home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Super Shareware Collection
/
Super Shareware Collection.iso
/
info
/
kgl_9401.zip
/
OS2_MAGS.RVW
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-02-03
|
4KB
|
93 lines
IMPRESSIVE LIST OF PERIODICALS SUPPORTING OS/2 2.1
A Look at What's Available
By Michael Loo
"The IBM Personal Software Technical Newsletter"
I am grateful that the first issue of IBM Personal Software
Technical Newsletter (Personal Software for short) crossed my
desk just as I was about to convert my dual-boot, DOS 5-OS/2 2.0
installation to OS/2 2.1. The entire fifty-plus page magazine
is dedicated to the ins and outs of 2.1 installation, and I
found tips and explanations here that were not available in the
system's on-line or printed documentation.
Included here are descriptions of new OS/2 features, a
listing of optional files (very, very useful, given the amount
of hard disk space the system hogs up) and a section dealing
with hardware compatibility problems -- welcome, if not vital
information, succinctly presented by IBM staffers. The manager
in charge promises that future issues will emphasize articles
written by user group members.
"Beyond Computing"
As glossy and mainstream-looking as Personal Software is
plain, Beyond Computing is another company organ. Its layout
and writing style indicate it to be a tool for serious corporate
users. Its focus is on the business side of computing -- MIS
concerns such as ergonomics and productivity -- and its articles
and advertising are geared as much to users of UNIX and VMS
systems as to users of higher-end PC-based systems. It seems to
me a little weak on the technical side, but the features touch
on all the hot topics of the day. (The November-December 1993
issue I examined contains articles on mass customization,
E-mail, palmtops, and PC upgrades)
"OS/2 Professional"
The dominant independent OS/2 publication is IF Computer Media's OS/2
Professional. Despite the fact that IBM is (of course) a dominant
presence in its pages (in the issue in front of me, 15 out of 112
pages are advertisements for IBM products), the magazine has so far
maintained real editorial impartiality, dispensing brickbats as well
as kudos to the Big Blue Boss. It is another glossy magazine, a la
Byte or PC, and probably the best choice for the general user. The
editorial material -- including reviews of new products, a monthly
feature on PM programming (complete with code), overviews of court
decisions of interest, and quite a bit of OS/2-specific news -- will
be equally useful to everyone, from the MIS specialist to the person
in the top floor corner office.
One of the best things about OS/2 -- and there are many good
things about it -- is that the periodicals that support its
users are of an impressively high standard. I recommend all
three of the above to serious users, with the caveat that
nowhere in the premiere issue of Personal Software can I find
any subscription information (!), so if you want to find it, you
may have some hunting to do.
(Editor's Note: The BCS ZITEL Users Group offers some OS/2
publications at discounts up to 50% and more. For more
information, see the magazine subscription ad elsewhere in this
issue, or call (617) 965-6343 and ask.)
---------------------------------------------
IBM Personal Software Technical Newsletter
Gene Barlow, User Group Relations Program Manager
IBM Corporation
P.O. Box 201449
Austin TX 78720-1449
ibmpcug@vnet.ibm.com
Beyond Computing
P.O. Box 3014
Northbrook IL 60065-9984
(708) 564-1385
OS/2 Professional
172 Rollins Ave.
Rockville MD 20852-4010
(301) 770-4672
os2pro@mcimail.com
---------------------------------------------
(Michael Loo, a computer consultant, is writing an evaluation of
OS2-2 for the next issue of The Kugel.)
-thirty-