http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Rolling-Updates#start
 
"PNG support" is in development.
Is this to track icons only or something bigger like customized interface graphics?
Anyway, PNG track icons would bring SONAR finally to the modern times at that part of the program. PNGs with transparency lets us create beautiful, customized track icons that blend nicely with the track header background.

Another feature most of us won't know what to do with?

I am a big fan, but I'm not sure what this means.  I used Duckbar without trouble in X3, but SPLAT has been a problem.  I'll never understand this "neutral" protools-like-mono-chromatic theme they've thrust upon us (and yes I make many templates with altered colors), but the first impression I had when I downloaded SPLAT was: This is ugly, I'd forgotten.
 
 

ampfixer
Another feature most of us won't know what to do with?

It's just an image file format, it's more or less the replacement for GIF (although animation is not supported):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Network_Graphics
 
Not terribly exciting but nevertheless an improvement is always welcome. I assume it's for track icons or something, I can't imagine Cakewalk wanting to embed a photoshop product within Sonar...
 
It does hold a clue I suggest, I'll speculate they are playing around with how the Pro Channel looks and this is a spin off.

If I read you correctly Alex, this is not a feature in itself, but a feature that will allow the development of other features?
 
Kind of like saying we've abandoned 8 1/2 X 11 paper in favour of A4. Why should they even list it as something of interest to users? Maybe it's to make the start screen work better but right now it looks like something to fill white space on the meeting room board.

ampfixer
If I read you correctly Alex, this is not a feature in itself, but a feature that will allow the development of other features?
 
Kind of like saying we've abandoned 8 1/2 X 11 paper in favour of A4. Why should they even list it as something of interest to users? Maybe it's to make the start screen work better but right now it looks like something to fill white space on the meeting room board.

Well it will (probably) allow people to upload track icons in PNG image format so it's a feature.
 
I haven't much noise for this, so I'm thinking there is another reason we don't know about why this is happening, a spin off on what they are doing perhaps.
 
Anyway it just says "PNG support in development"... I stress what I write is pure speculation, I agree with panup's speculation, although whether it will be a more customized interface will remain to be seen. It could just be an improved interface, or maybe they are going mad by adding skin support... Or just a plain old track icon... who knows..
 
Cheers!

Broadly ...
PNG - patent-free 'improved' replacement for GIF/TIFF, that also supports transparency (unlike JPEG) - so e.g, you can get nice little rounded corners / opacity on your track icons (and/or other 'graphics').
 
File Type / Best Uses (from this infographic):
 
JPEG:
- Still images
- Photographs
- Many colors
- Shading of light and dark
 
GIF:
- Animations
 
PNG:
- Web images (PNG-8)
- Logos which involve transparency and fading
- Images in the editing process (PNG 24)
- Complex images like photographs if file size is not an issue (PNG-24)
 
 
 

Before all that was necessary was to convert whatever image file you had to BMP and put it in the icon folder. Although a lot of images are PNG now that may save a mouse click or two.

Most image files downloaded allow an option to download as BMP but here again, that's two extra mouse clicks..

ShellstaX
Broadly ...
PNG - patent-free 'improved' replacement for GIF/TIFF, that also supports transparency (unlike JPEG) - so e.g, you can get nice little rounded corners / opacity on your track icons (and/or other 'graphics').
 
File Type / Best Uses (from this infographic):
 
JPEG:
- Still images
- Photographs
- Many colors
- Shading of light and dark
 
GIF:
- Animations
 
PNG:
- Web images (PNG-8)
- Logos which involve transparency and fading
- Images in the editing process (PNG 24)
- Complex images like photographs if file size is not an issue (PNG-24)
 

 
GIF is good for logos as well (inc transparency) and web images as well.
I have no idea what they mean by "images in the editing process".
 
PNG can simply be regarded as the successor to GIF , only it does not handle animations like GIF does.