15 May 2008
I've got so much bandwidth with my hosting account that I have removed all download mirrors and the Bittorrent client download link. Everything is contained right in the site now.
4 May 2007
I added a new update/news announcement list to the main menu.
26 May 2006
Downloading the application can now also be achieved using your favourite Bittorrent client.
1 February 2005
I incorporated the password information in the web site.
9 January 2005
An insultingly excellent year to you all! Nothing much changed to the site other than that I dumped one of the Webrings for having gone Yahoo on me.
2 December 2004
An Event Of Unparalleled Importance in the History of...History Itself! With this modestly worded eye-opener I'd like to draw your attention to the release of "The Fifth Anniversary Edition" of the Second Reincarnation of Wowbagger, etc. etc.
I have taken leave of my senses to make a new version (more compatible with W2K and XP) together with a trillion-bopping new database (1.021.874.832.912 possible insults), and overhauled the web site to boot. Check out the download page...if you dare.
15 April 2004
The site has been reworked a bit (including the addition of a PayPal 'donate' button). Expect a major update to the database somewhere this year. Slowly but inexorably, "Wowbagger" is approaching the 1.000.000.000.000 (US & scientific community: 1 trillion) total possible insults mark...though it's taking a little longer than I anticipated about a year ago. Also, hosting has changed and an extra download mirror has been added.
20 March 2004
I checked all external links and added a really cool one to Insultmonger.com. That is a truly excellent site to which I humbly bow.
17 May 2003
The second download mirror has become available again.
2 May 2003
Nothing new, yet, but this site's FAQ has been extended to reflect a question I got about WAV file configuration. As usual, Wowbagger insult database extending continues unabated. Currently the development version does about 845 billion phrases - 125 billion more than the current downloadable version. I intend to release the next database update when I've crossed the 1000 billion mark. Should be another few months. Sign up to the Wowbagger mailing list if you want to know about this landmark occasion the minute it's available!
25 February 2003
Yes, finally a new version. Nearly 200 million additional insult phrases can now be created, with a huge increase in the German department. The Javascript 'Insult' button has been correspondingly enhanced from about 4.9 to 5.5 billion possible insult phrases. Besides all this, two other things have changed: First, the Manual is no longer included in the download, rather it is now only maintained and updated on the web site. Second, the full download no longer includes the actual database, rather, you have to download the database in a second separate step.
7 February 2003
Thanks to Michael Dufek, creator of a German "Schmipfwortgenerator", I have been able to significantly enhance the number of possible German insult phrases. They went from nearly 10.000 to about 821.000.000 (!). Most of them are highly creative. Michael then went on to provide me with quite a few adverbs, so the total number of German insults is now second only to the English ones...over 12.500.000.000 insult phrases to be exact. I won't postpone an update much longer.
5 January 2003
I only updated the site, checked the external links and added a couple of cool ones. The program will be updated in the not too distant future as well. The current database has already grown by another 50 billion insults, so things look good.
9 November 2002
Another update was made. The program's user interface was debugged (there were a few nasty little bugs in the 'made a text file full of insults' hidden feature). Also the database now support an extra 50 billion (50.000.000.000) insult phrases. If you want the whole new debugged version, download the 'full' version. This also includes the new database (dates 8 November 2002). Correspondingly, the Javascript-based 'Insult' button in the main menu can now yield nearly 5 billion phrases.
20 August 2002
Due to the site being mentioned in the 'Weird Earl' section of The Straight Dope we're finally getting the number of visitors that I always felt this pretty funny and rather unique program deserved :-)
29 July 2002
A new database update, with quite a few words added, in particularly French ones! The total number of French insulting phrases went from 200-something to 17000-something. The total number of insults in all languages together is now 446.771.001.080, i.e. nearly 100.000.000.000 more than in the previous version. Similarly, the Javascript-based 'Insult' button in the main menu can now do 4.5 billion phrases.
2 March 2002
Yahoo Geocities will disable FTP access soon, so I ditched that mirror. I have installed two new mirrors to replace it.
14 February 2002
I haven't heard back from János any more. I guess I must have accidentally insulted him somewhere along the line :-)
Due to consistently writing down cool words for the past couple of months I have extended the dictionary quite a bit again. A total of 354.063.396.480 insult phrases are now possible. Most of the words were added with the unwitting help of Dictionary.Com's "Word of the Day" mailing list service. The application has now also been tested for Windows XP compatibility (which it indeed is). The 'Insult' button in the main menu has crossed the 4 billion insults mark. Also, the web-based manual section has been updated a bit.
Due to my newly found girlfriend having studied French, I think you may expect some interesting French additions in the near future :-)
25 August 2001
I am working together closely with János Szigetvári of Hungary to extend the Hungarian dictionary. We've worked out the grammar and built in a small library of words, now enabling over 40.000 insults in the development version. More to be expected soon, which will then be released in an updated version of the database.
18 August 2001
Due to certain, shall we say, developments in my private life, I have regained the vigour (and even aggression) needed to create another update. A lot of words have been added, and the program as a whole has been improved slightly as well. Most thanks for the words now need to go to Michael "Vulgar Lexicon" Davies. Cheers, dude! The new version number is 6.5.4, and it can create a total of 324.350.095.204 (i.e. over 324 billion) insult phrases. The 'insult' button in the main menu now gives access to some 3.8 billion 'nice' insult phrases :-)
Please note that the 'cronos@42.net' email address no longer works (I am trying to cut down on the huge amounts of spam I get, so I am only using one centralised email address these days).
26 June 2001
The program hasn't been updated at all, however I tested the COM Add-In in Office XP and noticed that it works! Also, one of the US mirrors no longer functioned properly, so that's been ditched (likewise a few external links). A few new links were added. Interestingly, an instant 'Insult!' button was added to the main menu...I did some JavaScript experimenting! This toned-down version, though, can 'only' generate over 1.8 billion insult phrases in English!
13 May 2001
News reached me that Douglas Adams has died, unexpectedly, of a heart attack. He was aged 49. A sad day to the world of humour.
30 April 2001
Another database update, with some German words added (especially Käseluder :-). Over 134 billion possible phrases now.
28 April 2001
After getting to grips with the principles of COM Add-Ins in Office 2000, I have done an Add-In that makes use of the Wowbagger software. It works in the English version of Office 2000 only, and will add itself to PowerPoint, Excel and Word. The actual Wowbagger software needs to be installed on the system, but doesn't need to be configured. It will always insult using the mildest rating, and always in English (except when you have a Dutch language system, in which case it will insult in Dutch).
18 April 2001
A semi-major database update: The stats have been well increased, well over 100 billion in total, and the Dutch insult phrases have been lifted over the magic 1 billion mark. The reason? I read Stephen Fry's "Moab is my Washpot"; apart from an entertaining book, it is also a verbally rich book, so I find myself constantly jotting down words for inclusion in "Wowbagger". Yesterday I sat reading and thought, in a smugly (almost arrogantly) self-satisfied way, that "Wowbagger" has to be the definitive program of its kind :-)
18 March 2001
Just a minor update, to celebrate the inclusion of the 'just the database' download link. Over 1.7 billion extra insult phrases are possible, bringing the grand total to over 53 billion (53,197,450,504 to be exact).
16 March 2001
The recent update has stirred the world and filled my mailbox with all kinds of reactions, ranging from positive to very positive :-) The program seems to have attained a state where it can be considered very stable, in other words it looks like only the database is going to be updated in the predictable future. Expect another one of those database updates before the summer, at any rate.
14 March 2001
An update! In fact, the only thing that changed was the database. 51,441,348,364 possible insulting phrases are now possible.
9 November 2000
Ditched all WebRing-based WebRings, joined several on RingSurf. Incidentally, a minor update (more words, primarily) of the program is in the stars...
8 May 2000
All mirrors are up again. Everything is 100% perfect now. Or at least I think it is...
24 April 2000
I finally fixed the bug that prevented the program from working on NT 4.0! As the new version, 6.5.x, it works on any 32-bit Windows system!
15 April 2000
Download problems should now be a definite thing of the past. I've hosted the files at quite a few mirrors now, and the 'Dutch mirror 1' is a powerful one. Thanks for your patience, people, and for all the cool reactions to the program!
4 April 2000
Added a few more download locations.
2 April 2000
Extended the FAQ to include info on where to get the Microsoft Speech API.
1 April 2000
Multiple download mirrors have now been established. Download problems should now no longer occur. However, because "Wowbagger" has been featured in CNet.Com, downloads may soar and I might have to do more to fix things... Incidentally, I have also done a minor update of the program, now 6.3.7. Minor fix and slight database enhancements. Also, there are now only two download formats: The full thing, or the update thing. If you have an earlier version already, but you want to get your hands on 6.3.7, the 'update version' is all you need to get.
31 March 2000
Investigations have revealed that, indeed, too many downloads of Wowbagger have been made. I guess the program is pretty popular! I am currently setting up a better distribution network, with mirrors and stuff.
27 March 2000
Due to what I suppose were rather high numbers of downloads, the location of the Wowbagger downloads seems to have been blocked. I am investigating. Good thing I don't depend on my livelihood on dependable downloads, right?
17 March 2000
Yes, update 6.3.x is ready. Check out the 'PC versions' update section of the manual for specific info. If you want to install this, you have to have the full update and then get the update collection file.
15 March 2000
I am working on another not-so-minor update. Two things will change: When the program detects the presence of the Speech API (which is standard in Windows 2000, I believe, and can be installed on other versions by downloading the Speech SDK from the Microsoft website) and the insult language is English, it will use this to insult you additionally. Second, the program will default to your current locale's language the first time you run it (provided your locale is in the database).
7 March 2000
A minor update, with changes made especially in the database. Some stuff was made more clear in the manual, too.
5 March 2000
This morning I told my wife of the download problems, and she said "why don't you put them on the space you have on your own provider?" Simple solution, of course, which I hadn't though of at all. So the downloads are available again!
1 March 2000
The download frequency went from 338 to 1594 downloads in one month. The host of the program files doesn't like this development, so I'm afraid the 'full install' download will be unavailable until further notice. If you can host this file and your server can handle the throughput, please contact me.
29 February 2000
Several enhancements were added to the user interface, including a menu-driven configuration and the possibility to configure the name of the person who needs to be insulted. If you already downloaded version 6.0.x or 6.1.x, just download the 'changed files' in a 700+ Kb ZIP archive. Check out the 'History' section of the manual to see what was fixed in more detail.
14 January 2000
A pretty major bug fix was uploaded, 6.1.x. If you already downloaded version 6.0.x, replace the DLL, the user interface, the database and the Word document. Check out the 'History' section of the manual to see what was fixed in more detail. The website has a compatibility page added.
3 January 2000
Due to the first batch of feedback, a couple of bugs have been fixed in the user interface. Some stuff has also been fixed in the database. Updates can be found in the download section.
24 December 1999
Everyone can get insulted this very Christmas! With the aid of Chuck McKenna of WebOxide.Com I have found a host for the new Wowbagger version files. So mosey on over to the Download section and get your hands on the latest version...
16 December 1999
The program is, in principle, finished. I have so far only succeeded in making it distributable to computers with Access 97 on it, which is something I cannot solve because the VB Package Setup Wizard simply refuses to add all components that seem to be needed. This sucks, but like I said I can't do anything. Well, I could fix it, but this would mean writing my own database routines, my own SQL command type of thing, and think up my own database format. I don't think it is realistic to assume, given my work and other time consuming passtimes, that this will ever happen. I am currently trying to locate an FTP site that can handle high-frequency, big downloads. Once that's done, the program will be released to the general public.
25 November 1999
Wowbagger 6 has entered gamma testing stage. This basically means that I am trying to install it on different machines and see how it behaves. The user interface is finished but I keep on getting '429 error, ActiveX component can't create object' errors. I hope to fix this soon.
11 November 1999
Wowbagger 6 is almost finished, coding-wise. Now all that remains to be done is extend the database. I am looking for people with a knowledge of German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Esperanto, Finnish, Icelandic, Latin, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Welsh, Irish, Scots Gaelic, Papua, Catalan, Romanian, Frisian, Faeroese, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak and Sami to help me establish the grammar rules of these languages, and eventually provide me with a basic list of words.
7 November 1999
I've already started coding on Wowbagger 6 for Windows, and this time I'm going to do it properly. It'll be a class module that can be used from any program supporting COM, which will come with a user interface application of which I'll probably provide the source, too. The actual phrases database has already almost doubled, and I am also investigating the inclusion of Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, French, German, Spanish, Esperanto, Italian, Portuguese and lots more.
16 August 1999
A Linux port of the program is in the making. Expect more news in the near future.
14 August 1999
Although I lost my source code to version 5.1.0 of Wowbagger, I have managed to extract from the executable the dictionary of words. I am thinking of creating an ActiveX swearing component with even more possible swearing words. The German section (capable of creating barely a dozen curses) will be extended significantly.