CIX is pleased to release an update to CIXReader, the official desktop reader for Windows and Mac OSX, available to download from http://www.cixonline.com/cixreader.asp or via Check For Updates in your current CIXReader version.

The main change is the introduction of a new home page which lists the most interesting threads in all open forums. Interesting threads are those where there is currently the most activity. In addition, the home page shows a list of people who are currently online so you can see who is active at the time.

Changes are :-

* New home page that shows interesting threads and online users.
* Add option in Settings to change whether CIXReader always starts at the home page.
* Backtrack now restores unread state of message.
* ‘Q’ key now aliases to replying and quoting the original message’.
* New message markup parser.
* Improved handling of missing messages.
* Fixed multiple image rendering issue.
* [CIXReader for Windows] New folder tree layout to match the Mac OSX version.
* [CIXReader for Mac OSX] Allow selective quoting of message replies.
* [CIXReader for Mac OSX] Added new Ramtops style courtesy of ramtops@cix.
* [CIXReader for Mac OSX] Install custom styles with drag and drop.

The CIX Team

Since May 2011, CIX Online Limited has been wholly owned by ICUK Computing Services Limited.

As part of our internal restructuring, customers that pay by credit or debit card may notice that their card subscription payment will be collected by our parent company, ICUK. This will appear on their bank or card statement accordingly. This has been in effect since January 2015, with a gradual increase in the number of customers moving over to this method of payment collection.

Please note, this does not alter the product or terms of service customers are subscribed to – it is merely a restructuring exercise at our end.

If you have any queries regarding this, please contact CIX Accounts in the usual way.

Many thanks,

CIX Management.

CIX is pleased to release an update to CIXReader, the official desktop reader for Windows, available to download from http://www.cixonline.com/cixreader.asp

Changes are :-

* Added Set Signature/Delete Signature to editor popup menu. Simply type a signature, highlight and right click on the text and choose Set Signature to make that text your signature.

* Added Read-Lock on messages. Press ‘L’ to set a locked, unread, flag on the current message.

* Add Install Script to system menu to install CIXReader script packages.

* Can now close a profile window with Esc or Ctrl+F4.

* Can now override mugshots by putting a replacement image in the Mugshots folder in the CIXReader data folder with the username as the filename.

* Support Ctrl+K to mark the current topic read.

* Fixed a bug where some messages didn’t scroll into view when selected.

* Fixed a bug where backtracking missed some messages.

* Added more shortcut keys to dialogs for improved accessibility.

* Added F5 to invoke the system menu.

* Improvements for running CIXReader on high DPI displays.

* Add IndentationOffset configuration option in ini file for adjusting indentation in thread list.

* Expanded the Keyboard Help dialog.

The CIX Team

CIX is pleased to announce the release of the CIXBasic account which is completely free and available to all, including new sign ups.

The CIXBasic account allows anyone with an email address to sign up to CIX and participate in upto five open forums/conferences.

They will not have email facilities, and will not be able to join/be added to closed or closed confidential private forums/conferences, or become moderators of forums.

They are different to a ‘Plus4′ account as a ‘Plus4′ account requires a full paying parent subscriber to be in service, and Plus4 accounts can take part in all forums/conferences, regardless of their privacy level.

CIXBasic accounts will be able to access CIX via CIXForums, CIXReader, API applications and CoSy reliant programs, such as traditional off-line readers including Ameol.

Sign up can begin at http://www.cixonline.com/pricing.asp

The CIX Team

There has been confusion recently on how Private Messages work on CIX.

Private Messages allow messages to be sent between CIX users (and only CIX users). For example, customer_a can send a message to customer_b, and customer_b can reply accordingly.

However, this feature is not available in Ameol, but it is available in CIXReader, CIXForums and other applications that use the CIX API.

The obvious problem is that Ameol users won’t receive the Private Message within Ameol when they do a conferencing/forums blink.

To get round this, the CIX System will send an email to the intended recipient using the email address we have on file notifying them they have Private Message, who it is from and the content of the message and instructions on how to reply, so they can open up CIXReader / CIXForums accordingly. The reason why we use the email address held on file is because they might not have a CIX email address or it might be different to their CIX email address. Obviously, if the user has their CIX email address as the registered address for their account, the notification email will be sent there.

CIX never reveals this email address to the sender or to third parties, and you cannot send a Private Message unless you’re logged onto CIX.

CIX has no immediate plans to integrate this feature within Ameol because Ameol doesn’t interact with the CIX API to send and receive these messages. However, now that Ameol is open source, developers are welcome to write an add-on or include it within Ameol itself. Longer term, however, we recommend Windows users to switch to CIXReader for using CIX which is constantly updated and has many improved features over Ameol for daily CIX usage.

If you have any questions regarding this post, please use cix.support

CIX is pleased to release the Ameol Off Line Reader forums, mail and news client for Windows under the Apache Open-Source licence.

This will allow anyone to download, view, modify and edit the source
code accordingly. In line with this, a new forum has been created -
cix:ameol_dev for discussion and FAQs.

Support will be limited from CIX staff.

CIX will be using the GitHub repository, and the page can be found at https://github.com/cixonline/ameol

CIX will continue to support and update Ameol as needed and with
contributions from the open source community, but we are concentrating on new software; we have already released CIXReader for Windows which is proving very popular among existing and new users, with a view to taking this to other platforms in the near future.

For further discussion, please see cix:ameol_dev

The CIX Team

CIX is pleased to announce the release of 1.1 of CIXReader for Windows desktop computers. 1.1 now includes search facilities, an improved layout, performance improvements and additional scripting support.

CIXReader can be downloaded from http://www.cixonline.com/cixreader.asp

OR from the Settings Cog | Check for Update within CIXReader itself.

A detailed list of changes can be found below

Changes:

* Message search capability, across a topic or forum.
* Added optional status bar that shows background activities.
* Added support for scripting via Lua. See http://developer.cixonline.com/cixreaderapi.aspx for details.
* Added option to disable rendering markdown codes in messages.
* Root font now configurable in Theme Editor.
* Can now configure the message pane font separately.
* Can now compact a database from Settings.
* Can now resign a forum or topic via the forums list popup menu.
* Can force refresh a specific folder or forum.
* New ‘G’ command to go to a specific message.
* New default theme. The old theme is now renamed “Blue” in Settings.
* Log files can now be optionally archived.
* User’s account type is now shown on the Account page.
* Performance improvements under the hood.
* UI style tweaks.
* Fix potential crash on startup with splitter bar.
* Fix bug with folder counts getting out of sync.
* Fix a bug where Ctrl+C and Reply does not pick up selected text in three pane mode.
* Add more validation to a private message recipient name.
* Check main window position on startup and ensure it is constrained to the desktop.
* Allow re-ordering a forum to underneath the Draft folder.
* Remove selection toggle when clicking on items.
* Fix bug where thread items show expanded in three pane mode.
* Add ‘W’ shortcut key for Withdraw messages.
* Fix exception when restarting CIXReader after it was shut down while minimised.
* Fix NHunspellExtender exception when minimising editor.
* Fixed root message font size with Large theme.
* Keyboard Help window is now modeless.
* Added some custom words to the spelling checker.
* Minor bug fixes.

We have also made the following changes to the CIX API

1. User.Account.Get to get the authenticated user’s account type.
2. When a private message is posted, an e-mail is sent to the recipient’s address on file to notify them that a message is waiting.
3. Added Forums.AllMessagesGlobal.Get to return all messages since a specified date.
4. Added Forum.ResignTopic to resign a topic.

Competitive sports
Competitive sport shouldn’t be at odds with non-physical or non-competitive activities according to our CIXen, but how do we make allowances for the smaller in the class who don’t match up to the physical stature of their classmates? The debate covered the idea of ‘minor’ sports, as well as the problem of bullying. Should PE be streamed like Maths is? Should variety of one-on-one sports or even tai chi be introduced to cater for a more diverse range of students than football or athletics does?
You can share your stories in: forums:sasha_lubetkin/3controversy:9795

Bribe of the month
If our political elite seem to promise the earth and deliver nothing, then turn your eyes to Uruguay, where the once and future president is promising a free tablet to all resident pensioners. Vazquez is credited with a passable job at post-2002 economic recovery and used to be the nation’s number one oncologist.
In: forums:uruguay/general:3513

Taking Offence
I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue host Jack Dee threatened to quit this week after complaints about innuendo on the show. Dee maintained that innuendo was a common part of the show and if he was told to rein it in he wouldn’t stay with the show. CIXen agreed that the great thing about innuendo is it only means something to the already corrupted. But then perhaps any outrage is simply a nice bit of coverage before the new series starts.
Wade in on: forums:bbc.radio/r4i:8523

Books bound by… what?
A recent discovery of a book bound in human skin at Harvard University is not as uncommon a tale as you would think. Covering books in human skin, known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, was common practice in the 19th Century and in the UK, Bristol records hold a book covered in the skin of John Horwood, hanged for the murder of Eliza Balsum. The cover of the book was
embossed with a skull and crossbones, with the words “Cutis Vera Johannis Horwood”, meaning “the actual skin of John Horwood”, added in gilt letters.
Join the gruesome debate in: forums:wur/most_grueseome:2474

Jokes:

I had to call the AA the other day as my car wouldn’t start. The AA man said that the starter motor wasn’t engaging with the flywheel. I asked whether that meant I needed a new starter motor, he replied, “Maybe, maybe not. It’s all a matter of a pinion”.

Luis Suarez banned from any football-related activity. Arsenal are reportedly showing immediate interest.

An artist asked the gallery owner if there had been any interest in his paintings currently on display. “I’ve got good news and bad news,” the owner replied. “The good news is that a gentleman inquired about your work and wondered if it would appreciate in value after your death. When I told him it would, he bought all fifteen of your paintings.”
“That’s wonderful!” the artist exclaimed, “What’s the bad news?”.
With concern, the gallery owner replied, “The guy was your doctor.”

Spirituality
CIXen asked (and answered) a very curious question this week. What do people mean by the term ‘spirituality’? Can anyone, even an atheist, be accurately described as spiritual? The discussion covered the idea that we are all spiritual but we approach it from different points, some from religion and some not. The discussion also led to wondering if science could ever truly represent what is going on in someone’s mind.
Join the discussion: cix:sasha_lubetkin/6ask_aunty:5739

How deep is my station?
Ever wondered just how deep underground you are when you’re waiting for the next tube? CIXen shared an interested website which is able to show you just how deep you are – not for the claustrophobic.
cix:london/transport:2396

How do they do it?
Bird lovers – how do blackbirds gather up so many worms at once without dropping them? CIXen wondered if, like a puffin, they have a backward-pointing horny papillae on the upper palette.
Offer your expertise: cix:birds/3twitterings:3073

Ok Go
CIXen shared the latest clever video from OK Go who produced the original treadmill video. You can view this one: cix:pointers/5www:4220

Online shopping
A businessman looking to expand to an online shop turned to CIX for advice this week. Suggestions from fellow business owners included ZenCart plus PayPal and Volusion which offers a fully managed system. Technical issues of upgrades and updates to what is available as well as payment compliancy were important considerations made.
Help out: cix:own.business/17chatter:2964

Jokes:

Football is a bunch of millionaires ruining a lawn – Charlie Brooker.

This week on the CIX forums:

eBay
Should eBay behave more like a normal auction, and adjust the time when a new bid is made rather than allow swiping in the last few seconds? This could end up with more chance for the seller to make more money on the items they’re flogging as it would force buyers to engage for longer. Or would it put people off completely as they wouldn’t be able to win at the last second? Join the conversation on cix:ebay/4general:4495

The American CIX
It would seem CIXen have found their overseas peers in conferencing forum ‘The Well’. The Well’s story and fortunes are very similar to CIX, though some members who have tried both didn’t think it had the same friendly feel.
Read more in cix:pointers/5www:4181

British Values
Raffles called off have been dubbed an attack on British values – but aren’t we more than a raffle in a village hall? Is Gove’s British Values campaign facing the same fate as John Major’s Back to Basics?
The debate continues: cix:politics-open/15general:3011

Superstition tested
The BBC told the story this week of a man who has had to flee to Finland from India for fear of his life. Sanal Edamaruku took on a Hindu Fakir who claimed he could kill anyone with tantric chanting but after hours on live television Edamaruku showed little sign of even discomfort, let alone death.
Lend your voice: cix:humanist/5superstition:1616

Journalists under fire
Eagle eyed CIXen have noticed seemingly contradictory articles by journalists writing in different publications this week. Whilst in one, they are crying outrage at the sugar laden treats we’re all giving our children, in another, they are ‘fat and proud’. Another day, another dollar, or should journalists have more pride than that?
cix:private_eye/11wibble:2882

Well it’s very nice, but is it Art?
The BBC’s look at 10 important photographs from a new collection raised lots of queries about photography and whether it can be art. CIXen waxed lyrical over a photograph of two buckets – the Holy Pail, if you will – and noted that it speaks volumes. About 10 litres.
cix:photo/12general:1434

Jokes:

A classic every time:
The England World Cup team visited an orphanage in Rio today.
“It’s heartbreaking to see their sad little faces with no hope,” said Bernardo, aged seven.

Steven Gerrard reveals that England are preparing for World Cup penalty shootouts by practising shaking their heads while looking dejected.