Dear Praat users,
you can now download Praat version 4.5 from www.praat.org. The changes since version 4.4 include:
Phonetic analysis: much improved cepstral smoothing.
File types: Praat can now open the sound track of many (not all) kinds of movie files.
Annotation: automatic detection of silences (see the Annotation menu).
Platforms: the Macintosh edition now supports Intel Macs natively (this is why the Praat download has doubled in size). On the other hand, the MacOS 9 version ("Classic") will not be continued and will be frozen at the present version 4.5, which will stay available; future versions of Praat will require at least MacOS 10.2. Within a year or so, we may stop creating new versions for Windows 95 and 98; from that time on, you need Windows 2000 or XP (or Longhorn).
Statistics: many more Table commands. You can now view tables in the Table window; in the near future this will be extended with capabilities for editing.
Optimality Theoretic learning: support for Harmonic Grammar, Linear OT, and Exponential OT.
Scripting: local variables in procedures; better messages; more ways of referring to data in objects; row$ and col$; replacing with regular expressions.
Praat extensions: you can now create your own Praat plug-ins; and you can include pictures in your own manual pages.
best wishes,
Paul