All the above changes to get us to 0.9.3 are also listed here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TYxjS3S33lFTM87OYoMEWymwzH3e33h4encJ6cor1uk/edit?usp=sharing XBC is not an easy coin to wok on due to some of the extra features we have and keeping them.It would be easier if we were a vanilla codebase but the reality is the opposite.Also gutting out the codebase from the beginning back to a starting point and keeping the native tor wallet and the messaging was no easy task not to mention the fact this is all being done without a hard fork (soft forks only) to cause the least disruption to exchanges/service providers and users.There is still a lot of work ahead (BIPs/newer version changes etc) before we are even ready to activate segregated witness.
So we will still have the tor and messaging service after finished upgrade?Why do we need the segwit and maybe only have bigger blocksize?
Yes we will be keeping everything intact,well that's the plan anyway but the main thing is using soft forks only.This saves on a whole lot of headaches and things getting messy over the course of the upgrade.
Why do we need the segwit and maybe only have bigger blocksize?
We really need neither of the above but activating segwit will allow us to explore other ideas we are looking at down the line.Increasing blocksize is actually a very easy thing to do but would require a hard fork.