heres the latest info (there are four emails here in order) this is being sent out to those who joined later. Please refer to these in case of troubles. latest version is 1.5 (old)New version 1.1 available at http://www.charliex.net/cpix/Cpix1.1.zip Extract the zip file to a folder on your local hard disk. Make sure nikonview is not installed, and the usb drivers are (you'll know if the usb drivers are installed because it won't ask for drivers, or detected new hardware when you plug the camera into the USB port). Switch on the camera, then connect the USB cable (assuming its already connected to the pc). Again I recommend version 1.1 of the camera firmware. Run the software. Select "Connect to Camera" - The number of pictures box should change to reflect just that, if it still says "Not connected" check the usb connection, and make sure the "ants" are displaying in the camera small LCD. if all seems ok but it still doesn't connect, drop me an email and i go can over it. Otherwise if everythings ok, go to the next step. Select "Get Info" - The various camera settings out to appear now, currently they are read only, although you can change them, it won't affect the settings on the camera. - The battery indicator will show the current state of the battery, if its below about 60% the cameara will probably not function correctly, this is what i have observed with NiMHs. if the camera is on AC power the indicator stays at 100%. - Anyone who does notice at what level the battery indicator is at when it stops working correctly can send me the position of the level indicator, and the type and capacity of the battery, then i can calibrate it correctly to warn the user when its going to go out, as you may have noticed with nikonview the camera sometimes locks up on low battery. Select "Take a Picture" - the camera should take a picture, and the "Number of Pictures" box should go up by 1. - ok if you've got to here, i'd appreciate an email to me root@charliex.net saying that it worked ok, and what os etc you are using. The time lapse control is easy to use, Set the delay time in ms ( 7000 is the default which is 7 seconds), the click "Run time lapse" and the camera will fire every "Delay" milliseconds, to stop it either select quit, or press "Stop time lapse" The help menus don't do much yet, the about menu (right click on the menu bar is very simple, if you do select the about menu it'll ask about installing an activex control signed by the groove alliance, its just a 3D logo thing from the webpage, if you choose to install it move your mouse around the top left of the about box, within the inner large box and you'll see the logo, otherwise if you choose not to install it nothing will happen you can also click on the 3d logo to play with it.) Currently the about box needs to have a connection to the internet to display correctly. I'm working on the image download feature next. i released this version because it had a few neat things in it. When you send feedback, please send me the name you would like to appear in the "Thanks to" section, usually your name, I won't include email addresses unlesss for some reason you want to, (Its common among software developers to include email addresses in credits, but it this time its opt in only). If you decide to drop out of the beta testing, please email me directly and I will remove you from the list. Feature requests are always welcome. i'm on PST (california), but i work strange hours, so if i take some time to respond thats why. Good luck and thanks again. Charlie. ---------- From: charlie Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 10:09:23 -0800 To: cpix beta Testers Subject: [CPIX] latest build See I told you it was frequent. I'll add the CPIX into the subject of each email I send, then you can filter it if needed. I probably won't be updating quite so quickly after this build. So bear with me, if the amount of traffic is unacceptable to you, let me know and i'll set you to a weekly update. The Camera settings should all work now. You can read and set them to read them click "Get Info" to set them just select from the drop down list for the setting you want to change, as soon as you change it, it will alter the cameras settings. "Get Files" is new, clicking it will download all the files on the camera to the directory that you ran cPix from. This will change so a file selector will popup, this is just an intermediate step. It will save as dscn0001.jpg (even tifs =) ) the number will match the number on the camera, I need to change it so that it follows the way nikonview works. Apologies for the lameness of the way this works, its been a long day =) Next on the list is to fix the "Get Files" procedure to allow selection of the files, proper filenaming, and download to directory. Then the "Camera Settings" i'll start to add the rest. After that its upload to ftp/web site after taking a picture in timelapse mode. http://www.charliex.net/cpix/Cpix1.2.zip Best Regards charlie 1.3 was skipped. ---------- From: charlie Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 15:39:01 -0800 To: cpix beta Testers Subject: [CPIX] Another update. http://www.charliex.net/cpix/Cpix1.4.zip I've added shutterspeed, download last file, delete last file, a viewfinder control, zoom control, frames left. Note "Delete all Images" will do just that.. so don't click it by mistake i'll add a confirm to it. The "Viewfinder" option seems odd on the nikon, it seems to work better if you "Connect to camera" "Resolution", pick the same resolution then select a "Viewfinder" mode, the last two options for (Preview whole) and (Preview thumbnail) aren't useful yet, don't use them. Viewfinder and off seem to work ok. if it causes the program to lock, disconnect the USB cable and turn off the camera. switch the camera back on, and reconnect the cable. It works fine when its already on. i'm beginning to get the feeling this is one of the reasons that most camera control authors have shyed away from the coolpix. "Shutterspeed" is supposedly in milliseconds but it doesn't seem that way, i'm not quite sure how the number here ends up as a 10/1000 rating, play with it a bit. i use an exif viewer to tell me the exposure as nn/nnnn rating. "Delete last" deletes the last image on the camera. "Zoom" controls the optical zoom. digital is not implemented yet. I've added wait pointers to most of the lengthy routines. I hope its working out for people, and no ones getting annoyed with the frequency of emails yet. It seems 1.1 had some problems connecting , this was fixed in 1.2 and up. Yes i'm avoiding the file requestor =) Charlie. ---------- From: "charlie wallace" Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2001 09:27:03 -0800 To: Subject: [CPIX] Latest Version Hope everyone is having some success with the program, basically all I have to do is add the previewer window to the downloader and a file requestor and it'll have the same features as NikonView. At which point I'll make a public beta. New version 1.5 --- Added 1. "Get All Files" / "Get Last" now retrieves the correct filename, and saves in the same format as NikonView, tifs and jpgs. 2. Added "Save to" type in the folder you want it to save pictures too, ie "C:\nikon\CP990" theres no checking to see if this folder exists, its very simple. If the folder is not set, or doesn't exist it will save in the folder you started the program from. 3. Drag files added, though it doesn't work correctly, it uploads the pictures to the camera, but the camera doesn't see them if someone has a card reader could they try and upload a previously downloaded picture and then look at the CF card in the card reader to see if the file is there.. Just drag and drop a file onto the marked area. 4. "Get Info" is now called when "Connect to Camera" succeeds. 5. Added "Are you sure? " requestors to "Quit" and "Delete All Images" 6. Fixed a number of bugs. 7. "Only New" if this is clicked then "Get All Files" will only download files that are not already in the "Save to" folder. --- Known Problems The Viewfinder mode is still problematic, especially on windows 98/me . The "Save to Folder" doesn't check to see if the directory is valid No preview mode Still some lockup issues. It seems if you get lockup and connection problems with 98/Me, then a reboot of windows is required, this isn't the case for 2000/XP. Also if you have tried it and it worked/didn't work and you haven't already let me know, I'd appreciate an email letting me know what happened. http://www.charliex.net/cpix/Cpix1.5.zip All previous versions are still available for reference. http://www.charliex.net/cpix/ Regards Charlie.