Michael Thelen ([info]saganist) wrote,
@ 2008-03-27 23:14:00
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Current mood: exhausted
Entry tags:zyzzyva

Zyzzyva 2.0.0 released
I've released a new version of Zyzzyva, 2.0.0. Zyzzyva is a program for studying words, practicing anagramming, and adjudicating challenges. It runs on Windows XP, Vista, NT, 2000, 98, and Me; Linux; and Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later. You can get the latest version here:

http://zyzzyva.net/

This is a major release with several new features. The most prominent feature is the ability to load multiple lexicons simultaneously, which allows you to search for words belonging to any combination of lexicons. It also allows you to view special symbols such as # for words in CSW but not OWL2.

Here is the full list of changes:

* Load multiple lexicons simultaneously
* Lexicon symbols, e.g. # for CSW-not-OWL2, % for OWL2-not-OWL, etc.
* In Lexicon search condition
* Highly-visible icons for "acceptable" and "unacceptable" in Word Judge
* Mark as Correct button on the Quiz form
* New Cardbox 0 First quiz schedule
* Improved cardbox visibility and control
* Detailed word information on the Definition form
* Updated CSW definitions thanks to Barry Harridge
* Updated ODS lexicon thanks to Hervé Bohbot
* Nice-looking Zyzzyva application icon
* Various bug fixes

Many, many thanks to everyone who has helped to make this the best version of Zyzzyva yet! There are too many people to name, but I appreciate all your help and I could not have done it without you. Thanks as well to everyone who has made such generous donations in person or through the web site. I don't do this for the money, but your donations are very much appreciated.

Please give me feedback about how you think Zyzzyva could be improved! I know it has a long way to go before it becomes the study tool I would like it to be. I've been pretty bad about responding to email for a while, but I do take all your suggestions seriously and I promise to be more responsive. I appreciate your input!

If you would like more information about Zyzzyva, please join the Zyzzyva Users list here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zyzzyva-users/

I hope you enjoy using Zyzzyva, and most of all, have fun with it!


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[info]cesarsalad
2008-03-28 06:42 am UTC (link)
i love the new look and added functionality. here are a couple of comments
- the Help button has never worked on Mac OS X. it just says "failed to start Qt assistant". perhaps the Assistant module isn't linked properly into the executable (with the whole change_name_tool or whatever the mac uses?)
- there is sluggishness whenever i quiz and i get the question wrong, it sometimes can take up to 5 or more seconds before it is highlighted blue to show i didn't get it. when quizzing on large amounts of questions it adds up. i tried looking at the code to see what could be causing this, and it beats me, i have no idea. i did notice that it's a lot worse on Mac OS X than on Windows, even on the same computer (with boot camp). it is really only a few seconds, it's not that big of a deal, i've gone through thousands and thousands of words already, and i'll let you know if i find anything in the code..

in either case, this looks great, and i love the new lexicon lookup with symbols, it's very neat and i'll probably learn some csw for real now..

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[info]saganist
2008-03-28 03:22 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, that Help problem has been my bane from day one. Someone did email me and told me he was able to get the help browser working, but I did what he suggested, and it didn't work for me. I wanted to fix it for this release, but I felt it was more important to actually get the release out whether it was fixed or not. :-) I'll have to email the guy back, and maybe Trolltech, to see how to fix this problem. I imagine it's probably something incredibly easy.

The quiz sluggishness is something I'll have to look into. Thank you for taking a look to see what you could find!

Thanks, and I hope this version helps with learning some CSW... I'm excited to start using it to study for the Texas Sowpods Challenge. Already I've discovered many strange and wonderful things in the world of Collins!

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[info]aibretty
2008-03-28 02:35 pm UTC (link)
Ok, I think I might need some help with this. When I click on the above link, it takes me to the 1.0.6 release page. However, the snapshot pop-up clearly shows the page for the 2.0.0 release. I tried restarting my browser, but it didn't help. I also tried using the links in you post from yesterday, and they seemed dead.

What am I doing wrong here? Any suggestions?

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[info]aibretty
2008-03-28 03:06 pm UTC (link)
nevermind. I found it in the packages directory, but I still don't know why the above was/is happening.

If anyone else is having the same problem go here:

http://zyzzyva.net/packages/

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[info]saganist
2008-03-28 03:19 pm UTC (link)
I'd guess maybe your browser had cached the older version of the main page? Try reloading that page (and try holding Shift as you click the Reload button as well, to force a true reload) and see if that fixes the problem.

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[info]aibretty
2008-03-28 03:34 pm UTC (link)
That worked. Thanks.

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[info]getofftheoven
2008-03-28 03:38 pm UTC (link)
Um, yeah, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. This new Zyzzyva is delicious! I haven't tried out all the features yet but will investigate further as soon as I have time.

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[info]saganist
2008-03-28 05:36 pm UTC (link)
Heheh, awesome! I didn't get much sleep the night before. :-) I'm actually excited to start using the new release myself! I've been working on it so much that I haven't done any actual studying in at least a month.

As I've started to learn some Collins words, I'm finding lots of cool stuff. I especially enjoy high-probability alphagrams that have no anagrams in OWL2, but multiple anagrams in CSW.

JANTIER# NARTJIE#
JANTIES# TAJINES#
ARKITES# KARITES#
OARIEST# OTARIES#
ADONISE# ANODISE# SODAINE#

How frickin' cool are these!? And these are just stems and high-prob 7s! I have a feeling I'm going to be having a lot of fun for the next few months.

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