Welcome back to the Internet's premiere site for news, reviews and opinions on OS/2. In this issue we take a look at on-line services and what they have to offer OS/2 users; graphical file mangers for those who just can't shake their Windows 3.x habits; and some hot new games. Enjoy!
Departments: Opinions:
Editorial The Rants. . . Chris' | Trevor's
The Beta File the Rave
the REXX Files Linfield's Line
Paying Our Way
Reviews:
Feature Review:Commercial On-line Services
Many of our readers come to us on the Internet from various corners of the world. Some souls, however, shun the chaos that is the 'net in favour of a well organized, one-stop-shopping on-line service. We review major on-line services and what they have to offer the OS/2 user.
Graphical File Managers:
Are you one of those users who just can't shake the Windows way of doing things and still manipulates his files with a buttonbar or file menu? Have faith, there are many native OS/2 applications designed to suit you, from freeware to shareware and commercial.
Games:
Stardock is back in the news with their update of Galactic Civilizations and Continuous Software Systems' Avarice Preview and for those of you who still have too much time on your hands, we have one word you--Tetris!
Books: OS/2 Warp Programming for Dummies - Rich Furman
A retrospective and introspective look at IDG's latest attempt to make dummies of us all. Can a dummy learn to program? Can a programmer learn not to be a dummy? We'll tell you!
Features:
Confessions Of A British Warp User - Tim Walker
You think you've got it bad? Lend an ear to our friend across the sea and find out what it's like to be a Warp user on an "Island" of Windows.
FixPak, What's a FixPak?- Thomas Chamberlain
Get your FixPak fix. An in depth look at those mysterious files IBM keeps releasing--what are they, where are they, who are they for, and should you take the plunge? Not to mention, the infamous FixPak 16!
Warp Server Beta - Bernhard Roher
A first look at why the Warp Server Beta program is one of the largest of its kind ever and is generating such rave reviews.
John Soyring Speaks
Recently, yet another "OS/2 is dead" rumour arose by way of Spencer Katt, popular PC Week rumourist. PSP Vice President John Soyring sets the record straight. Reprinted from Usenet.
Odds & Ends:
Hot Sellers - the top 10 selling OS/2 applications.
How to Subscribe to OS/2 e-Zine! for FREE.
How YOU can Sponsor OS/2 e-Zine!
The Sponsors that Make this Issue Possible
*Coming up in the next issue:*
A bigger, better, and bolder
issue with more reviews,
interviews, columns
and articles--
Feb. 29th!
Copyright 1996 - Haligonian Media
ISSN 1203-5696
*****
A Bright Future - editorial
Lately there seems to be significant momentum for OS/2. With retail sales results that some claim are dismal for Windows 95 and the powerful surge in sales to finish what was already a good year for OS/2, some might wonder if our underdog has a chance in the mind-share war after all. Certainly the release of Merlin sometime around the middle of this year is already starting to get the OS/2 faithful worked up into an evangelistic frenzy once again. But are things really getting better?
It seems so. For years, a major complaint of users and ISV's alike has been the near-constant spreading of the, "OS/2 is dead," FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) and the relative silence of IBM officials denouncing it. These rumours, they complained, kept users from buying OS/2 and ISV's from writing for it in a vicious cycle that has kept the consumer software market small despite the millions of OS/2 users worldwide. Recently John Soyring, VP of IBM's Personal Software Products Division, emphatically, officially and publicly denounced these rumours on the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.os2.advocacy (see his complete letter in this issue). And it looks like it wasn't a one time thing. Hopefully, his repeated and positive presence on the Internet supporting OS/2 will finally help dispel the FUD that comes so regularly from that other newsgroup, comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy (or, as it is called, c.o.m.a).
This isn't IBM's only official effort at making a serious contender out of Warp either. While browsing the labyrinthine IBM web pages this month, I came across an interesting Warp site (http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/os2.html). It's quite thorough, with links to every kind of OS/2 information a potential customer might need. It's well laid out and allows browsers to order a copy of Warp right from the page. And It plainly states that IBM is committed to Warp. None of these are the reason I found it interesting though.
The interesting thing about this page (and it's sub-pages), is it's tone. With headings like, "Been there, done that ... for some time now," (in reference to Warp's advanced features), "All the Warped news from the beginning of time," (archived OS/2 announcements) and, "Start your propellers (Tech Stuff | Developer Support | Beta Programs)" this looks like a page out of _Wired Magazine_, not IBM's WWW site.
IBM is obviously not expecting to win over IS managers with this kind of in-your-face, 'net-hip propaganda. They're looking for MS converts. They're focusing directly on the Windows 95 using, Sega Saturn playing, "Friends" watching end user. They're pushing OS/2 as a home computer OS. There can be no doubt that IBM is serious about OS/2 as a long-term personal OS.
Another great example of this is the Just Add OS/2 Warp web ads that are popping up everywhere. During the course of this month I was treated to this add on both Yahoo's and Point's WWW sites (BTW, did you hear that Point has voted OS/2 e-Zine! among the top 5% on the WWW?). These ads are just as down to earth as the page mentioned above. They cut right to the chase by telling users they have a choice in operating systems and telling them how to order or download the Just Add OS/2 Warp software. This software gives users info and helps them upgrade to Warp from Windows 3.x or Windows 95. Again, these ads and the Just Add OS/2 Warp software are not going to win over IS professionals; they're meant to convert the "average user".
So what have we got? OS/2 is selling better than ever and Merlin isn't even here yet. IBM is publicly and officially supporting OS/2 for both the office and the home. IBM's advertising and marketing seem to be taking a turn for the better. Are things really getting better? Definitely!
Things haven't looked so good for OS/2 since the early hype of the joint IBM-MS development. In fact, things look so good that one of our contributors recently predicted on the newsgroups that Microsoft would be writing native OS/2 versions of its software by the end of 1996. Well, maybe that's getting a little ahead of ourselves considering the almost official animosity between MS and the OS/2 world in the past year. Let's expect it to happen by the end of 1997.
*****
Our Sponsors:
If you have a minute, don't forget to thank our sponsors. Without them, you wouldn't be reading this issue.
BMT Micro (http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/)
Your complete source for over 75 of the best OS/2 shareware applications available. Drop by today and check out our WWW catalog or download the .INF version.
DeScribe (http://www.describe.com/wp/info.html)
DeScribe is considered the the fastest, most powerful OS/2 word processor in
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award winner.
Indelible Blue (http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib/)
Indelible Blue, a mail order company, provides OS/2 software and hardware solutions to customers worldwide.
Mt. Baker Software (http://www.Mount-Baker.com)
Developers of "Money Tree", a full featured personal financial package
for OS/2.
SPG Inc. (http://www.spg-net.com/)
Creators of ColorWorks for OS/2 - The Artist's Ultimate Power Program! ColorWorks has earned both the 1995 OS/2 Magazine Editor's Choice & the 1995 OS/2 Professional Magazine Best New Product Awards.
Whitestone
Publisher of The REXX Cookbook - a unique tutorial designed to teach anyone, even non-programmers, to program in REXX.
Readers Who Have Sponsored:
The entire staff of OS/2 e-Zine! would like to extend special thanks to the following readers who have made significant contributions.
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Stephen Boileau Quentin Z. Whiplinger Gregory Mobley
Ian W. MacKee Christopher A. King Michel Slivitzky
David Busby
*****
the Beta File
Welcome back to the Beta File. Once again, big news is afoot on the OS/2 software front. Small to medium sized ISV's and shareware authors alike are working feverishly to make sure we all have endless new toys to play with on our OS/2 machines. And then there's the IBM-Lotus team. Well, let's just say, we've got a lot to talk about.
And of course, during any given month, we don't come across every company currently in development. What's that you say? You want to help fill out this column? You have a product that you're sure is going to be the next killer app? You want a little free hype? Well get off your keister and drop us a note (editor@mail.isisnet.com)!
Now, to business.
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For those of you who have been waiting for one of the software giants to jump into the OS/2 market in a big way, the wait is over. Of course, it's not surprising that the big splasher is Lotus (http://www.lotus.com)--they have a history of attempting to support OS/2 with their previous lackluster SmartSuite offerings and of course, they are now a part of the blue elephant itself.
The new release of Word Pro 96 and the rest of the new SmartSuite for OS/2 should improve on Lotus' half-hearted OS/2 development of the past. Word Pro, which will be released before the rest of the SmartSuite, should be in internal beta testing by the time you read this. I've been told by the folks on Lotus' OS/2 development team that all the heavy bug killing was done by those hardy jungle-faring Windows 95 types and since the two versions share a common code base the OS/2 version will only need to be tested for OS specific features. This means the beta will be short--possibly only a month--and Word Pro could be on the street as early as March. The official word is to look for a release sometime during the first quarter of 1996.
"So what's new?" you ask. Just about everything. Lotus has overhauled its venerable word processor to bring it into the age of the network. Team Computing, as Lotus' new focus is called, means that almost every function of the new product will be network aware. It will even be possible to publish documents over the Internet as well as import files directly from WWW and FTP sites.
A note of caution though: this kind of functionality needs a lot of resources. The recording played to you while waiting for a Lotus rep to answer the phone claims that Word Pro 96 will have over 1500 new features. Expect an already large word processor to grow substantially in size. Get those 32 meg simms warmed up, you're going to need them.
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Also in the word processing department is Escriba Word Processor for OS/2 PM (http://www.msen.com/~rpapo/homepage.html). We first brought mention of this shareware offering to you last issue and since then Rick Papo (rpapo@msen.com) has continued to push forward with features and stability. If you're not in the market for a Word Pro size application, the medium-scale Escriba might be the one for you.
Despite its relatively small size, Escriba is a WYSIWYG word processor. It features drag and drop importing of graphics, printing to any PM supported device, including the display, printers, plotters and fax, spell checking and more. It's also multilingual and is already translated to German, Dutch, French and Spanish (as well as English, of course).
About 25 people have been kicking Escriba's tires for the past eight months and in a few more months we should finally see a v1.0 release. As with much shareware, this is a part-time project for the author, but Papo believes, "the current market for word processors is dominated by over-priced and over-weight programs," and hopes to cure this with his low cost, medium sized offering. Registration will be US$30.
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Stardock's (http://oeonline.com/~stardock) back at it again--don't these guys ever take a break? Among their many irons in the fire is the upcoming Process Commander, a commercial product to manage and control OS/2 processes, threads, etc.
The project manager, Thomas Ophreys, and others from WatchCat fame are busy polishing the code based on the input of public beta testers and expect to have a final version ready for the second quarter of '96. The expected price is US$79.95.
Process Commander will supposedly allow total control over the keyboard and get you out of virtually any hang. It will certainly let you view your processes in detailed ways. Sounds like a must have for system administrators, IS professionals and the power monger in all of us. Once again, thanks Stardock!
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Sapphire Software (http://wymple.gs.net/~jblumel/ww2_home.html) is now beta testing the next release of their shareware HTML editor, WebWriter/2 v1.1. Around 20-30 testers have been on the job since the beginning of January. The final version is due out in mid February but there's still time to get in on this public beta (check the web page).
The new release will address some important issues for those who write HTML pages to be displayed on WebExplorer v1.03 such as Tables, Backgrounds, and WebExplorer icon animations. Also new to version to v1.1 will be improved drag and drop features, preview capabilities with both WebEx and Netscape, "Attributes Menus" for easy modification of already inserted tags and a table generator and table assistant.
John Blumel (jblumel@gs.net), president of Sapphire Software, says they are, "committed to making WebWriter/2 the premier HTML editor for OS/2." With all these feature (and more!) and a registration price of US$30, I believe him!
-----
On the Internet front, NeoLogic Inc., the first company to bring us Internet software in a big way, is beginning to wrap up testing of the new version of their NeoLogic Network Suite. NNS is a suite of PM applications for Internet News, FTP, Gopher and Mail as well as a server for FTP and Mail. The obvious addition in this version is that of the Mail client and server. Apparently, with the other mail software developers starting to branch out into news and other areas, NeoLogic felt it was finally time to add a full-featured mailer to their suite.
Possibly the biggest change in this version is that NNS will become a commercial product and will no longer be distributed as shareware. However, like InnoVal, NeoLogic will make a 30 day demo version available on the Internet. While final pricing has yet to be decided, Steven Gutz (gutz@hookup.net) is apparently getting ready to take on the growing competition in this area head-to-head.
About 100 users have been testing the suite since August on various setups. The full release, including mail, should be available in late March or early April, however, there may be a release before then without the mail client and server.
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And finally this month, IBM is getting ready to take us all to the cutting edge with their public beta of the Java Developers' Kit. Having licensed the code from Sun Microsystems, IBM programmers have been working to deliver a beta product which they finally did on January 26th.
Despite an earlier leak of an alpha version of this software to popular FTP sites, the real deal can be obtained by signing up via IBM's Java web page (http://ncc.hursley.ibm.com/javainfo/). Once interested parties fill out a questionnaire they will be given access to download the JDK1 beta and to mailing lists, "secret" web pages and some other nifty things. Hopefully it won't be long before there's a native Java-capable browser for OS/2 widely available.
It's too early to tell what features will be included in the final version of IBM's product and release dates are still tentative. However, at least one observers claims that Java is a technological innovation on par with the transistor or microchip. We'll certainly be waiting!
Our Sponsor: BMT Micro (http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/)
*****
the REXX Files - by Paul Monaghan
Okay here we are again. As promised, since my last column I've done a lot with this nifty little language. I found out quickly what REXX is good for and what it isn't--and there's not much that it isn't good for. In this month's column I'll be talking about various sources of REXX related information, what one needs to start using REXX, and showing off my first creation.
REXX Editors
First off, to use standard OS/2 REXX one needs a good text editor, preferably one that is REXX aware. Sure, you can use the system Editor (E.EXE) that comes with OS/2, or the Enhanced Editor (EPM.EXE), but there are better options out there.
I found two that I'm really fond of, both available on the hobbes FTP site (hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/editors). The first is FTE, a textmode REXX aware (and just about every other language, including but not limited to HTML, PERL and JAVA) editor. This little baby has some nice features; all the REXX code is coloured according to it's function, it has great editing capabilities, and it's shareware to boot.
The second, and the one I preferred, is called Rexx Edit. This is another nice little shareware program that has some advantages even over FTE. It's a PM program, it has an included REXX reference, and it will even let you cut and paste code examples right from the reference. It also has a nice debugger that will step through your REXX program one line at a time (great for those bugs you just can't figure out). This is the one I use and for a novice it can't be beat; my registration will be going in soon.
Of course, these are by far not the only editors out there. There are dozens of them available on CDROM and HOBBES, and if I've missed a good one, please tell me.
The Help Is Out There
The next thing you need to know to write REXX programs is where to turn for help. There is a lot of help out there, and let's face it, a book can only go so far. My main source of help is USENET. The newsgroup comp.lang.rexx is great. Unlike some USENET groups that are full of hot air, this one is full of people that are just lining up to help. I posted a message or two for a problem I was having on the "one-liners" program that I mentioned in my last column. I received ten replies, by e-mail no less! Yes, TEN! And people provided all sorts of good tidbits to use in my program. Thanks guys!
The next place to check out is the WWW. For some odd reason REXX has a following much like PERL in the UNIX world, and there are web pages all over the place on REXX. Stop by Yahoo, and check out what is there, or use Infoseek or Web Crawler. In fact, Mike Colishaw, the originator of REXX, maintains his own page through IBM. There is also the REXX FAQ. Like I said, information on REXX is everywhere.
My Project
I mentioned in my last column that I wanted to create a one-liners program for my BBS, and thanks to the help I recieved from people on comp.lang.rexx, this was easy. The one-liners program is finished (sort of), but it's not as nice as I had hoped. I wanted to be able to output each one-liner to an ANSI template file so it would display nicely on my BBS. I found out that this is not easy to accomplish in REXX, unless someone out there knows something that my "advisors" don't. I went through about 10 revisions of my program starting small and working my way up. The data file that I'm using is a subset of the WWW page by Jack Tan called "So They Say ..."
The program is quite simple, it reads in a large text file with each one-liner on a seperate line, then assigns each line to a variable, and I randomly choose the variable to be written to a file. It works, but I'm sure there is a better way to do it. Feel free to tell me if there is.
I started small, first figuring out how to read one line out of a text file and associate it to a variable. Thanks to the _REXX Cookbook_, this was relatively easy. The first problem I had was trying to figure out how to tell the program to read more than one line in the data file. After an hour or two on IRC (#OS/2) I figured this one out; the problem was that I was making it more difficult that it really was.
I then decided to display this 'one-liner' by using the TYPE command, an easy enough thing to do. REXX Edit's little command reference and cut and paste ability are just great; I just cut an example and placed it in my code with a few changes, and presto, output the one-liner to a file. This was a little easier than I thought it would be.
After this, all I did was throw in the REXX RANDOM command to generate a RANDOM number to let me output the random one-liner. As I mentioned, the only thing I was not able to do was output this one-liner to an ANSI template. I thought I could read in the template and assign the one-liner to a character that was being read in, but unfortunately, according to the people I've talked to, there is no easy way to do this. I'm sure someone out there knows a way to pretty this up, and if you do PLEASE TELL ME.
Tune in Next Time
Well, that does it for this issue. Next time I will have had a look at _Teach Yourself REXX in 21 Days_; maybe I'll find something in there that will pique my interest. Also, there are a few projects for OS/2 e-Zine! that I'll be working on, so you never know what new stuff I might learn. Until then, keep coding. One a last thing, I love e-mail so if you have any questions, comments or tips feel free to drop me a note.
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Paul Monaghan (paulm@ulix.net) is a system operator for ULIX (http://www.ulix.net) specializing in OS/2. He also maintains a web page on How to make a BBS Telnetable (http://www.geopages.com/siliconvalley/1820) and is a member of Team OS/2.
In ten years there may not be any OS/2 products available or supported anymore. This could be good (IBM could have moved on to technologies so advanced they decided to retire the OS/2 name and pick a new one to symbolize their radical new approach), or bad (we lose the war, and the world forgets OS/2).
That future, although uncertain, depends on us.
While reading through the letters column in the current PC Magazine, I saw many letters from people annoyed with the glitzy Windows 95 overkill and yearning for a little OS/2 coverage. At least 4 or 5 of these letters appear in each issue. So I wondered this: "If they keep publishing these letters, they must be listening, so are we going to see more OS/2 coverage at last? Have they got the message?" Well guess what? They have. There's a full page dedicated to a roundup of OS/2 desktop enhancement utilities like Object Desktop, Deskman/2 and Unimaint. Littered elsewhere you could find mentions (and even screenshots) of other OS/2 software. Well well well, Ziff Davis doesn't like being called a Microsoft Mouthpiece after all.
Any fool can see that this is a magazine just like any other; it's there to be read by people, and to sell advertising it must also be taken seriously by those readers. There is no grand conspiracy; when readers ask for something the editors have no choice but to comply.
What I hate to see are people who insist on the idea that just because there's so much Windows 95 hype in the press, those magazines are all having their strings pulled by Microsoft. If you don't mind me saying so, this is a pile of you know what. Ziff Davis is no more a shouting platform for Gates than CNN is a propaganda machine for Saddam Hussein.
It's up to you to decide exactly what it is you want and how you're going to get it. So think, Do you want independence from Microsoft? Do you want your 32 bits and your preemptive jigery-whatsits? Well say so! Now is not the time to grumble and nurse grudges, because the only person who's going to listen to those is yourself.
The key is to have focus.
It doesn't actually take a whole subscriber base to change the opinion of an editor, just enough people who have a clear goal and the persistence to see it through.
What do we have in our favor?
I believe OS/2's biggest asset is dedicated people. They're called Team OS/2, volunteers who spend their spare hours promoting our operating system and helping people find the best way to use it. If I were asked to tell a group of people ready to spend their money on one or another OS why they should pick Warp, I'd tell them that OS/2 has more people behind it than any other popular desktop OS. Tech support from the manufacturer may no longer be free, but tech support from me is.
This is an asset that non-technical people can understand very easily. A lot more easily than HPFS or pre-emptive multitasking. A novice home user more greatly appreciates someone who will volunteer to set up their computer, install the OS and get everything configured and running than they would a fancy gadget or the Microsoft Network.
If someone challenges that OS/2 is hard to use or has no applications, don't shout "Oh yeah!!" Instead, politely offer to give them a demonstration of your system. They'll appreciate your time, politeness and sincerity. If they had bad experiences with OS/2
you might be able to prove it was only a minor problem to do with their configuration. Offer to fix it for them, or at least show them how they can do it themselves. Remember, when logic and reality clash, reality always wins. Show them an OS/2 system that works.
We are OS/2's intelligent wizards.
What Don't We Have?
What also hurts our progress are false claims. OS/2 does have more native 32-bit applications than Windows 95, but Windows 95 has more native 32-bit applications on the store shelves. Shareware is good, but it doesn't impress someone who associates it with an image of small-time, itty-bitty GREP utilities.
Sometimes it's not easy to find the native apps we want, even though they're available. People are not born with 'hobbes.nmsu.edu' burned into the circuits of their brains and a copy of the Indelible Blue catalog under their pillow. So if someone is considering OS/2, ask them what they want to use it for and show them how and where to get the software that'll do it. Help 'em out for Pete's sake, they're another potential paying customer of native OS/2 software, one more incentive for ISV's to make some. That benefits us all in the end.
Just one...
All of us should do just one thing to help our OS. Dial just one 800 number or send just one letter to an ISV requesting native OS/2 software. Invite just one person who isn't already using OS/2 to see your system at work. Sit down and help just one new OS/2 owner get their system running and productive. Do this and we will win.
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Chris Wenham (http://www.spectra.net/~fox) is a Team OS/2er in Binghamton, NY with a catchy-titled company--Wenham's Web Works. He has been writing all sorts of strange things from comedy to sci-fi to this.
There's something that has bugged me for a long time: the insistence by software manufacturers to print what they call "Minimum Requirements".
You know what I'm talking about if you have ever struggled with a low end machine. I have a friend who first got Warp while he was a student and only had an ancient 386DX with 4 meg of RAM. Sure I convinced him he needed to upgrade to 8 meg before he did anything foolish, but just for entertainment we had a look at what OS/2 does in 4 meg of RAM. Bear in mind that it clearly states on the Warp box that the System Requirements are:
Intel 386 SX-compatible or higher based personal computer
4MB of random access memory (RAM)
etc., etc.
For those of you who have never bothered to check, yes it really does say that. Anyway, if you've ever seen OS/2 with the WPS running in 8 meg, you won't be surprised to hear that IBM's System Requirements are a fairy tale. This thing chugged and spat and sounded like it would have a HD coronary until we finally practiced computer euthanasia and shut it down.
Admittedly, this particular machine might have had some peculiar system configuration that ate up part of that 4 meg before OS/2 even looked at it, but that's exactly my point. Why do companies insist on claiming their software will run on machines that they know full well are going to perform dismally or possibly not at all? I'm sick of it.
This kind of hype-selling is more suited to another platform's market and I'm sure you all know which one I'm referring to. OS/2 with any of the features that really make it glow doesn't run sterlingly in 8 meg let alone 4. Say it like it is. Evading the facts only does two things: it makes the users who get saddled with bloatware unhappy and it makes the company selling it look bad.
Let's see, what else do I have around the office? Here's an old version of Lotus SmartSuite for OS/2 (v1.1). Now, here is a box that tries to be a little more honest. Right up front, they let the customer know that 12 meg minimum is required. Ah, 4 meg breathing room. But wait. This is an old version released before Warp, when OS/2 was still being billed as needing 12 meg itself. In fact, the salesman told me that the copies of SmartSuite had been brought in to preload on 8 meg systems but were now being remaindered. Great, now the hardware companies are doing it! Why would any computer manufacturer in his right mind package a huge application like SmartSuite on a 486 with 8 meg? Is this how you show off your computer's blazing speed? I don't think so.
More recently software vendors haven't gotten over this silly habit either. While Avarice Preview is still an unfinished product and many speed enhancements have been promised in future versions, the fact remains that the version shipped by Stardock and Continuous Software Systems claims to require 8 MB RAM. Well, if you turn off all sound and reduce the graphics quality to its lowest setting, this game seems almost playable on an 8 meg system--almost. In my opinion there is still too much swapping for the game to be much more than tedious, and these results were only achieved after switching to an alternate shell (to save the ~2 meg of RAM taken up by the WPS).
Some companies argue that they have to bend the truth and claim their software will run on systems never intended for the workout or customers will be scared away. I say these companies are hurting themselves when they mislead consumers into thinking that the fancy new ultra-gridlock feature of their software will purr like a kitten on an aging system. C'mon guys and girls, I'm not asking for the world, I just want you to say it like it is. Give us the recommended requirements, not the minimum, and leave it at that. You'll be saving us all a lot of heartache.
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Trevor Smith (editor@mail.isisnet.com) is the editor of OS/2 e-Zine! and enjoys almost everything except breaking bones and bending the truth.
Our Sponsor: Indelible Blue (http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib/)
*****
the Rave: MR/2 ICE - by Chris Williams
Talk to people about two of the most popular choices in OS/2 based e-mail readers, and you'll eventually run into the following comments about each of them.
Post Road Mailer:
"I love the function and features, but the interface just doesn't do anything for me."
PM Mail:
"It's really fast, easy to use, and pretty to look at. Now if it only had more function and flexibility..."
Enter, or I should say, *about* to enter, Mail Reader/2 Internet Cruiser Edition (aka: MR/2 ICE, or just ICE if you ask the author) from Nick Knight. Do you yearn for the kind of power and features that come in Post Road Mailer, with a powerful, WPS aware GUI that would take PM Mail to the next level? How about adding a built-in spell checker and 70,000 word thesaurus? Then toss in fully configurable toolbars with bubble help you can turn on and off, automatic uuencoding/decoding, and much more. MR/2 ICE, currently due for final release in March, offers all this and more--and it's still in beta!
As a beta product, this one is very usable now. While I've had some startup problems when using it with Object Desktop's Tab Launch Pad, ICE has never crashed on any system I've used it on. The problem, by the way, appears to be with Object Desktop V1.02--I'm looking to Stardock Systems for a fix. While it doesn't have all of its features available yet (MIME
and PGP capabilities are planned for later versions), ICE is certainly not lacking anything that would cause the average person to feel short changed. There are even conversion programs available for PMMail and La Mail address lists and mail folders.
Installation is a snap. Just unzip the .ZIP files for the main program and, optionally, the spell checker and thesaurus in the appropriate directory, connect to your Internet service provider, and start the program. ICE will automatically configure itself to the settings needed for your ISP and display them to you so you can verify they are correct. That's it!
Once all of the features are completed and available, ICE promises to offer the most function in a mailer I've seen at this price level. If you like the notebook paradigm of the Workplace Shell, you'll fall in love right away with ICE. The main program window is a notebook, complete with tabbed sections for your in-box, out-box, and mail folders. Open a mail folder, and a tab is added for it in the notebook. Close the mail folder and the tab goes away. Simple!
As far as threaded applications are concerned, ICE is well conceived and implemented. From message send/receive, to editing multiple notes, to modifying the system's settings, almost every major task you can think of for a mail reader is on its own thread. To really appreciate what it can do, try clicking with the right mouse button on everything you see, or just keep an eye on what happens in the background as you work on processing your mail messages. It's very impressive.
The best way to appreciate ICE is to try it out. I highly recommend you do so with both the spell checker and thesaurus. Combined, the zipped files total a little over a megabyte, but they are worth every bit. The evaluation version of ICE isn't "crippleware", so you'll get a full blown taste of what it can do for you. Registering it is just as easy as using it, and you register as a user as opposed to registering a license, so you can have multiple copies on different machines provided you are the only person using them. Registration also entitles you to free upgrades until version 2.0 arrives. Beta version updates have been arriving at the MR/2 ICE web site (http://nick.secant.com) at the rate of about one a week. The latest news and information about ICE are also available there and everything, including known bugs and problems, is well documented.
Normally, I wouldn't advocate the use of, much less rave about beta software to anyone who is less than well experienced with Warp, but in this case I'm making an exception. If you use Internet e-mail with Warp, run--don't walk! MR/2 ICE could turn out to be the next hot OS/2 Internet application.
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update: After this rave was written Stardock Systems released another update to Object Desktop (OD Fix Kit #4) that seems to have cleared up the startup problem with MR/2 ICE. After installing the patch, my problems went away.
Chris Williams (http://privateI.com/~chrisw) has been actively involved with OS/2 systems for the past six years. A former IBM employee, OS/2 Ambassador, and long time member of Team OS/2, he is currently a PC and network specialist for Perot Systems Corporation.
OS/2 has been blessed with a vast array of shareware applications, yet odds are that the shareware you are currently using is not registered. Why don't people register the shareware they use? Or maybe I should word the question another way. . . why are the numbers of registrations so dismal?
1. Cost
The purpose of shareware is to "try before you buy", and to offer a way to market software economically. For the average shareware programmer, writing OS/2 software is a hobby, not a full time job. In many cases, the program written is the first OS/2 program tackled and the author is "learning" how to PM program. But too often the programmer appears blinded by the high price of today's software and tries to charge far beyond what any sane person would pay. I remember just before OS/2 Warp was released I was looking at a shareware word processor. While still in the initial feature stage, the author wanted US$40, a price I found excessive since Footprint Works (now IBM Works, a part of OS/2 Warp) retailed for US$49.95 and also included a spreadsheet, charting program, database and report writer. Needless to say the author was not very receptive to my suggestion that he lower his price.
It should be pointed out that there are shareware programs that may be worth their "commercial" price. Zap-O-Com is probably the best communication program for OS/2. If you
like (or need) its multitude of features, it is well worth the US$90 price to register it. I personally do not use it; I bought PMComm way back when and although there are the few minor (and one not so minor) annoyances, it does the job I need. I also think that people should try to use the program IBM has included with OS/2 Warp--HyperACCESS Lite. Why spend over $100 (which is probably more than you spent for OS/2 Warp) on a communication program when one came free with the operating system?
2. Selection
Every day, I examine part of the wealth of shareware that is available on the Internet. In many cases, I question the author's motive for writing shareware (as opposed to freeware) when existing freeware or IBM Employee Written Software (EWS) does the same job. In a recent issue of Canada Computes! I answer a question of what alarm program I think is best for one of our readers. A quick trip to Hobbes found many alarm utilities; the best (in my opinion) is Tiny Alarm 2.1, a freeware utility by Martin Vieregg. Why should anyone spend up to US$30 on a simple alarm utility when this one does the job so well?
3. Why register?
Before you go off the deep end and flame me, please keep in mind that I do advocate registering shareware that you feel is worth it. Yes, if you feel that it is worth it, not only if you use it. I personally registered LinePlot even though I use the freeware gnuplot for my everyday graphs. LinePlot has great potential, and I want the author to continue to develop it. Hopefully one day the program will offer all of the features I want, but until then, I keep checking out each release and e-mailing the author my thoughts and ideas. Of course, I also register shareware that I use every day. If memory serves me correctly the first program I ever registered was PM Patrol 2.12. Although PM Patrol went commercial and is now back to shareware at version 4.0b, I find it an indispensable tool that I strongly recommend everyone check out.
Concluding Remarks
So what am I trying to say? Shareware authors, check what is out there, and price your software accordingly. Do you want to compete with commercial applications? Please, don't plan on making your million dollars at the expense of the home user. Users, register what you use, and support the grass-roots level OS/2 programmers who price their offerings at a reasonable rate.
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Kevin Linfield (ag883@torfree.net) is a columnist for Canada Computes! and vice-president of the Toronto OS/2 User's Group (http://www.io.org/~to2)
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*****
Paying Our Own Way - by Kel Brown
Why is everyone waiting around for DOS/Windows application developers to legitimize the OS/2 operating system? What we have here is a complete lack of understanding on how to get applications written for Warp. It's not done by kowtowing at the feet of the great software developers, it's done with cash, greenbacks, moolah, nickels, dimes and the last penny stuck to the rubber stopper at the bottom of our piggy banks.
It might have been true at one time that an OS needed a native version of 1-2-3 to even think of selling a copy or two, but that just isn't so anymore. A brand name won't guarantee you better software these days; Netscape proved that with Navigator. Who had even heard of Netscape two years ago. . . No one. Today, even my little brother can tell me who Mark Andreson is. Technology and packaging are what's getting it done out there. You either have to put out a better product, dress it up nicer, or both.
Another example: a year ago Microsoft's Visual Basic was on it's way to dominating the MS-Windows developer software market, with a little help from it's grown up cousin, Visual C++. Borland was getting killed in the language development market. Borland then released Delphi and gave every PASCAL programmer on the planet the biggest thrill they've had since Wirth invented the language. C++ programmers wanted to know when they were going to see a C/C++ version of Delphi and suddenly Borland could do no wrong. A brand name people didn't think they could depend on anymore was now everyone's trusted friend again. Delphi put PASCAL back on hard drives and Borland back to profitability. It didn't make a difference if Delphi was being put out by a successful company, one that was down and out, or two teenagers working out of their father's garage, the product was good and people wanted it.
Brad Wardell over at Stardock has realized that all he has to do is put out a product that everyone wants and the money will beat a path to his door. From everything I've heard, Stardock has trouble filling orders for Object Desktop because the demand is so high. No one cares that Microsoft's moniker doesn't precede OD's name, they just want to know when and where they can get their own copy. Suddenly the name Stardock means good OS/2 software and a brand name has been created. It's time we stopped whining at Netscape's back door for scraps and let them know we don't care if they're giving the Windows version away for free, we are taking our Visas and Mastercards and we're going down to Egghead and we're all ordering copies of the first native OS/2 browser that's the least bit better than WebExplorer. Those of us with American Express cards are going to buy two, one regular and one with great big, bright red racing stripes.
The recent flood of PM e-mail utilities is a clear indicator that people other than Brad Wardell want our money and are willing to publish quality software to get it. Knightware (MR/2 ICE), SouthSide Software (PMMail), NeoLogic (NeoLogic Mail Reader--soon to be released) and InnoVal (Post Road Mailer) have all come out with great products and they let you try them before you buy! If you think Microsoft is gonna let you test drive Microsoft Mail for 30 days, you can call me when your space ship gets back to earth.
The big name software companies have gotten fat and will continue to get fatter as they feed off their flock of Windows sheep, but we don't have to beg them for attention anymore. We have attracted the attention of some young and hungry programmers and they are more than eager to serve us. These successful developers will accomplish what the clumsy efforts of
those lumbering giants, Borland, IBM, Corel, Microsoft (very early on) and Lotus have not been able to; legitimize the OS/2 market. Before too long, all those Windows developers will see that there is money to be had and more importantly, money that is being lost. We will not have to wait at their back door for table scraps, they will come to us for something to eat.
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Kel Brown (kjbrown@cs.stmarys.ca) is a Math and Computer Science major at Saint Mary's University. He hopes to make the transition from amateur DOS games programmer to amateur OS/2 games programmer sometime this year.
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Many of our readers come to us on the Internet from various corners of the world. Some souls, however, shun the chaos that is the 'net (despite the corner of sanity found here at e-Zine! ) in favour of a well organized, one-stop-shopping on-line service. There are arguments to be made for and against using these services as opposed to the 'net and each one differs in what it offers and what it specializes in. One thing is certain however; at least here in North America users will pay substantially more to belong to one of these services than they would for basic Internet connectivity.
So our reviewers hit the phones and started digging to see what's out there. While Macintosh and Windows 95 users have their own services (eWorld and MSN), we OS/2 users are forced to get our on-line fix from one of the general service providers. Below is a sampling of what you're likely to find in your on-line journeys. Some services were not reviewed for various reasons Prodigy (http://www.prodigy.com) assured us that the nearest local call to the e-Zine! offices was in the US while we're in Canada) but below you will find the good and bad on the major players. Whether you decide to stay on the Internet or forsake it, don't forget to come back and visit!
In the beginning, when the Military created the Internet, it was formless and desolate. The Internet beget CompuServe and Prodigy and they were ... ummm ... well, not good but ... sigh ... I think that's another review for another time. The point is, then came America Online.
America Online (AOL for short) has become the largest populated of any of the on-line services these days with over 4.5 million members. No one really knows how or why it happened but AOL has opened the doors to a flood of new customers to the on-line world. But at the same time, AOL has what appears to be the smallest population of OS/2 users among the big three. So the question is, "Should you use AOL?"
To answer that question we must look at what makes any forum successful. I've split this process into three parts: People, Files, and Usability.
Assets of AOL
So, lets start with people. I find that America Online has the best group of people inhabiting it of any on-line service. The OS/2 Forum hosts three chat conferences a week that are filled with OS/2 conversation, prizes, and specials guests. Visitors to the OS/2 Chat Room have included representatives from Hilgraeve Software, IBM employees, and Brad Wardell of Stardock, just to name a few. Conferences are held every Tuesday at 11:30PM, Thursday at 9:00PM, and Saturday at 9:30PM (All times are Eastern Standard Time). Notable Guests to the Forum in February will include Buck Bohac owner of Indelible Blue (Feb. 3rd), Tim Sipples of IBM's PSP division (Feb. 10th), and David Moskowitz of OS/2 Unleashed fame (Feb. 17th).
What makes America Online's service stand out the most would be the staff that maintains it. AOL's OS/2 Forum is completely independent; it is in no way associated with IBM and the staff aren't even AOL employees, they're volunteers. This means that the staff has to work twice as hard to pick up files and to maintain a working knowledge of what is happening in the world of OS/2. Strangely enough it is rumored that IBM offered to sponsor an OS/2 forum on America Online but the management of AOL refused saying that they didn't allow corporations to run Forums. But even with this handicap the hard working staff manages to run a Forum that is equal to any of the IBM supported sites. More importantly it gives it more of a friendly feel as Forum head PC DaveS said, "It's informal. It's 'relaxed and friendly', and it's fun ... even though we are still able to provide very, very good OS/2 help and resources." The staff are all very active in the working of the Forum and just an e-mail away if a Forum user ever needs OS/2 Assistance.
The OS/2 Forum also sports a fairly active message section. But there's a problem; one of the most annoying features of the America Online system is the fact that you can't download messages to read off-line. So, your given the choice of either spending 3 hours on-line or not
getting the message bases. It's annoying, but it's something you have to live with. The trick to getting to read all the message bases you enjoy is to use AOL's Multitasking ability to read them during Chat sessions or File Downloads as opposed to devoting a whole on-line session to the message bases.
The Front End
The America Online software is probably both the best and worst thing about AOL. The AOL front end is only available in a Windows Version for IBM compatibles; there is no OS/2 version and in fact America Online has even abandon it's Dos software. On the one hand it is extremely attractive with excellent graphics and extremely well done "push button effects." However, there are several negative aspects to this interface, the first being the enormous overhead it requires to run. The software is EXTREMELY slow in 4 megs of RAM (that's in both Win-OS/2 and DOS Windows), in 8 megs of RAM it begins to speed up but is still sluggish, at 16 megs of RAM it finally gets to the point where it's an acceptable speed.
Beyond the hardware requirements, it is quite clear within the first couple weeks of using AOL that there was not much attention put into the technical details of the software. America Online, without a doubt, is the reigning champion for the most crashes on my system. In 32 megs of RAM expect to experience a crash in AOL about every fourth or fifth time you call and this appears to be the experience of all the AOL people I know.
As for an OS/2 version of the software, don't count on it. America Online's CEO, Steve Case (SteveCase@aol.com), has returned every private e-mail, petition, and other OS/2 propaganda with a fairly solid, "No," regarding an AOL/2. Legend even says that IBM itself offered to fund the creation of an AOL/2 but Mr. Case turned it down with no reason given. As an America Online user, I can say with all honesty that I would settle for a decent version of America Online for Win-OS/2. As it is the offering right now is unstable.
File Selection
The OS/2 Forum's file section is, unfortunately, somewhat lacking. This is where not being IBM supported begins to hurt. The ever so hardworking staff of the OS/2 Forum tries its best but still can't match the huge file sections of the other on-line services that have IBM
support, such as CompuServe. Something to keep in mind though, is that because the staff of the Forum go out of their way to obtain files needed by OS/2 users, you'll often find a file such as a FixPak or a software update making it into the AOL Forum before places such as CompuServe where the Forum head waits for IBM to deliver the files to them. The bottom line
regarding the file bases is this: although they don't get all the files released for OS/2 they do get the important ones.
But what if you want to see all the files released for OS/2? How can AOL help you? It's actually pretty easy if you give it some thought. America Online has unmatched Internet support, including access to many OS/2 FTP sites. So, although the OS/2 Forum on AOL does not have the best file selection of any on-line service, you can jump to the hobbes FTP site with the push of a button.
Other Things
One of the more inviting features of America Online's OS/2 Forum is the very comprehensive OS/2 reference guide. The Reference Guide provides information on how to use many of OS/2's features ranging from Networking to the Workplace Shell. Containing almost a hundred OS/2 tips, tricks, and reviews, it's helpful for both newcomers and the experienced user.
Along with the Reference Guide, AOL also offers the Starter Kit. The Starter Kit is designed to help new OS/2 users get up to speed with the "Must-Have" OS/2 utilities (not to be confused with Gary Hammer's Must Have Utilities on the World Wide Web). Although I'm not sure I agree with some of their selections the idea behind it is excellent and there are some extremely helpful Shareware/Freeware programs listed.
Conclusions
So, should you use AOL? My answer (as illustrated by the fact that I actually do use it) is, "Yes." OS/2 is not supported in any way by the upper management running America Online, But that doesn't stop the OS/2 Forum members (both staff and users) from doing an astounding job. To not use AOL because of management neglect would be the equivalent of never using a computer again because the majority of applications are written for Windows. My advice: try AOL out. They'll give you the software, waive your first monthly fee, and give
you 10 hours usage for free just for signing up, and if you don't like it you can cancel your account and owe nothing at all.
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America Online (http://www.aol.com)
Voice: (800) 827-6364
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Thomas Chamberlain (ThomasC2@aol.com) is a 17 year old Student who is currently using CompuServe, America Online and Prodigy (and who has tried The Microsoft Network but will deny it if you ask) He's a member of Team OS/2 and can usually be found conferencing with his fellow OS/2 users in the America Online OS/2 Forum.
As a long time OS/2 and CompuServe user, I can hardly imagine where I would be without CompuServe, especially before Warp. Every time I install a new peripheral or new version of OS/2, I check CompuServe first and find out if there are any problems I am likely to run into. As I researched this article, however, I found that OS/2 users are infuriated with CompuServe because the president recently announced that they would no longer continue development of the OS/2 version of their front end software, the CompuServe Information Manager (CIM). Despite this, CompuServe can be a very valuable resource for OS/2 users.
CompuServe maintains a huge network of local access numbers. There are many nodes throughout North America, and in Europe, especially Great Britain and Germany. In fact, many forums are conducted in the German Language, including OS2UGER, the German-language version of IBM's OS2USER forum (more about forums later).
Internet Access
CompuServe's CIM for OS2 provides graphical support for e-mail, FTP and USENET newsgroups. The main advantage of using CIM is that you do not need to load and configure TCP/IP support as you would with an Internet service provider. However, while this support is adequate, it is certainly not the best or most functional way of accessing the Internet.
CompuServe also provides PPP access to the Internet as part of your normal membership so if you install the Internet Access Kit that comes with the Warp BonusPak, you can dial in through CompuServe and access the net using the native OS/2 programs supplied in the IAK. For people who are not heavy users, CompuServe provides a very inexpensive way to get involved.
CompuServe has recently started providing a home page service for its members, too. Members get up to 1MB of disk space and an HTTP address. CompuServe also provides two tools to make publishing a simple home page a snap, called "Home Page Wizard" and "Home Page Publisher". The personal home page service is OK, but the 1MB disk space limit is fairly restrictive.
Forums
Forums are the heart of what makes CompuServe a rich offering. A forum is a "place" where people with similar interests can share in public discussion. However, forums are most frequently used for computer related technical support. Almost every significant software and hardware company has a forum, where they provide official support for users. Watcom has their own forum (GO WATFORUM), where they support Watcom SQL, C/C++, and VX-REXX; Microsoft grudgingly supports the OS/2 version of SQL Server (GO MICROSOFT); Novell provides support for their OS/2 NetWare requester (NOVOS2); Stardock is there (GO STARDOCK); and StarDivision supports their products (GO STARDIV)--German users report this as a good place to find German-language interchanges. And for a spirited debate about the merits of OS/2 check out the CANOPUS forum, hosted by William Zachman, the PC Week columnist.
Associated with each forum section is a library, where files are stored to be downloaded by users. Software vendors post patches, fixes, drivers, how-to documents, as well as demonstrations, beta versions and add-ons. Shareware vendors post their products in forum libraries, as well.
Conferences are the least used service associated with a forum. A conference is a real-time exchange of information, like a telephone conference call, often moderated. Usually someone famous receives questions, and any member can post questions which the "celebrity" might answer.
Strengths
IBM runs two major forums, OS2SUPPORT and OS2USER where they help people with questions about using OS/2. These forums are comprehensive and are visited by thousands of users each day. While the support from IBM can be a little spotty (it will often take a while to get a response), their libraries of technical information, patches and utilities are excellent, and many times other users will jump in and help. The OS2SUPPORT forum is where you would go to find "FixPaks", as well as updated drivers for your hardware. This forum is invaluable, and in my opinion, completely justifies the CompuServe membership in and of itself.
If you are using OS/2 applications, CompuServe is the premier place for technical support. The developer community is large and unified on CompuServe, more so than I found on either AOL or the Internet. CompuServe is especially great for software developers, systems people, or anyone who is an OS/2 power user. While this does not mean that it is not useful for less techie types, this is the place to be if you are doing development.
CompuServe Information Manager for OS/2
As far as I am aware, CompuServe is the only major on-line service that provides native OS/2 based navigation software. It is called CompuServe Information Manager (CIM) for OS/2, is free, and is included on the BonusPak disk that comes with Warp, or it can be downloaded directly from CompuServe (GO OS2CIM). The software is known to be quirky, but it works for me. However, as noted above, CompuServe has announced that they will not continue to develop new releases of OS2CIM in the future.
The major weakness of CIM is that almost everything you do is done on-line, not that this should surprise anyone, since CompuServe makes money by having users connected and they incur minimal resource usage while users are reading documents. Another disappointment is that CIM for OS/2 seems to take no practical advantage of OS2 threads.
Golden CommPass, by Creative Systems Programming
Golden CommPass is a tool which I would recommend for any OS/2 User on CompuServe. The product "knows" how certain services of CompuServe are set up, notably forums and e-mail, and provides a graphical user interface to facilitate access to these services, much like CIM. CommPass, however, allows you to tell the program what you want to do before going on-line. When you start a session, the tasks you have specified are executed in a batch, and results are returned to the PC; as soon as it's done, it disconnects. If you are following forums, or get a lot of e-mail, CommPass is indispensable. It also has support for certain other services, including Stock Quotes, Online Today, What's New, and others.
CommPass is very reliable, and very fast. Compared to CIM, it can reduce your on-line time immensely, unless most of your on-line time is spent downloading files. Frankly, I think the user interface needs a redesign, and there are a few niggling little bugs, but on the whole, CommPass is a valuable piece of software. More information is available at GCPSUPPORT.
Xtra! Xtra!, by Sublime Software
Xtra! Xtra! is OS/2 software that produces a personalized newspaper on demand by gathering
information from CompuServe services. You specify what you want and Xtra! Xtra! retrieves, formats and returns your selections so you can read from your monitor, or print as a personalized newspaper. On CompuServe, GO SUBLIME or have a look at our Web site (http://www.sublimesoft.com).
Weaknesses
The content of CompuServe is strongly oriented towards technical users and this has been its focus since the mid 1980's. While there are indeed a number of "fun" things to do with CompuServe, it definitely has a more "down to business" feel than AOL. Consequently, new, and non-technical users may find CompuServe a bit daunting. Unlike AOL, or many Web pages out there, CompuServe tends to show its former text-only roots; in-line graphics are sparse, and the organization may not be as well thought out as AOL.
While CompuServe had distinguished itself by providing a native OS/2 front end, this is clearly not going to continue. As reported in last month's issue, Robert Massey has announced that the OS/2 version of CIM will be left to languish. Clearly, CompuServe's competition is AOL (and maybe MSN), and they are both mainly for Windows users. CompuServe is in a pitched battle, and OS/2 application support seems to have been a casualty.
How Much Is It?
CompuServe offers a free introductory membership that includes 10 hours of on-line time free in the first month. If you continue your membership, you get 5 hours per month for $9.95, additional hours are $2.95 (they also have other pricing plans available).
Conclusions
CompuServe provides a rich service that is especially valuable for OS/2 users. The OS/2 specific resources available on CompuServe are reputed to be significantly better than AOL or Prodigy. While CompuServe does have an OS/2 navigator, it is being phased out and is not as good as the current Windows version. Third party OS/2-based tools are available to facilitate access to commonly used resources. Finally, in combination with OS/2's Internet Access Kit, CompuServe can act as your Internet Service Provider. CompuServe's customer service, however, is fair to poor, perhaps because they are in a pitched battle right now with AOL and the Internet. But on the whole, CompuServe offers an excellent value for me.
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CompuServe Information Service
In the United States: (800) 524-3388 (ask for representative 194)
Outside the U.S.: (614) 529-1349
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Tom Harrison (tomhar@sublimesoft.com) has been an OS/2 users since the first version. He is the president of Sublime Software (http://www.sublimesoft.com), makers of Xtra! Xtra!, OS/2 software that produces a personalized newspaper using information from on-line sources, including CompuServe.
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*****
GEnie - by Dirk Terrell
Although significantly smaller than major on-line services Like AOL and CompuServe, GEnie has some attractions of interest to OS/2 users. GEnie, which stands for General Electric Network for Information Exchange, was created in 1981 as a way for GE to make money off of their commercial network during the idle evening hours. In the early 1980s, this kind of arrangement worked well. Unfortunately, in the 1990s, when on-line services became primary businesses, GEnie stumbled, remaining a mainly text-based system as other services moved towards more appealing graphical interfaces. Recently, though, GEnie has become more modernized, with a nice Windows interface comparable to AOL's. As of this writing, GE is seeking a buyer for GEnie. Hopefully, under a new, more aggressive management GEnie will again become a major competitor in the on-line service market.
The Interface
Unfortunately, there is no OS/2 interface to GEnie. However, a DOS-based interface called Aladdin runs very well under OS/2 and makes using GEnie much simpler and cheaper because it allows you to download mail and bulletin board messages and read and reply to them off-line. Aladdin also has a powerful scripting language, so you can customize the programs for your own needs. Because of the text-based menuing system used in navigating GEnie, you can also write REXX programs that perform on-line functions relatively easily. For instance, I wrote a REXX program that downloaded weather information off the Internet and then uploaded it to the GEnie Weather Center.
Round Tables
The central unit for organizing information on GEnie is called a RoundTable. RoundTables are centered around some theme of interest. For example, I am a sysop in the Space and Science RoundTable. Within a RoundTable you find three major divisions: the Bulletin Board, the Library, and the RealTime Conference.
Bulletin Boards are divided into Categories, which are further divided into Topics. This kind of organization makes GEnie very appealing when you are looking for a particular piece of information. In the OS/2 RoundTable Bulletin Board, for example, a sample Category and Topics are:
Category 20: OS/2 Users--Other Applications
Relish Demo
PowerBuilder, PowerMaker, PowerViewer
eXeed for OS/2
Archiving Utilities
Utility Programs
Borland language products
Database software
Mathcad 4.0
Backmaster for OS/2
Stacker for OS/2
Another nice thing about the GEnie Bulletin Boards is that the messages are persistent. That is, unlike Usenet newsgroups, messages are held practically indefinitely and can be called up months or even years after they were posted. I especially like this feature when debating the "OS/2 is dead" crowd.
Of course, a bulletin board, however logically organized, is useless unless there are participants, and the GEnie OS/2 Bulletin Board is quite active with participation by experienced users, OS/2 consultants and developers, as well as people who have just started using OS/2. You will not find a friendlier or more helpful group of OS/2 users in all of cyberspace.
The OS/2 software library on GEnie is well-stocked, although not as well as the major OS/2 FTP sites like Hobbes. But the things that most users are looking for, like FixPaks or common utilities, are easily found and downloaded.
The OS/2 RoundTable also has a RealTime Conference (RTC) several times per week where OS/2 users can get together and "chat" in a manner similar to Internet Relay Chat. On odd occasions, there will be a "speaker" of interest to OS/2 users. For example, Timothy Sipples from IBM has participated in several very enjoyable and informative RTCs.
Internet Access
GEnie does provide some Internet access, although it is far from being complete. It is possible to telnet to other machines, but you cannot telnet from other machines to your GEnie account. Similarly, you can get files from other machines with ftp, but you cannot put files onto other machines. GEnie also provides a decent gopher client. Perhaps the most glaring weakness in the GEnie Internet package is the limitation of being able to use only a text-based WWW browser (Lynx). GEnie was late in providing its Internet access, and unfortunately what was finally delivered did not prove very compelling.
The Price
GEnie's rates, once the best around, are now among the most expensive. For $8.95 per month you get four hours of connect time. Hours beyond the first four are billed at three dollars per hour. In some areas, though, you will pay an additional two dollars per hour for a connection through Sprintnet if you do not have a local GEnie number or if you want 14.4 access (GEnie's fastest nodes are 9600 baud, another area where the service trails far behind AOL and CompuServe). During "Prime Time" hours (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays), you will pay an
additional two dollars per hour. Finally, many of GEnie's services require even further surcharges.
Conclusions
GEnie does have plenty of offerings for OS/2 users. If your on-line interests are broad, GEnie is an attractive, although less publicized alternative to the major on-line services. With a top-notch OS/2 area, multi-player games second to none, Internet access, and extensive business and reference material, GEnie is worthy of a test run if you are evaluating on-line services.
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Dr. Dirk Terrell (terrell@fdt.net) is an astronomer at the University of Florida specializing in interacting binary stars. His hobbies include cave diving, martial arts, painting and writing OS/2 software such as HTML Wizard.
The Microsoft Network, currently available only to Windows 95 users, but soon to be available for Windows NT, and sometime in late 1996 or early 1997, Macintosh users, is another quickly growing on-line service. Being owned and operated by Microsoft presents some concerns of anti-trust and anti-competitive practices but those aren't really what we want to look at here. What we want to consider is, can Microsoft once again do it last, and not necessarily best, and still succeed?
What You Get
At first glance the Microsoft Network, or MSN as it is more often called, has a lot going against it as far as OS/2 users are concerned. First of all the network itself is still relatively young and has few access numbers, notably for the 28.8 users out there. Second is the
graphical nature of the content, which makes for very poor performance over a 14.4 modem. Third, the lack of client software for non-Windows 95 platforms means you are forced to use Microsoft's OS. And of course, fourth, the paranoid suspicion some OS/2 users have of Microsoft and Microsoft products may keep OS/2 users away.
On the other hand it does have some things that really make it look good. The biggest is probably ease of use. In many ways MSN would look more at home in OS/2's Workplace Shell than it does as a Windows application. It is tightly integrated into the Windows 95 Explorer Shell and yet it has a feel that is Object Oriented and straight forward. In many ways this client is what any of the on-line services could have done a couple of years ago by taking advantage of the OS/2 Workplace Shell. Unfortunately for OS/2 users there are currently no plans for an OS/2 Client or even a Windows 3.1 client. Once again Microsoft leaves the door open for a third party developer to write a better product.
Looking beyond the surface of MSN is rather surprising. For a new service, it has quite a bit of good quality content mixed in with its near seamless Worldwide Web integration. In addition to the Worldwide Web, the Microsoft Network also integrates Internet News and e-mail into the standard content at no extra cost to the user. At the moment all other Internet access is provided through outside applications via a PPP connection that the Microsoft Network Dial-Up offers to users of Microsoft Plus!. The Microsoft Network has also recently begun to open up access to users that have other Internet sources, via PPP or a LAN connection.
OS/2 Resources
One thing that comes as a shock to many is that the MSN OS/2 Forum is probably one of the most complete OS/2 sources available. The OS/2 Forum has almost everything an OS/2 user could ask for: links directly to Internet based Worldwide Web and News sites, a software library that is well organized and almost as complete as Walnut Creek's OS/2 section (though Hobbes remains the best Internet resource for OS/2 files), weekly chat sessions about OS/2, and a Bulletin Board system that is easier to read than anything most on-line services offer.
Like most on-line services, MSN contracts out to get a manager for their forums. That means that the OS/2 Forum Manager, Jeff Elkins, can be expected to be impartial in the OS wars and responsive to communication and suggestion. Jeff, in particular, is very open minded as he is a heavy user of both Windows and OS/2.
What Else?
The rest of MSN is an eclectic collection of the usual on-line service offerings. Very little of the other content is directed at OS/2 users but there is very good information about Windows 3.1 and DOS Software that may interest many OS/2 users. Obviously MSN is a very good resource for Microsoft information regarding both operating systems and applications. Several other software and hardware vendors already have good support forums on the Microsoft Network, though even those that do support OS/2 don't always post OS/2 files there until requested. Some of the standouts that are worth visiting are: The Windows NT Knowledge Base, The Shareware Forum, and one of the better Software Developer's Forums that I have encountered anywhere on-line.
The fact that Microsoft even has an OS/2 Forum is something of a shock but it is by far one of the best resources I have found yet for OS/2 information, software, and communicating with other OS/2 users. CompuServe still has better user support but the OS/2 Forum on MSN is more than worth the $5.95/month fee on the Microsoft Network. MSN has a billing structure that closely resembles that of America Online; the base fee covers most areas for the base hourly allotment and then charges of about $2.95/hour apply. Vendors can bill fees on downloads of software but these are always clearly marked with the costs. There aren't any fees based on time of day or the network used. At the time this was written, access via the Internet had no hourly access fee at all, only the monthly fee, but this is apparently under review.
Conclusions
If you're a Windows 95 and OS/2 user or if you are a Windows 95 user who wants to learn more about OS/2, the MSN OS/2 Forum might be just the source of information for you. For more information on the Microsoft Network visit http://www.msn.com or if you have a copy of Windows 95 laying around, dial in to MSN and visit the OS/2 Forum.
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Microsoft Network (http://www.msn.com)
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Andy Satori (Dru@msn.com) is the WebMaster for the Web Wide Classifieds (http://theclassifieds.com) and an Operating System Orphan. He uses OS/2's Boot Manager to handle Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2 Warp, and LINUX. He does development work in his free time from The Web Wide Classifieds.
Visit Indelible Blue (http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib/) - Indelible Blue is a mail order reseller specializing in state-of-the-art OS/2 software and hardware solutions for corporations and individuals. Corporate volume discounts available.
Are you one of those users who just can't shake the Windows way of doing things and still manipulates his files with a buttonbar or file menu? Have faith, there are many native OS/2 applications designed to suit you, from freeware to shareware and commercial.
While the WPS allows intuitive and flexible file and object manipulation, it can occasionally be a little sparse for those who need a lot of information. For example, some users like to know at a glance how many files are in a folder, or the total size of the files selcted, or want to be able to archive files with point and click simplicity. All this and more is handled by most of our review products this month.
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Reviewed In This Issue
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DirMaster v2.22 - Arne Haaje
FileStar/2 v1.0 - Tom Kulaga
FM/2 v2.38 - Steven Atchue
Mr. File PM v5.2 - Chris Williams
Our Sponsor: BMT Micro (http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/)
*****
DirMaster v2.22 - by Arne Haaje
DirMaster v2.22 is a file manager that will give you complete control of your files and directories from a simple, clean interface. It uses a PM interface to let you perform all of your file operations simply by clicking in the right places.
I tested version 2.22 on an IBM PS/2 85 with a DX2 66, 24 MB RAM, and a XGA-2 graphics card. Installation is limited to a supplied batch-file to create an icon for DirMaster. However, there are no changes to your config.sys so you don't have to reboot to start the program.
Features
As with most file managers, DirMaster splits the screen vertically to display two windows containing a directory each. To let you know what is going on DirMaster has two status bars--one at the top of the screen and one at the bottom. They show useful information like the name of the active directory, the amount of free space on the disk, the size of the selected files, the size of swapper.dat, and the time of the day.
Just above the bottom status bar there is a bank of function buttons. This is where much of the power of the program lies; you can have as many as 96 buttons to perform regular file operations. While most of them are predefined, like copy, delete, move, makedir, and so on, you can also define your own. These can be buttons that you link to an external program to perform a certain task. For example, you can define a button to automatically load PMView whenever you double click on a JPG or GIF file. Also, you can automate your archiving and
unarchiving of files. No more messing about with typing file names or entering the wrong path.
Aside from the buttons DirMaster also includes limited support for drag-and-drop techniques. It is possible to drag a file from one window to another. This will move the file to the destination directory. You may also drag a text file to the printer. This works reasonably well, but for daily use I found that it is actually easier to just click on a file, and then on a button to perform the desired operation.
If you have ever used an Amiga you may recall a popular program called Directory Opus. DirMaster is heavily influenced by this so former Amiga users should find themselves on familiar ground. One of the features of DOpus was called click-move-click. In DirMaster this
optional feature is called click&click. To use it, the user clicks once on the file that he or she wants to copy in the source directory, and then quickly clicks once in the target directory. The file is copied at once. This also works with archives. Click once on the archived file, and then once in the target directory and the file will be unarchived with no need of using the 'Unarchive' button!
More Stuff
The menubar also includes some other powerful tools. You can open DOS and OS/2 prompts--both in windowed or fullscreen sessions and the path will automatically be set to your active directory window. You can also set if you want to view and act upon hidden and system files.
One very useful feature of DirMaster is that whenever you perform an action on a file with a 'Read only' attribute, you are asked if you want to skip it or perform the action. This can come in very handy when you want to delete a huge directory that contains write-protected
files.
Configuration
As with most other programs DirMaster uses a notebook for it's configuration. The notebook contains settings for things like what formats to use when displaying files and their sizes, what files to actually display, and what fonts and colors to use for displaying them. It is also possible to sort directories on file sizes and dates, in addition to names. You can also set the paths of the two directories to be shown at startup.
The notebook is also where you assign functions to the buttons discussed earlier. You may use external programs here if you wish. It is also possible to assign buttons to open specific drives on your system, for example if you use OS/2 at work you probably use a few network drives that you would like to assign to a drive button. Unfortunately, you can't assign an icon to a button so the look of the program is far from exciting. Another feature that is lacking is the ability to view the directories in an icon or tree structure like you can do with the drives object in the Workplace Shell or some other file managers.
Conclusions
DirMaster is a very capable program that will make your file operations a lot more comfortable. It is also very fast--both in loading and operation. Being a program that has come to version 2.22, DirMaster is very stable. The only time I had it crash on me was when I tried to drag a font from the font palette onto it. However, as I can't find any place in the documentation stating that this is supported I won't hold it against it.
DirMaster is uncrippled shareware, so you have full opportunity to try it out before you decide to pay for it. For only US$39.50 it comes with a lot of power at a cheap price. Check it out!
One of the biggest complaints from people who convert to OS/2 from Windows is the lack of a file manager. Some folks, myself included, have gotten into a routine, and are not comfortable using the WPS for file manipulation. For those of us who are too stubborn to make the commitment to the WPS, FileStar/2 v1.0 is a good solution.
Shareware Roots
FileStar/2 was originally written by Jim Read and released as shareware by Sierra Hyperstar over a year ago. Since then, SofTouch Systems has begun publishing it as a traditional commercial application complete with slick packaging and printed docs. The basic functionality of the program has not changed since the shareware version though, so if you really want to try before you buy, you can still grab a copy from your local FTP site.
Installation
New since SofTouch took over is the addition of their very simple graphical installation program. There are easily identifiable install and uninstall options and the program prompts you before updating your config.sys file or placing objects on your desktop. FileStar also runs fine from its own directory, without copying extra files to your system directories, which makes for a nice, clean uninstall if you decide you don't like it.
Options, Options, Options
The first thing that struck me about FileStar/2 was its configurability. Most of the program's options are set through a common and intuitive settings notebook. From window position, color, and font, to file selection methods and listings, it seems nothing about this app is written in stone. It even has the option to display files in text, details or icon views, giving you the same visual result as the drives object in the WPS, without ending up with a dozen windows cluttering your desktop. My favorite option was the configurable file filter, which allows you to create a list of your most-used filters, and switch between them easily.
Another standout was the archive facility. It uses the freeware Info-ZIP archiver, and has an intuitive settings page that eliminates the hassle with command line switches. If this is your primary need in a file manager, I strongly recommend looking into this one. The author obviously put quite a bit of time into this interface, and it paid off.
The Interface
The program comes with the standard two window display of two different directories and also displays a window for the drive tree and a window listing all available drives. The default color scheme for the windows is a little odd--baby blue for one, light yellow for the other--but, like the rest of the program, is customizable to suit your desires. Other standard options are information bars detailing time, date, swap size, free disk space and other information and an optional button bar across the top for quick access to some common functions. The buttons on the button bar lack fancy graphics but serve their purpose. They are not configurable, however, so moving, changing, deleting or adding your own buttons is out of the question.
FileStar/2 makes good use of its GUI environment. I didn't see any plain-Jane dialog boxes during my testing, and even the directory creation and insertion dialog boxes were custom-made. For those OS/2 users who like to use the right mouse button, FileStar/2 is a dream come true. Just right-click on any file, and up pops a menu giving you all the options that are listed in the drop-down menus. Get used to using it, and you may never need a menu bar again. This flexibility of use is the program's best strength.
The Downside
Even with all of its good points, there was one aspect of FileStar/2 that annoyed me. In an attempt to make FileStar/2 faster, the author designed it to read all directories into the INI file, and then read from that file to speed up the window listings when you change directories. At first this seemed a good move, but FileStar/2 doesn't see the changes made by other programs, and I found myself having to update the INI file often. Fortunately, there's a 'rescan'
option under the drive menu that makes this easy. If FileStar/2 is the only app you use to manage your hard drive, you might not find this as big a problem as I did.
Conclusions
Overall, FileStar/2 is a winner in my view. I found it to be very stable and well-polished. The help files are nicely done, using a good deal of graphics and giving all the information you might want. There are still a few rough edges that reveal its shareware history though; clicking on a help menu item brought up a document explaining how to "register" the software--not something I would plan on doing if I had just paid US $59 for it. Still, if you're in the market for a good file manager, include FileStar/2 in your "must-try" list.
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FileStar/2 v1.0
SofTouch Systems, Inc.
CompuServe: GO OS2BVEN
Voice: (405) 947-8080
Fax: (405) 632-6537
SRP: US$59
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Tom Kulaga (http://www.mcs.net/~kulaga) is a 27 year old mechanical engineering student at Northern Illinois U., who is just adjusting to civilian life after a 4 year stint in the U.S. Air Force. He is an avid OS/2'er for the past 2 years.
A couple of things came to mind while I was watching the beginning of what ended up to be the blizzard of '96. The first thought that hit me was that I had lots of shoveling to do. My second thought was a futile attempt at delaying the first thought as long as possible. I decided that it was time to do some rigorous directory restructuring. I am not a very organized person; on my D: drive alone there are twenty or so subdirs with "test matter" in them. And my D: drive is by far the most orderly.
Enter FM/2 v2.38. FM/2, in addition to being a file manager, resembles a hardy utility package like PCtools or Norton Utilities--a Swiss Army Knife of sorts. All of its functions may be used from its main interface, a command line or a WPS object. It is not just a simple file manager, even though it's simpler to navigate than many of it's competitors. Version 2.38 also addresses a few small problems and adds a couple of features requested by users.
Look and Features
Visually, FM/2 is yet another implementation of a standard file manager layout, but with a LOT of options. It presents the user with a window or "container" listing available drives which can be expanded into tree structures and another "container" with a file list. Also standard equipment, are the button bar (either text or icons), the status bars at the bottom of the main window (free disk space, details of selected file(s), etc.), loads of context sensitive pop-up menus, a settings notebook and archive management ability.
FM/2's file management is superior to any WPS or text based file manager I have seen. With a responsive interface, FM/2 implements "walking" features that simplify changing drives and directories. Right mouse menus also ease file operations. Some of the useful utilities that were omitted from warp, like DELTREE and a disk optimizer, are also included.
Configurability
As far as usability goes the main interface is very ergonomic and also very configurable. Its toolbar is laid out displaying (by default) most of FM/2's options and can be changed to suit the user's working habits. Configuration options are so plentiful that I can't list them all here. In fact, the novice user could easily get overwhelmed by all the selection. You'll want to play for a while and explore these options if you plan to use FM/2 regularly.
Getting Down to Business
The first order of business for my "drive cleaning" was finding out how many duplicate files existed so I could minimize disk usage. Piece of cake! The "collector" option allowed me to search my drives using custom options, one of those options being to find duplicate files. Out of roughly 22,000 files spanning 2 gigabytes of space there were almost 2,000 exact duplicates.
After deleting all the duplicate files I went on to hand pick the directories and files I would earmark for removal or relocation. To complete this chore from the main interface was effortless. The drive and directory "containers" are lightning fast and right mouse button menus are slickly implemented for ease of use. The restructuring and deleting of my hard drive took nearly four hours. I figure this is just a fraction of the time it would have took me to completely "rebuild" from a freshly formatted drive. Now my drive was very well organized, but still not very clean.
Next, it was time to break out the optimizer to "clean up" any messiness that I had created after hacking for four hours. Optimizing went pretty much without a hitch, with the exception of my D: (boot) drive. It seems that in order to optimize your boot drive it must be unlocked, and the only way to achieve this is by booting from floppy (which I have yet to do). This can be done by making boot disks with Warp's utility or a third party utility.
Upon completion of my drive cleaning, my system had "realized" a total gain of about 150 Mb of disk space, not to mention the unused and fragmented space that was wasted on my FAT drives before optimizing. Well, to do all this without rebooting was quite daring, but I shut it down and rebooted. No problem! Booting up was noticeably faster--I am assuming this is a result of optimization. All of my files were now alphabetically arranged in recognizable directories--this was just too much!
The Extras
FM/2 comes with a few other "techie" utilities. The one that most caught my eye was the INI editor. There are a lot of things that get "beached" in your system files as a result of installing applications and then deleting them. I install a ton of software then delete it. Little did I know until I used the INI editor how valuable an uninstall program really is. There were references to software that I had installed over a year ago (i.e. Ultimail) and removed almost immediately and these references can affect performance dramatically. There is also a lot of info in your INI files that you should not touch, which I learned the hard way.
So I carefully (I thought) started hacking every reference to anything I did not recognize out of the OS2.INI and OS2sys.INI files. Then I decided another reboot was in order. Everything seemed fine; the system booted up even faster than before. The WPS popped up blazingly fast and everything was going great. Then I noticed a few abnormalities. Be warned, there are some things that you should not fool with in your system files.
Drawbacks
FM/2's shortcomings are almost nil but there are some. First: the lack of a utility that makes a bootdisk. Routine maintenance of locked disks is impossible without boot disks so this feature would be nice. Second: support. Currently the program is very stable, well documented and even includes an uninstall program. However, the support via e-mail is a little slow and could be improved. Third: the program is so option heavy that it can seem cluttered and overwhelm the OS/2 novice.
Is it a Winner?
All in all FM/2 is a very consistent product. The level of experience required varies with the feature, but for the most part it is for everyone and the utilities included should suit even the most technical user. FM/2 has found a spot on my launchpad, and after using it I imagine you will find a spot for it on your desktop also. The pricing is very affordable and updates are regular. A first class product all the way through
Steven Atchue (satchue@ultranet.com) has been in the computer industry since the birth of the AT. Currently, he is doing product reviews, freelance writing and for fun he is building his own house. Steve can also be reached on CompuServe as 75250,3726.
Our Sponsor: Indelible Blue (http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib/)
*****
Mr. File PM v5.2 - by Chris Williams
One of the best benefits of working for IBM long ago was that I had access to all those neat little software toys and utilities, written by IBM employees to help make life so much easier. Today, many of those toys are available to anyone, free of charge, through the IBM Employee Written Software program. One of the utilities that has come to the public this way is Mr. File PM v5.2. While other file managers may have quite a bit more function, Mr. File is probably one of the better, basic, OS/2 based file managers you can get at any price. Having it available for free provides all the more reason to check it out.
Installing
Installing Mr. File consists of unpacking the .ZIP file to an appropriate directory and creating (if you like) a program object for the main executable. The first time you start Mr. File, it asks you to confirm where you want it to place its .INI file, the default being \OS2 on your boot drive. Most of OS/2's .INI files exist down this branch of the directory tree, and I have yet to find a good reason to put this file anywhere else, but I suppose you could if it bothers you.
Features
So, what do you get for the price of downloading and unpacking a 250K .ZIP file? A nice, quick, convenient, no frills file manager that is, at least on the surface, pretty intuitive to use. It comes with a nice list of basic features to help you navigate OS/2 file systems, including configurable pull-down menus and a toolbar, and the ability to run any OS/2 command as a separate process from the main program window. You are presented with one big file list and a list of available drives by default, but this can be changed to the common two window display of a directory tree and file list. A limited form of text and details modes are the only choices for displaying directory contents. There are no status lines detailing swap file size, number and size of selected files or free memory to be found. Some of this information can be accessed by menu option or toolbar icon though.
Once you learn the functions associated with the toolbar icons, Mr. file becomes much more usable. Unfortunately, you must sift through the on-line help (which is adequate, but not meticulous) or look at the settings notebook, where you can select which icons appear on the toolbar, and memorize what each one does. There is no icon bubble help, or any other indication of their function except roughly drawn pictures which are often hard to interpret. Without the toolbar, you are left to the pull-down menus to guide your way. Clarifying what each toolbar icon does up front would speed up the learning process.
Mr. File also can be configured to execute specific commands for certain types of files. However, since the author has opted to maintain backward compatibility with OS/2 1.X, the file type is determined by its specific file name or extension as opposed to a Workplace Shell (WPS) object. This backward compatibility also means that, beyond observing basic drag and
drop protocol, there is no extensive WPS integration of any kind with Mr. File. Most WPS features from other applications like Object Desktop do flow through Mr. File and enhance some of its function, though.
Should You Bother?
Overall, Mr. File PM is great for keeping track of files on different drives, quickly moving things around, or just to have a quick and dirty file manager available when you need one. It's not going to win any contests for functionality and there are some obvious places where it
could stand some improvement. It does get the job done quickly and easily, though. If all you need to do is no frills management of the files on your hard drive, look no further and spend no more.
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Mr. File PM v5.2 (hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/diskutil/mrfilepm.zip)
Author: Mike Kaczmarski
Registration: Free--IBM Employee Written Software
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Chris Williams (http://privateI.com/~chrisw) has been actively involved with OS/2 systems for the past six years. A former IBM employee, OS/2 Ambassador, and long time member of Team OS/2, he is currently a PC and network specialist for Perot Systems Corporation.
Visit Indelible Blue (http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib/) - Indelible Blue is a mail order reseller specializing in state-of-the-art OS/2 software and hardware solutions for corporations and individuals. Corporate volume discounts available.
Stardock Systems has an interesting plan to stay on the tips of everyone's tongues this year: release about a billion titles! Galactic Civilizations 2, the long awaited sequel to the award winning original is finally out and our reviewer takes a close look. Also published by Stardock but developed by Continuous Software Systems, we review the preview of the much heralded "Myst Killer", Avarice. Should Goliath quake with fear? Read on. And for those of you who still have too much time on your hands, have a look at our review of OS/2 Tetris clones. A word of warning though: addictive personalities beware!
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Reviewed In This Issue
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Galctic Civilizations v2 - Chris Wright
Avarice Preview - Mikael Engdahl
OS/2 Tetris Clones - Jonathon Reason
Our Sponsor: SPG (http://www.spg-net.com/)
*****
Galactic Civilizations Revisited - by Christopher B. Wright
In the Beginning...
Stardock Systems has achieved legendary status in the OS/2 world; in less than a year they managed to grab the attention of almost everyone by creating, marketing and selling OS/2-only software that can be described as nothing less than remarkable.
OS/2 had been lacking in one branch of software that is absolutely crucial to the success or failure of any operating system in the home: games. Stardock responded to this vacancy with Galactic Civilizations, which has been quite successful (see the review in OS/2 e-Zine! volume 1, number 2). In fact, for a game that exists only on an operating system that's not considered "mainstream", it seems to get talked about far more often than it ought to. I have heard it described as one of the most addictive strategy games out there. I've also heard myself cursing at 7:00 in the morning when I realize I've been up all night playing, it's time to go to work, and I'm out of coffee.
The Next Level
Stardock has recently released an updated version of Galactic Civilizations, titled (appropriately) "Galactic Civilizations 2". It is bigger, has better graphics, more "stuff", and comes on a CD-ROM instead of floppy disks.
What's the Same?
For those of you unfamiliar with the Galactic Civilizations heritage, I'll try to fill you in. GalCiv2, like GalCiv1, starts in the near future, when a colony ship from Earth accidentally gets sucked into a wormhole and gets spewed out far enough away that it has no chance of getting back. Your task is to rebuild humanity; find planets, colonize them, build ships, build up your population, find more planets, colonize them, etc., etc. Along the way, you'll meet alien civilizations, some good, some bad, some unpredictable, and you'll have to decide how to cope with them. At some point, you'll probably be embroiled in an interstellar war.
The first thing you do when you start playing is choose what aliens you want to have in the game. There are a list of five you can choose from, and you can determine the level of their intelligence (how well they play the game), their alignment (good, bad, neutral, and a "random" setting that can surprise you), and if you don't like the default names of the races, their names. You then determine the size of the galaxy, from small to huge. Stardock recommends you have a Pentium if you wish to play in the largest-sized galaxy (it's really big). It runs fine on my machine, and I almost have a pentium (see the computer spec at the end of this review). Once you've determined all this, you choose your own name and the name of your political party (this becomes important later in the game).
Not only does GalCiv2 put you in charge of expanding your little empire, it puts you in charge of maintaining that empire. You have to decide how high your taxes are going to be, how much your government is going to spend on projects, and how the money spent is going to be split amongst military building, social building, and scientific research. If your taxes aren't just right, your citizens become unhappy and stop reproducing, your population drops, and you lose money. If your taxes are OK but the government is spending too much money (yes, deficit spending is allowed in this game) then you will watch your funds disappear until you suddenly find your civilization bankrupt.
Deciding how much money you allocate to what kind of government spending requires making a lot of tough decisions. There are three areas of government spending (at the "Federal" level) in this game: military, science, and social. Increasing the amount of spending for one decreases the amount of spending for the other two (so that each is a portion of 100%).
All during this time, your civilizations' scientists are discovering new technologies that can give you an advantage over the other civilizations you meet. Some technologies give you the ability to move faster and farther into space, others give you the ability to clean up polluted planets, and still others give you the ability to move your society into more economically rewarding governments. At the same time, your alien neighbors are trying to do the same thing--and if they're not neighborly, they'll use what they have against you . . . unless you get to them first.
Not only do you have to control your civilization from a "federal" level (that is, make decisions that affect the entire civilization), you also have to manage from the planetary level. Each planet has its own specific characteristics: how rich in resources it is, how big the population is, and depending on what decisions you make when you build up the planet, what industries it has. As before, you can choose to allocate planetary resources towards military, research, or social, along with a fourth group, entertainment.
What's New?
Galactic Civilizations comes in a beautiful packaging, the kind that screams "Game!" at the top of it's lungs in a way that makes you reach for your wallet reflexively. On the back of the box are some well-chosen screen shots that convey the spirit of the game admirably. All in all, the packaging is well thought out and tasteful without being too "glitzy"--a problem with some newer titles. Those who complained about the original version's box will be thrilled with this new one.
It's not all show, however . . . the package contains some good stuff. First of all, the CD-ROM holds not only the game, but also a movie introducing the story that can be played from the video player in your Multimedia folder if you have it installed--I recommend it. What's more, the game also comes with a manual--something the original did not--and it's a useful one, giving you tips on installation and playing the game.
GalCiv2 runs entirely on CD-ROM. It installs no files on your machine except for an INI file and a rather large swap file when the game is running, so I suggest at least a quad speed CD-ROM drive for smooth playability (even then there are some bumps as it goes from one mode of play to the next). If you have a large enough hard drive with a few hundred megs of free space (I'd say make sure you have at least 300, but I don't know for sure) you could simply copy the entire GalCiv2 directory from the CD-ROM drive to your hard drive and play that way. I tried it to see what would happen, and it seems to work, but these days HD space can be at a premium, so you'll probably want to stick with the CD-ROM.
I was pleased to discover that you can play the game at any resolution as long as you can display at least 256 colors. GalCiv2 has two settings, a 256 color default setting and a 16 million setting you can manually switch to if your video card can take it.
I'm one of those lunatics who insists on using the highest display possible (I'm currently at 1200x1020 with the smallfont applet giving me small icons and text). So far, I've noticed only one flaw in hi-res displays: there is video corruption of text when GalCiv2 explains whatever new technology your society has discovered. This is not a problem I would consider too constraining, however; the problem goes away if you highlight the displayed text, so you can still read what it says.
Actually, one of the best things about the game is its interface. Everything in the game is mouse-driven: you don't have to use the keyboard at all to play (though you can if you want, and Stardock states in the manual the game can be played without a mouse if that's what you prefer). At the same time, you can control your society to an incredible level of detail and with a large amount of flexibility without feeling the need for keyboard controls. GalCiv2 has a plethora of buttons, sliders, and graphs that help you understand as well as affect what's going on, without having to hit a key. My only wish is that it came with "help flags" (like the tabbed launchpad in Object Desktop) so I could remember what every button does.
Other Stuff
Stardock has added some other features to GalCiv2, some that make your life easier, some that make you plan harder. One of the features in the "making your life easier" category is the introduction of Governors. Governors can be assigned to a solar system (there can be more than one habitable planet in a solar system) when you don't want to spend every turn micromanaging planetary resources. Depending on which Governor you choose, he will allocate all of the planetary resources in a solar system towards one area: entertainment, military, social, or research. For example, if you choose Conan the Librarian as your Governor in the Aurigae system, every inhabited planet in that system will allocate its resources towards social spending. If you choose Bill the Researcher, he allocates all the resources towards scientific research, Donald the Sword towards the military, and Ringo the Happy towards entertainment.
Each governor has his drawback: Conan the Librarian helps the system grow rapidly in production and population, and even helps military spending and research grow to a lesser degree, but he also seems to increase a planets pollution, which can make the people very unhappy. Bill the Researcher increases the effectiveness of your researching efforts (allowing you to discover more technology) but not much else: it will take a long time for you to build anything on that planet, and although the game does allow you to buy projects for your planets, they are expensive. Although all Governors have their weaknesses, they can be very useful when you don't want planetary management to clutter up your game.
On a more challenging note, Stardock has made it more difficult for you to meander across the galaxy at will. Now, each kind of spaceship has a limitation called "range" which is the maximum distance a ship can be from "friendly territory"--that is, yours. This forces you to plan where you go, and how you expand. For example, I've had to colonize some fairly unattractive planets to get to the great ones just across the way, simply because my colony ships can't go out far enough. It makes it a lot more difficult to explore the galaxy, and forces you to plan ahead much further. It also changes your expansion and military buildup tactics--for example, I've found that planets near a lot of sectors with no stars or planets at all are great locations for scientific research, because it's harder for the "bad guys" to get to them, so you don't need to worry so much about protecting them. On the other hand, you suffer from the same limitations--so it's very difficult to get out there and take over the entire galaxy in a few hours.
Cloak and Dagger: the Next Generation
No advanced civilization would be complete without a government authorized, government funded spy network, and GalCiv2 gives you that as well. At your disposal is Galactic Intelligence, your own network of spies ready to get the dirt on your friends and enemies alike. You activate GI by allocating them funds. Then, you sic them on whichever alien race you've met that you want dirt on. A few turns later you'll start getting info on what kind of government they are, how they're organized, who they're at war with, what they think about you and, most importantly, what technology they have and what technology they're trying to get. And, if it should turn out you don't want that civilization around, you can choose to "destabilize" it. If you give GI even more funding, they'll go into whatever civilization you choose and try to spread dissention, causing riots, reducing production, economic strength, and ultimately, population. Be careful: other civilizations can do this to you a well, and if they're richer than you are, you're in trouble.
Do You Have Your Wallet Out Yet?
This game is so complex, with so many levels to it, that it's impossible to tell you everything about it. When Stardock writes in their manual that GalCiv 2 runs on an "AI engine" (Artificial Intelligence engine), I almost believe it really is intelligent . . . there's so much going on it's easy to believe the computer really is thinking this stuff out. Each decision you make can have significant bearing on what happens next, and you will be surprised what will come back to haunt you.
Stardock can be proud of this game. The level of detail could have easily been too much to take, and could have detracted from the playability; instead, I can't imagine playing this kind of game any other way. The graphics are stunning, the sound is good, and the playability is excellent. If you have a few months to kill, buy this game. If you don't have a few months to kill, buy it anyway--just don't tell your boss.
My machine:
Cyrix 5x86/100
24mb ram
AcerView 76i 17" monitor at 1200x1020, 256 colors
Creative Labs 4x CDRom
Creative Labs 16 bit Soundblaster
Maxtor 540 mb drive
Maxtor 1040 mb drive
Maxtor 240 mb drive
Miro 2mb PCI card
**Note: I got a surprising amount of mail from a lot of you about last month's article (on the whole, favorable, I'm glad to say). I want to apologize to all of you for not returning most of it. I'd planned on it, but a week into January, my computer contracted a virus, and a week later I was reformatting my hard drives and (guess what) reinstalling OS/2. I didn't want any of you to think ill of me, however, for not responding to your mailings. Unfortunately, I'm rather cavalier about backing up my hard drives, and PMMail and all it's files were swept away . . . again, I'm sorry.
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Galactic Civilizations v2
Stardock Systems, Inc. (http://oeonline.com/~stardock)
Voice: (313)453-0328
Fax: (313)453-1480
e-mail: wardell@ibm.net
SRP: US$59.95
-----
Christopher B. Wright (brennanw@richmond.infi.net) is a technical writer in the Northern Virginia/D.C. area, and has been using OS/2 Warp since January 95. He is a recent member of Team OS/2.
Our Sponsor: BMT Micro (http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/)
*****
Avarice Preview - by Mikael Engdahl
Developed by Continuous Software Systems and published by Stardock, Avarice has often been called the Myst killer, OS/2's answer to Myst. Featuring awesome 3D rendered graphics, an artificial intelligence engine and an original music score, Avarice sure sounds like a worthy opponent, one that can show us how OS/2 handles multimedia. But how is the game? Does it live up to its expectations? The definite answer to those questions will arrive later this spring when Avarice--The Complete Saga ships, but the preview gives us an indication of what the final game will look like.
Upon startup, even while the game is loading (which takes a while), you are met by impressive music, followed by a startup-loop (which for the full game will be replaced with an intro movie) containing a short description of the story and the intro picture. From here you can either load a previously saved game or start a new one. Both actions are performed from a menubar which is located at the top of the screen. From this menubar you can also change various settings, for instance the image quality, cache size and sound volume. Avarice's presentation is extremely customizable.
Getting Around
Avarice is played from the perspective of Gareth (i.e. you see things through his eyes) and everything in the Avarice world is done using a mouse. For example, you move around the mansion by clicking where you want to go. The mouse pointer is context sensitive and depending on which part of the screen you point to it changes to an arrow pointing up, one pointing down, or etc.
Avarice is actually rather unique in a way. It's not just the first real graphic adventure for OS/2, it also contains a great level of depth and great AI. All this contributes to make it a
really interesting game. Throughout the game, you encounter a large number of objects. By right-clicking on an object you are presented with a small menu with actions that you can perform with that specific object (that either effect the object you clicked on or some other object), for instance examine or read (if it's a book). This menu changes from object to object of course, and in some cases this menu changes for an object during the game. There are thousands of objects (and in the final game also non player characters) to interact with, so there is almost no limit to what you can do. Some of the puzzles can also be solved in several ways and you do not have to solve all the puzzles to finish the game.
Under the Cover
Needless to say, this is a preview and not a final game, and this is quite noticeable. While it is much more stable than earlier betas, it is far from finished. It doesn't contain any major
bugs (with the exception of random hangs here and there), but does have smaller ones. For example, when placing objects, they don't always end up where they should (sometimes they can be seen floating in mid-air). Sound also needs working on. Background sounds are interrupted when loading images and when playing sound effects.
There is no printed documentation included since it's a preview (the final version will have a hard copy manual). Like the game, the manual is under construction. The current version is stored as a text-file on CD and is available from the game interface.
How Fast Is It?
Supporting a whole lot of graphic resolutions (minimum VGA 640x480) and a color depth of up to 16.8 million colors, it doesn't require a genius to figure out that Avarice has severe
hardware requirements. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend anything less than a 32meg Pentium with a fast CD-ROM, at least if you want to go with the high quality graphics. Setting them to medium quality (or preferably low) speeds up the game, but then things don't look quite as good. I dare not even think of how the game performs on an older 486 machine with 8 MB RAM and a 2x CD-ROM (the minimum system requirements). At this point, it is rumoured to be _almost_ unplayable.
Whichever graphics quality you choose, you will still have unacceptably long access times when saving, loading or starting a new game. Spending a couple of minutes waiting for the "saving in process" message to go away can be really frustrating. I have been playing the game on a 486 66 MHz with 16 MB and a 4x CD, and while the graphic quality is impressive, the loading times aren't. However, the final version is promised to be much better in this area and CSS has promised an update to the Preview which addresses this issue too.
In what was probably a mistake, the developers set the game to default to "High" quality graphics with sounds and background loading turned on. As I said, these settings are best used on fast Pentiums with plenty of memory. This means that the low end computer user will spend some minutes sitting in front of his machine before he is even able to change these settings in an attempt to improve performance. This can be so frustrating that many will not spend the time necessary to realize that they _can_ change the settings--it's that bad. Still, Continuous Software Systems representatives are very responsive on comp.os.os2.games and have acknowledged this problem. The final version is promised to improve on this area also.
The Final Version
Due out in February, the final version will include a lot more than just bug fixes. It will be a lot bigger (the preview is limited to small part of the house), the plot and ending will be
different and it will (hopefully) be a lot faster.
Should You Bother?
This preview doesn't really live up to the title "Myst killer". There are far to many details that aren't finished and small bugs to annoy you. Myst is a lot slicker and faster. But since Avarice isn't finished it may be unfair to compare the two. Avarice really has great graphics (provided that you play with the best image quality) and a good story, but so does Myst. The final verdict will have to wait, but for now, Myst is in the lead.
After spending the whole Christmas weekend in front of my computer, I await the final game with great impatience. If you've either got a really fast machine or an unusually large amount of patience, and like mystery games you should take a closer look at this (though I recommend you wait until the final game arrives). Despite its enormous loading times, Avarice has the potential to become a big hit for Stardock and Continuous Software Systems. (Oh, what the heck--another reason to upgrade to that Pentium!)
-----
Avarice Preview
Continuous Software Systems (csoft@primenet.com)
Published by Stardock Systems (http://www.oeonline/~stardock)
Price: US$39.95
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Mikael Engdahl (http://www.algonet.se/~engdahl) has been an OS/2 enthusiast since v2.0. In his spare time, when not studying, he likes playing (OS/2) games.
I remember Tetris with trepidation. A girlfriend of mine had broken her leg and to stave of the boredom of my bringing her endless bunches of grapes and sympathy she borrowed her eight year old daughter's gameboy. Loaded of course with the ubiquitous Tetris. After one day she was ready to throw the thing out the window in sheer frustration. After a week, she showed me the meaning of 'compulsive addiction'. And after a month she was hell to live with, but she had beaten her daughter's previously unassailable score.
I found four OS/2 versions of Tetris on hobbes. They are: Sirtet v1.0, STrs v1.22, Tetris v1.01, and Columns v1.2.
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Sirtet v1.0 by John Lisek (Freeware).
This version of Tetris suffers from one major drawback. For some reason, on my system at least, the bricks are over-square. This makes the size of them change radically when rotating the bricks to fit gaps. Some of you may look at this and rise to the challenge that it provides. I did not. For me it made this one very difficult to play. This can be tuned under the Game->Skill menu.
In fact, Sirtet is quite configurable. You can select which shapes of bricks are dropped and change the background colour scheme, as well as turn off the (very annoying) sound. It is also possible to select the start speed and level. This is the only Tetris type OS/2 game reviewed that has sizable windows. Stretching the play window to make it thinner and taller may improve the way the game looks to you.
The playing area is not very tall so the game appears very quick. Again, this may be just what you are looking for.
SCORE: 3/5
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STris v1.22 by Rene Straub (Cardware--use it, send Rene a postcard).
This is more like it. Stris is nice, gentle and sedate, and you have the option of turning on a grid to help guide the pieces home. There is also an option to change the colour palettes for the bricks, but not the background.
This version seems to be in Beta, and the user can not yet define the gameplay keys, but the option is there on the Game menu to be implemented at some future date. I couldn't rotate the bricks at first, because I was used to using the 5 on the number pad and for some reason this version uses the 8. Of course, this makes no difference once you get used to it.
Again, the start level and speed are user selectable, as well as the sound. And despite its ease of play at the low levels STris can get quite challenging at the higher levels.
SCORE 4/5.
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Tetris v1.01 by Jim Garrison (Freeware).
I like games with nice graphics, and as much as you can get graphics in Tetris, these ones are nice. Little bitmaps appear on the blocks, improving the look of the playfield, although they don't make up for the appalling sound effects.
Somehow this implementation was the easiest of the four to play and the one I enjoyed the most. More experienced Tetrisians who favour more of a challenge will not, I suspect, agree with me since it is a bit on the simple side--even for Tetris. There are only three levels of skill to select from--beginner, advanced and expert. Other than that, turning the sound and next piece display on or off are the only options.
SCORE 4/5
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Columns v1.2 by Marko Masek (Freeware).
I've left this one till last because I really like it. The author, Marko Masek, has taken Tetris and modified it slightly so that only vertical bars drop down. The bars are each 3 blocks high and the blocks are of varying colour. Rather than rotate the blocks in mid air to fit the space, the user moves the colours within the column. The columns are then dropped so that 3 or more blocks of the same colour line up either vertically, horizontally or diagonally. Sounds dreadfully complex, but in reality it's dead simple--and great fun.
The graphics here aren't fabulous, the whole thing has a 2D feel to it. Once you get the hang of this one though, it's just as addictive as regular Tetris ever was. Watch out!
SCORE 4/5
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There isn't a clear winner in this mini review. They are all playable games, all fairly true to the original, even Columns is still just Tetris by another name. They all give you a degree of control over skill level and have high score features. If you need a time waster, are a compulsive addict from years ago or have a game-challenged machine that just can't handle the demands of Avarice or SimCity, one of them might be for you. But they're not worth breaking a leg for.
Author: Marko Macek (marko.macek@snet.fer.uni-lj.si)
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Jonathan Reason (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jreason) is a full time professional actor and as such has plenty of time to play with his computer. Casting Directors feel free to e-mail.
Review: OS/2 Warp Programming for Dummies - by Rich Furman
When I first broke into computing, programming was what one did with computers. It was the mid 1980's and the market was flooded with cheap home computers, from the Adam (by Coleco) to the ZX81 (from Sinclair). Programming books were targeted at the hobbyist, and the authorial tone was like having it all explained to you over coffee in your living room. Then came the IBM PC and Jeff Duntemann's Complete Turbo Pascal to teach us how to hack on this new generation of hardware. That book was very possibly the last of its kind. As the target audience for books on programming shifted toward the professional programmer, the books themselves began to take on titles like, "Enterprise Client-Server Development using ODBC." Programming was no longer "Programming" but "Development," and the hobbyist-programmer was abandoned by the computer publishing industry.
I am happy to report that the golden age has returned, and if you can swallow your pride long enough to bring a "for Dummies" book to the counter at your bookstore, you can have Blake Watson's OS/2 Warp Programming for Dummies. The book comes with neither CD nor diskette, but this is hardly a disadvantage since typing in the code gives the reader the opportunity to develop a familiarity with it. Watson's style is affectedly familiar, as if he is all too conscious that he is writing a "Dummies" book, but while it may lack Duntemann's sincerity, it is far clearer and more entertaining than the encyclopedic style of Petzold's Presentation Manager Programming and far more coherent than Real World Programming for OS/2 2.11. It is also up to date for OS/2 Warp, which sets it apart from most of the other books available.
The approach that Watson takes is very solid. He begins with an introduction to the way OS/2 (and incidentally Windows) programs work, which includes one of the most lucid explanations of event driven software I have ever encountered. Then he provides programming examples beginning with how to just get a window on the screen and progresses through the code that needs to be added to make a functional program. With each code example is a talmudic explication of each new function, what its parameters are, and what role it plays in the program. Being more concerned with the "big picture" than with the minutiae of the PM API, Watson also imparts to his reader the skill of parsing the names of the API functions and structures so that by the time one is done reading the book, one should be able to look at an unfamiliar API function and discern what it does.
Do not make the assumption that because this is a "Dummies" book, it is suitable for a rank beginner. In spite of the fact that IDG assigns it a reader level of Beginning to Intermediate, Indelible Blue classifies it as Accomplished/Expert. It assumes that you either have a working knowledge of C or can make the jump from C to whatever language you do use. It will not instruct you in how to use your specific compiler. I am using C SET++, but the examples in the book should also work with Watcom C++ or Turbo C++ for OS/2. The very first code example also contains two bugs: one, a prototype that does not match the function it defines and the second an undefined variable. You must have sufficient knowledge of C to solve these sorts of problems if you are to make proper use of the book.
Overall, this book is an excellent resource for the hobbyist-programmer who wishes to write to the OS/2 PM platform. It is a good starting point for the experienced hobbyist who wants an introduction to event-driven programming in the workplace shell environment. By the time one is done reading it, one should be able to make full use of the Presentation Manager features and should be able to create a multi-threaded application for PM or WPS. It should be noted that the book's focus is on PM Programming and does not discuss OS/2 internals at all. The tone is by and large friendly, albeit self-consciously so, and the technical explanations are clear and reasonably complete. The book's primary drawbacks are the fact that some buggy code has been allowed to slip through the cracks and that its tone is occasionally condescending, and for these reasons, given a 5 star system, this book would get 3 and one half stars.
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OS/2 Warp Programming for Dummies
IDG Books Worldwide
Author: Blake Watson
ISBN: 1-56884-337-2
SRP: US$19.99
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Rich Furman (richardf@skypoint.com) is a conversant scriptwriter and OS/2 specialist for Micron Electronics Inc. He lives in the Twin Cities, and maintains a web page describing some of the best places to eat there (http://www.skypoint.com/members/richardf/tcfood.html).
Our Sponsor: Indelible Blue (http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib/)
*****
Confessions Of A British Warp User - by Tim Walker
You think YOU'VE got it bad??!?!
I can just about hear the questions already. What's so different about using OS/2 Warp in the UK, you ask, that I get given 1500 words to explain it? Well, I hope by the end of this article your curiosity on that front will be thoroughly satisfied, and that what I have to relate will help you OS/2 enthusiasts in the US feel that maybe, just maybe, you don't have it too bad.
To begin with, an introduction. I've been using OS/2 Warp (Red Box, 3.5" disk) since December 1994, when I took advantage of a special student offer (I was studying for a diploma in publishing at the time). Like most of you, I suspect, I was a convert from Windows 3.1, attracted by the promise of long filenames and a single operating system capable of running all my DOS, Windows and (later) OS/2 apps in a stable multitasking environment. Things have never been quite that simple, of course, but then in the world of computing, things rarely are. . .
In the intervening months, I've upgraded from 4 to 8Mb RAM (the first thing I did after Warp was installed, not surprisingly), bought a CD-ROM drive (wish I'd had one earlier, so I could install from CD) and found myself work in electronic publishing. And all the while I've stuck with OS/2 Warp, despite the occasional bout of asking myself why in the face of assorted hassles and. . . well, you'll soon hear what else.
So, what makes being a British Warp user (and, most days, enthusiast), shall we say, less than absolutely peachy? Well, where would you like to begin? Software? OK, there's a great mail order retailer in Bristol, who stocks practically every commercial OS/2 application in existence. And. . . and. . . er, you guessed it. OS/2 software is as hard to find in Britain as a VRML browser for an Amstrad word processor. You're lucky even to find Red Box Warp in most software stocklists, usually on the bottom shelf beneath all the Windows stuff. No wonder the myth persists that OS/2 Warp has no native software.
Magazines? Pray, what magazines? There's not one dedicated OS/2 monthly to be found in even the larger UK newsagents, and if any fellow Brits reading this know where to get OS/2 Magazine via import, I'd love to hear about it. Granted, some of the serious computer monthlies give Warp some coverage (two actually devote regular columns to it--you know who you are, and many thanks), but most view OS/2 as a curiosity, fine for a few corporations but an also-ran in the race for the home desktop. To see the obsequious fashion in which most British PC magazines have been falling over themselves to welcome Windows 95 and ignore a genuine 32-bit OS, makes a grim spectacle indeed.
If that's not bad enough, there's the knowledge that if you encounter a problem with OS/2, there's little point writing to the magazines' help pages, because nine times out of ten you can bet your last penny there'll be no-one there who knows a thing about it. "OS/2 Warp. . . oh, yes. Didn't we spend two hours testing it for a review last year? Oh, let's tell him to get Windows 95 instead. Anyone for a Doom DeathMatch?"
This is the thin end of the wedge. I must admit Kevin Linfield's recent OS/2 e-Zine! article on "RTFM" (issue #3) got my hackles up a touch, because, with all due respect to the author, he's writing from a country where an OS/2 user at least stands a chance of meeting another, and support is far more widespread. In the UK, at least as I see it, if you run into system difficulties, you're on your own, mate. "Read The (Fine) Manual". Manual? Oh, you must mean that 70-page booklet that came in the box. Yes, very handy. (Tell me, Kevin, where's the 400-page one you mention?) "Get help from friends." I wish. I am the only OS/2 user I know personally. Full stop. Few other computing friends even know about the system, beyond some vague idea I use this weird OS. "Use the IBM support. . ." perhaps a reference to the support which ran out nine months ago, costs 45 pounds a year and always told me to reinstall (if I was fortunate enough to get through in the first place). "Join a user group." Well, if a British reader knows of an OS/2 group and/or BBS in the London area, I'm interested.
So, let's recap: Almost no native software on shelves. Little magazine coverage. Negative image. Few sources of help when problems arise. So what's kept me going all this time?
Deep breath: the Internet. Without the Web and other resources to call on, I'd probably be struggling with Windows 95 by now. I would never have heard of Stardock, or the brilliant Object Desktop. I wouldn't have a single shareware app, game or anything. In short, I have the Net and the OS/2 community on it (including, e-Zine!) to thank for keeping my head above water. (At this point, I should thank Faheem Ahmed, creator of the sadly-missed "Get Warped" site, for helping me through the tough early months, and his advice on various Warp-related matters. You're a lifesaver!)
I still have problems with Warp, and could fill up an entire article with questions I have about it. Why do I keep getting a "Forms Mismatch" problem every time I print from the menu bar of an application? Should my OS2.INI file be 750K? How do I "tune my system"? Why do system sounds often play 5-10 seconds late? Why on earth does a command prompt window appear when I open a .DOC or .TXT object? And they're just the ones I can think of offhand. Believe me, I'd like nothing better than to ask a friend how I fix these problems, only. . . you get the idea.
So, you still want to know why I haven't gone the Win 95 route by now. Quite simply, OS/2 is potentially a system capable of blowing Bill Gates' latest effort clean out of the arena. Note I said potentially. Let's be honest: Win 95's multimedia support, especially video, does rather outshine Warp's (at least, video's pretty awful on my 8Mb 486DX2-50, and you don't get the sound-lag problem with Win 95), and some kind of autoplay function might be appreciated in the next OS/2 release. I mean, if Win 95 can autostart CDs, based as it is on antiquated DOS technology, why can't OS/2?
And, I must admit, I tend to side with the underdog in a debate. It's a bit of an English characteristic, I suspect. Besides, I don't see why Microsoft should be allowed to single-handedly direct the entire course of personal computing (one reason I'm so fed up with the UK magazines feebly rolling over and letting the Redmond Roadshow make all the running). In terms of fundamental technology, OS/2 is the superior system, and furthermore it stands a good chance of being ported to the PowerPC platform (Win 95 being a simple stopgap until--Gates hopes--we all have PC's up to running NT).
So, that's an idea of what it's like for me, going against the flow and using OS/2 Warp in the UK, despite the world and his whippet trying to persuade me the battle's already lost. Please do feed back on what I've said, whether you want to help, condole, tell me it's the same for you, disagree or simply tell me to stop whining and get on with life! At least that way, I won't feel quite so alone. :-)
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Tim Walker (tim.walker@rapidcom.co.uk) is based near London, and works in electronic media (on-line and CD-ROM) for a major publisher of journals. He uses OS/2 at home, and hopes to have his own home page up before long.
Imagine this: you've just bought your nice, new, shiny copy of OS/2 Warp and are ready to get to some 32 bit, Multitasking, Multi-Threaded, Crash proof action. After jumping over the hurdle of the 20 disk install you have but a short reboot to go and you're on your way. Now,
the reboot has taken place, you jump into OS/2, BUT WAIT! Where's your CD drive? After a few attempts at fixing the problem it becomes fairly obvious OS/2 isn't going to see your CD drive no matter how many ways you try to tell it to. Even worse, other strange problems start to reveal themselves. So, what do you do now? You get a FixPak!
What's a FixPak?
A FixPak (formally known as a ServicePak for all you long time OS/2 users) is a program that IBM releases to bring your system up to date with current releases and fix bugs in OS/2 (IBM calls them APAR's which stands for "Authorized Program Analysis Report" but that's just
because IBM likes using long technical terms). IBM releases FixPaks about every month internally but very few officially make their way to the outside world. Although many of them get leaked to the Internet it's usually not a good idea to use these.
How Do These APAR Things Work?
How do FixPaks come about? Well, you (and usually many other users like you) report your problems to IBM Central who then reports them to the programmers who then create a FixPak (actually this process is far more complex which is the cause of many APAR's getting lost in the mix).
Your bug must meet one of five requirements before being considered an APAR. It must:
1. Cause data corruption.
2. Cause a regression of supported function, major application, or device driver compatibility.
3. Cause a frequent system hang (such as Trap Errors).
4. Cause a serious visual problem.
5. Cause a significant portion of hardware or software not to function.
If your bug "passes" all those tests it becomes eligible for a "Fix in Current" solution (A.K.A. a FixPak). If not, it's sent to another group who will hopefully provide a fix in the next released version of OS/2.
How Do I Get a FixPak?
FixPaks are fairly easy to obtain for just about anyone. For those of you who are on-line here are a few places to pick up the latest FixPaks:
America Online users should go to the OS/2 Forum (Keyword: OS2) where the FixPaks can be found under the Patches/Fixes section of the File directories.
CompuServe users need to go to the OS/2 Support Forum (Go OS2SUPP) where the FixPaks reside in the IBM Files directory.
Prodigy users are off to the OS/2 Club (Jump: OS/2) where the FixPaks are a bit hidden. You have to "browse Files from IBM," then go to IBM Files, then the FixPaks are in the Fixes section.
For those of you on the Internet, OS/2 FixPaks can be found on the hobbes FTP site. Get there by FTPing to hobbes.nmsu.edu and switching to the /os2/patches directory (you'll have to go to the /os2/ibm/cset++ directory for Loaddskf.exe file--more on that and the other files later). Alternatively, you can FTP directly to IBM's site at service.boulder.ibm.com and look in the /ps/products/os2/fixes/v3.0warp/ directory.
If you have a modem but don't have access to any of the above on-line services you can call the OS/2 Shareware BBS at (703) 385-4325 or IBM's BBS in your local area. When you log on go to the File Directories by pushing "F" at the main menu. Then Locate a file with the "L" command. When asked for a string to search for, enter "FixPak".
Finally, If you don't have access to any of these sources you can try IBM Technical Support. They've been known to send FixPaks to needy people in the past.
What Files Do I Download?
These are the files you'll need to download to make the FixPaks work for Warp:
XR_W0xx.1DK (xx stands for the FixPak version; for FixPak 10 it would be XR_W010.1DK)
XR_W0xx.2DK
XR_W0xx.3DK
XR_W0xx.4DK
XR_W0xx.5DK
XR_W0xx.6DK
XR_W0xx.7DK (Note: the new FixPak #17 also has a .8DK)
CSFBOOT.1DK
CSFBOOT.2DK (CSFBOOT.1DK and CSFBOOT.2DK may be in a file called WKICKR.ZIP. These files can be used with any FixPak version but they are upgraded occasionally--check the documentation to see if you need to upgrade them)
LOADDSKF.EXE (Again, this file is not in the same directory as the others on hobbes.)
What Do I Do Once I Get the Files?
Each of the above files requires a floppy disk (with the exception of Loaddskf.exe) so before you go anywhere you'll need 9 blank disks. Once you've got them, insert your first disk, go to an OS/2 Command line, change to the directory containing the above files, and type: "LOADDSKF CSFBOOT.1DK A:/F". Then do the same for the second disk (Replacing "CSFBOOT.1DK" with "CSFBOOT.2DK" of course). This will create two boot disks. After that do the same thing with all of the XR_W0xx files ("LOADDSKF XR_W0xx.1DK", etc.). Loaddskf.exe will load the .xDK files onto disks and uncompress them. One last warning, label the disks!
Applying the FixPak!
Now comes the moment of Truth. There are two ways to apply a FixPak to a System. The first (and the one I find to be the easiest) is to insert the first boot disk (CSFBOOT.1DK) and type "A:\SERVICE" at a command prompt. From then on you'll be prompted what to do. It is important to remember the "Fix Disks" are the XR_W0xx.xDK disks and that the "Boot Disks" are the CSFBOOT.xDK disks. You'll be prompted for them by both names during the process for some reason.
The second way is also fairly simple--just insert Boot Disk 1 into your A: drive and reboot. From then on you will be prompted by the program. And that is all there is to applying a FixPak. Luckily IBM has made this process quite a bit easier since the first FixPak released (FixPak #5).
What If It Doesn't Work?
IBM is good about applying the most recent FixPaks to their most recent releases to OS/2 Warp. So in some cases your nice, new, shiny copy of OS/2 Warp might already be fixed. If so you'll get a message saying something to the effect of, "No Files to Service." If so, don't worry, it means you're already taken care of. You should still look for future FixPak releases but for now your up to date.
Why Won't Galactic Civilizations Work?
This brings us to the recent release of FixPak #16--a FixPak that has already become infamous for its problem causing abilities. FixPak #16 made many programs (Galactic Civilizations, IBM Works, etc.) unusable and hence was recalled by IBM. IBM has released a replacement for FixPak #16 (FixPak #17) that supposedly fixes the problems caused by the original. Look for it in the places mentioned earlier in this article.
But I Already Installed FixPak #16!!!
Lucky for you (and me too since I also installed FixPak #16) there is a "Back out" procedure for FixPaks. IBM includes a whole list of ways to back out of the FixPak depending on what your individual problem is. The important thing to remember is to have your original installation disks handy. Many of the processes require that the OS/2 Installation disks be
used. Look for complete instructions in the FixPak documentation files.
Anything Else?
Just a warning: there are two philosophies towards FixPaks. One says, "If it ain't broke don't fix it!" I don't subscribe to this school of thought for one simple reason: how do you know it ain't broke? In these days of ultra advanced Computer Operating Systems something could be
silently destroying your computer and you wouldn't have the slightest idea it was happening until it was too late or you just might not be getting the performance you could be. My theory is, "FixPak's have an uninstall option so what do you have to lose?"
As for you, it's up to you to decide which philosophy you follow. It is generally a good idea to wait a couple of days after a release is out, watch the newsgroups, and if problems are reported with a new FixPak, by all means stay away from it (unfortunately my impatience will
always make me one of the problem reporters rather than one of the silent listeners). A FixPak is like any upgrade in the end, you have to use your own discretion when deciding when to use it and when not to and no one (including me) can tell you how to handle that.
And if you ever need a guide, my e-mail box is always open.
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Update 1/27/96: I thought I'd add this little update to inform you that the replacement for the now infamous FixPak #16 has just been released as of today. After a two week delay (IBM's original claims was that the fix for FixPak #16 would be out within a couple days of the original being pulled), FixPak #17 has hit the FTP sites and on-line services everywhere. Although it's too early to detect any problems with this newest addition to the FixPak family those who have already installed it say it appears to have none of the problems that plagued FixPak #16. Also, you may be interested to know that this FixPak has a "fix" for the Single Input Queue that has irritated many users of Warp.
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Thomas Chamberlain (ThomasC2@aol.com) is a 17 year old Student who has been using OS/2 for a little over a year now. He's a member of Team OS/2 and can usually be found conferencing with his fellow OS/2 users in the America On-Line OS/2 Forum.
Our Sponsor: SPG (http://www.spg-net.com/)
*****
A Look at Warp Server Beta - by Bernhard Rohrer
Introduction
Most Warp users are probably quite aware of the fact that Warp is a powerful OS for all kinds of server functions. The most commonly used server functions on a LAN are File and Print Services such as those provided by programs like Novell Netware, IBM LAN Server, Windows NT Server and Banyan Vines. IBM's new Warp Server, which is currently in public beta, is the follow-up product to the current LAN Server 4.0 which has steadily increased IBM's market share in the server market from 7% to about 14%.
Until a short time ago, I had spent my networking life with Novell Netware. I started in 1989 with an IBM AT running Netware '86 and I am currently the administrator of a network of 130 users running v3.11. I have learned all my networking with Novell.
On my home machine I have been using OS/2 since November '94 (Warp red spine) and have recently updated to Warp Connect blue spine. Warp Server is my first experience with basic functionality File and Print Services and sharing of other resources.
Using the File and Print Services of Warp Server took some getting used to. In Warp Server you define "Aliases" of directories, printers or serial interfaces in order to make them available to the network. In order to do this you activate sharing through the context-menu of the disk/directory you want to share. This works for any disk-like device, like CDs or even floppy drives. While writing this article, though, I tried it out and completely shot my installation. I had to reinstall the whole system. I think this is a beta bug, because if it wasn't supposed to work, the menu option in the context-menu of the floppy drive wouldn't be there.
Now, sharing a floppy drive on a server is plainly ridiculous, but just ask your local NetWare administrator about sharing a CD drive on a server or, if he has actually done so, about changing the CD in the drive. Let me tell you, it's very difficult and costs a lot of server RAM. Changing a CD will take at least 10 minutes.
With Warp Server, after you have activated sharing, you just drag an object from a template provided in the administration program. This opens a notebook that lets you define the name of the "Alias" (by which the resource will be known to the network), the server, and relevant information for the server to be able to find the resource. You can share a serial port of the server just as easily as you can share a directory. With Netware you have to purchase an additional product, Netware Connect, and have a jolly time setting it up.
Sharing a server-attached printer is a snap: you drag an object off the template and give the resource a name. Then you attach your already defined printer and that's it.
Remote Boot
So far, Warp server supports remote boot for OS/2 and DOS. I strongly hope it will also support remote boot for WIN95, as soon as WIN95 supports it itself. Anyone who has ever installed a remote boot of DOS under Novell knows that this takes some doing. It is quite similar to creating a DOS-boot-image in OS/2 with VMDISK.
Installing DOS-RIPL and OS/2 RIPL by comparison is fairly straightforward. To do this you activate the installation program of Warp Server and select "install remote boot" after this you select which OS's you want to install for remote boot. Then you get prompted for insertion of the appropriate installation disks/CD's.
Once you have installed the OS's to boot, you just create individual machines by dragging them from a template and entering the MAC-address. Here you define what network card to use and that's it. If you want to make any changes in the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT or whatever, you can access these files directly, they are not coded into an image. Compared to Netware it's a dream come true.
Administration
Creating a new user is straightforward, (yes, you guessed right) you drag a new object from the user template, enter the name and home directory. A few criticisms here: a) you cannot select it via a file select box, and b) if you enter a directory that does not exist you run into an error rather than being prompted whether you want to create a new directory.
What I like best about Warp Server Admin is the installation of applications: first one does a server setup of the software (I tested it with Ami Pro). After that you create a directory alias for your program's directory and then you create an application object. Here you enter the alias name, the remaining path (in my case "\amipro" and the name of the .exe (amipro.exe). Drag and drop this object to the users that you want to allocate it to and that's it!
You probably have noticed that I didn't talk about install.exe or such things. That's because you don't need it! When I logged in to my client, I got a new folder on the desktop called "Network Applications" containing the Ami Pro icon. I double-clicked on it and Ami Pro started cleanly. I even had the Ami Pro template in my templates folder! I have no clue how this works, although I strongly suspect that DSOM is at work here.
The one thing that I do not like about this GUI Admin Program is that it isn't quite WPS-integrated in some respects. What annoys me most is that you can't drag any object (user, group, printer, etc.) to the shredder to delete it, you have to hit <del> to do it.
Domains
Warp Server is based on the domain concept. That means you don't log on to a single server and have to attach to every additional server you need resources on. Instead, you log on to a domain that can consist of any amount of servers and get all your resources immediately.
Add-ons that come with Warp Server
One of the big things that is new in Warp Server is that there are loads of applications bundled with it. You get a system management tool, a server optimization tool, backup software, a printer facility, a logging tool, extended TCP/IP, a NetWare gateway and a tool for the coordination of passwords and logins between LAN's and host systems.
Conclusions
Warp Server Beta is a powerful network OS that offers by far the best administration I have seen so far. The bundle of applications that come with it is impressive, although in my view Systemview and Personal Safe and Secure are the two most important ones. Once the beta bugs are ironed out, it probably will be the best server on the market, even if NT is more bulletproof. Especially together with OS/2 as a client OS, it offers by far the best Client/Server combination in the industry. Features such as the application installation procedure I have described make it an administrator's dream. I'd rather switch to it from Novell today than tomorrow (after proper training of course). I do recommend at least a week's worth of training for people like me who have NetWare experience and a medium sized LAN on their hands.
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The Test System:
Peacock performance plus, Pentium 75
64 MB
Adaptec 1542
NEC Multispin 4x
IBM Deskmaster 1GB
Miro 22 SD
-----
Bernhard Rohrer (bernhard@valkyrie.lfn.unterland.de) bought his first computer (an Atari ST) in 1987. Since then he has owned a Macintosh and 2 PCs and has had experience with Netware since 1989. Currently he works in a computing centre testing software and administering LANs.
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*****
IBM Responds to Spencer Katt Rumor - by John Soyring January 24, 1996
Because there has been so much discussion on various networks about the January 8 Spencer Katt rumor column in PC Week, I decided that I would post a copy of a note that I mailed electronically within IBM to our sales teams around the world.
I hope this information helps assure PC users and buyers that IBM remains strongly committed to the long-term market success of OS/2 Warp.
John
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Once again, rumors in the press about IBM's commitment to OS/2 have the boards full of speculation and worry. The latest such rumor in PC Week's January 8 Spencer Katt column asserts that John M. Thompson is lobbying Lou Gerstner to throw in the towel on OS/2. First of all, allow me to remind you that rumors are exactly what Spencer Katt is all about. If this story had any substance to it, you would have read it on another page, complete with IBM's official response.
OS/2 is, and will continue to be, IBM's strategic personal operating system. This is the view held by IBM executives, including IBM's senior vice president John M. Thompson, and -- as importantly -- by IBM's chairman Lou Gerstner, as Spencer Katt even pointed out.
Given OS/2's recent successes, why would Thompson want to get rid of it? Even with the unprecedented marketing hype for Windows 95, last year proved to be a very successful year for OS/2. About five million copies of OS/2 Warp were sold in 1995, bringing the total number of Warp sales to more than six million, and the number of all OS/2 customers to more
than 12 million. And we have just come off our most successful sales month ever with more than one million copies of OS/2 Warp being sold in December alone!
During the time it took Microsoft to ship Windows 95, our development team delivered OS/2 Warp Connect, an operating system with connectivity features ideal for PC users whether they work in small workgroups or in large enterprises, and the beta of OS/2 Warp Server, which has received widespread approval from the industry and is right on track for a first quarter '96 shipment. On the heels of that beta announcement came the introduction of our Directory and Security Server (DSS) beta program, which, when combined with OS/2 Warp Server, offers customers a solution that no other server OS vender provides.
Last, but certainly not least, we announced that development was well under way for the next generation of OS/2 Warp, code-named Merlin, which will also arrive during 1996.
We intend to continue to gain market share with OS/2 Warp -- both as a desktop or mobile client operating system as well as a server operating system. I assure you that you will see OS/2 Warp move in a positive direction this year. Remember that actions speak louder than words, especially when those words come from a rumor columnist.
Please share this note with your clients if they have a concern generated by the subject rumor column.
-----
John Soyring
Vice President
Personal Software Products
IBM
**please note: While Mr. Soyring originally posted this message to Usenet newsgroups, the amount of e-mail he received regarding it was overwhelming. In the interest allowing Mr. Soyring to continue to work on OS/2's future, we have removed his e-mail address from this letter and would encourage all readers to post congratulations, thank-you's and comments to the comp.os.os2.advocacy newsgroup where Mr. Soyring will surely see them, rather than swamping him with e-mail.
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*****
Coming up next time - on the Web February 29, 1996
The Desktop Issue
Chris' Drooltop
The man with the desktop plan tells how he created the world's best desktop--his Drooltop. One man's struggle to make the world a better looking place.
Desktop Enhancers
So what if you don't like Chris' Drooltop? With this in-depth review of desktop enhancement utilities from screen savers to trashcans--and everything in between--you can build your own!
The WPS: OS/2's Killer App
Do you really use the WPS to its full advantage? It's flexibility is the hidden power behind OS/2's interface and we give you some good tips on how to take advantage of it.
The WPS: Take Two
A closer look at the document-centric view of computing made possible by OS/2 and the WPS with some example scenarios.
WPS Backup and Maintenance
A review of Desktop backup, maintenance and trouble prevention software from the commercial and shareware worlds. Don't use the WPS without this kind of insurance!
WPS Security
A review of Desktop security software. If you're worried about other users' wandering fingers you won't want to miss our review.
Other Reviews
Financial Software
It's tax time in the US and Canada, do you know where your numbers are? Our reviewers look at some personal finance and income tax software.
Mastering OS/2 Warp, The OS/2 Warp Bible
Praise the Lord, another authoritative reference! Join the church of OS/2 and take a look into this "Good Book".
