Helix Community Updates #4

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the first newsletter since the release of all three major
components of the Helix DNA family of projects.  Of course, things
haven't stood still since then; there's been a lot of activity as we
work on stabilizing the code and preparing for shipping products based
on the code.

1. Helix DNA Client Porting projects: Linux ARM, Symbian, WinCE
2. Helix DNA Client: New Stabilization Branch and Profile Documentation
3. Helix DNA Producer
4. New York Linux Users Group Appearance
5. OpenWave joins the Helix Community
6. New Helix Community Program Manager
7. Job Openings and Internships
8. Centralized Issuezilla, Site Software Upgrade, and other
   administrivia

Rob Lanphier
Helix Community Coordinator

========================================================================
Helix DNA Client Porting projects:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the status of the ports to various platforms:

   * Linux on StrongARM - Community members Lorn Potter and Paul
     Cosway instigated this project, and have been busily porting to
     the Linux/StrongARM platform, targeting the Sharp Zaurus.  Pop
     onto the IRC channel (look for "llornkor" and "prc") or see the
     project homepage for more info (or to join in!):
     https://linuxarm.helixcommunity.org

   * Symbian - this project has been under heavy development since it
     was first launched late last year.  Greg Wright adds: "We now
     have a local-ra command line player running on the Nokia 3650
     that you can build off of Helix. We are moving onto video and
     hope to have local RA/RV on the device in a few weeks time."
     (https://symbian.helixcommunity.org)

   * Windows CE - this new project was launched in March.  The team
     has posted their general goals, and have started work.  Community
     developers are actively encouraged to join this project.  Details
     are available on their website:
     (https://wince.helixcommunity.org) 


========================================================================
Helix DNA Client: New Stabilization Branch and Profile Documentation
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Helix DNA Client team has created a stabilization branch for the
new stable client branch (hxclient_1_0_kittyhawk_2003-02-21).  The team
has made a number of improvements to this branch:
 * Security Audit
 * New DirectSound support on Windows
 * New RecordControl support
 * Versioning info removed from DLL names, and versions fixed up
 * Bug fix & merge

A new version of the player (Developer Release #4) which builds from
this branch is also available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.

Additionally, there's improved documentation for the profiles
inclusion, to make it easier to figure out how to build a player with
a specific feature set.  

More details on all of this are on the Helix DNA Client team's
website:

http://helix-client.helixcommunity.org

Macintosh fans should also be pleased.  The MacOSX build is working,
and the team is currently working out how to transition to Mach-O.

========================================================================
Helix DNA Producer:
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Helix DNA Producer team has announced the release of Producer 9.1  
and the Producer 9.1 SDK.  Among the great things coming out of the  
Producer team:

* 9.1 includes a Mac OS X version along with the Windows and Linux  
  versions:

 
https://distribution.helixcommunity.org/servlets/ProjectDocumentList?folderID=113

* ActiveX Control work and 9.2 Helix DNA Project kicked off along
  with a roadmap describing the work plan:

  https://helix-producer.helixcommunity.org/roadmap.htm

For more information, see the Helix Producer project home page:
https://helix-producer.helixcommunity.org/

For recent Producer-related announcements, see the news headline page:
https://helix-producer.helixcommunity.org/servlets/ProjectNewsList

========================================================================
New York Linux Users Group Appearance
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul DesOrmeaux from RealNetworks' New York office and Mark Murphy
from CollabNet recently gave a presentation about Helix at the New
York Linux Users Group (NYLUG):

http://herzl.nylug.org/pipermail/nylug-talk/2003-March/011346.html

If you're interested in having a Helix presentation at your user group
meeting (live or by conference call), let us know!  We can't make any
promises, in general, we're happy to get out there and talk about
Helix.

========================================================================
OpenWave joins the Helix Community
------------------------------------------------------------------------

RealNetworks and Openwave recently announced an agreement to integrate
RealOne Mobile Player with Openwave Phone Tools Version 7.0 (V7).
This allows handset manufacturers and wireless operators to integrate
a full multimedia client software solution into their phone and
service platforms and be assured that both 3GPP standards and
RealAudio/RealVideo formats will be supported. Openwave has also
joined the Helix Community and licensed the Helix DNA Client source
code, which is the core of the RealOne Mobile Player.  Look for a lot
of activity in this area in the coming weeks and months ahead.

========================================================================
New Helix Community Program Manager
------------------------------------------------------------------------

We'd all like to welcome Duncan Howard aboard as the Helix Community
Program Manager.  Duncan has a great background building communities
and administering the systems around them, and will be working to make
the community a great place to mess around with multimedia.  You'll be
seeing a lot of him on IRC and in mailing lists in the coming weeks.
Welcome, Duncan!

========================================================================
Job Openings and Internships
------------------------------------------------------------------------

RealNetworks has a number of job openings available, including many
internships that involve working in the Helix Community.  If you are
interested, please visit the following URL:
http://www.realnetworks.com/company/jobs/

========================================================================
Centralized Issuezilla, Site Software Upgrade, and other administrivia
------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's a couple of upcoming planned site outages coming soon.

 * In an effort to streamline the bug filing process, We're planning
   on reorganizing the issues.  Rather than having an issue tracker in
   every project, we'll have a single issue tracker available
   on https://helix-dna.helixcommunity.org which will encompass all
   public projects.  (Members of illuminati.helixcommunity.org,
   area51.helixcommunity.org and whoinvitedyou.helixcommunity.org will
   not be affected).  The move will occur Saturday, April 5 at 10am, and
   will hopefully be complete by noon.  We'll post details about the
   move here:
   https://www.helixcommunity.org/2002/intro/issues

 * We're tentatively slated for a minor upgrade to the site software
   during the day on April 12th.  During the upgrade, the site may be
   unavailable.  We'll put prominent notices on the site as we get
   closer to the upgrade detailing exact times.




-- 
Rob Lanphier, Helix Community Coordinator - RealNetworks
http://helixcommunity.org http://rtsp.org http://realnetworks.com


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