NVC client 0.4.4 update released.

Ubuntu:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/novacoin/files/novacoin-0.4.4-ubuntu-lts-x86_64.tar.bz2/download

Win32 installer:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/novacoin/files/novacoin-setup-win32-0.4.4.exe/download

Win32 nosetup:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/novacoin/files/novacoin-nosetup-win32-0.4.4.zip/download

Mac OS X:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/novacoin/files/NovaCoin-Qt-0.4.4.dmg/download

Changes list is available here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=143221.msg2831785#msg2831785

Message with testing builds is deleted now.

NVC 0.4.4 client builds will be available for testing soon.

Already merged changes:

• Fix for integer division-related PoS rewards calculation issue (becoming active since 20 Sep 2013);
• The final correction to PoS ROI curve (1/6 ==> 1/3 switch since 20 Oct 2013);
• Upper limit for coinstake reward (will become active since 20 Oct 2013, description is available here);
• Private keys dump and import functionality (dumpwallet and importwallet RPC calls);
• User will be able to select wallet file for initialization by using -wallet=filename.dat option;
• The -walletnotify=cmd option, provides an opportunity to execute external script on new transactions;
• getbestblockhash RPC call added, also some getmininginfo, getinfo and listunspent improvements;
• novacoin: URIs support is active now;
• QR codes generation support is active now;
• Some optimizations and bugfixes.

P2Pool currently works well, that’s true. But there is a plan to restart p2pool shares chain after 20 Sep 2013.

New NVC protocol changes will be activated since this date, allowing us to remove ECDSA signatures for PoW blocks and 0.01 coin lower bound for coinbase outputs. So, P2Pool diff with upstream will become significantly smaller than diff of current P2Pool implementation. Also it will provide an opportunity to run public nodes without current limitations.

Source code is available at github, Linux & Mac builds will be published soon.

Changes list:

• Balanced PoS/PoW blocks weighting;
• No minimum limit for coinbase outputs;
• No ECDSA signature required for PoW blocks anymore;
• No fee required for coinbase transaction anymore;
• Built-in PoW CPU miner removed, now only PoS miner available in the wallet;
• getmininginfo RPC now able to calculate stake power.

Highlighted changes which will be active on MainNet since 20 Sep 2013.

And don’t forget about ROI switch at 20 June 2013, less than 4 days remaining.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=216639.0

0.4.3 minor release planned for this weekend. Changes announce:

• GBT speedup up to 10 times, to make stratum pools more reliable under high tx/s rates;
• Stake generation statistics (available coins amount, current stake generation power) will be available through RPC;
• Coinstake inputs adding policy will be a little more aggressive for some cases.

0.4.3 will be compatible with 0.4.2 in terms of database format and protocol rules.

StratumServer is updated and works OK

https://github.com/CryptoManiac/stratum-mining
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=201230.msg2234622#msg2234622

0.4.2 update is ready and published.

It includes a few changes in addition to new PoS ROI calculation algorithm, which was implemented in 0.4.1:

• Fix for lk_max_locks exhaustion problem, more info is available here. It will become active since 20 Aug 2013;
• 27 bits PoS target limit will become active since 20 Jul 2013.

Protocol update conditions:

• 0.4.1 and 0.4.2 will be compatible with 0.3.5/0.4.0 until 20 June 2013.
• 0.4.2 will be compatible with 0.4.1 until 20 July 2013.

An optimal way is update to 0.4.2 before 20 June 2013.

Important changes are listed below.

• Dynamic PoS interest. Now it’s a function of PoS difficulty, nRewardCoinYear = 1 / (posdiff ^ 1/6). It can have values from 100% to 1%;
• Checkpoints ignore option added, disabled by default;
• Bug fix for coinstake transactions display in QT client;
• Bug fix for AvailableCoins function, prevents immature coins usage;
• Mac OS X compatibility issues resolved, from now we publishing official Mac OS X 64 bit builds also;
• New genesis block for testnet.

Update should be performed before 20 June 2013.