OS/2 Observations, Rumors, & Tips from PC Expo
by Marco J. Shmerykowsky
Last month large numbers of computer professionals and hobbyists
descended on the Jacob Javits Center in New York City to see the
latest and greatest hyped products. Despite the standard trade
show hype, there didn't seem to be too many earth shattering
announcements. Microsoft discussed its "Windows Everywhere"
plan to put their operating system on everything from TVs (ie
WebTV) to heavy duty servers. They also introduced their NetPC
and Windows terminals in an effort to counter the push that Sun,
Oracle, and IBM are making on the Network Computer concept.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about PC Expo centered on the
companies that didn't show up. There was no trace of Novell,
Netscape, or Sun on the trade show floors.
The big question readers of EDM/2 have about PC Expo most likely
is "what is IBM doing about OS/2?" I had the same question as I
walked into the Javits Center. This article is essentially a
compilation of small tidbits of information that I picked up as I
talked to IBM representatives and a few "OS/2 aware" computer
professionals. Although these aren't hard facts and are based
unofficial discussions, I think it provides some indication of
what IBM is planning to do.
One of the biggest areas of confusion with regard to OS/2 seems
to revolve around the product's "target market." From my
experience, many computer users define the computer market from
the perspective of a single consumer. This user's computer
essentially has the resources to be "self-sufficient." This
computer can be used in installations ranging from a single user
to a network of a few dozen users. Thus, the success of the
product in the market seems to be defined by the availability of
resources. For example, a user of Microsoft's operating systems
can purchase a computer with a full office suite, and can purchase
a wide variety of software at a local CompUSA store. While a
Windows user can find compatible software or hardware without
even trying, the OS/2 user has to work a little to find something
suitable. Consequently, OS/2 users tend to feel that IBM is
neglecting the OS/2 market. The accusation of market neglect is
not entirely justified. In addition to the "desktop market," IBM
has identified the "embedded systems" market and top Fortune 500
accounts as additional markets for OS/2.
The "embedded systems" market consists of machines such as
Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) and cash registers. For example,
one person at the show told me that the cash registers at Sears
are running OS/2. The problem with these embedded systems is
that they are not designed to run "general" applications. Thus
this large installed base does nothing to benefit ISVs or the
end user looking for applications. This also is why IBM would
never turn OS/2 into a freeware product like Linux. The core
OS/2 technologies are being used even if the trade press isn't
advertising it. For example, at PC Expo I heard rumors that IBM
is co-developing a consumer oriented "WebTV like" product which
will use OS/2 technology as its operating system.
The Fortune 500 market is another one of those good news/bad
news markets. The bad news is that these companies tend to
develop their own applications and have their own special needs.
IBM gears the development dollars towards these "special needs."
Thus, if a corporation has no need for soundcards, then don't
expect to see the latest greatest multimedia drivers on OS/2.
The good news is that IBM is actively spending money on OS/2
because of these big corporations. Thus whatever benefits the
big corporations will also filter down to the "single user." You
can call it "trickle down computing."
While trickle down computing may not lead to a booming games
market, it should result in proper development tools. For
example, I spoke with one of the developers of Lotus'
BeanMachine. This product lets people develop Java applets with
knowing a single piece of Java code. It is strictly visually
based. The developer affirmed my suspicions that this was the
AppeletAuthor program which was on IBM's alphaworks site
(http://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com/Home/) last year. He also stated
that an OS/2 version is under development and should be released
this fall. Further discussions also resulted in a quick mention
of IBM's purchase of Net Objects and the likelihood that IBM
would port Fusion to the OS/2 platform. It seemed to be implied
that IBM was following a cross platform strategy where major
tools, such as the Visual Age products, would be ported to most
of IBM's supported platforms.
Another piece of "good news" which is most likely due to pressure
from those Fortune 500 accounts is the coming of a complete
edition of Smartsuite 97 for OS/2. According to the Lotus' web
site (http://www.lotus.com/smartsuite/os2) the product is targeted
for the 4th quarter of 1997. The package will include new OS/2
versions of 1-2-3, WordPro, Approach, Organize, Freelance
Graphics, and Lotus ScreenCam.
I also managed to get some news regarding Netscape's next
generation browser. Although IBM and Netscape are developing the
browser portion of Communicator for OS/2, it is not likely that
OS/2 users will see components such as the HTML editor. One
IBMer explained to me that the rule of thumb is that if IBM has a
"home grown" product, then don't expect to see Netscape's version
of it. Thus instead of Netscape's collaboration tools, you
should look to OS/2 versions of Lotus Notes and Domino. Instead
of Netscape's HTML editor, start looking for IBM's Homepage
publisher. The product, which has leaked out onto the Internet
as a Japanese edition, is evidently going to become a formal
product.
For some more good news, OS/2 is evidently looking good on the
server front. Sales of Warp server are growing respectably and
"Bluebird" technology is being eagerly welcomed by some of those
Fortune 500 customers. This technology, which has been in OS/2
for a while, allows an administrator to remotely boot a machine,
load applications, and control the contents of the desktop. For
example, the administrator could set all the "remote" machines to
use a Web browser interface.
Another aspect of OS/2 which is receiving attention is the Java
capability. While it has been said that OS/2 has one of the most
stable Java environments, it is not one of the fastest. IBM is
evidently working hard to improve OS/2's Java execution speeds.
Furthermore, it is important to note that IBM is placing a
massive amount of energy into Java development. Certain Java
development projects are reportedly continuing 24 hours a day.
As the workday on one side of the planet finishes, the "project"
is shipped to the other side of the planet so that the second
"daytime" shift can continue to work. IBM also seems to have a
special Java developer's assistance plan. If a company is
developing a Java application, then IBM will help the development
effort by assigning seven developers to the company. The company
creating the software must also assign seven developers to the
project. Finally, more than one person mentioned that IBM will be
in serious trouble if the Java push fails. This basically means
that IBM is fighting the deciding battle of the war. Failure is
not an option.
Finally, I'd like to pass along a technical tidbit which sounds
intriguing. Many users have heard about OS/2 version 4's
"hibernation" feature which allows a person to switch between
operating systems without rebooting. The procedure basically
works by storing a copy of all physical and virtual memory on the
hard disk. When the OS is switched, the computer simply read the
"snapshot" form the hard disk. Apparently the key to this
feature is the use of a common file system. For example,
Windows95 and OS/2 could be installed on different partitions,
but they must both use the FAT files system. It seems that this
"trick" can also be applied to a WindowsNT / OS/2 system. As
long as both WindowsNT and OS/2 are placed on either FAT or HPFS
partitions, then you should be able to implement this. I'm
guessing that a combination of Partition Magic & the HPFS file
from WinNT 3.51 could be used to get this to work with WinNT 4.0.
Reportedly, this "hibernation" feature can lower the time
required to switch between operating systems from minutes to
seconds.
In conclusion, my conversations at PC Expo seem to indicate that
OS/2 has a very serious future at IBM. The Fortune 500 companies
continue to use OS/2 because is well developed and reliable.
Many companies that abandoned OS/2 to switch to WindowsNT are
coming back. IBM is pouring significant resources into Java
development and OS/2 will benefit from this. The core OS/2
technology will find it's way into many computing products thus
providing competition for the "Windows Everywhere" push.
Finally, OS/2 will be a key component of IBM's network computing
paradigm.
In general, OS/2 has been refocused to address the needs for the
big business. This will result in developments which benefit a
large number of OS/2 users through the "trickle down computing "
theory. Whether or not this provides sufficient support for the
small to mid sized businesses which exist in the world remains to
be seen. At any rate, the operating system will be around for
while and OS/2 users will continue to benefit from its strengths.