[sane-devel] [ANNOUNCE] New release of Image Scan! for Linux

[Olaf Meeuwissen]

Dear all,

The official release announcement[1] is very short on details, so here
is a bit of background information for iscan-2.16.1.  First the NEWS:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
iscan-2.16.1                                              (2009-02-05)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 * fixes paper size detection for the Epson ES-H7200, Epson GT-20000
 * fixes potential library path issues on 64-bit systems
 * fixes premature timeouts when initiating previews and scans


The latest version of Image Scan! for Linux now is (and should remain)
available directly from the download page for _all_ models, unless we
know for a fact it will not work for a particular model.  For certain
models we also provide older, tested versions as a fallback.  This is
so you can revert in case of bugs that went unnoticed in the latest,
greatest version.

# We can't possibly test all the supported models all of the time and
# still expect to release in a reasonable time frame.  If you happen
# to find a bug in the latest version, please report it[2].


Now about those interpreter plugin packages.  As part of the release
of iscan-2.16.1, we have released the first of what will be a series
of updates to our interpreter packages.  The updates will require at
least iscan-2.16.1 and will be provided for 32 and 64 bit machines in
RPM and Debian packaging formats.

We expect that these updated interpreter packages will remain usable
with newer versions of the Image Scan! for Linux core package in the
foreseeable future.

The first plugin released is for the Perfection V200 Photo (GT-F670 in
Japan).  Plugins for the following models are in our QA pipeline:

   Japan     overseas
  GT-D1000  GT-1500
  GT-F650   Perfection V10
  GT-F700   Perfection V350 Photo
  GT-F720   Perfection V300 Photo
  GT-S600   Perfection V100 Photo
  GT-S620   Perfection V30
  GT-X750   Perfection 4490 Photo
  GT-X770   Perfection V500 Photo

I have no control over our release schedule but I would expect these
to be released in the next couple of weeks.

# Please don't swamp us with questions about release dates.  Just let
# us concentrate on getting these packages tested and released.  I'll
# post announcements here for each release.


If you use a model that requires an interpreter but is not in listed
above, you should stick to an iscan version not later than 2.10.0.
There are currently no plans to provide updates for those plugins so
you are stuck with 32-bit RPMs that only work with an old version of
Image Scan! for Linux.

# If you really need an updated, 64-bit or Debian package, please say
# so[2].  I can't promise we will be able to do anything about it, but
# at least it may sway the odds in favour of something happening.


 [1] http://avasys.jp/hp/page000001300/hpg000001270.htm
 [2] https://www.avasys.jp/secure/english/linux_e/support_form.html


Hope this helps,
-- 
Olaf Meeuwissen, LPIC-2           FLOSS Engineer -- AVASYS Corporation
FSF Associate Member #1962               Help support software freedom
                 http://www.fsf.org/jf?referrer=1962