Usenet 1994 January

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Internet Message Format | 1993-11-21 | 21.9 KB

Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!pitt.edu!wcbst4 From: wcbst4+@pitt.edu (William C Beegle) Newsgroups: comp.os.geos,comp.os.msdos.pcgeos,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: PC/GEOS FAQ List part 1/2 -- General questions Summary: PC/GEOS is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) developed by Geoworks. It runs on top of MS or DR DOS and provides a multitasking, multithreaded environment for any DOS machine with at least 640k of RAM and a hard disk. Message-ID: <7593@blue.cis.pitt.edu> Date: 22 Nov 93 03:50:20 GMT Sender: news+@pitt.edu Followup-To: comp.os.geos Lines: 491 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.os.geos:837 comp.os.msdos.pcgeos:5761 comp.answers:2724 news.answers:14938 Archive-name: pcgeos-faq/part1 Last-modified: modified November 21, 1993 The most recent version of this file can be found at any news.answers archive site. One such site is rtfm.mit.edu, in the /pub/usenet/comp/os/geos subdirectory. Please send comments, suggestions, or corrections to wcbst4+@pitt.edu. I can't take credit for what's in this list of Q's & A's. It's compiled from what I read in this newsgroup, in the manual and in computer magazines. If you ask a good question or provide a good answer, you might well see it included in this list. Thanks to Shag, and John M for their input, and to Doug Taylor for providing the original version. DISCLAIMER: The information in this article does not necessarily represent the official position of Geoworks in any way. It is compiled from various sources, including documentation, press conferences, advertising, and direct use of software. ---- Table of Contents: What is GEOS? How do I contact them? What else is available? User and Supprt Groups How to / Specifics Display International Fonts Printing Compatability ----- Q: What is GEOS? A: GEOS is a state-of-the-art graphical operating system from Geoworks (formerly Berkeley Softworks). It runs on top of MS-DOS or OS/2, and provides a pre-emptive multitasking, multithreaded, object- oriented environment for any PC-compatible with 640k and a hard drive. (A '286 is recommended.) It also provides built-in memory management, virtual (disk) memory, a single imaging model, outline font technology, automatic scrolling and scaling, complex graphic and management tools, and a flexible, scalable GUI. Geoworks Ensemble is a suite of programs which run under GEOS. The current version is 2.0. Q: Is GEOS a real operating system? A: It certainly is a real operating system. DOS is only used for the file system support. By the way, many people consider MS-Windows to be a real operating system too. GEOS is the first object-oriented operating system (OOOS) for the PC. Q: Is GEOS an alternative to Windows? A: That depends on what you mean by "alternative". It won't run Windows applications, but it will provide you with a lot of functionality that Windows won't, especially if you have a low-end machine (less than a '386, and/or less than 4 megs of RAM). Q: Is GEOS available as a pen system? A: Pen/GEOS was announced by Geoworks CEO Brian Dougherty at the Spring 1993 Pen Computing conference. Due to GEOS's object-oriented design, once the basic pen support was added to the appropriate system level objects, all of the applications autmatically have basic Pen support. For all intents and purposes, GEOS is identical to Pen/GEOS. Palm Software has written a set of applications for GEOS, and major manufacturers of pen-based computers are signing on to bundle GEOS and the Palm software with their new devices. The list so far includes Tandy's Z-PDA and Casio's Z-7000, both Zoomer-class devices, and Sharp's PT-9000, a somewhat larger and more powerful unit. SunDisk has announced plans to provide "flash memory" storage units in sizes up to 20mb for the Zoomer-class devices. Q: What is the connection between GEOS and PM/Lite (or OS/2 Lite)? Did Geoworks take over PM/Lite from IBM? A: Other than rumor, none. GEOS was developed by Berkeley Softworks (now Geoworks), not by IBM. Rumor had it Geoworks was at one time working towards an agreement bundling Ensemble with IBM's PS/1's, but that agreement fell through. It was also rumored that IBM talked to Geoworks about taking over PM/Lite, but nothing ever came of that either. Ensemble 2.0, of course, has enough features to leave any "Lite" program in the dust. Q: What new features does Ensemble 2.0 include? A: GeoWrite - New features include text wrapping around pictures, a built-in thesaurus, importing from and exporting to WordPerfect, WordStar, MultiMate, Ms-Word and Xywrite,search-and-replace, and built-in graphic capabilities. GeoComm hasn't been substantially altered, but at least it doesn't crash on the Vt-100 change-scroll-region code like the old one did. Third-party communications applications are expected in late summer or early fall. GeoFile - A new forms-based graphical database with import-export functionality and built-in text, graphic, and spreadsheet capabilities. GeoCalc - A new graphical spreadsheet with import-export functionality and built-in text, graphic, and database capabilities. Calculator - The calculator has been enhanced with scientific math functions and multiple memory registers. Metric/Imperial conversion functions are also included. GeoDraw - GeoDraw now has a whole range of import/export filters (PCX, TIFF, GIF, MAC, PICT, and Windows clipboard formats). It allows conversion between bitmaps and graphic object, editing of bitmaps, advanced object manipulation, polycurves, skewing, and much more, and also has full text capabilities. Spell Checker - The spell checker now operates across all text applications, and multiple dictionaries are available for "American English" and "British English." A thesaurus has been added, which is also available system-wide. Text File Editor - A new text file editor, allowing multiple documents to be open simultaneously, plus spell-checking and thesaurus capabilities. Perf and Screen Dumper are also available via FTP, most major Computer netowrks (AOL, GEnie, etc.) and many BBSs. Q: Can anyone tell me the difference between Ensemble 1, Ensemble 2, and Pro? A: Geoworks Ensemble 1.2 is the old version of the GEOS environment and the Ensemble applications. It is faster on old machines, but lacks MANY features of version 2.0. The most glaring omission of 1.2 was the lack of a spreadsheet, so Geoworks Pro was released with Quattro Pro SE, a DOS spreadsheet from Borland that you can buy separately. There was a spreadsheet viewer in Pro which worked with Quattro and Lotus files. The viewer ran under GEOS, and allowed font changes, printing, and cutting-and-paste into other Geoworks applications. Ensemble 2.0 comes, of course, with GeoCalc, which runs entirely under GEOS, thus negating the need for a DOS-based spreadsheet to be bundled. Q: So where do I get a copy of Ensemble? Is it shareware? A: No, it's not shareware. Currently Ensemble 2.0 is only available as an upgrade to existing users, but it should be available from any DOS software retailer later this summer. The list price is $79.95 plus shipping and is avainable directly from Geowroks Q: Where can I get a demo version of GEOS? A demo version of Ensemble 2.0 has not yet been announced, but the demo of the Ensemble 1.2 was available from software retailers for $10, and the cost was deducted from the cost of the full package. Q: How can I contact Geoworks? A: Their main address is: Geoworks 2150 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley CA 94704 Address for mail orders: Geoworks PO Box 3487 #550 Salinas, CA 93912-3487 Various Geoworks phone numbers: 510 644 0883 - Main computerized voicemail number. x404 - Replacement parts and low-density 5.25" disks. x720 - 24-hour automated fax on demand. x725 - 24-hour automated fax on demand. x749 - 24-hour automated voice on demand. 510 549 1884 - 24-hour Geoworks BBS. 510 644 9362 - General product and sales information. 900 555 GEOS - Tech Support (first minute free, then $1/minute) 800 824 4558 - Orders and non-technical inquiries. 800 GEOS SDK - Order number for the Software Developer's kit 510 644 1621 - International SDK Number Other addresses and numbers, useful in certain countries: Computermate (Australia) Pty. Ltd. 9 High Street Mt. Kuring-Gai NSW 2080 AUSTRALIA 02 457 8388 - Voice 02 457 8739 - Fax 02 457 8548 - Technical support (90 days) IBM Canada Ltd. Returns Centre/Geoworks 4175 14th Avenue Markham, Ontario, L3R 5R5 CANADA 800 465 7999 - Voice 510 644 3456 - Technical support (90 days) Q: Are there any third-party apps for GEOS? A: The only program currently available is a game titled Towers of Hanoi. Products are being developed by America On-Line, Intuit, Palm, Compuserve, and a large number of independent software vendors. Many are expected in late 1993 or early 1994. Palm has released a suite of applications which run under Pen/GEOS on the Zoomer and Sharp's PT-9000. Q: What fonts are available for GEOS? A: Ensemble 2.0 converts and uses the same fonts used by earlier versions, and leaves room for future font-conversion applications. There are 3 font packs available directly from Geoworks that provide a variety of typefaces, and both Micrologic and Atech have font conversion programs that support the Geoworks Nimbus font format. A wide variety of fonts are also available via free FTP, networks, and supporting BBSs. Q: What about games? A: Solitare and Tetris come with Ensemble 2.0. Geoworks also sells a game package called Escape. It is $8.95 to upgrade from Escape for GEOS 1.x. If you didn't have Escape for version 1, well, you don't need it. Call and ask for the Escape upgrade anyway. Geoworks neglected to announce a non-upgrade price. Q: Are there any anonymous ftp sites for GEOS stuff? A: There are currently two anonymous ftp sites with GEOS-specific files. Most of these files are, of course, specific to Ensemble 1.x, and will need conversion before they can be used with Ensemble 2.0. First, there is mir.eco.utexas.edu [128.83.172.17]. The files are in the /pub/geos directory. Access time is 6:00 pm to 8:00 am CST. If you want to upload, compress your file or files using PKZip, and put the zipfile in the /inbasket directory. Then send a note to Tony Yen (tyen@mundo.eco.utexas.edu). Use the filename as the subject of the message, and leave a single-line description in the body of the message. Tony is quite busy, and may not always move files into the /pub/geos directory quickly. Second, the army's Simtel-20 archive now has a GEOWORKS directory in its MSDOS section for Geos 1.x and GEOS 2.x (Called geos1x and geos2x) The best way to access the Simtel archive is through one of its mirror sites, like oak.oakland.edu or wuarchive.wustl.edu. If you have a program to upload to Simtel, please send e-mail to Keith Petersen (w8sdz@tacom-emh1.army.mil) with a short description of the file or files you wish to submit. He will provide you with instruction on how to upload. Please do *not* send files to that mailbox. Q: Is there a USENET newsgroup for GEOS? A: Yes; it is named comp.os.geos. This is the "new group" and use of it is encouraged. The "old group" is comp.os.msdos.pcgeos. New messages should be posted to the new group. The pcgeos-list mailing list has been gatewayed to the new group, and should be working properly very soon. Several subgroups have been proposed for the new Comp.os.geos heirarchy: comp.os.geos.binaries (or comp.binaries.geos) (moderated??) will be a newsgroup for the posting of UUencoded binaries for use with the GEOS operating system. This would include any free or shareware applications, document templates, screen backgrounds, clip-art, non-ASCII informational files, et cetera. This group is in RFC now. Comments may be posted to news.groups with the subject RFD: comp.os.geos.binaries. There is some discussion about whether or not the group should be moderated. comp.os.geos.bugs (unmoderated) will be a newsgroup for the discussion of "undocumented features" found in GEOS-based products. This would include postings along the lines of "if you do this, you get that error," of course, and also less crucial ones such as "this worked differently <better> in the last release, what happened?" comp.os.geos.announce (moderated?) will be a newsgroup for the announcement of GEOS-based products and related products. This would include any new releases by Geoworks, any new releases by third-party vendors for the GEOS operating system, and any announcements relating to the Casio/Tandy Zoomer PDA. I believe this group will become very useful in the next few months, as the public release of 2.0, the introduction of the Zoomer, and the first big wave of third-party support should all hit early this fall. I'm not sure whether this group would best be moderated by a representative of Geoworks or an independent user of the system, and a representative of Geoworks told me he doesn't think the traffic will be high enough initially to warrant a moderator, thus the question-mark. comp.os.geos.programmer (unmoderated) will be a newsgroup for discussion of matters pertaining to writing software for the GEOS operating system. As the GEOS Software Development Kit and Device Driver Development Kit were just released, this group would be somewhat quiet, at first. Q: I do not have access to usenet. Can I follow the newsgroup by e-mail? A: Yes, the newsgroup is gatewayed to e-mail through a mailing list managed by listserver software. Subscribe by sending a specially formatted message to listserv@pandora.sf.ca.us (no subject is required). Put your own full personal name in the space "Firstname Lastname"; otherwise the message text must be exactly as shown below: subscribe pcgeos-list "Firstname Lastname" To unsubscribe, the message text is: unsubscribe pcgeos-list To get information about listserver commands, the message text is: help To get a summarized digest mailed every 1-3 days, instead of a separate mail message for each posting, the message text is: set pcgeos-list mail digest Q: I have a friend who's interested in GEOS, but he doesn't have access to the internet. How can he learn more? A: Well, there are active support groups on America Online, GEnie, and Compuserve. [I can't vouch for Compuserve - WCB] There's also a Fidonet Echo for geos. Bug your local FidoNet SysOp. Q: But he doesn't have a modem. Is he out of luck? A: No. There's a volunteer group called the Geoworks Snail Mail Network. (GWSMN) They send out a montly mailing of newsletters, fonts, etc. You do need a 3.5 HD disk drive. For more info, write: GWSMN Membership Dept. attn: Joseph L. Hodge 3402 Saline Circle Bossier City, LA 71112 Q: I don't like the interface. Can I customize it? A: Ensemble 2.0 offers four levels of interface complexity, and "fine tuning" options within each level, so you can customize each application to present you with as few or as many functions as you desire. GEOS also supports a "Generic/Specific UI" concept. This means that applications are is written for a very powerful dynamically bound object oriented generic user interface. At runtime the system 'binds' the Generic UI to a Specific UI, and all output is presented through that Specific UI. The only currently available Specific UI is Motif-based. A "leaked" CUA-based Specific UI surfaced briefly for Ensemble 1.x, but no alternative UIs are available for Ensemble 2.0... yet. Q: Does GEOS exist in any other language versions than English? A: Certainly. GEOS is currently available in seven languages: Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Q: Which character set does GEOS use? Most European languages need the special characters above CHR(127)... A: GEOS has quite a large available character set. For instance, all the vowels can be given acute, dieresis, grave, and circumflex accents in both upper- and lower-case. You can also use the Spanish ~n (as in se~nor), Danish (?) O-with-a-slash-through-it, the German ess-tset (double s), and many other special language characters. You also have a choice of various typographical, punctuation, currency, and mathematical symbols. These are all documented in the manual, or you can bring up a floating keyboard if you are willing to modify your GEOS.INI file. (Geoworks DOES NOT recommend modifying the GEOS.INI file.) Q: When I install other fonts, they are displayed in the fonts menu in the order they were installed. Is there a way to have them in alphabetical order? A: The Perferences application in Ensemble 2.0 allows you to select which fonts you wish to have appear in your font menu, and their order. Q: Is there a way to print using my printer's built-in fonts? A: There's no way to embed printer codes in an Ensemble document. You might try setting your printer to use the font you want before you enter Ensemble, then print using text-only mode, but GEOS usually delivers much higher-quality output than any built-in font. Q: I'm having trouble printing with Ensemble 2.0. A: Geoworks has recently released updated printer drivers. The new drivers can be found on AOL, SIMTEL, and mir.eco.utexas.edu. To obtain them from SIMTEL, ftp to oak.oakland.edu, and they can be found in the /pub/msdos/geos2x directory under the filname PDR93_07.ZIP. You may also want to get the updated print spooler, filename SPL93_07.ZIP. If this does not fix your problem, check to be sure you have installed the correct printer on the correct port. If your printer is not listed, you'll have to choose the next best choice. Often, the printer manual will have a list of best choices. If all else fails, keep experimenting. If you have a laser printer connected via serial port, it may be working fine, but due to the sheer volume of data that must be sent for a high- quality page, it may take a few minutes to start printing. Q: I'm having trouble importing my graphics file into GEOS. When I use the Import option it imports it, but the colors are all screwed up. What's going on? A: GEOS forces any picture you import to use the GEOS color palette instead of the palette embedded in the picture itself. This is what screws up the colors. You need to get a copy of the files piclb183.zip and ensembul.zip from the one of the anonymous ftp sites. Piclb183.zip contains a program called Piclab which is useful for manipulating GIF files. Among other things, Piclab lets you alter the default color map of a GIF file, and lets you set the number of colors as well. Ensembul.zip is a file containing information on how to use Piclab to convert your picture for use with GEOS. Homefully, 256 color drivers will be released soon. It is known that they were available to beta testers, but Geoworks didn't think they were "stable" enough for the general release. Q: Ok, now I've fixed the palette on my GIF file and now I want to make it into a GEOS background. How do I do that? A: Enter GEOS and start up GeoDraw or the Scrapbook. Use the Import option (on the File menu) to import your file into GeoDraw. Make sure that the imported image is "selected" and then use the Edit menu to either Cut or Copy it to the clipboard. Next, start up Peferences and select the Background option. Once there, click on the "Get background from clipboard" button, give it a name, and your image magically appears as a background. Q: I can't get my backspace character to work with GeoComm when I dial into Unix. What's wrong? A: GeoComm doesn't send the DELETE (ASCII 127) character. Try the following solutions to make Unix accept BACKSPACE (ASCII 8) instead. At the unix command line: stty erase "^H" In GNU-Emacs: Meta-X global-set-key "\C-h" 'backward-delete-char-untabify If you absolutely must send a delete character, try this: Create a DELETE.TXT file containing just the delete character. (You'll have to use a DOS-based text editor to do it.) To send a delete, select "Type From Text File" on the FILE menu. In the dialog box, choose DELETE.TXT, this will send the delete. Q: Does Ensemble support MS-DOS 5.0 or DR-DOS 6.0 task-switching? Ensemble 2.0 currently only supports DR-DOS TaskMax switching, but leaves room for future task-switching modules. Brian Dougherty, CEO of Geoworks, predicts that interest in running DOS apps will decline rapidly in the next two years. Q: What about windows and OS/2 compatability? A: GEOS 2.0 is compatable with both OS/2 and windows. A .pif is included in the /geos20 directory. Q: I'm running Ensemble with Stacker installed. Drive C is my stacker volume (through SSWAP). For some reason GeoManager insists on looking at drive E for the /geoworks/world directory, even though when I exit geoworks, I'm on drive C. Any ideas? A: Check the volume labels for drives C, D, and E. If they're identical, then use GeoManager to edit the volume labels so that each drive has its own distinct label.