Is K-9 dead?

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Noam Arzt

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Dec 1, 2019, 1:55:53 PM12/1/19
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So is K-9 dead? We used to get updates all the time and I have not seen one in more that a year. Is this product now no longer under development?

My Samsung Tab A problem reported months ago still lingers making K-9 unusable on that device.

Noam

Paul Nock

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Dec 1, 2019, 1:56:49 PM12/1/19
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They just released a major update last week

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Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Dec 1, 2019, 2:23:40 PM12/1/19
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For Android? I am set to autoupdate and have received no such new version. I am at 5.6 dated 9/2/18. I see no way to poll for an update and am dependent on the app to detect one.

Noam

Sean Greenslade

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Dec 1, 2019, 2:27:29 PM12/1/19
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K-9 development has certainly not stalled. Take a look:

https://github.com/k9mail/k-9/commits/master

--Sean

Gunter Königsmann

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:01:06 PM12/1/19
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...but I can acknowledge that sometimes Alphabet's update schedule feels is a bit odd: Sometimes the press talks about to absolutely install a security update to WhatsApp that everybody else has and it arrives for me 6 weeks later (even manually checking for updates doesn't help). Sometimes I get WhatsApp updates before anybody else I know does . even if they are using exactly the same phone. Perhaps the same is true for some users and K9, too.

Mathguy

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:19:50 PM12/1/19
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Last update according to the play store was 9/2018.

Paul Nock

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:26:15 PM12/1/19
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My playstore shows 11/26/19 for version 5.7

On Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 3:19 PM Mathguy <ad...@mathcorp.com> wrote:
Last update according to the play store was 9/2018.

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Screenshot_20191201-142535.jpg

Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:32:04 PM12/1/19
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Not mine... multiple, unsync'd servers?

Noam

Paul Nock

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:36:05 PM12/1/19
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What version of Android do you have?

It may not be showing because it's not supported on your Android version. I know it shows on both Android 9 and 10

Paul Nock

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:38:38 PM12/1/19
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Oops ..I'm a beta tester for it that why I have it...so sorry didn't realize it was a beta release

On Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 3:32 PM Noam H Arzt, PhD <ar...@hln.com> wrote:

Michael Shohoney

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:43:03 PM12/1/19
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Android play store.
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Screenshot_20191201-144214.png

Michael Shohoney

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:44:53 PM12/1/19
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Yes, that would make a difference.
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Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:55:37 PM12/1/19
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My phone is Android 9. So was this beta?

Noam

Paul Nock

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:57:30 PM12/1/19
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Yes, it is. ..I realized it was after asking which Android version...

But good news is there will be a major release soon lol

Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Dec 1, 2019, 3:58:30 PM12/1/19
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Do you know if it solved my unstable Samsung Tab A issue?

Noam

cketti

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Dec 1, 2019, 6:01:37 PM12/1/19
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K-9 Mail isn't dead. But the currently stable version 5.600 is over a
year old.

Last week we've released a new beta version (5.700) with lots of changes
on the surface and under the hood. I expect there to be quite a few beta
releases before a new stable version can be released. But now
adventurous people can at least try out the current state of K-9 Mail
without having to build the app from the source code themselves.

-cketti

Kenneth Porter

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Dec 1, 2019, 6:56:37 PM12/1/19
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--On Sunday, December 01, 2019 3:38 PM -0500 Paul Nock <prn...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Oops ..I'm a beta tester for it that why I have it...so sorry didn't
> realize it was a beta release

Is there a way to indicate I want the beta release in the Play Store, or do
I need to side-load from the GitHub repo? (I'm used to alpha-testing my WoW
addons and the Twitch downloader lets me indicate beta or alpha preference.
I don't see an option like that in the Play Store for the app.)

Calum Mackay

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Dec 1, 2019, 6:58:36 PM12/1/19
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thank you very much!

Calum Mackay

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Dec 1, 2019, 7:01:24 PM12/1/19
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Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Dec 1, 2019, 7:39:19 PM12/1/19
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Does the beta version coexist on my device with the production release? Do I have to redo all of my settings?

Noam

Calum Mackay

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Dec 2, 2019, 8:46:57 PM12/2/19
to k-9-...@googlegroups.com, Noam H Arzt, PhD, Kenneth Porter, Calum Mackay
In my experience, no, the Google Play "testing" switch is a toggle, and
controls what version you get, one or the other.

I've been running with "testing" enabled for a long time, so I'm not
sure whether I had to redo the settings on switching to it, but I would
doubt it.

cheers,
calum.

On 02/12/2019 12:39 am, Noam H Arzt, PhD wrote:
> Does the beta version coexist on my device with the production release?
> Do I have to redo all of my settings?
>
> Noam
>
> On December 1, 2019 4:01:12 PM PST, Calum Mackay
> <calum....@cdmnet.org> wrote:
>
> https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.fsck.k9/join <https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.fsck.k9/join>
>
> On 01/12/2019 11:56 pm, Kenneth Porter wrote:
>
> --On Sunday, December 01, 2019 3:38 PM -0500 Paul Nock
> <prn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Oops ..I'm a beta tester for it that why I have it...so
> sorry didn't
> realize it was a beta release
>
>
> Is there a way to indicate I want the beta release in the Play
> Store, or
> do I need to side-load from the GitHub repo? (I'm used to
> alpha-testing
> my WoW addons and the Twitch downloader lets me indicate beta or
> alpha
> preference. I don't see an option like that in the Play Store
> for the app.)
>
> --
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Paul Nock

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Dec 2, 2019, 8:53:15 PM12/2/19
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You don't have to redo /setup your email again and no they don't coexist... Be warned there isn't a way to revert back to older versions without deleting the app which will delete your data(emails)  and reinstalling  after leaving the beta program.



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Kendall Davis

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Apr 11, 2020, 9:37:49 PM4/11/20
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Despite what you keep posting, the honest answer seems to be yes, it is dead at present.  I could care less about your beta group because until it's launched on the public Play store, it not released, and right now in the middle of April 2020, the version on the Play store is still from  September 2018. So your attempted semantics aside, it is absolutely NOT BEING ACTIVELY UPDATED because it's not actively updated until it's posted on the Play store so users can update. Having it in a side group and  only in beta is NOT released.

Yes I am aware it's volunteers just like every OS project. But I'm also very aware that code this far out of date with no general release available means that whomever's in charge of this project needs to be replaced immediately,  Especially when they're trying to convince people it is being actively updated even though no updates are being pushed.

Screenshot_20200411-135103(1)(1).jpg

Kendall Davis

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Apr 11, 2020, 9:39:34 PM4/11/20
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Screenshot_20200411-135054(1).jpg

Peter

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Apr 12, 2020, 7:00:07 AM4/12/20
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My version is 5.6 which I'm pleased to say is working perfectly fine for me, tbh I am dreading k-9-mail being auto updated as I've read some really awful threads saying that the latest version is much worse than the previous version.
Peter

01953 498510
07836 784143
Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

Andy Figueroa

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Apr 12, 2020, 8:32:07 AM4/12/20
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The stable version works great.

On 4/12/20 7:00 AM, Peter wrote:
> My version is 5.6 which I'm pleased to say is working perfectly fine for me,
> tbh I am dreading k-9-mail being auto updated as I've read some really awful
> threads saying that the latest version is much worse than the previous version.
>
> On 12 April 2020 02:39:34 BST, Kendall Davis <make...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Screenshot_20200411-135054(1).jpg
>
>
>
> On Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 6:37:49 PM UTC-7, Kendall Davis wrote:
>
> Despite what you keep posting, the honest answer seems to be yes, it
> is dead at present.  I could care less about your beta group because
> until it's launched on the public Play store, it not released, and
> right now in the middle of April 2020, the version on the Play store
> is still from  September 2018. So your attempted semantics aside, it
> is absolutely NOT BEING ACTIVELY UPDATED because it's not actively
> updated until it's posted on the Play store so users can update.
> Having it in a side group and  only in beta is NOT released.
>
> Yes I am aware it's volunteers just like every OS project. But I'm
> also very aware that code this far out of date with no general
> release available means that whomever's in charge of this project
> needs to be replaced immediately,  Especially when they're trying to
> convince people it is being actively updated even though no updates
> are being pushed.
>
> Screenshot_20200411-135103(1)(1).jpg
>
>
>
> On Sunday, December 1, 2019 at 10:55:53 AM UTC-8, Noam Arzt wrote:
>
> So is K-9 dead? We used to get updates all the time and I have
> not seen one in more that a year. Is this product now no longer
> under development?
>
> My Samsung Tab A problem reported months ago still lingers
> making K-9 unusable on that device.
>
> Noam
>
>
> Peter
>
> 01953 498510
> 07836 784143
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
>
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Gunter Königsmann

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Apr 12, 2020, 9:57:02 AM4/12/20
to k-9-...@googlegroups.com, Andy Figueroa
...and the development version is in heavy development. I guess as soon as it is fit for public use again they will release it. Actually currently every preview version is more stable than the last.

Kind regards,

Gunter.

Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

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Kendall Davis

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Apr 12, 2020, 10:57:55 AM4/12/20
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This IS version 5.600. The current release on the Play store which again has not been updated since 2018 and the screenshot I gave you are for that version. So, what is your point?

Screenshot_20200411-135054(1).jpg
Screenshot_20200411-135103(1)(1).jpg

cketti

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Apr 12, 2020, 11:01:10 AM4/12/20
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Hello Kendall,

I'm not sure if you knew this. Telling someone you don't like the work
they do (but you presumably benefit from in some way) is usually not
going to motivate them to work harder.

You also might have misunderstood the way this and many other open
source projects are run. It's not a democracy, you don't get to vote
who's in charge or needs replacing. It's much better. If you don't like
the way the app works or the project is run, you can fork it and
implement your own ideas. That's the great thing about free software.
There's no need to convince a majority to do it your way.

Now, if you're not a developer this might not be an option. Maybe you
thought a change in leadership is your best bet to get an updated app.
You should have done some research. Currently I'm the only one actively
working on K-9 Mail. So your suggestion to replace the person in charge
is hard to implement. What's worse is that I'm currently writing this
response to your email instead of working on K-9 Mail. That means the
next stable version of K-9 Mail will be done just a little bit later
than it could have been. And that's thanks to your "contribution" to the
project.

I'm not very hopeful. But maybe this email will convince people that
voicing their opinion while not providing any constructive criticism is
wasting the time of everybody subscribed to this mailing list. You can
always use social media to inform your followers of your opinions.

Best,
cketti
(K-9 Mail maintainer)

Greg Troxel

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Apr 12, 2020, 11:21:54 AM4/12/20
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cketti <cke...@gmail.com> writes:

> I'm not sure if you knew this. Telling someone you don't like the work
> they do (but you presumably benefit from in some way) is usually not
> going to motivate them to work harder.

Indeed.

I've been using K-9 since late 2013, and quiet recently. I don't know
if I'm representative of the majority, but I suspect my thoughts are
shared by many.

I really appreciate all the work you've done, and I've tried to be
helpful with bug reports with actual content occasionally, and otherwise
not take up your time or anyone else's. K-9 5.600 (from F-Droid in my
case) works great for me, and I read my mail on it all the time, with
essentially no problems. The few problems I have are fairly minor, and
I don't keep bringing them up since I know they are in the tracker.

I've been watching the progress of the new version and hope to jump in
testing on a backup phone as soon as push is back (even if only for sane
versions of the operating system).

So thank you for everything you've done, and I think that for every
nasty comment, there are many, if not thousands of users that appreciate
your work.

Greg

Andy Figueroa

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Apr 12, 2020, 11:34:14 AM4/12/20
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Well stated, cketti. Thank you for your work. I'm very satisfied with K-9 in
its current stable form, and look forward to the fruits of your labor when
you believe the next release is ready.

With thankfulness.

Gonzalo Miranda [Alaskan Star Interactive]

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Apr 12, 2020, 11:37:15 AM4/12/20
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If there was a way to upvote this response, I would.



From: cketti <cke...@gmail.com>
Sent: 4/12/20 11:12 AM
To: k-9-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [k-9-mail] Re: Is K-9 dead?
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Don Glenn

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Apr 12, 2020, 12:30:08 PM4/12/20
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Everybody is entitled to their opinion.  The problem is that some people think everybody else is entitled to hear that opinion.

If this free product does not meet your need of "BEING ACTIVELY UPDATED" move along and find a product that does.......

Kendall Davis

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Apr 12, 2020, 12:53:06 PM4/12/20
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Oh I am incredibly aware. 20 years in IT  architecture and  development.

I didn't say I don't like the work. I said the work is out of date. And it is. It hasn't been updated since 2018 and anytime it's loaded on current Android OS, there's an immediate warning that it's out of date. There's a plethora of errors being reported because it's out of date.

None of these things though, mean or state that I don't like it. Nowhere did I write that I don't like it.

What I said was it hasn't been updated and given how far out-of-date it is, and how long it's been since an update, it's a reasonable question to wonder if the package maintainer has the bandwidth to do it. And that only means that the facts bear out that there's probably an issue. Nothing more. I am in no way knowledgeable about the maintainer.
S/he may be one of the most skilled people in the world but, absent the bandwidth. But it IS very out of date and it is throwing errors because of it. It is out of date to the point to where you can't open it without being warned every time that it is out of date.

If you've been working on a new release for the last year-and-a-half, that's great. And, thank you. But, the current release is not being maintained. That is simply the fact. Making it personal is your choice.




Paul Wilde

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Apr 12, 2020, 12:57:20 PM4/12/20
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When quarantine gets you down, moan about an open source project that has a slow development cycle...


I'm running 5.708 and it runs fine - released 3 weeks ago. No probs 🤷‍♂️

Kendall Davis

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Apr 12, 2020, 12:59:25 PM4/12/20
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Released where?

Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Apr 12, 2020, 1:03:39 PM4/12/20
to k-9-...@googlegroups.com, Paul Wilde
Perhaps I could offer a comment here since I started the original thread back in December 2019. To set the context, I had raised an issue back in September 2019 about K-9 crapping out on my Android Tab A. By December 2019 I had not seen any development in more than a year so I simply asked if the product was dead. Sorry for being so crass - I actually own and operate a software development company that is quite active in the open source community (and I have written articles about that), so I meant it as no disrespect or non-appreciation. I was simply looking for some information and turned to this list.

That's all.

Noam

-----
Dr. Noam H. Arzt
President, HLN Consulting, LLC
858/538-2220 (voice)
ar...@hln.com | @noamarzt | @HLNConsulting | http://www.hln.com/

Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Apr 12, 2020, 1:04:18 PM4/12/20
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Oh, and I'm still waiting.

Noam

Paul Wilde

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Apr 12, 2020, 1:12:51 PM4/12/20
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To the person asking released where:
The answer is already in the forum,. But I'll help:. Here: https://github.com/k9mail/k-9

Sure, it's not in the play store, but if youre having troubles with the "Google version" then why not give the newly released version a try?

To the original poster; they may well have fixed your query. again, perhaps not in the play store but why not give the latest version a try anyway? (Assuming you still use K9, if not no worries.

Keep safe everyone!

Noam H Arzt, PhD

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Apr 12, 2020, 1:33:16 PM4/12/20
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So is this a beta release still? That's the reason why I might not want to download it now. K-9 works for me just fine on my phone (Samsung S8) but not my tablet (Samsung Tab A) where it is somewhat unstable. If this is a beta that might be reason enough not to want to install it.

Noam

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Calum Mackay

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Apr 12, 2020, 1:49:38 PM4/12/20
to k-9-...@googlegroups.com, cketti, Calum Mackay
thanks very much for all your work on K-9; many of us are appreciative,
even if we sometimes forget to say so :)

cheers,
calum.

Calum Mackay

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Apr 12, 2020, 1:55:51 PM4/12/20
to k-9-...@googlegroups.com, Paul Wilde, Calum Mackay
The testing version /is/ also in the Play Store, using the normal
"testing" (i.e. like a beta release) mechanism:

https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.fsck.k9

you can choose whether you prefer the older, hopefully stable for most,
version, or the regularly updated testing version.

Issues with the testing version may be tracked/reported here:

https://github.com/k9mail/k-9/issues

cheers,
calum.

Kendall Davis

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Apr 12, 2020, 3:03:35 PM4/12/20
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There seems to be a lot of confusion between a.) development and testing  betas and b.) maintaining a production release (not happening, it seems). 

The github betas also avoid all security reviews done by Google Play.

Gagarin Miljkovich

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Apr 12, 2020, 4:24:34 PM4/12/20
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Why are you in is so much hurry to use the "latest" version!?

If one version is functioning well you don't update for the sake of the update.

I thanks the developer for the great work. K-9 is the best e-mail-app for Android. I use it on Nokia 5 and Samsung S2.

/Gagarin M.

Kendall Davis

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Apr 13, 2020, 11:09:23 AM4/13/20
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Screenshot_20200411-135054(1).jpg

Mathguy

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Apr 13, 2020, 11:11:59 AM4/13/20
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Yes, standard warning as required by Android.  However, it works.  Running Android 10 on a Pixel 3 XL and it works fine.

On Monday, April 13, 2020 at 10:09:23 AM UTC-5, Kendall Davis wrote:

Kendall Davis

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Apr 13, 2020, 11:48:44 AM4/13/20
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Unbelievable

Uwe Deutscher

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Apr 13, 2020, 5:15:12 PM4/13/20
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I use Pegasusmail 4.73 on my Windows desktop which is the most current version from 10 March 2018 and works pretty good!

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