As there is no integration between the forums and our helpdesk system, some technical questions ended up in the forums and our support staff was unable to manage them in a timely manner due to the lack of technical integration.

In the past months the traffic on our forums has decreased as the majority of our users use the helpdesk to submit questions.

We want to make sure all your questions get answered and so we have decided to disable the forums and focus fully on providing you our support via the main helpdesk platform.

We want to thank all users and moderators who have been supportive and active in the forums the past years.

The new version is 4.6.0.1 and has some changes ported over from the Pamela for Skype versions. These are:

• Added WMA format support
• Correct MP3 activation in Windows7
• Fixes to the Emotion Player
• Potential crash situations fixed
• More…

We hope you enjoy the new release.

Feature: Added WMA support so audio recordings can be in WMA format
Bugfix: Pamela 4.6.0.28 does not always recognize active call
Bugfix: Automatic inbound/outbound recording not reliably working
Bugfix: Memory usage optimizations in audio recording
Bugfix: On Windows 7 Pamela did not register MP3 correcty
Bugfix: Resolved potential crash situations
Bugfix: Video recording optimizations
Change: Improved error message texts
Change: Added a default setting for proxy ports
Change: Auto Skype Mood and Status change is now disabled by default

We made corrections for Windows 7 and also disabled by default the feature to change the Skype Mood and Status during a call. It seemed that Pamela was not always receiving the information that the call had ended and thus Pamela was not able to change the Mood and Status back to what it was before. We assume that Windows Messaging (the communication channel used by Skype API) is responsible for this. We are looking at how to resolve this with some changes.

Besides stability fixes in various areas, this hotfix also adds a new feature which is support for Windows Media Audio format (WMA). In case where you don’t want to use MP3 you can set Pamela to record in WMA format which is also compressed and easy to handle.

You can upgrade for free by downloading the latest version. Just open Pamela and click on “Help” and then “Check for update”. Download and run the installer which will upgrade your Pamela to the latest version.

Changelog:

PamFax Server Platform 2.0.10
Fixed: Removed flash document uploader for improved reliability
Fixed: Macintosh application could hang when uploading same file again
Fixed: Issues from error logs and automatic reporting. Improved stability
Fixed: Bug when hovering on submenu-items in portal
Fixed: Missing prices/countries on rates page in PamFax Portal
Fixed: Display of incorrect Skype country for some Macintosh users
Fixed: Hopefully fixed bug with pending faxes where payment was done after the fax was submitted
Change: Changed zone calculation for service and mobile numbers
Change: Added notification settings explanation
Change: Unpaid faxes are deleted after 3 days (was 30 before)
Change: Removed some fax-in area codes (provider related, service level could not be guaranteed)

PamFax application 2.0.x.16 (PamFax Windows only)
Fixed: Installer no longer flashes but downloads all files at once
Change: Removed check if Flash is installed
Change: Updated scanner module with better scanner support
Feature: Availability of a full install package which does not download anything (Link: http://www.pamfax.biz/PamFaxFullInstaller.exe)

Vista Sidebar Gadget 2.0.0.11
Feature: Added PamFax inbox so you can see incoming faxes
Feature: Added auto-update function
Fixed: Occasional disconnect with “server error”

Server changes
Bugfix: Issues with some special characters not showing in cover page (like “{“)
Bugfix: Occasional issues with pending faxes not being sent after payment
Change: Removed the ugly gray placeholder image in PamFax while it is loading images
Change: To improve performance the fax preview has been limited to show max. 5 pages
Feature: Added support for multi-page cover sheets (you can type longer cover page text spanning multiple pages)
Feature:  Re-added the tooltips to the PamFax application (yeah!)
Feature: Added affiliate links support for our future affiliate program

There is no PamFax application update locally required, these are changes we made on the PamFax server side. When you start PamFax you will see the version number (lower left corner) as: 2.0.9.x

The new server build version is: .8 (In the PamFax application you will see the version as: 2.0.8.15). Note that we did release a new application version which fixes a scanner issue in Windows but we are not pushing the version to the existing customers. You can update easily by just downloading the installer package from www.pamfax.biz.

One major workflow change we made is that when you install PamFax for the first time you are asked to define a password for direct PamFax portal access. In the past we’ve learned that asking for then when users access the portal creates confusion so we added this to this release. This way PamFax users will always have a password to access the portal. Users that did not have a password will be asked for at next start of PamFax.

The changes we made today are:

Feature: A fax to multiple recipients can be canceled/deleted in the PamFax Portal
Feature: Define PamFax password on first start

Bugfix Mac: Skype language detection in PamFax Mac could hang PamFax
Bugfix Windows: When sending a document via “Send To”, via printer driver or Office toolbar the upload could fail

Bugfix: Added improved support for right to left languages on cover page
Bugfix: Minor IE8 issue fixed when cancelling/deleting faxes from the PamFax Portal
Bugfix: Upload button broken in IE7 and IE8 when clicking “back” on number entry page
Bugfix: In PamFax for Facebook clicking on “Send Fax” triggers “Launch Application” dialog instead of sending the fax

We also added the usual minor fixes and improvements. As we have more and more users submitting multiple recipient faxes we added a function to the portal which allows you to cancel these faxes at once. Till now you had to delete each individual number which could be a very tiresome task.

Server
Bugfix: Faxes paid for later were sometimes not sent
Bugfix: Resending faxes from portal
Bugfix: Rmoving numbers from list of updated pricing numbers
Bugfix: Improved sending faxes to high volume of recipients
Bugfix: Fax inbox now also shows name of sender instead on “unknown” and the number
Bugfix: Fixed issue when multiple recipient list contained a blocked number
Change: Multiple recipient sending increased from 400 to 2.000 numbers
Change: Upgraded document conversion servers for improved quality of fax documents
Language: Improved Arabic language support in converter systems
Language Italian, Spanish, Polish and Japanese translations updated

Application (Windows)
Bugfix: Proxy connection is now recognized correctly
Bugfix: Updated scanner driver as not all scanners were recognized correctly
Bugfix: Reset of cached web files on setup
Bugfix: Updated setup translations (Spanish, Italian, Polish and Japanese)
Bugfix: Fixed issue with Skype toolbars

Application (Mac OSX)
Bugfix: Fixed issue with folder naming

Note that if you have the issue with the scanner driver not recognizing your scanner, you will need to download the PamFax application manually and run the installer. We are not pushing an automatic application update with this new version.

• Support (finally) for Macintosh
• Fax-In as part of the new Pro Plan covering 27 countries
• Complete redesigned PamFax application user interface for easier fax submission and managment
• New portal design
• Multi document sending
• Also works without Skype Extras Manager (Skype Credit then not supported)
• Country upgrades to cheaper zones
• Significant page price drop

We are on track for a tentative lauch on April 27.

For existing users it is important to know that we will allow existing PamFax Pro subscribers to upgrade to the new plan which includes a fax-in number from one of the 27 countries. As soon as we release PamFax 2.0 all 1.0 users will be upgraded automatically at next application start. Obviously the new page rates will apply to existing credit balances.

Attached two screenshots of what the new application looks like.

2008 has been a fanstastic year for us. Some of the highlights…

• Increased revenue by more then 100%
• Completed company consolidation, all software products are now sold via Scendix Software GmbH and all consulting is concentrated in PamConsult GmbH
• Expanded our staff
• Improved our IT infrastructure for future growth
• Major PamFax infrastructure update done in January 2008
• PamFax reached 130.000 users
• In Q2 2009 we plan to release PamFax 2.0 with fax-in and Macintosh support (yeah!)
• Our Pamela for Skype products have seen great user growth with a total of over 5 million downloads
• Pamela for Skype version 4.5 is almost ready to go with exciting new functions and improvements
• Implemented a new and professional shopping platform on PamFax, Pamela and Scendix websites
• mcePhone, the Skype integration tool for Media Center, made it to version 3.0 and will be out of beta soon
• In June we received the Ebay Innovation Award for our Jaast for Wii solution which provides you with Ebay access from your Wii
• With our annual charity BBQ we raised €400 which we double to €800 and give half/half to the “Tafel” in Ebstorf and Freising. These are voluntary projects which provide food supply for poor(er) people.

It has been a fun year. We want to thank you for your continued support and are looking forward to an exciting and successful 2009.

Dick Schiferli & Christoph Bünger

The new store is much simpler to navigate and find your way around. In addition it finally provides decent multi-currency support and can handle a large number of credit card processing systems. We still have PayPal but we replaced 2CheckOut with Worldpay. We added Google Checkout who are the only ones that offer Amex support and a really simple and easy payment process. In future we might look at adding systems for particular countries.

The store layout is much cleaner and we have been able to add more license packs, now also for Pamela Call Recorder. Each product can be viewed in detail, you can see exactly what a particular edition offers, what the requirements are and there is even a direct download option. In the past this was often confusing, having the download and purchase on separate pages – people occasionally purchased the wrong license. This should improve with the new store.

The backend side has also improved, you can now login to your account and see your purchase history. The system also provides you with the ability to lookup your activation key and download an invoice for your purchase. For companies within EU we offer the ability to enter the EU-VAT number and purchase without VAT.

The upgrade process has also significantly improved. You login to the store, select a product from the upgrade category, enter your old activation key at checkout and the previous paid price is subtracted from the basket. You only pay the difference. Note though that the entered key is disabled afterwards.

So, with this upgrade we hope you will find it easier to find the right product, with the right currency which fits your need. As always, any comments are greatly appreciated.