EDITORIAL PAGE

ADVENTURES IN ISDN LAND

As many of you know, we have just undergone an office move. In addition to packing, unpacking, painting, moving furniture, etc., we had to reconsider our communication lines. Our phone system was over 20 years old and painfully in need of replacement. Consequently, we purchased a complete new system from GTE which we are very happy with (please, no more calls from telephone carriers). As part of this exercise though, I made inquiries into obtaining an ISDN line in order to expedite access to the Internet which, for obvious reasons, we're constantly on. Sounds logical, right? However, this decision marked a rude awakening for me in the use of ISDN lines with OS/2.
I turned the project over to GTE and provided them with technical specifications about our computers which required Internet access. They proposed a multi-line modem with network cards which, on the surface, appeared to be a reasonable solution since we only have a handful of machines requiring Internet access. Everything sounded great until the day of the installation of the ISDN line and delivery of hardware. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get my OS/2 computers to communicate through the modem. I consulted GTE, the IBM Global Network, and the modem vendor, all for naught. As it turns out, the hardware was incompatible with OS/2 (surprised?).
As OS/2 users we always try to look out for hardware incompatibilities but what puzzled me more was the total lack of documentation on how to install and access an ISDN line from the OS/2 perspective. There appears to be a total void of printed documentation, on-line help, or whatever on the subject (including the Web, with the exception of some German sites; unfortunately, I can't read German). This is quite discouraging. It would seem to me that a web page or some sort or documentation should be available as a primer on using ISDN lines with OS/2. To have such a primer would have saved me considerable time and heartache.
As OS/2 users, we have learned to fend for ourselves. After all, virtually no one wants to talk about OS/2 in this area, including communication carriers, suppliers, and IBM itself. OS/2 is "your problem" we are told. Alas, these are trying times for the OS/2 faithful.

My next task is to spec out a new machine to replace an aging computer we have. I've already peaked at the IBM PC Systems and Devices Compatible with OS/2 web page and am alarmed at the aging equipment appearing on its pages. Wouldn't it be nice to walk into a computer store and purchase a machine with complete confidence that it would work comfortably with OS/2? Instead, we have to research aging web pages and download special drivers to get exactly what we want. If Microsoft doesn't call this a monopoly, I don't know what one is!

MORE CHANGES

As mentioned last month, we've moved our offices. Unfortunately, the local U.S. Post Office seems to have difficulty finding us and delivering mail on time. Consequently, we have decided to use a post office box instead. Please re-direct all written correspondence to:

M. Bryce & Associates (MBA)
P.O. Box 1637
Palm Harbor, FL 34682-1637

Please update your records accordingly. NOTE: This will also affect the Tampa Bay Java Users' Group (TBJUG)
Keep the Faith!

- Tim Bryce
Editor, OS/2 CONNECT

Please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail