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- From: ccs95@aber.ac.uk (Christian Alice Scarborough)
- Newsgroups: comp.org.team-os2,comp.os.os2.advocacy,alt.org.team-os2,alt.answers,comp.answers,news.answers
- Subject: Team OS/2 Frequently Asked Questions
- Supersedes: <Team-OS2-FAQ-1-903140281@aber.ac.uk>
- Followup-To: comp.org.team-os2
- Date: 15 Sep 1998 01:18:02 +0100
- Organization: University of Wales, Aberystwyth
- Lines: 988
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU,comp.org.team-os2@teamos2.org
- Distribution: world
- Expires: 21 Oct 98 01:18:01
- Message-ID: <Team-OS2-FAQ-1-905818681@aber.ac.uk>
- Reply-To: ccs95@aber.ac.uk (Christian Alice Scarborough)
- NNTP-Posting-Host: osfa.aber.ac.uk
- Summary: Collected information relevant to the informal grass-roots
- organisation, Team OS/2, dedicated to the promotion of IBM's PC
- operating system, OS/2, to friends, family, workmates and others.
- X-modtool-archive: No
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.org.team-os2:533 comp.os.os2.advocacy:380916 alt.org.team-os2:14386 alt.answers:36784 comp.answers:33047 news.answers:140043
-
- Posted-By: auto-faq 3.3 beta (Perl 5.005)
- Archive-name: Team-OS2-FAQ
- Posting-Frequency: Monthly
- Version: 2.41
-
- Team OS/2 Frequently Asked Questions List
-
- Version 2.41 (13th Feb 1997)
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Available on the World Wide Web at:
-
- * Europe:
- o http://www.aber.ac.uk/~ccs95/teamfaq.html
- o http://www.teamos2.de/faq/
- * North America:
- o http://www.cinq.com/teamfaq/
-
- If anyone is willing to host a mirror of the FAQ on a Website outside of
- Europe, please get in touch.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Abstract
-
- This document contains a list of questions and answers about that wholly
- remarkable organisation, Team OS/2. It is maintained by Christi Scarborough.
- Corrections, as well as constructive criticism, suggestions for improvement
- and additions, and large sums of money are all welcome, and can be submitted
- to the following address:
-
- Internet: ccs95@aber.ac.uk
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
-
- This document is based entirely on my personal opinions about Team OS/2, and
- any inaccuracies are therefore my fault. In no way does this document
- constitute the official opinion of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (who
- probably don't even know what OS/2 is), or IBM itself.
-
- The document is provided AS IS, without warranty of any kind. The author is
- not liable for any loss or damage resulting from use of information
- contained herein, correct or otherwise.
-
- All trademarks are copyright of their respective owners.
-
- Copyright Christian Alice Scarborough 1994-1997 (except where otherwise
- stated). License is hereby granted to freely distribute this document in any
- form, provided no fee (other than a reasonable distribution charge, where
- applicable) is charged, and that this copyright notice remains intact. This
- document may not be reproduced in any way, either in full or in part, as
- part of a commercial venture (including but not limited to CD-ROM
- distribution and magazine articles) without my express written permission.
-
- An explicit exception to the above license is hereby granted to the
- producers of the Walnut Creek OS/2 Shareware CD ROM, who may include this
- document on their distribution.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Contents
-
- 1. General Questions
- a. What is Team OS/2 about?
- 1. What exactly is Team OS/2?
- 2. How did Team OS/2 originate?
- 3. What does Team OS/2 do?
- 4. I'd like to do one of the things mentioned above, but I'm a
- bit nervous about going it alone. Is there anyone I can ask
- for help?
- 5. What is Team OS/2's position on Windows, Windows 95, NT, and
- other competing software?
- 6. Are Team OS/2 membership and using or supporting a different
- OS mutually exclusive activities?
- b. IBM and Team OS/2
- 1. What is IBM's relationship with Team OS/2?
- 2. Do I have to work for IBM to be a Team OS/2 member?
- 3. How do I contact IBM's Team OS/2 support?
- c. How do I join?
- 1. How do I join Team OS/2?
- 2. How do I get my name placed on the register of Teamers?
- 2. Where to contact Team OS/2 members
- a. Electronic conferences
- 1. Fidonet
- 2. Internet / Usenet
- 3. Prodigy
- 4. CompuServe / CIX
- 5. GEnie
- 6. Delphi
- 7. America Online
- 8. WWIVnet
- b. Face to face
- 1. User groups
- 2. Computer shows / store demos
- 3. Team OS/2 sources of information
- a. Where are the principal sources of Team info?
- 1. Fidonet
- 2. Internet
- 3. Others
- b. What general documents are available?
- 1. The Team OS/2 FAQ
- 2. The OS/2 FAQ
- 3. The Team OS/2 membership list
- 4. OS/2 installation help file
- 5. Trap error guide v1.01
- 6. OS/2 2.1 performance improvements
- 7. OS/2 performance tuning
- 8. Stupid OS/2 Tricks
- 9. APAR lists
- 10. CONFIG.SYS documents
- 11. OS/2 shipping applications
- 12. OS/2 BBS list
- 13. Hardware compatibility table
- 14. The Good, Bad and Ugly hardware list
- 15. Workplace Shell keys reference
- 16. OS/2 Awards
- c. What newsletters are available?
- 1. Team OS/2 newsletter
- 2. San Diego OS/2 User Group newsletter
- 3. IBM Developer Support News
- 4. Others
- d. Where can OS/2 promotional items / software be obtained?
- 1. Indelible Blue Inc. (USA)
- 2. Lees-Keystone (USA)
- 3. The OS/2 Solution Centre (UK)
- 4. OneStop Software (UK)
- 5. J3 Computer Technologies (USA)
- 4. A brief history of OS/2
- a. History
- b. Versions
- 5. Team OS/2 related jargon
- A. Appendix - Revision History
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- 1) General OS/2 questions
-
- 1(a) What is Team OS/2 about?
-
- Question 1(a).1 - What exactly is Team OS/2?
-
- Team OS/2 is a highly informal organisation dedicated to telling the world
- about the advantages of Operating System/2 (OS/2), an advanced operating
- system for personal computers. Faced with a large amount of ignorance and
- misinformation about OS/2, Teamers respond by demonstrating the operating
- system to others, and educating them about its strengths and weaknesses.
- Teamers are all volunteers with a genuine enthusiasm for OS/2 that
- translates into a wish to spread that enthusiasm to others.
-
- Question 1(a).2 - How did Team OS/2 originate?
-
- Shortly before the release of version 2 of OS/2, an IBM employee called Dave
- Whittle had an idea. He, like many others at that time, could see that OS/2
- was an excellent program, but like many others, he was frustrated by the
- lack of attention that it was receiving in the computer press and elsewhere.
- As a result, he decided to form a group of OS/2 enthusiasts who would help
- each other to promote OS/2 at the grass roots level. This organisation grew
- beyond his wildest dreams to encompass Teamers both inside and outside of
- IBM. Currently, Team OS/2 has more than six thousand members worldwide. Less
- than 5% of these are IBM employees.
-
- Question 1(a).3 - What does Team OS/2 do?
-
- Anything that promotes OS/2 to other people. Examples include, but are not
- limited to:
-
- * Showing OS/2 to friends and workmates.
- * Demonstrating OS/2 to local stores, sometimes "adopting" a store.
- * Participating in electronic conferences discussing OS/2.
- * Helping exhibitors at computer shows to set up OS/2 demonstrations, and
- answering OS/2 questions.
- * Promoting OS/2 at user groups, possibly starting Special Interest
- Groups dealing with OS/2, or starting OS/2 user groups.
- * Running OS/2 BBS systems, carrying OS/2 files.
-
- Not to mention anything else that springs to mind, often on the spur of the
- moment. Above all, Teamers do what they do because it is fun.
-
- Question 1(a).4 - I'd like to do one of the things mentioned above, but I'm
- a bit nervous about going it alone. Is there anyone I can ask for help?
-
- Yes. Many Teamers are willing to offer advice through electronic
- conferences, and you may be able to find Teamers local to you this way. For
- demos, you might like to get in touch with your local IBM office, if you
- have one. If you are setting up an OS/2 User Group, then IBM can also offer
- some help; contact ibmpcug@vnet.ibm.com via the Internet. In particular, the
- Fidonet Team OS/2 echo has many contributors that also run user groups.
-
- Question 1(a).5 - What is Team OS/2's position on Windows, Windows 95, NT,
- and other competing software?
-
- Well, Team OS/2 is an informal organisation, and as such has no views on
- anything. In my experience, and yours may differ, the majority of Teamers
- feel that OS/2 is good enough that we can promote it on it's own merits,
- rather than resort to rubbishing competing products, which can often give a
- bad impression, alienating people who might otherwise enjoy using OS/2.
-
- Question 1(a).6 - Are Team OS/2 membership and using or supporting a
- different OS mutually exclusive activities?
-
- Absolutely not. Being a fan of OS/2 does not mean that a Teamer has to avoid
- all other OSes. There are now a wide range of other PC and non-PC operating
- systems such as Linux, Windows NT, Windows 95, NextStep, and System 7, and
- all of them have different strengths and weaknesses, so it's possible to
- like more than one.
-
- 1(b) IBM and Team OS/2
-
- Question 1(b).1 - What is IBM's relationship with Team OS/2?
-
- IBM has no control or authority over the activities of Team OS/2. It no
- longer provides formal support for Team OS/2 activities.
-
- IBM's support for Team OS/2 was traditionally strongest within the USA, but
- they have liasons in sixteen other countries, although it is unclear whether
- any of these are still operating. Their email addresses are listed in
- section 1(b).3.
-
- Question 1(b).2 - Do I have to work for IBM to be a Team OS/2 member?
-
- The answer to this question is a categorical NO. Although Team OS/2 contains
- many IBMers who are active participants, the vast majority are users,
- programmers, students, and other enthusiasts from outside of IBM.
-
- Question 1(b).3 - How do I contact IBM's Team OS/2 support?
-
- IBM has now withdrawn support for Team OS/2, so they can no longer be
- contacted. Some of the international contacts below may still be able to
- help though.
-
- International contacts:
-
- Caveat: This information is very old, and I have no idea how accurate it is.
-
- Argentina: Juan Sortheix - dszpholm@hp1.cbs.dk
- Australia: Peter Kelley - yellek@vnet.ibm.com
- Austria: Georg Hascheck - haschek@vnet.ibm.com
- Ludwig Eder - ederl@vnet.ibm.com
- Belgium: Frank Vandewiele - <address unknown>
- Canada: Arylnn Poczynek - teamos2_cnd@vnet.ibm.com
- Denmark: Carsten Joost - TEAMOS2_DK@vnet.ibm.com
- Germany; Andreas Claus Kistner - KISTNER@FRANVM2.VNET.IBM.COM
- Ireland: Scott Myles - teamos2.ireland@street.nemesis.co.uk
- Japan: Kaoru Sudo - <address unknown>
- Latvia: Harry Bush - Harry@castle.riga.lv, Fido 2:51/2
- Netherlands: Jeroen van den Horn - HORNE@vnet.ibm.com
- Portugal: Pedro Soares - <address unknown>
- Singapore: Jason Ho Yong Sing - <address unknown>
- South Africa: Faridah Hoosen - <address unknown>
- Glenn Fermoyle - <address unknown>
- Francois van der Merwe - <address unknown>
- Spain: Xavier Caballe - xavier.caballa@abaforum.es
- Sweden: Mats Pettersson - TEAMOS2_SV@vnet.ibm.com
- Switzerland: Thomas Straumann -
- Thomas.Straumann@p3.f315.n301.z2.fidonet.org
- UK: Andrew Agerbak - TEAMUK@vnet.ibm.com
-
- 1(c) How do I join?
-
- Question 1(c).1 - How do I join Team OS/2?
-
- Joining Team OS/2 is very simple. There is no formal membership application
- process. All that is necessary is to do something that promotes OS/2 to
- others, no matter how large or small, and you are entitled to call yourself
- a Team OS/2 member. Once you have done this, you may wish to place the text
- "Team OS/2" in any electronic messages you send, and you may wish to have
- your name placed on the register of Teamers kept by IBM, but neither of
- these steps are essential to becoming a Team OS/2 member, just a willingness
- to promote OS/2 to others.
-
- Question 1(c).2 - How do I get my name placed on the register of Teamers?
-
- The Team OS/2 membership database has been undergoing a bit of a facelift
- recently. If you would like to join, then the easiest way is to use the
- World Web Web - point your browser at http://www.teamos2.org/jointeam.
- Regretably it is no longer possible to register other than over the Web.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- 2) How to contact Team OS/2 members
-
- 2(a) Electronic conferences
-
- Teamers frequent many electronic conferences, some of which are listed
- below. If there is a conference that you know of that is not listed below,
- please let me know.
-
- 2(a).1 - Fidonet
-
- The Fidonet echo TEAMOS2 is on the echo backbone in Zones 1 and 2, and is
- also taken by sites in zones 3 and 6. It serves as a meeting place for
- Teamers worldwide to discuss issues relating to Team activities, as well as
- serving as a point of contact for many OS/2 user groups.
-
- There are also several national Fidonet echoes in existence, for example
- Germany and France both have national language Team OS/2 echoes.
-
- 2(a).2 - Internet / Usenet
-
- The newsgroups comp.org.team-os2 (moderated) and alt.org.team-os2 are
- specifically devoted to Team OS/2, although many Teamers also follow the
- newsgroups in the comp.os.os2 hierarchy. Of particular interest to Teamers
- is the comp.os.os2.advocacy newsgroup, also frequented by several staunch NT
- supporters. some of the posts in this newsgroup are rather extreme in nature
- - you have been warned!
-
- There are also a couple of OS/2 related mailing lists. To subscribe to one
- of these lists, send mail to the address specified with a blank subject line
- and the text
-
- sub <list name> <your first name> <your surname>
-
- in the message text, filling in your details as appropriate. Do not include
- an explanation or signature, as the request will be processed automatically.
-
- List name: os2users
- Location: McGill University in Canada
- Topic: general OS/2 discussion
- Address: listserv@vm1.mcgill.ca
-
- List name: os2-l
- Location: the Netherlands
- Topic: general OS/2 discussion
- Address: listserv@nic.surfnet.nl
-
- List name: team-os2
- Location: the Netherlands
- Topic: Grass roots promotion of OS/2
- Addresses: listserv@nic.surfnet.nl
-
- List name: teamhelp
- Location: the Netherlands
- Topic: Team OS/2 help desk
- Addresses: listserv@nic.surfnet.nl
-
- In addition, there are several Team OS/2 related mailing lists running off
- the Team OS/2 World Wide Web server. Details of these can be found at
- http://www.teamos2.org/joinlist.
-
- 2(a).3 - Prodigy
-
- Seek out the OS/2 club, which has both files for downloading and message
- areas.
-
- 2(a).4 - CompuServe / CIX
-
- 'Go OS2USER'. Section 9 is dedicated to Team OS/2.
-
- 2(a).5 - GEnie
-
- The OS/2 roundtable (page 1400) is the place to look here. Look out for the
- announcements of upcoming Realtime Conferences (RTCs) in the Upcoming
- Bulletin Board conferences section.
-
- 2(a).6 - Delphi
-
- The Teamers here are to be found hanging out on Custom Forum 41.
-
- 2(a).7 - America Online
-
- Head for the Computing icon, OS/2 topic. AOL has regularly-scheduled OS/2
- chats on Tuesdays at 11:30 p.m., Thursdays at 9 p.m., and Saturdays at 9:30
- p.m. EST (Grenwich Mean Time minus 5 hours.)
-
- 2(a).8 - WWIVnet
-
- Dave Allen Walker hosts a Team OS/2 subboard on WWIVnet, which can be
- subscribed to from WWIVnet or WWIVlink as follows:
-
- Subtype: TEAMOS2
- Host:
- WWIVnet: @5555
- WWIVlink: @19984
-
- 2(b) Face to face
-
- Often it's nice to meet fellow Teamers in the flesh too. There are two main
- places where there is a good chance of meeting Teamers face to face.
-
- 2(b).1 - User groups
-
- OS/2 user groups usually have a large contingent of Teamer members, and
- there may be one near you. These are mostly found within the USA, although
- the International OS/2 User Group is based in Cirencester, UK and many other
- countries (such as Germany) now have their own user groups. A list of OS/2
- User Groups is regretably beyond the scope of this document.
-
- 2(b).2 - Computer shows / store demos
-
- If you are planning to attend a computer show, it is possible that you will
- find a group of Teamers helping out there. If you would like to help out
- with Team activities at the show, then contact IBM's Team OS/2 support, who
- will probably be able to put you in touch with those organising Team OS/2's
- presence. Also, Teamers will often help out at store demos of OS/2.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- 3) Team OS/2 sources of information
-
- This section is concerned mainly with the electronic distribution of Team
- OS/2 and general OS/2 related information, although the final sub-section
- covers OS/2 promotional items and software by mail order.
-
- 3(a) Where are the principal sources of OS/2 information / software?
-
- This section is classified by electronic network.
-
- 3(a).1 - Fidonet
-
- An extensive selection of OS/2 related material is distributed on file echos
- called the "Fernwood Collection" and is maintained on the Bear Garden BBS in
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. FWOS2INFO is the place to look for Team
- OS/2 info, much of which can also be FReqed (see glossary) from Janet
- Gobeille's BBS (1:382/902).
-
- Also worth a mention is the OS/2 Shareware BBS (sysop Pete Norloff, node
- 1:109/347), located in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, phone number 703-385-4325,
- carrying one of the widest selections of OS/2 related files and echos in the
- the world. The BBS is also connected to the Internet at bbs.os2bbs.com
- (subscribers only) and the WWW at http://www.os2bbs.com.
-
- In England, Monusci, the BBS of the International OS/2 User Group is a good
- source of OS/2 information and files, and access is not restricted to User
- Group members. The Sysop is Mike Gove, node number 2:255/100, phone number
- (01454) 633197. The International OS/2 User Group has moved since this
- information was obtained, so this may be out of date.
-
- 3(a).2 - Internet
-
- Several OS/2 related anonymous ftp sites are available on the Internet. The
- two main sites are
-
- ftp-os2.nmsu.edu Directory: /os2
- ftp.cdrom.com Directory: /pub/os2
-
- IBM's own official OS/2 FTP site is located at
-
- software.watson.ibm.com Directory: /pub/os2
-
- The IBM OS/2 device driver repository is at
-
- ftp.europe.ibm.com Directory: /psmemea/os2drivers
-
- These sites are mirrored in several places around the world, including
-
- src.doc.ic.ac.uk (England) Directory: /computing/systems/os2
- ftp.funet.fi/pub/os2 (Finland) Directory: /pub/os2
- ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de Directory: /pub/comp/os/os2
- (Germany)
-
- A more comprehensive list of FTP sites can be found in the OS/2 FAQ.
-
- For information about ftp, consult the glossary in Section 5
-
- There have been an enormous number of OS/2 related World Wide Web sites set
- up recently, so much so that it is impossible to list them all here.
- However, a couple of sites worth looking at, from which you should be able
- to find the rest, are:
-
- www.ibm.com IBM's own WWW site
- www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/os2.html
- IBM's OS/2 page
- www.europe.ibm.com IBM Europe
- www.teamos2.org Team OS/2's home on the Web
- www.mit.edu:8001/activities/os2/os2world.html
- The MIT OS/2 home page
-
- 3(a).3 - Others
-
- Any details of OS/2 sources on other networks would be greatly appreciated.
-
- 3(b) What general documents are available?
-
- Here is a list of files that may be useful to OS/2 users and Teamers in
- particular. It is, however, beginning to show its age, and perhaps a better
- source of information would be the OS/2 Must Have Utilities List at
- http://www.musthave.com.
-
- 3(b).1 - The Team OS/2 FAQ - TMFAQ241.ZIP
-
- Well, you are reading it at the moment. Anything I could say about it seems
- slightly superfluous in the light of that fact.
-
- 3(b).2 - The OS/2 FAQ - WARPFAQ3.ZIP
-
- This is a list of questions and answers related to OS/2 generally,
- maintained by Timothy Sipples. It is posted at regular intervals in the
- comp.os.os2.advocacy newsgroup, and can be found on many ftp sites, as well
- as some BBSes. There are a small number of FAQs concerned with more specific
- aspects of OS/2, such as programming. For a list of these, please consult
- the OS/2 FAQ.
-
- 3(b).3 - The Team OS/2 membership list - TEAMOS.ZIP
-
- This document, widely distributed on BBSes, is a list of all the Team OS/2
- members worldwide who have submitted their names to IBM, along with their
- location (city and country), and any electronic addresses, enabling Teamers
- local to each other to get in touch. The filename is TEAMxx.ZIP (xx being a
- version number).
-
- This list is incredibly out of date, and an update is extremely unlikely.
-
- 3(b).4 - OS/2 installation help file
-
- A list of problems and fixes for use when installing OS/2 2.1, in INF
- format. Filename is probably INSIN2.ZIP.
-
- 3(b).5 - Trap error guide v1.01 - TRAPINF.ZIP
-
- INF file containing a brief description of OS/2 Trap messages and what they
- really mean.
-
- 3(b).6 - OS/2 2.1 performance improvements
-
- An INF file describing Workplace Shell performance improvements in OS/2 2.1.
- Filename: WP21PERF.ZIP. Only of historical interest now.
-
- 3(b).7 - OS/2 performance tuning.
-
- INF file containing tips to allow you to fine tune your system settings for
- better OS/2 performance. Filename: OS2PERF.ZIP
-
- 3(b).8 - Stupid OS/2 Tricks - TRICKS6.ZIP
-
- A list of useful (and not so useful) things you can do to your OS/2 system
- in INF format.
-
- 3(b).9 - APAR lists - 30APR1.ZIP
-
- APARs are known problems with OS/2 that IBM is in the process of fixing. The
- lists contain details of the bugs that IBM know about. Again probably only
- of historical interest.
-
- 3(b).10 - CONFIG.SYS documents
-
- There are currently two ASCII documents explaining what the sometimes rather
- cryptic statements in the OS/2 CONFIG.SYS file mean. These are CFGS_11.ZIP
- and OS2CFG11.ZIP.
-
- 3(b).11 - OS/2 shipping applications - OS2_APPS.TXT
-
- Just that. A list of currently shipping applications for OS/2. Often useful
- when countering rumours that there are no OS/2 applications available.
-
- 3(b).12 - OS/2 BBS list - OS2WORLD.ZIP
-
- Contains a list of BBSes that carry OS/2 files and echos throughout the
- world.
-
- 3(b).13 - Hardware compatibility table
-
- Contains a list of hardware that has been tested by IBM and found to be
- compatible with OS/2. This can be very useful when buying new hardware, or
- for finding out if OS/2 will run on a friend's machine. This file is pretty
- much obsolete now, since OS/2 now runs on almost any PC hardware. Filename:
- PCMTAB.ZIP.
-
- 3(b).14 - The Good, Bad and Ugly hardware list
-
- Similar to the hardware table above, but is compiled from feedback from
- users who tried to get their hardware running under OS/2. It is in INF
- format, and is organised by peripheral type (e.g. 'soundcards') - filename
- GBU109.ZIP
-
- 3(b).15 - Workplace Shell keys reference - WPSKEYS.TXT
-
- A concise reference containing keyboard shortcuts for various operations.
-
- 3(b).16 - OS/2 Awards - OS2AWARD.ZIP
-
- An IBM produced listing of awards that OS/2 has won
-
- 3(c) What newsletters are available
-
- 3(c).1 - Team OS/2 newsletter - TNEW09.ZIP
-
- This electronic newsletter from IBM in INF format aims to keep Teamers
- worldwide informed and up to date on Team activities worldwide. This is now
- defunct, but back issues should be widely available. Available from many
- BBSes as TNEWxx.ZIP (xx is the version number).
-
- Any Teamer wanting to take on the task of creating a newsletter should get
- in touch with IBM Team OS/2 support (see section 1(b).3 above).
-
- 3(c).2 - San Diego OS/2 User Group newsletter - SDIN9410.ZIP
-
- An extremely well presented and professional INF format newsletter produced
- for the San Diego OS/2 User Group, but distributed worldwide via Fidonet and
- the Internet. Edited by Dave Sichak, each edition contains OS/2 related
- articles and reviews, as well as a worldwide list of OS/2 User groups. This
- is worth checking out. The newsletter has now gone print only, but
- electronic back issues are still available.
-
- 3(c).3 - IBM Developer Support News - DSN95AA.ZIP
-
- An INF format magazine produced by IBM and aimed at programmers working with
- OS/2. This magazine tends to contain articles of a more technical nature.
- The latest filename can be calculated according to the following archaic
- formula, reproduced from the newsletter itself:
-
- Issue Date Zipped ASCII .INF .PS Pages
-
- 10 15 Aug dsn4ja.zip = dsn4j.asc 106
- dsn4ji.zip = dsn4j.inf
- dsn4jp.zip = dsn4j.ps
-
- 11 14 Sep dsn4ka.zip = dsn4k.asc 54
-
- Explanation of names of zipped files for 1993 Issue 7 and later:
-
- DSNymA = Developer Support News 199y issue m ASCII (plain-text)
- DSNymI = Developer Support News 199y issue m .INF (use OS/2 VIEW)
- DSNymP = Developer Support News 199y issue m .PS (PostScript)
-
- where y = last digit of year (3, 4, ...)
- m = issue represented as alpha (1=A, ..., 7=G, 8=H, ...)
-
-
- For example, DSN3GI is 1993 issue 7 (=G), the 15 October issue, in .INF
- format (after being unzipped).
-
- 3(c).4 - Others
-
- Here is a short list of some of the other newsletters available:
-
- CON1296.ZIP - OS/2 Connect
- EDMI4_1.ZIP - Electronic Developer's Magazine/2
- PROS1296.ZIP - PROS/2 - Tampa Bay OS/2 Users Group Newsletter
-
- 3(d) Where can OS/2 promotional items / software be found?
-
- 3(d).1 - Indelible Blue Inc. (USA)
-
- Indelible Blue is an OS/2 only mail order vendor with a large stock of
- applications. They also have franchises worldwide. Any details on these
- would be much appreciated.
-
- Address: Indelible Blue, Inc.,
- 3209 Gresham Lake Road,
- Suite 135,
- Raleigh, North Carolina, 27615
- USA
-
- Phone: 800-776-8284 (USA only), 919-878-9700
- Fax: 919-878-7479
- Office Hours: 8:30am - 7:00 pm EST Monday-Friday.
- CompuServe: 70670,2352
- WWW: http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib
-
- 3(d).2 - Lees-Keystone (USA)
-
- Lees-Keystone stock a wide range of OS/2 trinkets and promotional items such
- as mouse mats, car stickers etc. They also stock Team OS/2 specific items
- such as T-shirts.
-
- Lees-Keystone are known for having high shipping costs. Be sure to check
- these before ordering.
-
- Phone: (800) 717-7666 (USA only)
- (914) 273-6755
- Fax: (914) 273-9187
-
- 3(d).3 - The OS/2 Solution Centre (UK)
-
- An offshoot of the International OS/2 User group, based at the same address,
- this mail order vendor stocks a large range of OS/2 products and services,
- aimed primarily at business customers.
-
- Phone: +44 (0)1494 444362
-
- 3(d).4 - OneStop Software (UK)
-
- OneStop Software aim to be the most comprehensive source of OS/2 products in
- Europe. They will ship outside the UK.
-
-
-
- Address: OneStop Software
- Maggs House
- 78 Queens Road
- Clifton
- BS8 1QX
- United Kingdom
-
- Phone: +44 (0)117 985 3370
- (9.30 - 5.30 Mon. - Fri. - answering machine out of hours)
- Fax: +44 (0)117 985 3373
- WWW: http://www.onestop.co.uk
-
- 3(d).5 - J3 Computer Technologies (USA)
-
- Address: J3 Computer Technologies
- 8851 Central Ave., #G-316
- Montclair, CA 91763
- USA
-
- WWW: http://www.os2store.com
- Phone: (800) 787 0930 (USA only)
- (909) 985 6786
- Fax: (909) 981 5423
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- 4) A brief history of OS/2
-
- This section is intended to give an introduction to the history of OS/2, as
- well as a brief explanation of the rather confusing splintering of OS/2
- versions that has occurred recently.
-
- 4(a) - History of OS/2
-
- In 1987, IBM and Microsoft released OS/2 version 1.0 as the successor to MS
- DOS, the PC operating system shipped with the original IBM PC. OS/2 ran on a
- 286 or better processor, and required a minimum of 2MB of RAM.
-
- OS/2 version 1 was enhanced and improved jointly by IBM and MS, and for
- version 1.1 a GUI (see Glossary below) was added. Version 1.2 introduced the
- High Performance File System (HPFS), and also a plethora of bugs.
-
- At about this time, MS and IBM started to disagree over the future of OS/2,
- and Microsoft pulled out of the project, leaving IBM to develop a more
- stable OS/2 1.3 on its own.
-
- OS/2 1.x never sold in great volume, and enjoyed only a moderate success in
- the corporate market for a variety of reasons. It did not run on most
- non-IBM manufactured hardware, was not really backwardly compatible (having
- very limited DOS program support), and suffered from a lack of applications.
-
- In 1991, IBM released OS/2 version 2.0, a new version of OS/2 for 386 and
- higher processors requiring a minimum of 4MB (6MB for practical purposes) of
- RAM, and featuring a redesigned object oriented GUI called the Workplace
- Shell. It also introduced multiple DOS sessions that would run the majority
- of old DOS applications, as well as built in support for Windows programs
- through a licensed version of the Windows 3.0 code.
-
- Version 2.1 added improvements in performance and usability, as well as
- Windows 3.1 support and built in multimedia. IBM then followed this up with
- OS/2 for Windows, which would take users' existing copies of Windows, and
- modify them to allow them to run under OS/2. The next release of OS/2,
- called OS/2 Warp version 3, built on this with substantial an improved
- install process, reduced memory requirements, and support for many more
- hardware devices. This was followed by OS/2 Warp Connect, which added full
- TCP/IP support and Peer to Peer networking to the Warp bundle.
-
- The launch of OS/2 Warp version 4 marked a shift in policy for IBM away from
- the home and small office user towards a corporate environment. The major
- enhancements were speech to text dictation software and built in Java
- support as well as a complete suit of networking programs. Beneath the
- surface, however, Warp 4 has little to offer that cannot be accomplished
- using Warp 3.
-
- 4(b) - The OS/2 family
-
- There are a number of versions of OS/2 about. Hopefully this will explain
- the differences. Where products have not yet been released, details are
- obviously sketchy and subject to change.
-
- * OS/2 1.x - The original release of OS/2
-
- * OS/2 2.0 - The first release of OS/2 specifically for 386 or better
- computers.
-
- * OS/2 2.1 - An enhanced version of 2.0 with multimedia and Windows 3.1
- support.
-
- * OS/2 for Windows - A version of OS/2 that is functionally the same as
- OS/2 2.1, but comes without any Windows code, and can use genuine
- Windows 3.x code that the user has already purchased from Microsoft
- instead of making her pay for a new Windows license. Surprisingly
- enough, OS/2 for Windows does not require Windows to run. Windows is
- only needed to run Windows programs under OS/2. Users of OS/2 2.x
- cannot upgrade to OS/2 for Windows.
-
- * OS/2 SMP - SMP stands for symmetric multiprocessing. This is a version
- of OS/2 that is capable of using the greater power of PCs that have a
- number of processors in them. As a rule, such PCs are normally used as
- file servers on large networks, so this product is aimed at the
- corporate market.
-
- * OS/2 2.99, Warp, Performance OS/2 - These names were all used to refer
- to the beta test version of OS/2 Warp version 3 (see below).
-
- * OS/2 Warp version 3 - The current mainstream release of the OS/2
- family. It is reported to be faster and more responsive than earlier
- versions of OS/2 (although not in some systems - particularly those
- with slow disks), with smaller memory requirements. It also includes a
- number of usability enhancements, such as a LaunchPad for quickly
- launching applications. The first version of Warp to be released was
- based on the OS/2 for Windows code, and so did not ship with Windows
- code included.
-
- Warp comes in four flavours: OS/2 Warp, OS/2 with Win-OS/2, OS/2 Warp
- Connect and OS/2 Warp Connect with Win-OS/2. The 'with WIN-OS/2'
- versions include Windows code from IBM (as well as the cost of a
- Windows license, naturally). Users of OS/2 2.1 can upgrade to 'with
- Win-OS/2' versions of OS/2 Warp. The Connect versions are designed to
- allow easy connection to local area networks, and come with built in
- peer to peer networking facilities.
-
- * OS/2 for PowerPC - A version of OS/2 for the PowerPC platform, released
- in 1995.
-
- * OS/2 Warp Server - OS/2 Warp Connect integrated with IBM LAN server
- 4.0. This version of Warp is designed for networked computers serving
- files and printers to other computers on the network.
-
- * Merlin - OS/2 version 4 beta release.
-
- * OS/2 Warp 4 - The current version of OS/2 which comes with VoiceType
- speech to text dictation and built in Java support (Warp 4 was the
- first OS to provide this), as well as built in networking. It does not
- run on 386 processor PCs.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- 5) Team OS/2 related jargon
-
- This section is intended to explain some of the terms used by Teamers and in
- this document. The world of computing in general seems to be rife with
- jargon, and this can be confusing for the newcomer. Hopefully, things will
- be a little clearer after having read this section.
-
- APAR
- APAR stands for Authorized Program Analysis Report. An APAR is a
- problem or bug (qv) in OS/2 that IBM has officially recognised and
- either has fixed, or is in the process of fixing. Fixpacks (qv) usually
- come with a list of APARs that have been fixed.
- Beta
- A pre-release version of a program. OS/2 was subject to one of the
- widest beta tests ever, with many copies being shipped to customers.
- Beta products are often unstable and usually contain many bugs (qv),
- but allow the user to test out the product ahead of its release.
- Bug
- A problem with a piece of software that causes it to operate
- incorrectly.
- CPU
- Central processing unit. The part of the computer that does the work.
- OS/2 runs on computers containing Intel (qv) 80386, 80486, and Pentium
- CPUs.
- CSD
- Corrective Service Diskettes. The same thing as 'Service Pack' (qv).
- DOS
- The Disk Operating System. This was the operating system (qv) shipped
- with the original IBM PC in 1981. It has since gone through seven major
- releases.
- Fixpack
- Yet another name for a Service Pack (qv)
- FReq
- Fidonet term. File Request. A netmail (qv) message sent directly to a
- BBS system requesting files from them.
- FTP
- file transfer protocol. A method of transferring files from a remote
- machine to your machine over the internet. For details of how to use
- it, type 'man ftp' or 'help ftp' on your local system.
- FUD
- Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Term used to describe certain
- unscrupulous marketing techniques whereby large amounts of incorrect
- information are disseminated to the public in order to aversely effect
- sales of a product.
- GA
- General Availability. The GA release of a product is the first 'for
- sale' release.
- GUI
- A Graphical User interface. This is a method of interaction with the
- computer (usually using a mouse - an electronic device used to move a
- cursor around the screen) that is theoretically more intuitive than the
- command line interface used in DOS, because it uses graphics to
- represent various tasks to the user. Sometimes described as a WIMP
- (Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers) system. Windows (qv), and OS/2's
- Workplace Shell are both graphical user interfaces.
- HTML
- Hypertext markup language. Confusing piece of jargon that is used to
- describe the language in which World Wide Web (qv) documents are
- written.
- HTTP
- The hypertext transfer protocol. Another confusing piece of jargon that
- just means that a World Wide Web (qv) document is in the standard form
- for Web browsers (qv).
- IBM
- The International Business Machines corporation, manufacturer of OS/2.
- INF
- A file extension used to denote IPF files readable by the VIEW program
- supplied with OS/2. INF files have the form <filename>.INF. The VIEW
- program presents these files in a user friendly and intuitive manner,
- allowing the user to manipulate the information contained easily.
- Intel
- A manufacturer of CPU (qv) chips.
- Netmail
- Fidonet term. Private mail transferred between Fidonet systems.
- Operating System
- The software that allows a computer to run other programs.
- OS/2
- IBM's (qv) Operating System/2 (or OS/2 for short) is an advanced 32 bit
- Operating System (qv) for IBM PCs and compatibles with an 80386, 80486,
- Pentium, Pentium Pro, or other compatible processor, and also the
- PowerPC (qv). Amongst the advantages of OS/2 are pre-emptive
- multitasking, DOS and Windows compatibility, an advanced object
- oriented GUI (qv), multimedia support and much more.
- PowerPC
- A new kind of PC based on a CPU (qv) developed jointly by IBM (qv),
- Apple and Motorola.
- PSP
- Personal Software Products, the division of IBM responsible for
- marketing OS/2.
- Recursion
- See recursion (qv).
- Service Pack
- A collection of OS/2 bug fixes that are distributed together to allow
- users to get rid of several fixed problems.
- SP
- see Service Pack.
- Teamer
- Member of Team OS/2 (qv).
- Team OS/2
- Informal organisation dedicated to promoting OS/2 at a grass roots
- level.
- Web browser
- A piece of software, such as WebExplorer (which comes with OS/2), that
- is used to access the World Wide Web (qv). Other popular browsers
- include Netscape and Mosaic.
- Windows
- A GUI (qv) for DOS (qv). OS/2 was originally designed as the successor
- to Windows by IBM and Microsoft, but Microsoft have since decided to
- follow a different path with their Windows NT (qv) product.
- Windows NT
- Microsoft's alternative GUI operating system intended originally as a
- competitor to OS/2, but more recently marketed as a high end server
- platform.
- Windows 95
- Microsoft's latest upgrade to Windows (qv) and replacement for DOS (qv)
- including some of the features and improved stability of Windows
- NT.(qv)
- Workplace OS
- A portable version of OS/2 that will run on several different types of
- computer, currently being designed by IBM.
- World Wide Web
- Term used to describe a way of providing linked information over the
- Internet. OS/2 (qv) now comes with software that enables users to
- access the web.
- WWW
- Abbreviation for World wide Web (qv).
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Appendix A
-
- Revision History
-
- Version 2.41 is as usual long overdue, but contains only minor corrections
- to version 2.4, as well as noting the sad demise of official IBM support for
- Team OS/2.
-
- Version 2.4 contains more updates (mostly IBM contact information) plus a
- new question (again about Team OS/2 and other OSes). Since I no longer
- moderate the Fidonet Team OS/2 echo, I've handed over maintainence of what
- used to be Appendix A (information specific to that echo) to the new
- moderator. As a result the Revision History now becomes Appendix A.
- Exciting, eh?
-
- The long overdue version 2.3 involves a few cosmetic changes, a load of
- updates (sigh, the world moves too fast for me), and a complete translation
- to HTML. The text version is now generated from the HTML version. (anyone
- who has an HTML to IPF source converter would make my day if they'd send me
- a copy). I've also added a couple of new questions (on other operating
- systems, and appropriate topics in the Fidonet Team OS/2 echo). OneStop
- Software was also added to the software sources list.
-
- Version 2.20 is an attempt to make the information contained here more
- current.
-
- Version 2.10 updates some information that has become out of date since
- version 2.01. The section on sources of information has been greatly
- expanded (thanks to Byron Huang for this info), and a new section on the
- history and versions of OS/2 has been added. Question 1(a).5, dealing with
- Teamers and Windows, is also new. OS/2 Internet mailing list details are now
- included, in section 2(a).2.
-
- This document is intended to be a universal source of Team OS/2 related
- information, but does contain a few gaping holes, notably relating to
- electronic networks that I do not participate in. In particular, I must
- apologise for the US/anglocentric focus of this document, as these are the
- areas for which such information is readily available to me. It is my hope
- that individuals with knowledge in areas that I lack would send it to me for
- inclusion in the next release. Thank you.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Team OS/2 FAQ v 2.41 / Christi Scarborough / christi@teamos2.org
-