept way this latest update has been done, and the lack of apparent need for the changes.

8. Finally, consider the impact on worldwide use by millions of people, most less experienced than I am. If my experience is at all common, you will loose a potentially large number of users simply because you have missed or forgotten a basic design principle: Don't change an existing user interface (that includes names of items) without very good reason and full, easy to find, documentation.

I hope this detailed feedback on 6.12.26 will help straighten out the new design. I removed it and dropped back to 6.10.60, which is working fine.

BillN

The hiding of the Messages Log and the adding of the Notification tab was done for a purpose: To help new people who would otherwise mistake all the messages for errors and who would then run away, uninstall the software, be gone, without being a help to the projects. It's time that the established Advanced BOINC user started to look at the people around him/her and check how they saw the program. As a help? As something scary?

The BOINC developers have been running a survey for over a year, with the outcome of it being that new users would see the messages as a hindrance, more than help. It's still apparent from many a project's forums that not all messages are seen as information, but as something that the user apparently needs to do by hand, like deleting of files. As such the messages are hidden, while they can be gotten to by the more advanced users. If you see yourself as such a user, then why do you run away?

Notifications are there to show:
a) News from projects.
b) Messages to users specifically about things that they can't do anything about, and made clear that there is no user help needed!

It's that brilliantly simple. Had BOINC been doing this since its inception, you wouldn't know any better and wouldn't have complained.

And besides, it isn't just the Notices that changed under this BOINC. That's just a cosmetics change, it doesn't say anything about the engine that changed a lot as well. If you truly do not want to run with the new BOINC Manager, you can do so by running the new BOINC with the old BOINC manager (retain the present 6.10.60 boincmgr.exe and boinc.dll and restore those in the new BOINC programs directory, overwriting the newer ones.). You can also opt to run with any third party Manager.

So it's kind of childish to throw your toys out of the room and stomp off back to a previous BOINC just because you're afraid of ... what exactly? Change? The apparent coming demise of BOINC?

Now, I agree with you on point 3, that still needs to be fixed. Or added to, if development keeps the older BOINC versions around for a long time. But the rest?

(This is my own opinion, not necessarily reflecting that of the developers or of the establishment at Berkeley University)

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RE: Notices

So it's an RSS feed. Why not call it RSS? Or is that too obvious?

I'll bet there are more than a dozen common RSS programs as it is quite popular.

Here's my suggested solution:

1. Rename it to RSS or RSS Link
2. Inside that tab allow the user to link in his favorite RSS software.
3. Project is done.

Note that most people interested in RSS feeds already have one installed. The link will solve 90+% of the needs. The others need only choose which RSS to DL, and link it in.

Questions:

4: Why a built in RSS? If the user has or needs one, why tie it to BOINC?

5. Why are you spending limited resources on a solved problem?

6. If the New Boinc version is to be a MultiSystem Boinc manager, isn't that a major change? If so, this should have a major version change - 7, not 6. It should also be in beta for quite a while.

7. Is there a design spec for Boinc 7 as a MS manager? Is it publicly available for review and comment?

8. If you want user ideas, why not a Suggestions link on this site?


Further Thoughts:

I don't consider 6.12.26 ready for prime time. It looks like an ambitious upgrade that changes a lot of previous design choices (MultiSystem) and new functionality (RSS feed). These are not bad ideas, but they will have significant impact and will need to be tested in depth. In addition, the current single user system (12.10.60) works very well and has a familiar structure. For users with one system in Boinc, this is very functional, though the RSS feed may be useful there too.

But the multisystem capabilities are a major jump and it already shows a number of glitches in the user interface and documentation. I strongly suggest separation of the two projects into a 6 version for single system use, and a 7 version for multisystem use.

I recommend this because I expect the MS users to support a significant number of MS enhancements, some of which have no single system function. Thus the current unified boinc system would carry larger and larger amounts of nonfunctional baggage, adding complexity, debug time and overhead.

Finally, for long term management and support, I suggest an internal design (if not already there) that has all the base functions as the main core, and all the others as addons, making for cleaner and easier debugging and integration.

BillN

Clarification:

"I recommend this because I expect the MS users to support a significant number of MS enhancements, some of which have no single system function. Thus the current unified boinc system would carry larger and larger amounts of nonfunctional baggage, adding complexity, debug time and overhead."

Should have read:

I recommend this because I expect the MS users to support a significant number of MS enhancements, some of which have no single system function. Thus the current unified boinc system would carry larger and larger amounts of nonfunctional baggage for the single system user, adding complexity, debug time and overhead.

BillN

I am not going to answer any of your other questions at this time, as I am called in to the fray to rapidly make a 6.12 help page, with thanks to you. But at least all 6.12 clients out there will then go to the correct help page.

It should also be in beta for quite a while.

It has been in ALPHA for quite a while. The developers are always on the look-out for new testers, so why not join? See the instructions to see how.

For change logs and developer comments, see the change log thread.

P.S: Posts have an edit button, which will allow you to edit your posts for an hour after you made the post. Unless you're a moderator, then edit time is unlimited.

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3. The help window does not show the new arrangement! It's no help at all.

All BOINC 6.12 versions will now go to this help page. Previous versions will still go to the old one.

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2. Inside that tab allow the user to link in his favorite RSS software.

And then the user has to go to all of the projects he or she has their BOINC attached to and find how those projects relay RSS, if at all. Now it's being done by the client, completely automatically, without fuss and without clogging up your normal RSS reader.

Why not call it RSS? As even I don't fully know what it means or stands for, do you --without having to look it up ?? So what do you think a new user will think of that? Plus it would confuse those that have an RSS reader already, thinking they'd need to do something about getting the feed to their reader. They don't. new name == less confusion.

4: Why a built in RSS? If the user has or needs one, why tie it to BOINC?

As this way you will only get notices from BOINC projects, and only from those your BOINC is attached to. Simple, nay?

6. If the New Boinc version is to be a MultiSystem Boinc manager, isn't that a major change? If so, this should have a major version change - 7, not 6. It should also be in beta for quite a while.

BOINC has always been multi-system. If at least you mean one can run it on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and a whole load of other platforms. One source code - many platforms.

If you mean being able to run more than one BOINC Manager on the same system, whereby the second, third, fourth etc. ones go to keep an eye on a BOINC client running elsewhere on the network, then do know that BOINC has had this functionality since 5.2 as well. the only change is that the second BOINC Manager now automatically opens as a network seeking manager, not a local one that you would have to point to the network.

The thing where you find you need to fill in a password has always been done this way, if it wasn't working like that in the past then that way was broken and the new way is fixed!

The much seen BOINC Manager cannot connect to a client message is usually contributed to not allowing BOINC's parts through your local firewall, but it can also be contributed to not having the correct password for the manager.

This password is by default created by BOINC upon first start-up. It lives in the gui_rpc_auth.cfg file and by default it is a 32 character hexadecimal key. You can configure it to reflect a password of your own choice, or when you find it being defective, you can easily exit BOINC completely, remove the gui_rpc_auth.cfg file from your BOINC DATA directory, then restart BOINC. 9 out of 10 times you'll find that has fixed your problem. And if it doesn't then there's always plenty of forums to ask for help on. :-)

7. Is there a design spec for Boinc 7 as a MS manager? Is it publicly available for review and comment?

BOINC 7 is plenty of unfinished Source Code. Check out trunk for it.

8. If you want user ideas, why not a Suggestions link on this site?

You have a whole forums to post to, but that's not enough? ;-)
There is the BOINC Development email list.
If that's not to your liking either, you can always email David Anderson.

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I want to thank you for your detailed responses - I've learned a bunch. I still disagree with some of the decisions, but I'm not on staff and can't actually contribute. Besides which my coding days are long ago and I'm busy with other projects.

Re: Password
But I disagree that a password that can be reset 9 of 10 times is really fixed. It may be mostly fixed, but that's not finished.

Re: 7
Source code is not a specification, it is a specific implementation. A Spec provides design and functional goals in the normal language, such as English, not C++. Specs can be more easily grasped as an overview of the design and requirements for the program.

Programmers often complain about time spent in specification, but for any except small projects, the time spent is more than recovered through reduced change and debugging. In addition everyone is programming from the same page(s). Even a basic spec is worth doing, the bigger the project the more important it is.

Since you are probably all volunteers, the extra time it may take is an acceptable tradeoff for reduced overhead and flexibility. But it will take longer overall, and may include more debugging because of each programmer having a unique view. The spec creates a common view.

Re: 8

I was referring to the specific program functional areas. Getting mixed in with normal user dialog can make it difficult to maintain an organized view.

Thanks for the opportunity for a dialog.
BillN

Re: 7
Take a look at http://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/roadmap & http://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/timeline, see if that's what you're looking for.

I am a volunteer yes, but I am not on staff either.
BOINC is being developed and programmed by 3 developers only, 2 of which are full-time programmers, one a part-timer. The bulk of their efforts must be directed to making sure that BOINC handles the computational tasks correctly and efficiently, does not interfere with other uses of the volunteers' computers, has support for developing technologies such as GPU computing, etc.

Re 8:
We have specific email lists to reach the Gods. The Alpha list has one, the developers list has one, then there's one for localization & translation, one for projects & their admins, and some others. A full list can be found at http://boinc.berkeley.edu/email_lists.php

I have some more direct lines to the Gods, but normally the email lists are enough as you can easily reach them and the other volunteers (programmers, translators, testers, admins etc.) through there.

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