Crescendo - Microsoft^® ActiveX Version final release

Version 2.2 for Windows 95 and NT (Intel)

The "Gold" Windows 95 and NT ActiveX version of Crescendo for Microsoft Internet Explorer is now released! (sorry, a Macintosh version is not yet available...)

Version cost and availability notes:

• The Active X version of Crescendo is free and available now - see below to get it.
• The Active X version of Crescendo PLUS (the version that always streams) costs $19.95. To upgrade your ActiveX Crescendo to ActiveX Crescendo PLUS, go to our secure credit card ordering site to get the (42K) upgrade file by e-mail or ftp.

Find out how to add the ActiveX version of Crescendo to your page!

Please fill out this short form before downloading.

Upgrade Information -- Important!

If you want to upgrade your current version, you must get the current version unloaded from memory. (It's in memory now if you have listened to Crescendo music since you loaded Internet Explorer.) To accomplish this, close Internet Explorer, an re-open it. Then load the autoinstall page http://www.liveupdate.com/autoinstall.html right away.

If your home page has Crescendo on it, this procedure won't work. In this case, run the following command from the Start/Run dialog box:

iexplore http://www.kwan-nick.neocities.org/autoinstall.html

Automatic Installation

Microsoft's automatic installation process for Web ActiveX components has been implemented for Crescendo!. When you click on the link below, you will load a page that will automatically install the ActiveX version of Crescendo.

Click here for automatic installation

Version History

Known problems in the final 2.2 release:

1. Microsoft's newer tools to insert controls into web pages, such as those used by the Microsoft Control Pad, Front Page, and others, are not supported in this release. These depend on programming interfaces which will be implemented in the next release. Workaround: Insert the Crescendo <OBJECT...> tag into your web pages with a text editor.

Known problems in Beta 1-5, and fixed in the final 2.2 release:

1. None of the beta versions actually streamed (Crescendo PLUS functionality). The final release of Crescendo PLUS continuously streams MIDI data, so you can be listening to music while the file is transferred across the net.
2. On Windows operating systems (all types), if a page had both a <EMBED...> or <OBJECT> tag causing Crescendo to be loaded and a <BGSOUND...> tag, it was possible to hear garbled music. This was because both tags were generating independent (and slightly time-shifted) streams of the same music. This has been fixed. Before Crescendo starts playing, it checks to see if any other software has the MIDI Mapper device open. If so, Crescendo waits until the MIDI Mapper device becomes free before it starts playing.

Known problems in Beta 1, 2, 3, and 4 fixed in Beta 5:

1. Installation no longer requires a rocket scientist.
2. Simple links to MIDI files such as <A HREF="rb.mid">Rhythm & Blues</A> now behave as they do in Netscape. When the user clicks on one, Crescendo PLUS plays centered in an otherwise blank page or frame.

Beta 4 caused the file association for the ".mid" file extension to be lost, so that double-clicking on a .mid file in a folder window would no longer launch your MIDI player. This has been fixed. (Note: This file association can be restored from the View dialog in any folder window.)

Known problems in Beta 1, 2, and 3 fixed in Beta 4:

MIDI files embedded in a page with the <embed> tag (without an <object> tag) would not invoke the ActiveX version of Crescendo PLUS. This made many sites which were designed for the Navigator plugin version of Crescendo incompatible with the ActiveX version of Crescendo PLUS. These sites now can be heard with the ActiveX version of Crescendo PLUS. Note to web authors: please continue to use the <object> tag to explicitly specify the ActiveX version of Crescendo on your pages. If you do this, you can be absolutely certain that it will be Crescendo that is loaded, and not some other plugin. And... you'll be able to take advantage of automatic installation of Crescendo, which will be available in Beta 5 - coming very soon!

Known problems in Beta 1 and Beta 2 fixed in Beta 3:

1. Music playback on Windows 95 was "choppy."
2. The help button ("?") on the control panel did not do anything.
3. The Go To LiveUpdate & Help menu options were not available.
4. The Internet Explorer status bar did not contain tips showing what action the control panel buttons perform.

Using some MIDI devices, the music didn't start playing unless the control panel was in view.

Known problems in Beta 1 fixed in Beta 2:

1. Occasionally, the music didn't stop and Crescendo wasn't unloaded when you switch to another page. This prevented Crescendo from playing on later pages.
2. Occasionally, an error message indicated "Error - The MIDI file specified either does not contain any data or is corrupt."

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