Just prior to publishing this newsletter, I received a copy of Beta Release 2 of the new Lotus SmartSuite for OS/2 Warp 4 for evaluation. Although I haven't had time to do a thorough examination of it, I can report what I've learned so far: First, the Beta release requires FixPak 5 of OS/2 which is included on the CD-ROM. Fortunately, I had already installed the FixPak a few weeks ago (without any problems I am pleased to report). The Beta also requires a test computer with a minimum of a Pentium/90 processor and 32mb of RAM. Consequently, I installed it on my ThinkPad which has a Pentium/133 with 32mb of memory, and SmartSuite 96 for OS/2 (I had not tested the Beta Release 1).
I'm somewhat familiar with Lotus installations and this was essentially no different than what I had experienced in the past. However, the installation asked me to load a disk in my attached Iomega zip drive (which I thought was a bit odd). I performed a Custom installation of the English Standard Version with the following options:
The reboot of the computer went okay, although it did process some locked files it had encountered.
Now before I start describing my experiences in the use of the product, I would like to preface my remarks with the caveat that I do not consider myself a SmartSuite expert (at least not yet), nor do I consider myself a power user of program suites even though I'm familiar with quite a few of them. Again, keep in mind I only received the Beta just a couple of days before I had to complete this editorial. With this said, I can say my initial reaction is very favorable, I like what I see, which is a lot. My initial interest was in the OS/2 version of the 1-2-3 spreadsheet which I've been looking forward to for quite some time. One of the first things I did was migrate data from my IBM Works spreadsheets to 1-2-3 without any problems. It is still taking me some time to re-familiarize myself with the functions of 1-2-3 but I am struck by its robustness.
Next, I checked out my old friend WordPro which remains an outstanding word processor. However, I did run into a problem importing a 1-2-3 file into a WordPro HTML document I created. Admittedly this may have been caused by a problem of my own making, but I still didn't like how it locked things up on me.
I've also tried the Approach data base and Organizer personal information manager, both of which are very slick implementations on the OS/2 desktop. My only concern is the amount of memory required to effectively run SmartSuite, but then again, this is beta code.
Regardless, I am still exploring the Beta 2 release with great enthusiasm. I guess what I'm particularly keen on are the Internet tools embedded in the products which allows easy updating of web pages (something I'm particularly sensitive to). Bottom-line: I'm starting to understand what all the rave reviews were all about coming out of the WarpStock conference. I am really looking forward to the final release of the product.
For more information on how to obtain the Beta 2 release, please see our news from Other Vendors section.
As you may have heard by now, IBM's Personal Software Products (PSP) group has been merged into IBM's new Network Computing Software Division (see "IBM Merges Software Groups" in the IBM News & Press Releases section). Such a move was inevitable and long overdue. PSP had long ago become impotent both externally to the general market, and, sadly, within IBM itself. The rumored feuds between PSP and other IBM divisions had become legendary. All of the major reorganizations of PSP over the last few years were like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. PSP simply never figured out how to market OS/2. Consequently, the operating system is now used internally within IBM as nothing more than a guinea pig platform to test and launch new software (e.g., speech enablement, and WorkSpace On-Demand) for use on other Microsoft platforms.
Donn Atkins, formerly the VP of Marketing for PSP, has assumed the title of General Manager for OS/2 under the new division. Now the question is, will anything change? Probably not. Although Atkins and company still publicly proclaim IBM's unwavering support of OS/2, users still haven't the foggiest idea of where the product is going. Actions speak louder than words, and until Atkins can define and implement a credible marketing plan, the market will remain skeptical about IBM's intentions.
In the last issue of the newsletter, I invited IBM shareholders to sign a petition encouraging IBM to implement full Win32 support in OS/2. The response wasn't bad, but it wasn't overwhelming either. Many OS/2 users wanted to sign it as well but I kept the focus on IBM shareholders. The results are posted below and will be forwarded to IBM for consideration. Basically, we attracted petitioners representing 17,282 shares of IBM stock, which at today's price of approximately $101/share represents $1,745,482 worth of stock. Not a bad start. The next step is to submit this to IBM shareholder relations for consideration. Let's hope we get some sort of response.
To the Board of Directors of the International Business Machines Corporation (hereinafter "IBM"):
We, the undersigned IBM shareholders (current holders of IBM common stock traded as "IBM" on the NYSE), request that IBM's OS/2 operating system be modified to allow full support of the Win32 API, thereby enabling the use of programs written for this API to be executed under OS/2.
RATIONALE: OS/2 users want to use the same popular programs that all their friends and business associates are using NOW, not sometime in the future; unfortunately, these programs are not OS/2 or Java based programs, they are Win32 based. Providing Win32 support would make OS/2 the leading "integrating platform of choice," thereby providing the means to execute programs written for: DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2, and Java. Such support would benefit both business and home users thereby enhancing its marketability.
Respectfully submitted,
Best wishes for the holidays.
Copyright © MBA 1998
