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OS/2 Help File
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1994-09-30
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ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
August 1994
Volume 2 Number 8
Note: The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views
held by the MMOUG or it's members. Don't agree with something you've
read here? Write and tell us about it! If you have any contributions,
please upload them to area 18 of the WoodMeister or send them to me via
Internet at USDSSKZS@IBMMAIL.COM. If you work for the State of Missouri
and have access to DISOSS, you can send them to POOLMWV at DSSHOST.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. MMOUG September Minutes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Mid Missouri OS/2 User's Group
Attendees: Dayton Shepherd, Penny Shepherd, Michelle Wilson, Randy Wilkerson,
Phillip Wilson, Christopher Walters, Woody Sturges, Marilyn Holbrook, Robert
Tufts, Mark Espinoza, Scott Brodbeck, David Keisker, Brenda Bakota, Ben
Hoffman, Gerri Jeffery, Jim Casstevens, Noel Bummens, Ken Evans, Steve
Gramblin, Gary Pool, Randy Wright, Joe Woodwell
Business Meeting:
Gerri Jeffery reported that DeScribe will be coming to our October meeting and
Pinnacle to our November meeting.
Ben Hoffman reported that IBM is letting us use a phone mail drop for the
MMOUG. The number is 314-636-0805. It will be checked by the officers for
messages several times a week. We need to publish the number.
We have $805.89 in the bank. Gary Pool volunteered to chair a committee to
look for a place for the Christmas Party. (editor's note: Hunh? I did?)
Gary Pool is now Professionally Certified for OS/2 and LAN Server Admin. He
will report on the OS/2 Technical Exchange in the newsletter.
Presentations: Michelle Wilson from IBM demo'ed the OS/2 Warp II beta. Joe
Woodwell representing Lotus demo'ed the Smartsuite for OS/2. A user group
price for Smartsuite can be arranged. Does this look like kindergarten? Scott
Brodbeck runs around the room, Ben sits in the corner, David Keisker tries to
behave as Joe Woodwell gets ready for his presentation.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. IO I/O ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Information Officer Input/Output
Welcome to the Mid-Missouri OS/2 Users Group Newsletter. I've put in a welcome
because there may be some new readers this time. Hank Henderson has agreed to
make this available on the OS2BBS. Thanks, Hank.
One of these days, I'm going to pursue getting a common place where User Group
Newsletters from all over the country can be found. The PCC BBS was an
excellent location for a while. User Groups could obtain an 800 number for
their officers, so there was no direct cost. Right after I uploaded our first
newsletter, they ceased this practice. I wonder if it was cause and effect?
There are supposed to be a lot of UG Newsletters on CompuServe, but I'm too
poor to afford that.
This month you are reading a long newsletter. I typed up a report of
everything I experienced in Atlanta at the OS/2 Technical Update -- complete
with pictures. If you are reading the skimpy, one-page, paper version of the
newsletter, you need to dial up a BBS and download the INF version.
For those of you who don't like my casual, erratic, conversational form of
writing -- it will seem even longer!
The Mid Missouri OS/2 User Group just received a voice-mail number:
314-636-0805. Gee, I almost typed vice-mail number. No, it's not one of those
900 numbers. However, we will be trying to make this number known so that
members of the user group can assist folks who are just starting out with OS/2.
Talk about your public servants!
To tell the truth, I am tired of writing. This issue is huge. So I ain't
gonna say nothin' more.
gp
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. The Dog House ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The Dog House
Shoot, I forgot all about the Dog House! Fortunately I have a little program
tucked away that looked like it was pretty interesting. I haven't had a chance
to test it myself, though. As you know, a sorted CONFIG.SYS can sometimes
cause your machine to boot a little faster. Scott's program will sort your
CONFIG.SYS. Remember -- always back up your CONFIG.SYS and have a bootable
floppy disk ready -- just in case something bad happens!
SORTC.CMD
/* Created by Scott Trosien of Livonia, MI - 9-1-94 */
/* Tested using the Warp2 beta */
/* Please do not alter the above lines unless authorized by author!*/
/* Please report any problems/bugs to DEV4447 at OS2BBS-IBMLINK. */
/* To use the output of this program, simply redirect it to a file */
/* (i.e. SORTC >CONFIG.NEW) */
/* Please be sure to verify your config.sys was converted properly */
/* before rebooting! */
/* WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING */
/* DO NOT redirect it to CONFIG.SYS (i.e. SORTC >CONFIG.SYS) */
/* This will likely trash your CONFIG.SYS */
/* This will create a backup named CONFIG.SRT which will hold */
/* a copy of the CONFIG.SYS prior to this utility processing it. */
"@Echo Off"
call RxFuncAdd "SysLoadFuncs", "RexxUtil", "SysLoadFuncs"
call SysLoadFuncs
/* Initialize base variables */
IFS.0 = 0
BASEDEV.0 = 0
DEVICE.0 = 0
SET.0 = 0
CALL.0 = 0
RUN.0 = 0
IOPL.0 = 0
DEVINFO.0 = 0
MMOS2.0 = 0
TCPIP.0 = 0
REM.0 = 0
DOSDEVICE.0 = 0
MISC.0 = 0
DO i = 1 to 9
CONTROL.i = ""
PERF.i = ""
ERROR.i = ""
DOS.i = ""
END
/* Main Code Group */
"Copy C:\CONFIG.SYS C:\CONFIG.SRT >nul"
"TYPE C:\CONFIG.SRT ΓòæRXQUEUE"
DO i = 1 to QUEUED()
PARSE UPPER PULL currline
SELECT
WHEN "IFS" = LEFT(currline,3) then do
IFS.0 = IFS.0 + 1
var = VALUE("IFS."IFS.0,currline)
END
WHEN "BASEDEV" = LEFT(currline,7) then do
BASEDEV.0 = BASEDEV.0 + 1
var = VALUE("BASEDEV."BASEDEV.0,currline)
END
WHEN "DEVICE=C:\OS2\MDOS" = LEFT(currline,18) Γòæ "DEVICEHIGH" =
LEFT(currline,10) then do
DOSDEVICE.0 = DOSDEVICE.0 + 1
var = VALUE("DOSDEVICE."DOSDEVICE.0,currline)
END
WHEN "DEVICE=C:\MMOS2" = LEFT(currline,15) then do
MMOS2.0 = MMOS2.0 + 1
var = VALUE("MMOS2."MMOS2.0,currline)
END
WHEN "DEVICE=C:\TCPIP" = LEFT(currline,15) then do
TCPIP.0 = TCPIP.0 + 1
var = VALUE("TCPIP."TCPIP.0,currline)
END
WHEN "DEVICE" = LEFT(currline,6) then do
DEVICE.0 = DEVICE.0 + 1
var = VALUE("DEVICE."DEVICE.0,currline)
END
WHEN "SET" = LEFT(currline,3) then do
SET.0 = SET.0 + 1
var = VALUE("SET."SET.0,currline)
END
WHEN "RUN" = LEFT(currline,3) then do
RUN.0 = RUN.0 + 1
var = VALUE("RUN."RUN.0,currline)
END
WHEN "CALL" = LEFT(currline,4) then do
CALL.0 = CALL.0 + 1
var = VALUE("CALL."CALL.0,currline)
END
WHEN "IOPL" = LEFT(currline,4) then do
IOPL.0 = IOPL.0 + 1
var = VALUE("IOPL."IOPL.0,currline)
END
WHEN "DEVINFO" = LEFT(currline,7) then do
DEVINFO.0 = DEVINFO.0 + 1
var = VALUE("DEVINFO."DEVINFO.0,currline)
END
WHEN "REM" = LEFT(currline,3) then do
REM.0 = REM.0 + 1
var = VALUE("REM."REM.0,currline)
END
/* OS2 Control variables */
WHEN "PROTSHELL" = LEFT(currline,9) then do
CONTROL.1 = currline
END
WHEN "LIBPATH" = LEFT(currline,7) then do
CONTROL.2 = currline
END
WHEN "SWAPPATH" = LEFT(currline,8) then do
CONTROL.3 = currline
END
WHEN "COUNTRY" = LEFT(currline,7) then do
CONTROL.4 = currline
END
WHEN "BREAK" = LEFT(currline,5) then do
CONTROL.5 = currline
END
WHEN "CODEPAGE" = LEFT(currline,8) then do
CONTROL.6 = currline
END
/* OS/2 Performance */
WHEN "THREADS" = LEFT(currline,7) then do
PERF.1 = currline
END
WHEN "PRIORITY_DISK_IO" = LEFT(currline,16) then do
PERF.2 = currline
END
WHEN "TIMESLICE" = LEFT(currline,9) then do
PERF.3 = currline
END
WHEN "BUFFERS" = LEFT(currline,7) then do
PERF.4 = currline
END
WHEN "DISKCACHE" = LEFT(currline,9) then do
PERF.5 = currline
END
WHEN "MAXWAIT" = LEFT(currline,7) then do
PERF.6 = currline
END
WHEN "MEMMAN" = LEFT(currline,6) then do
PERF.7 = currline
END
WHEN "PRINTMONBUFSIZE" = LEFT(currline,15) then do
PERF.8 = currline
END
WHEN "PRIORITY" = LEFT(currline,8) then do
PERF.9 = currline
END
/* OS/2 Diagnostics and error control */
WHEN "AUTOFAIL" = LEFT(currline,8) then do
ERROR.1 = currline
END
WHEN "PAUSEONERROR" = LEFT(currline,12) then do
ERROR.2 = currline
END
WHEN "TRAPDUMP" = LEFT(currline,8) then do
ERROR.3 = currline
END
WHEN "TRACEBUF" = LEFT(currline,8) then do
ERROR.4 = currline
END
WHEN "TRACE" = LEFT(currline,5) then do
ERROR.5 = currline
END
WHEN "SUPPRESSPOPUPS" = LEFT(currline,14) then do
ERROR.6 = currline
END
WHEN "DUMPPROCESS" = LEFT(currline,11) then do
ERROR.7 = currline
END
WHEN "REIPL" = LEFT(currline,5) then do
ERROR.8 = currline
END
/* DOS */
WHEN "PROTECTONLY" = LEFT(currline,11) then do
DOS.1 = currline
END
WHEN "SHELL" = LEFT(currline,5) then do
DOS.2 = currline
END
WHEN "DOS" = LEFT(currline,3) then do
DOS.3 = currline
END
WHEN "FCBS" = LEFT(currline,4) then do
DOS.4 = currline
END
WHEN " RMSIZE" = LEFT(currline,6) then do
DOS.5 = currline
END
WHEN "FILES" = LEFT(currline,5) then do
DOS.6 = currline
END
WHEN "LASTDRIVE" = LEFT(currline,9) then do
DOS.7 = currline
END
WHEN "BREAK" = LEFT(currline,5) then do
DOS.8 = currline
END
/* Miscellaneous Commands */
OTHERWISE
MISC.0 = MISC.0 + 1
var = VALUE("MISC."MISC.0,currline)
END
END
/* Begin ouput of data */
If IFS.0 \= 0 then say "REM *** Installable File Systems ***"
do i = 1 to IFS.0
say IFS.i
END
If IFS.0 \= 0 then say
say "REM *** BASE Device Drivers ***"
do i = 1 to BASEDEV.0
say BASEDEV.i
END
say
say "REM *** DEVICE Drivers ***"
do i = 1 to DEVICE.0
say DEVICE.i
END
say
say "REM *** Environment Variables ***"
do i = 1 to SET.0
say SET.i
END
say
say "REM *** OS/2 System Control ***"
do i = 1 to 9
If CONTROL.i \= "" then say CONTROL.i
END
do i = 1 to DEVINFO.0
If DEVINFO.I \= "DEVINFO.I" then say DEVINFO.I
END
do i = 1 to 9
If PERF.i \= "" then say PERF.i
END
do i = 1 to 9
If ERROR.i \= "" then say ERROR.i
END
say
say "REM *** DOS Subsystem Control ***"
do i = 1 to 9
If DOS.i \= "" then say DOS.i
END
do i = 1 to DOSDEVICE.0
say DOSDEVICE.i
END
If RUN.0 \= 0 Γòæ CALL.0 \= 0 then do
say
say "REM *** RUN and CALL Statements ***"
END
do i = 1 to RUN.0
say RUN.i
END
do i = 1 to CALL.0
If CALL.i \= "" then say CALL.i
END
If MMOS2.0 \= 0 then do
say
say "REM *** Multimedia ***"
END
do i = 1 to MMOS2.0
If MMOS2.i \= "" then say MMOS2.i
END
If MMOS2.0 \= 0 then do
say
say "REM *** TCP/IP and/or Internet Access Kit ***"
END
do i = 1 to TCPIP.0
If TCPIP.i \= "" then say TCPIP.i
END
say
If MISC.0 \= 0 then say "REM *** Miscellaneous Statements ***"
do i = 1 to MISC.0
say MISC.i
END
say
Scott E. Trosien -- Ford PTF - Dearborn, MI DRBN005--STROSIEN
IBMMAIL:USFMCLN2 OS2BBS:,DEV4447
If you have any neat REXX programs, please upload them to area 18 of the
WoodMeister or send them to me via Internet at USDSSKZS@IBMMAIL.COM. If you
work for the State of Missouri and have access to DISOSS, you can send them to
POOLMWV at DSSHOST.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Humor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Humor
Once upon a time, in a kingdom not far from here, a king summoned two of his
advisors for a test. He showed them both a shiny metal box with two slots in
the top, a control knob, and a lever. "What do you think this is?"
One advisor, an engineer, answered first. "It is a toaster," he said. The king
asked, "How would you design an embedded computer for it?" The engineer
replied, "Using a four-bit microcontroller, I would write a simple program that
reads the darkness, from snow white to black. The program would use that
darkness level as the index to a 16-element table of initial timer values. Then
it would turn on the heating elements and start the timer with the initial
value selected from the table. At the end of the time delay, it would turn off
the heat and pop up the toast. Come back next week, and I'll show you a working
prototype."
The second advisor, a computer scientist, immediately recognized the danger of
such short-sighted thinking. He said, "Toasters don't just turn bread into
toast, they are also used to warm frozen waffles. What you see before you is
really a breakfast food cooker. As the subjects of your kingdom become more
sophisticated, they will demand more capabilities. They will need a breakfast
food cooker that can also cook sausage, fry bacon, and make scrambled eggs. A
toaster that only makes toast will soon be obsolete. If we don't look to the
future, we will have to completely redesign the toaster in just a few years."
"With this in mind, we can formulate a more intelligent solution to the
problem. First, create a class of breakfast foods. Specialize this class into
subclasses: grains, pork, and poultry. The specialization process should be
repeated with grains divided into toast, muffins, pancakes, and waffles; pork
divided into sausage, links, and bacon; and poultry divided into scrambled
eggs, hard-boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs, and varous omelet classes."
"The ham and cheese omelet class is worth special attention because it must
inherit characteristics from the pork, dairy, and poultry classes. Thus, we see
that the problem cannot be properly solved without multiple inheritiance. At
run time, the program must create the proper object and send a message to the
object that says, 'Cook yourself.' The semantics of this message depend, of
course, on the kind of object, so they have a different meaning to a piece of
toast than to scrambled eggs."
"Reviewing the process so far, we see that the analysis phase has revealed that
the primary requirement is to cook any kind of breakfast food. In the design
phase, we have discovered some derived requirements. Specifically, we need an
object-oriented language with multiple inheritance. Of couse, users don't want
the eggs to get cold while the bacon is frying, so concurrent processing is
required, too."
"We must not forget the user interface. The lever that lowers the food lacks
versatility, and the darkness knob is confusing. Users won't buy the product
unless it has a user-friendly, graphical interface. When the breakfast cooker
is plugged in, users should see a cowboy boot on the screen. Users click on it,
and the message 'Booting UNIX v. 8.3' appears on the screen. (UNIX 8.3 should
be out by the time the product gets to the market.) Users can pull down a menu
and click on the foods they want to cook."
"Having made the wise decision of specifying the software first in the design
phase, all that remains is to pick an adequate hardware platform for the
implementation phase. An Intel 80386 with 8MB of memory, a 30MB hard disk, and
a VGA monitor should be sufficient. If you select a multitasking,
object-oriented language that supports multiple interitance and has a built-in
GUI, writing the program will be a snap. (Imagine the difficulty we would have
had if we had foolishly allowed a hardware-first design strategy to lock us
into a four-bit microcontroller!)."
The king wisely had the computer scientist beheaded, and they all lived happily
ever after.
Author - Unknown.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. OS/2 TNT ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
OS/2 Tips 'N' Techniques
Here's one I picked up in Atlanta while standing in a line. When your PC hangs
so hard that you can't do a CTRL+ALT+DEL, try a CTRL+ALT+NumLock+NumLock. The
latter is the key combination to do a dump. When it prompts you for the dump
diskette, you should be able to do a CTRL+ALT+DEL. It still leaves the disk
dirty, but it saves the power hit.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Rebound ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Rebound -- Off the boards
ΓûäΓûÇΓûÇΓûÇΓûä Γûê Γûê ΓûêΓûä ΓûäΓûê
Γûê Γûê Γûê Γûä Γûê ΓûêΓûÇΓûêΓûÇΓûê
ΓûÇΓûäΓûäΓûäΓûÇ ΓûÇΓûêΓûÇΓûêΓûÇ Γûê Γûê
<ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The OS/2 Woodmeister ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ>
Overview of downloadable files
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(Thu Sep 29 05:30) Last 1 months newest of a total of 2873 files (513 MB)
Maximum privilege shown: Disgrace
Newest: ANONFTP.ZIP dd 9-28-94 (avail: 9-28-94)
Date flag: new on this system since: * = 1 week, + = 1 month
Filename Area Size Date Description
ΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇ ΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇ ΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇ ΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇ ΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇ
32CSET4.ZIP 12 221K 9-13-94+ BinkleyTerm/2 32bit compiled for 486
computers
AF_SDK.ZIP 24 70K 9-01-94+ AccuFax SDK. Scalable Fax software - this is
single user example/demo (works).
ANONFTP.ZIP 16 15K 9-28-94* INformation on anonymous FTP
ANS000.ZIP 12 221K 9-26-94* Answering machine app for modems with
ROCKWELL chipsets. This is a beta
AUTOBP.ARJ 21 287K 9-21-94+ Automatically change bitmaps for each new
boot
BDAYS.ZIP 24 2K 9-06-94+ Paradox sample to calc number of business
days between two dates.
BERNLL.TXT 4 4K 9-16-94+ Instructs how to load Bernoulli drivers from
floppy in ISA and MCA machines
BLUE2SAL.ZIP 9 25K 9-23-94* Blue Diskette to Salmon Diskette conversion
utility.
BORLAND.ZIP 59 128K 9-01-94+ Listing of Borland BBS
CENVI2.ZIP 6 329K 9-16-94+ CEnvi v1.009 - C Interpreter/batch/automater.
CEnvi implements the Cmm advanced scripting
language
CERT94.ZIP 11 859K 9-28-94* OS/2 LEngineer and LAN Server Engineer sample
tests and information.
CHARON40.ZIP 16 482K 9-28-94* Some sort of mail gateway
CI210B.ZIP 12 1131K 9-06-94+ CopyIt/2 for DOS and OS/2: Premier server
control software for BBS Operators. 'ROM
support, fax, archiving, etc
CLRQWK11.ZIP 21 169K 9-01-94+ ***************************** * ColorQWK 1.0
for Windows! * * LITE version *
* Requires VBRUN300.DLL * * QWK for
Windows
COMM56.ZIP 21 7K 9-21-94+ Windows COMM driver replacement.
CONTROL2.EXE 24 477K 9-01-94+ Chicago (WIN 4.0.will.be.around.someday) code
and EXEs for some control functions.
CRON214.ZIP 9 99K 9-20-94+ Cron/2 for OS/2 - client/server timed
execution of applications
CRYNWARE.ZIP 32 284K 9-06-94+ Clarkson Ethernet TCP/IP drivers
DIAMDEMO.ZIP 15 501K 9-13-94+ Working demo of BMDp/Diamond - 32bit
graphical data analysis program
DOSUP9.EXE 32 494K 9-09-94+ Latest DOS Netware drivers
DTR500.ZIP 24 53K 9-01-94+ Data Table Reporter for PAradox with SOURCE
CODE
DWNSRT60.ZIP 12 236K 9-06-94+ Maximus CBCS DOWNload file SORT and List util
v6.0
ETELR20A.ZIP 15 465K 9-06-94+ Version 2.0 of E-Teller - a bank and credit
card manager
EUROPE.TXT 4 3K 9-20-94+ Announcement of the first European OS/2
Developers Conference
EWAN102.ZIP 16 197K 9-06-94+ E-Mail for Internet
FADE.ZIP 24 13K 9-06-94+ Face from one UiObj to another in Paradox/Win
- WAY COOL
FILEB188.ZIP 9 234K 9-06-94+ FileBar v1.88 - util for OS/2 2.x,
application launch facitily. Uses less mem
than WPS
FINF096.ZIP 9 25K 9-07-94+ FindINF version 0.96 by Dale Hackemeyer.
FindINF searches for INF files and creates
icons for them using their title. 32-bit PM.
FLEETB90.ZIP 12 393K 9-07-94+ FleetStreet v0.90wb for OS/2 2.x PM. Flexible
and powerful message reader for Squish and
*.MSG bases
FLEETB95.ZIP 12 486K 9-13-94+ FleetStreet beta .95 - Flexible and powerful
message reader for Squish and .MSG formats
FM2_207.ZIP 9 468K 9-28-94* FM/2 v2.00 An OS/2 2.1+ PM 32-bit
file/directory/ archive maintenance package
with plenty of bells and whistles -- a Swiss
army knife for
FOSS10B4.ZIP 12 260K 9-28-94* The latest release of FOSS - an OS/2 based
BBS
FSTAR99D.ZIP 9 695K 9-08-94+ FileStar/2 v0.99d - OS/2 File Maintenance
Util. Drag and Drop, Point and Click, etc
FW1040.EXE 24 34K 9-21-94+ Paradox for Windows examples from Informant
Mag
GADGET1.EXE 24 436K 9-01-94+ Chicago (Win 4.0.wish.we.had.stuck.with.os/2)
examples of various gadgets with sample code.
GTAK240.ZIP 9 464K 9-16-94+ GTAK v2.40 - great SCSI tape drive backup
software
HANCOCK2.ZIP 1 19K 9-04-94+ Full text of Hancock II amendment and the
Moody Report, an analysis of H2's impact on
Missouri. PLEASE READ!!!
HLPCOL.ZIP 21 21K 9-01-94+ Change your HELP colors in Windows - MUST
HAVE
HNGMN120.ZIP 8 225K 9-15-94+ HangMan v1.20 - reproduces classic hangman
for OS/2 PM
HPDF_103.ZIP 9 15K 9-22-94* OS/2 HPFS defragmentor
IBMRTLGO.ZIP 14 350K 9-15-94+ Raytraced IBM logo 1024x768x(64&256)
IBMWARP.ZIP 14 442K 9-27-94* Very aggresive WarpII logo in several formats
INETTECH.ZIP 1 175K 9-26-94* Highly Technical Internet info: SLIP, PPP,
TCP/IP, UUCP, M.O.U.S.E....
INNDOC.ZIP 1 3K 9-26-94* Discussion about obtaining NetNews feeds
INOTES.ZIP 21 129K 9-26-94* Windows INOTES App. Sort of a super notepad
and cardfiler. Interesting idea
INSTEZ12.ZIP 24 147K 8-30-94+ Another Windows installation PRogram
IPFBLD.ZIP 6 604K 9-09-94+ Full featured demo of IPF Builder. Cannot
save the IPF files it creates, however.
KONSTR1.ZIP 6 177K 9-20-94+ Programming language (?). Docs in German.
KWQ12G.ZIP 12 216K 9-13-94+ KWQ Mail/2 v1.2g - 32bit multithreaded QWK
message reader for OS/2 PM.
LORA235S.ZIP 12 886K 9-07-94+ Lora BBS v2.35 - OS/2 BBS and Mailer
LORAINF.ZIP 12 121K 9-07-94+ Lora files from 128/67
LOS240B3.ZIP 12 704K 9-07-94+ Lora BBS v2.35S service update
LOS2DOC.ZIP 12 179K 9-07-94+ Lora BBS documentation in WordPerfect format
LS40DEMO.ZIP 1 591K 9-28-94* Demo of LAN Server version 4.0 (FREE d/l)
ME2_099.ZIP 9 378K 9-20-94+ Editor for OS/2 PM - integrates nicely with
MR/2. Floating toolbars, uses MR/2's
dictionary, etc
MFILE120.ZIP 12 127K 9-27-94* MaxFile/2 v1.2 0 text based FILES.BBS
manager. FILE_ID.DIZ import, more
MMOUG994.ZIP 1 254K 8-30-94+ Mid-Missouri OS/2 User Group September
Newsletter in INF and TXT Formats.
MORTBK10.ZIP 15 30K 9-27-94* Mortgage Workbook v1.0
MR2_206.ZIP 12 248K 9-01-94+ Latest version of MR/2 QWK message reader.
MR2_208.ZIP 12 249K 9-09-94+ Latest version of MR2 QWK message reader
MR2_209A.ZIP 12 253K 9-22-94* Latest version of MR2 QWK message reader.
MSDOJ.TXT 1 28K 9-20-94+ Full text of the Microsoft consent decree
NEF200.LZH 12 70K 9-09-94+ NEF: A new echo files distribution system
NMFW12AE.ZIP 21 398K 9-01-94+ New Menus for Windows -- ****EXCELENT****
replacement for Program manger menu. Has
Motif, Openlook-type interface. MUST SEE!
NSUITE1.ZIP 16 921K 9-13-94+ NetSuite for OS/2 - contains LATIMES nntp
newsreader, LA Gopher, LA FTP. Req's IBM
OS/2 TCP/IP
NSWCH2.ZIP 9 11K 9-28-94* NoSwitch V2.0 - OS/2 Switch-list utility
----------------------------------------
Allows Alt+Esc to bypass specified programs.
Useful if
OBACK208.ZIP 9 133K 9-13-94+ OBackup - system settings backup - demo that
expires after Jan '95
OP101A.ZIP 4 282K 9-16-94+ OS/2 Personal Hypermedia Magazine - Aug '94.
OP102B.ZIP 4 444K 9-16-94+ OS/2 Personal Hypermedia magazine. Published
by Allen-Hamilton publishers
OP102C.ZIP 4 589K 9-20-94+ Hypermedia magazine #3
OS2DB2.ZIP 9 20K 9-28-94* A shutdown command that will also disconnect
DB2/2 client server databases.
OWM_ALL.TXT LIST 323K 9-28-94* All files on the OS/2 Woodmeister
OWM_ALL.ZIP LIST 117K 9-28-94* All files on the OS/2 Woodmeister
OWM_NEW.TXT LIST 15K 9-28-94* New files (last 30 days) on the OWM
OWM_NEW.ZIP LIST 6K 9-28-94* New files (last 30 days) on the OWM
P202.ZIP 12 127K 9-09-94+ Free 32-bit file transfer protocol.
Z/Y/XModem for async, named pipe and Telnet.
Contains a DLL for use in your own apps
P203.ZIP 12 127K 9-27-94* Freeware 32bit file transfer util for OS/2.
Z/Y/YG/X for async/pipes/TCPIP
PCN2LM25.EXE 32 19K 9-06-94+ Drivers for ancient IBM PC Network adapters -
works with faster Netware servers
PFAQ31.ZIP 6 197K 9-16-94+ Programmers FAQ
PITALK21.ZIP 21 382K 9-12-94+ Addition to Plugin. Adds sounds to ALL
events, talking clock, etc.
PLUGIN21.ZIP 21 446K 9-12-94+ Add-on for Program Manager (win 3.1) Quite
handy if you just need a few extras: easy
icon additions, groups
PMIX11.ZIP 9 57K 9-27-94* A Sound mixer utils for the PAS16
PMSNDX10.ZIP 9 441K 9-08-94+ PMsndX - PM based program to convert sounds.
Includes tools for special effects, editing,
playing of samples, etc
PMZPR12.ZIP 9 596K 9-16-94+ PM Zipper v1.2. ZIP, UNZIP, drag & drop,
checkout, etc
POPGATE.ZIP 16 141K 9-23-94* POP3 format usenet gateway
PROP_T.ZIP 24 18K 9-06-94+ --- no description available ---
REXXVIM.ZIP 13 142K 9-28-94* A VIM toolkit for REXX! RexxVIM allows Rexx
to inmteract with VIM enabled apps like
cc:Mail and Lotus Notes
RIBBLE.ZIP 8 90K 9-27-94* PM based Boulderdash type game
RIBBSRC.ZIP 6 177K 9-27-94* Source code for the Ribble game
RMXBETA.ZIP 9 833K 9-27-94* Remote execution for OS/2. With this
package, an app can be marked so that it's
output may be moved to a different computer
SIO131.ZIP 7 172K 9-06-94+ Latest SIO comm drivers from Ray Gwinn v1.31
SL_FAQ03.ZIP 16 8K 9-28-94* Draft OS/2 and SLIP FAQ
SOUP12.ZIP 1 14K 9-26-94* Document about SOUP, a format for netnews DL
SQED097.ZIP 12 540K 9-15-94+ SquishEditor v.97 Squish/,MSG/etc reader
supports drag&drop, etc
SSOK.ZIP 9 170K 9-16-94+ Additional modules for screen saver
(SSAVER.EXE)
T2BBS501.ZIP 12 32K 9-28-94* TIC to BBS - a Tic manager
TCPBTDSK.ZIP 4 6K 9-20-94+ Instructs for creating boot disks w/ plain
TCP/IP on them
UQWK18.ZIP 12 141K 9-28-94* QWK, SOUP, and ZipNews message manager
VIEWALL.ZIP 9 380K 9-20-94+ Util to view all .INF files in a simple
manner
VL131.ZIP 9 34K 9-08-94+ VLaunch, VIEW launcher for .INF files. Will
search for INF files and keep them in a
'bookshelf'
WA0725.EXE 24 140K 9-06-94+ Paradox/Win samples from informant magazine
WARPFT01.DSK 97 1840K 9-15-94+ Warp beta-2 Footprint Works - 1 of 4
WARPFT02.DSK 97 1840K 9-15-94+ Warp beta-2 Foorprint Works diskette 2 of 4
WARPFT03.DSK 97 1840K 9-15-94+ Warp beta-2 Footprint Works diskette 3 of 4
WARPFT04.DSK 97 1840K 9-16-94+ Warp beta-2 Footprint Works diskette 4 of 4
WDIR2081.LZH 9 37K 9-08-94+ WackyDir v0.81 is a colorful replacement for
OS/2's plain DIR command. Allows color,
sorting, extension coloring. Supports FAT
and HPF
WFWPTP.EXE 21 337K 9-01-94+ Windows for Workgroups Point-to-Point. Remote
control of WFWG. From MS FTP Siet for WFWG
only.
WINELM.ZIP 32 254K 9-22-94* Windows Internet e-mail app with MIME support
WINUP9.EXE 32 631K 9-09-94+ Latest Win Netware drivers
WISESW.EXE 24 350K 9-01-94+ EXCELLENT!! Installation util w/ compression
- gens a single EXE! Script drivem, quite
powerful. Working demo
WMC53.ZIP 21 460K 9-01-94+ Windows Multiple COnfigurations
WN4M110.ZIP 21 772K 9-01-94+ wInformant 1.10&colon. Uninstall, INIEdit & More!
Improved Uninstall removes DLL's & DOS apps.
Seven powerful Windows utilities in one. Fi
WUBENCH.ZIP 21 233K 9-23-94* Windows USer Mag benchmarks. Worth looking at
XFERP100.ZIP 32 131K 9-22-94* EXCELLENT Internet tools for managing the
myraid variety of compression/encoding apps.
Supports UUCP, MIME, more! A MUST HAVE
YRN2_055.ZIP 16 187K 9-23-94* News reader for Usenet news...maybe more?
YRN2_070.ZIP 16 463K 9-07-94+ PC Yarn v0.70 beta. Suite of programs to use
and store USENET news and mail offline.
ZIPCTL.ZIP 9 350K 9-24-94* zip control; pm front end for freeware
versions of zip and unzip.exe (very nice)
v2.1
ZOC196B.ZIP 12 529K 9-26-94* Latest ZOC Beta: REGISTERED OWNERS ONLY!!!
Will not work on non-registered versions of
Zoc. Easy upgrade and code runs beautifully.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
List created with DOWNSORT 5.5g by Rob Hamerling
on Thu Sep 29 05:30 under OS/2 2.9
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The OS/2 Woodmeister
Overview of downloadable files
(314) 446-0016
FIDO Node 1:289/27 1200/2400/9600/14400 D/S
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Threads ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Threads
"Threads" are a collection of posts that may be of interest to individual
readers.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. PM Assistant ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
PM Assistant
Utilis Inc. announced that PM Assistant Version 2.0, an integrated suite of six
OS/2 utilities, is now available.
PM Assistant Version 2.0 provides hot-key access to your applications, window
placement, keyboard macros, task scheduling, screen saver and password
protection. All six utilities are fully integrated to provide execution of
complex or routine command sequences from your OS/2 desktop with a single
keystroke or the press of a button.
The utilities can be used independently or combined to execute powerful
compound macros. For example, you can launch your favorite word processor,
insert a standard closure in a document, print, save and forward the document
to another user all with a single keystroke. Using the window placement
utility, you can minimize, maximize or move one or more windows to pre-defined
positions. Several arrangements can be defined to make your desktop more task
oriented.
And, speaking of task oriented desktops, PM Assistant makes it possible for you
to set up macros for other users to enable them to execute complex tasks
without really knowing how. This ensures proper execution and maximum
productivity even by your employees who are still in a training or transition
mode.
Using PM assistant's task scheduler, you can execute specific macros or command
sequences at any given or recurring time. This unattended program feature is
ideal for stress testing applications since it can execute macros indefinitely
and in random sequence. And, since it is running under OS/2's pre-emptive,
multi-processing framework, PM Assistant's task scheduler can initiate
background processes or programs while you continue to use PM Assistant macros
in the foreground.
PM Assistant is appropriate for all OS/2 users, since it allows each user to
automate and customize OS/2 applications according to individual preferences.
It is easy to use, as it does not contain a programming language. All
utilities are configured with dialog boxes and by pointing to the application
to act on.
PM Assistant runs on OS/2 versions 2.0 or greater and is available from Utilis
for $129.00 and from resellers.
Utilis is a member of the IBM Developer Assistance Program. For more
information, you may contact them at:
Utilis Inc.
P.O Box 367.
Redmond, WA 98052
Contact: Tom Snyder
73552.2367@compuserve.com
Phone: (206) 467-4025
Sales: 1-800-745-7757
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2. PL/I Trivia ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
PL/I Trivia
I know absolutely nothing about the PL/I programming language, but I thought
that this was an interesting post I saw on the OS2BBS:
PL/I has _zero_ reserved words.
IF IF = THEN THEN
ELSE = 0;
ELSE
THEN = IF;
is a perfectly valid PL/I construct.
Weird, ain't it?
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3. Personal Netware on OS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Personal Netware on OS/2
This is a copy of an original message posted on the Internet in the
Newsgroup COMP.OS.OS2.NETWORKING.MISC. It is provided FYI & FYE.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you want Personal NetWare on OS/2
kbreinho@novell.com Keith L. Breinholt at Novell, Inc.
Please help.
We in Engineering and Support at Novell feel that there is a real need for
Personal NetWare on OS/2. However, Marketing keeps telling us that there is
not enough market for such a product. I know better but I need numbers to
prove the point.
Please send email to OS2REQ@novell.com with the following information: Your
Name & phone# or email adress, Your Company name, Number of potential
licenses in your company, and a Reasonable price to pay
Other information that we will be looking for is any features that you
want/need in PNW for OS/2. Would an update to PNW for DOS fill the need if
you can run PNW in a regular Global DOS session?
Thanks for your help.
Keith L. Breinholt
___________________________________________________________________________
kbreinho@novell.com
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."
"I speak only for me...and then only occasionally."
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4. OS/2 Application Development ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Thoughts on OS/2 Application Development
John Schaeffer of AIMs posted the following on the OS2BBS. AIMs is the company
who is going to bring you Galactic Civilization for OS/2.
Because of some of the discussion that has gone on about AIMs doing future
development of OS/2 games, I thought it was time to discuss a plan to help OS/2
become number one by helping OS/2 development. First I need to lay the ground
work as to why OS/2 applications and games suffer from a dearth of development
capital.
Every line of code that goes into a possible commercial OS/2 product must be
paid for. This payment can come from three different sources (the term
developer is one or many people or companies):
1) Sweat equity. The developer eats beans and pays for the development
from past savings.
2) Internal capital. The developer pays for the development from internal
funds from past successful products. Also termed cash flow.
3) Venture capital. The developer obtains funds from outside his own area to
fund the project. This can be another part of the same company or from outside.
Most OS/2 applications have been financed by the first method. This is usually
the method take by an individual or a small group. This is how Lotus and others
got there start before small income streams from 2 and large investments from 3
kicked in. Many other successful companies in the computer area used only 1 and
2. It is rare for a startup to receive venture capital. Most venture capital is
invested in companies and people that have a track record.
Most new development comes from companies and people that have prior products.
The primary capital for these developments comes from internal capital. OS/2
developers have trouble developing this capital source for a number of reasons:
1) The size of the OS/2 market.
2) The orientation of the OS/2 market towards shareware. Current OS/2 users
look first to shareware because of the lack of OS/2 retail applications.
3) Piracy. AIMs studies have indicated that the software piracy rate is higher
in the OS/2 area than any other operating system. UNIX a very close second.
4) Market distortion. IBM Direct (see prior append) and other some other IBM
sales channel reduce the cash flow to developers.
Venture capital is almost nonexistent in the OS/2 area. One of the major
reasons is DeScribe. DeScribe was not a perfect word processor but was and is
superior to the OS/2 offerings of WordPerfect and Lotus. IBM effectively acted
as a venture capital provider to WordPerfect and Lotus. This put the venture
people backing DeScribe in a bad position. Further development could not be
financed internally because of lack of cash flow. Further venture investment
would be up against well financed competition that was also backed by IBM. In
this case venture funds dry up for DeScribe. I am not arguing that DeScribe
would have been a success, I am stating that DeScribe never had a chance to get
into the game because of certain actions by IBM. To top things off, the IBM
person responsible for this disaster in the word processing area for OS/2 was
rewarded for his efforts. The final result for this reward? A company -
DeScribe - that is fighting for its life. An abandoned OS/2 word processor -
WordPerfect. And a poor port of a Windows word processor that is releases
behind the company's window product.
AIMs has a number of investors that are begging to invest in games. Please note
I said games not OS/2 games. I has been made very clear to me by investors that
not one penny of their money will be allowed to go into OS/2 games. One year
ago, everyone of these investors were anxious to get into OS/2 games. Now I
must finance all OS/2 development out of cash flow. Because of the reasons
above, I can accept a lower or possibly negative return on internal development
in OS/2 or move to other investments. All OS/2 developers face this problem.
Many that are sticking with OS/2 development will be out of business soon if
there is not a change.
What can be done to reverse this trend? Sorry, Wayne, you and other OS/2 true
believers can do very little except for what I outline below. There must first
be a recovery of faith in OS/2 software as a good investment. This can not be
done by OS/2 users, OS/2 developers, OS/2 retails, TeamOS/2 - it must be done
by IBM itself. Some of the steps IBM is already starting - but not all. These
first steps must be carried to completion, not abandoned partially finished.
Here are recommendations to IBM:
1) Reform IBM Direct:
a) Put IBM Direct on a direct payment basis with developers. This will
improve cash flow immediately allowing for increased internal
investment by existing developers.
b) Make IBM Direct be business like. Sign agreements with developers to
retain developer's information within a limited - need to know -
group.
c) Reform IBM Direct so they can accept OS/2 product before in it is
shipping.
d) If a, b, and c all can not be done; remove all OS/2 products, that are
not IBM's own development, from IBM Direct. Short term this will hurt
developers but long term it will help developers and hurt IBM
Direct.
2) Get IBM out of the business of funding ports of existing products. This is
just money down the rat hole. In games it is even worst. I can speak to
this from experience since I attempted to port an existing game and lost.
3) Get rid of the people in OS/2 who created this porting nonsense to begin with.
Their continued presence makes venture investors very nervous. No
reasonable outside investor will put up money for OS/2 development when
IBM is sitting on the sidelines looking like a 500 kilo gorilla.
4) Forget about getting the companies that are heavy into DOS and Windows to
port or produce software for OS/2. They are not going to kick their cash
cows for the sake of OS/2. You need developers that are hungry to be the
next big success in the market and have talent. Find them and sell them on
the idea that OS/2 is the vehicle to do this. Do not sell them on what a
great technology achievement OS/2 is. This is true but that and 50 cents
will get you coffee. The developer must be profitable to raise capital.
5) DO NOT FUND ANY OUTSIDE OS/2 DEVELOPMENT. Help them sell and place their
product, but do not poor free money into developers. Investors know this.
Money with no expectation of return produces terrible products. IBM should
not be in the game of picking winners and losers. Leave than to the
professional investor. IBM's job is to provide an environment not investment.
6) Help developers learn how to sell their product. Most good to great OS/2
developers know how to produce a program. They do not know how to package
it or sell it. Better skills will help these developers attract investment.
7) Hire some people at all levels that are not afraid to hear or deliver bad
news. IBM has the reputation, well deserved, of shooting messengers that
deliver bad news. Investors are not dumb, they know if IBM will not listen
to bad news, OS/2 is in terminal trouble. If OS/2 is in trouble, investment
in OS/2 developers is in trouble. Investors know the environment and market
a company is in is more important than the product.
8) Straighten out the service and support. Investors are not going to invest in
OS/2 developers if OS/2 is viewed as a problem. Service and support also
needs to understand that they are in the customer relations business as well
as service and support. The whole idea is to design this area so that the
customer has the minimum hassle. There are two things service and support
need to do:
a) Find some managers that have dealt with customers. This is no place for
on the job training. Put people with field experience in positions of
responsibility. A person who has spent years in a staff position is
learning the job at the expense of both IBM and the customer.
b) Stop assuming the customer is dumb. VM, MVS, etc learned years ago the
customer has some intelligence. Service, support and most importantly
fix strategy should be based on this principal. To repeat it - the
customer is not dumb.
9) Establish an OS/2 wholesaler. Some organization that is equivalent of Ingram,
IE, etc. but does not have the anti OS/2 bias. Because of the current bias
of just about every wholesaler to non IBM OS/2 applications, this probably
will have to be a startup. It should not be IBM owned but given the lack
of other capital to start this IBM would need to be creative. Not gifts but
assistance in financing would be the best. The new wholesaler would be
able to provide type 2 (as above) capital to OS/2 developers.
10) Consider providing financing to establish an OS/2 oriented venture capital
group. Once again this should not be run be IBM, but IBM would need to
provide financing assistance - not gifts - to get this started. IBM
should not be running this. IBM needs to get out of the game of picking
winners and losers in the OS/2 product areas. Let investors pick.
11) Above all get all of IBM out of the business of picking winners and losers
in the OS/2 product area. This includes every area of IBM from giving money
to certain developers to making your developer support people act as
adults. There have been too many situations where developers have been
forced to follow IBM's line to obtain support. An investor does not like
his investment controlled by outsiders.
12) Learn the power of electronic media. BBS, Internet, etc. are very powerful
forces. If IBM does not learn to work with them constructively, IBM will
learn their destructive potential. This media, of its very nature, tends
to move to extremes unless closely monitored. Do not try to hide IBM's
warts on electronic exchanges. In fact admit to them. Get the people on
your side. The best way to do this is to be truthful and honest in all
electronic dealings. If IBM stinks, say so and say what you will do to
make it smell better. If you try to call a skunk a rose, you will die as
road kill on the information highway. Investors, at least the ones I
work with, monitor the nets for early warning of potential problems and
opportunities. A strong image of IBM as a truthful and honest player on
the electronic media will encourage investors, at least the ones I know.
As I said to begin these recommendations, IBM is working on some but not all.
Confidentiality agreements with IBM prevent me from saying which ones. The
proper people in IBM know what they are doing.
OK, IBM, here is the basis of a plan to get OS/2 development moving and kick
Windows95 before it can even get off the ground. IBM be creative forget the old
rules -- use OS/2 technical superiority to start creating new rules.
Are there any customers, developers or IBM'ers who believe in doing this? If so
let the IBM executives know. If you don't have time to write your own, copy
this and send it to PSP and IBM corporate executives. Let them know that there
are ways to break the mold of the past and get OS/2 on top. The way is through
OS/2 developers.
John Schaeffer Internet:aimgames@xmission.com
AIMsBBS:801-572-6353 8-n-1 2400 to 14400
Fax:801-571-8625
OS2BBS:DEV1024@Hone82
Information:801-572-4018
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5. A Subjective Look at Atlanta ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
A Subjective Look at Atlanta
A Completely Subjective Look at the OS/2 Technical Update
I'd better give a word of warning about what you are about to read. For several
years, whenever I would go on a trip, I would take copious notes about my
experiences, thoughts and feelings. Upon my return, I would type up the tale.
I have followed the same pattern for this subjective look at the OS/2 Technical
Update. This is NOT your ordinary report of a business trip. This is the tale
of the highlights of a business trip as perceived by a warped mind. You are
about to enter . . . the Highlight Zone.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5.1. Saturday, September 10, 1994 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Saturday, September 10, 1994
I'm preparing to go on my first big trip paid for by the state. Our group
usually tries to be pretty tight with the budget when it comes to spending the
taxpayers' dollars. We try to make darn sure we get our money's worth out of
whatever we do. When I hear of someone else from another agency going on a
trip for a technical update, I'll jokingly say that the Department of Social
Services will let me look through the window of Computerland -- as long as it's
after hours!
I have a credit card that will give me air miles for so many dollars charged --
I think you get 1 mile for every $3,000,000,000 charged, judging from my last
bill. I had gotten it originally to help pay for going to my son's playoff
games. Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas missed being NAIA Division II
national champions by about 2 inches his freshman year (1992). Two inches to
the right and the football would have gone through the goalposts. Findlay of
Ohio won. After the 1993 season, even though BC was ranked number 1 for a
while, I decided we wouldn't need to save air miles for the national playoffs
anymore. Therefore, I had just enough air miles for my wife (Pam) to fly to
Atlanta with me.
We left home at 8:30 Saturday morning. Pam wasn't too happy with our luggage
and by leaving so early, we thought we'd have time to stop in Independence and
buy some. Our flight was not until 2:30 p.m., and the folks at MarkAir
recommended being there an hour early. It ordinarily takes about 2.5 hours to
get to Kansas City from Jefferson City. This was not ordinary, however. Road
construction at the Rocheport bridge and close to Kansas City forced traffic to
a crawl. Although we made it to the airport in ample time, there was no time
to spare for buying luggage. Thank you Highway Department!
We travel this way almost every week in the Fall for football games, but I
noticed a billboard I had never seen before: Catfish Live - Dressed. Yeah, but
then what would you do? Take 'em out for a movie?
We arrived at KCI and parked the car in the cheapest parking lot we could find.
Checked in, waited for an hour, and took off for Atlanta. The flight was an
hour and forty-seven minutes.
We arrived in Atlanta, went to the train that transports passengers from the
concourse to the main terminal, and proceeded to the Alamo car rental agency,
where I had reserved a car. I was pleased to see Jim Crapenhoft there, from
the Department of Highway and Transportation. The line was huge. Apparently
all of the other rental agencies had run out of cars. We discussed forgetting
the car rental and taking the bus to our hotel, but being unfamiliar with the
layout of Atlanta, decided that it might be imperative to have a car. What a
mistake. Our wait in line was 13 minutes longer than our flight, the hotel was
within walking distance of the convention center, and Atlanta has excellent
public transportation -- the MARTA. That was a waste of taxpayer money. If I
go to Atlanta again, I won't worry about car rental.
I was rather nervous about driving in Atlanta. I'm just a country boy, and
seeing six lanes of traffic coming together, with exits on the left and the
right was a bit disconcerting. Pam kept telling me to slow down, but trying to
be aware of the signs made it difficult for me to keep an eye on the
speedometer. I think the speed limit was 55, but even at 60 it felt like I was
crawling with the traffic cruising around me at 70. We made it to the hotel
without incident, however.
The Hard Rock Cafe was only a couple of blocks from our hotel, and since we had
only stopped for souvenirs at the one in Honolulu while on our honeymoon, we
decided to have supper there. There was a half hour wait before we were shown
to a table. I don't mind admitting, I was getting very tired of lines by this
time! The menu said you hadn't "really" been to the Hard Rock unless you had a
"Pig Sandwich", so that's what I had. It was OK.
We returned to the hotel for the night. Although I was tired, I watched
"Rising Sun" on HBO. We don't have HBO at home, so I figured I would take
advantage of it at the hotel.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5.2. Sunday, September 11, 1994 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Sunday, September 11, 1994
I got up in time to go to church at nearby Sacred Heart. Pam looked pretty
content sleeping, so I figured she could go to a later service when she woke
up. I could tell by the address in the phone book that it had to be close, but
I wasn't exactly sure where to find it. I took my best guess, and had about
given up, when I looked up and saw the spires. If I had looked up when I began
my journey I would have been there already! I wasn't too late.
Although the OS/2 Technical Update was not to begin until 1:30, I arrived at
the convention center at 10:00 a.m. After the delays in lines I had faced
yesterday, I decided that being early would not be a handicap.
Thankfully, because of being early, the line at the registration booth was
relatively short. And who was in line in front of me? Michelle Wilson --
IBM's PSP representative from the Jefferson City Office. I knew she was going
to be there, but I thought it would be much more difficult to run into someone
that I knew!
As we walked away from the registration area, I noticed one fellow with
distinctive features -- a grey beard, a round belly, wearing an OS/2 t-shirt
and OS/2 suspenders! I had never seen OS/2 suspenders before and pointed them
out to Michelle. I noticed him several times throughout the day.
We just started down the escalator to pick up the rest of our registration
materials when we saw Jim Crapenhoft again! Gee, it's easy to find people in
here! After we grabbed our registration material, we went outside so I could
take a picture. Because I was so early, I saw in my map that there was a study
hall for people to brush up on different areas for the Certification testing.
Unfortunately, it was located about as far away from the testing area as
possible. When I got there, I was informed that they had already begun the
certification testing at 9:30 that morning!
I asked the fellow in the study hall the best way to approach taking the test.
He recommended just taking them to see how well I did, and if I failed, use the
report to concentrate on the areas of weakness. In retrospect, I wish I had
used another approach.
It didn't take me long to beat a path to the testing center to sign up. Drat,
if I had realized they were starting early, I could have possibly had two of
the tests under my belt by now! Without much ado, I was soon in the testing
center, taking "Installing and supporting OS/2".
The certification tests are all computerized (developed as a Windows program --
yechhh. Why didn't they use one of the visual REXX programs?). There were
about 50 machines in the testing room attached to a server, which in turn was
connected to an external database that tracks who has passed what tests. When
the test is completed, you are shown a bar graph to show the score needed to
pass and your score. It then prints out a graph of which areas were weak.
A passing grade for the first test was a 73%. I got (gasp) a 70%. Ooooooooh,
dang it. If I had gotten one more question right! It was a hard test. I had
several questions on OS/2 1.3 and OS/2 2.x coexistence that I think I probably
got wrong.
The candidates were only allowed to take one test at a time, due to the
popularity. I had been under the impression that once you got in there, you
could test to your heart's content. So I signed up for the next one on the
list: "Using and Customizing OS/2".
While I was waiting to have my name called, Michelle encouraged me to sign up
to give feedback the next day on the testing process. A bribe of a great
t-shirt was offered to the first 100 to sign up. It was the OS/2 logo
superimposed above the word Chicago and the Chicago skyline. Underneath were
the words: OS/2. Been there. Done that. On the back it says "Not just up and
coming -- up and running!"
While I was playing around with that and listening for my name, Frank McKenney
cam up and introduced himself. Frank and I have exchanged a few messages on
the OS2BBS, and that was another advantage for going, to meet these people I
have only met electronically. Unfortunately, at that first meeting, I was
still a little shell-shocked from having failed a test about OS/2 and probably
just mumbled incoherently. Although at some point I was able to get a picture
of him and Michelle. "Using and Customizing OS/2" put me back in harmony with
the world. a 76% was needed to pass and I received an 86%. I found out later
that some folks didn't like this one because it wanted to know, for example,
what keystrokes to use to accomplish a function. Since my mouse seems so far
away, I've memorized most of the keystrokes to navigate OS/2.
Fortunately I saw Frank again after that test and I was able to say say
something a little more coherent.
Unfortunately, the testing caused me to be a few minutes late for the first
session that I wanted to attend: "Netview DM/2 (Basic)". Because of my
lateness and because of test-induced stress, it took me a while to settle into
what was being discussed. I must have really been stressed because two lines
of my notes are indecipherable scrawls (of course, my handwriting isn't the
easiest to read in the best of times).
One of the most important things that I learned was that LAD/2 will be
distributed with LAN Netview DM/2 within the next 18 months. LAD/2 (which I
will discuss in more detail later) allows easy setup of DM/2 distribution
disks. That's pretty exciting, considering that LAD/2 lists for about $4000
today!
Netview DM/2 is supposed to check disk space before it tries to apply new
software. I asked the presenter if it were true that if a machine had a lockup
screen displayed that it would cause a distribution to fail on a client
machine. I had heard this from an IBMer whom I consider a fairly reliable
source. The presenter said that she had never heard of such a problem. Rats.
I guess when we finally get it we will just have to test it out.
Several of the audience indicated some dissatisfaction because each one of
IBM's products have a different procedure with CID, DM/2 and response files.
The presenter said that they are encouraging all development units -- indeed,
all developers, to use a product called Software Installer, so that they will
all have a similar look and feel. As one fellow remarked, all the capability of
CID and DM/2 is great, but you have to be a PhD to use it!
After this, I proceeded to "LAN Server Tips 'N' Techniques I". This had some
very useful information. I became a little more familiar with local logon. I
do not have DB2/2, and so I have never needed to worry about local logon. In
fact, we do not have local user-ids defined on most machines here. However,
some folks, particularly the folks in the Database Administration Group, do
have DB2/2, so I will have to get together with them to see if I can make their
life a little easier.
Another tip is to reduce NetBIOSRetries from the default of 8 to 1. This saves
3.5 seconds per NetBIOS name added on each client.
Other tips for logging on weren't applicable to us. One was not to run the
messenger service, but I like to use it to notify folks on the LAN if we need
to do something drastic in the middle of the day. Another is to set multilogon
to YES, but we have already made that the default. We can set logonwarnings to
none to suppress warnings, and we can issue the logon command with a "/r"
option so that the PM error dialog won't pop up, saying "messenger service will
not start" when someone logs on at another location. Some folks have tried to
create icons at our place for network resources. The presenters recommended
that if someone were doing this, they should make shadows, not copy.
About halfway through the presentation, a gentleman sitting right in front of
me made a comment to the presenter. With a start, I turned to the fellow to my
left:
"Who is that?"
"I don't know. Some IBMer."
"Isn't that Tom Gordy?"
"Yeah, they said it was Tom something."
"He's the one who developed the CNFGLS30 spreadsheet!!"
Blank look.
The fellow to my left was obviously unimpressed. I, on the other hand, was
very impressed. If I knew half of what Tom knows about LAN Server tuning . . .
When time came for a break, I introduced myself to Tom. We had exchanged
several messages on the OS2BBS and I was able to take a very unflattering
picture of him! After it was developed, I didn't think it was too bad. Here,
you decide: As I strolled down the hall, I wanted to say hi to Janet Gobeille,
whom I knew would be preparing for the Team OS/2 session that I also wanted to
attend. However, I felt I would be doing the state more of a service by
attending the second session of the LAN Server TNT. Janet is also a frequent
poster on the OS2BBS. In the course of our brief conversation, she mentioned
that Jack Hiatt (another poster on the OS2BBS, the PC BBS, and all around OS/2
guru) had been down at the Team OS/2 room.
Janet dispenses her wisdom.
I went to the Team OS/2 room and asked if Jack Hiatt were in there. No, someone
replied, but he's standing right over there in the hall. Remember the guy I saw
at registration that had the OS/2 suspenders? That was Jack Hiatt! He was busy
conversing with someone else at the time, and I needed to get back for the next
session. I had already seen Jack several times that day, so I knew I'd be able
to find him again.
OK, I'm back in session. Excuse me if the following paragraphs are somewhat
disjointed, but my notes are disjointed. If I remember correctly, people kept
asking various questions that interrupted the flow of the presentation.
In the next session, someone asked about limits under LAN Server. Apparently
16,000 users can be defined to NET.ACC. The DCDB, however, only replicates
1000.
Under LAN Server 4.0, the command line and the GUI will be able to do the same
things. In version 3.0, some options are available only at the command line,
while other options are only available from the Full Screen Interface (FSI).
Rexx Support will be included in the Productivity Aids. I'll have much more on
LAN Server version 4.0 later.
After the session, I wandered back to get a picture of Janet for inclusion in
the newsletter, and ran into a motherlode of famous folks from the OS2BBS:
Janet, who is the driving force behind team OS/2; Bob Holmes, a frequent poster
on the OS2BBS and whom InfoWorld and PC Week regularly quote whenever anything
happens in the world of OS/2; the aforementioned Jack Hiatt; and Hank
Henderson, a displaced Missourian from the St. Charles area, formerly in charge
of the OS2BBS and currently developing the famous World Wide Web that is the
heart of the Internet connection that will be available with OS/2 version 3.0.
I was able to get some great pictures of these folks.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
You decide which is which! <g>
From Left to Right: Hank Henderson, Jack Hiatt, Gary Pool
I had to accuse Bob Holmes of breaking my camera! Try as I would, it would not
take a picture of him. I think the batteries were starting to go. When the
shutter finally clicked, I'm afraid it probably looked like something you would
see in a post office or on a drivers license. I guess I'll find out in a day
or two when the pictures are developed.
Post Office Picture
I had promised Pam that I would go back to the hotel to meet her when the
meetings were over, so I did. We went to the store following some directions
that were printed out from a kiosk. Very easy to follow.
Upon our return, I went to the OS/2 awards presented by OS/2 Professional
Magazine. There was a very nice buffet provided (I wish I had known there were
going to be eats before I purchased supper), a jazz band, and a cozy atmosphere
for 1000 people.
Edwin Black, the editor of OS/2 Professional, was the Master of Ceremonies.
There is a media award that they present, usually to someone in the trade press
who promotes OS/2. In warming up to announce the winner, he stated that this
person had taken great pains to promote OS/2, had discovered it on his own, had
done so much for OS/2... Some wit piped up, "Bill Gates!" No, it wasn't Bill
Gates, but I had predicted the winner three times to the disbelief of everyone
at our table until Edwin finally confirmed -- Howard Stern.
The award for software marketing went to SoftTouch (Gammatech Utilities). The
Team OS/2 award went to Timothy Sipples (author of OS/2 Frequently Asked
Questions, found on all the OS/2 Bulletin Boards). They played a synthesized
orchestral arrangement of "Concerto for OS/2" by Peter Hayes. It was OK, but
it would have been enhanced by a multimedia presentation, rather than just
listening to the music.
The best hardware for OS/2 went to Parallel Storage Solutions, who make a
parallel port tape backup and using the same machine, can actually do a first
time install of OS/2. CA-Realizer took the best development tool award. The
best application went to Describe 5.0. The reader's choice award went to
Lotus' Ami Pro. The One-Up Corporation won something, but I didn't write down
which award it was.
One of the speakers told a story of a woman who had described her business
strategy as going from Windows to Windows NT to Windows95 and asked for his
opinion. He said it was just like back home where they had a fellow who was a
veterinarian and taxidermist -- either way, you get your dog back.
Oh gosh, this is embarrassing. The OS/2 Professional award went to the man who
had started the OS/2 Vendor Council. I couldn't quite make out the name that
was announced. I believe they said it was Tony Carrera. Tony, if you see this
and I've butchered your last name -- sorry!
The IBM Executive Achievement Award ("sometimes known as the oxymoron award",
quipped one of the presenters) went to Lou Gerstner.
After the awards, prizes were given away, the most noteworthy being two
dual-pentium 90 Mhz PCs. Alas, my name was not drawn.
Jim Crapenhoft had met some people who were not going to the Six Flags night on
Monday, and so they gave me their ticket to give to Pam. However, they were
parked far, far away under the Omni. On the way back, I tried to take a
shortcut and became somewhat bewildered. Fortunately, I ran into Peachtree
street and was able to find my way back. My usual fifteen minute walk to the
hotel became a thirty minute walk.
The worst thing about walking in downtown Atlanta is all the panhandlers. I
felt guilty for not assisting, but I was accosted about a dozen times a day.
Finally, after three days, I learned not to look up and not to smile in order
to avoid a confrontation.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5.3. Monday, September 12, 1994 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Monday, September 12, 1994
Pam had the idea of getting up early enough to go to church again this morning.
My notes were at the bottom of the page at this point and it looks like I said,
"Pillow head back to soone cam idly west to GWCC." Oh well, it probably makes
as much sense as some of the other things I've written. Ten minutes later . .
. Oh, I finally figured part of it out! The pillow hurt my back so I didn't
sleep well and had to get up at 6:00 am. GWCC is the Georgia World Convention
Center. I guess I said I walked there. Listen -- deciphering these notes is
not an easy job!
The first thing I did when I arrived at the Convention Center was to "cash in"
a receipt for a "fanny pack". It could have been redeemed at the OS/2 awards
the night before, but I was in such a rush, I left it in my hotel room (as well
as my two drink tickets -- two scrawny little glasses of soda cost $3.00!). I
thought it would come in handy at the Six Flags night.
I then went to the ballroom to hear the keynote speaker, Ellen M. Hancock, IBM
Senior VP and Group Executive. I had the best seat in the house -- next to the
exit. It wasn't that I didn't want to hear her, but the primary reason I
received approval to attend was for the certification testing, and I wanted to
be sure I could get out quickly and be in line early.
The session started off in grand style, there was a short movie talking about
the future of technology, hosted by none other than Patrick Stewart, A.K.A.
Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek, the Next Generation.
At the end of the movie, he said something to the effect, "I would now like to
introduce you to someone who is helping to pave the way to the next generation
of technology: Ellen M. Hancock."
Pretty neat.
She began by saying that she was happy that everyone got here safely and was
not delayed in Chicago. Her presentation was scripted in conjunction with a
multimedia presentation that would flash pertinent information on screens in
the background. Wally Casey (I hope I spelled his name right) demoed the
Internet product that will be included in the new version of OS/2. I think
that's really going to be a big boost for OS/2. In fact, one reviewer in
InfoWorld or PC Week stated that it would be a bargain just to buy OS/2 for the
relatively inexpensive Internet Connection and excellent GUI front end to the
Internet. Everyone is already making the Internet and the Information
Superhighway synonymous -- that could be a great marketing boost. The average
home PC buyer wants to be on the Information Superhighway, but (NO, despite my
love of puns, I will NOT make one of those stupid "highway" puns) doesn't know
how to get connected. IBM is making it very easy.
I was sitting on pins and needles waiting to get down to the testing area, so I
left a little early to beat the crowd. Unfortunately, the server had crashed
the day before, so everyone who was in the testing room at the time would get a
chance to go first. Others had skipped the keynote address completely and had
already signed up. So I had quite a wait before me.
At that particular hour, there were no conferences that would be particularly
beneficial to me, so I decided to go down and see the exhibits at
Networld-Interop. I was afraid that I would not be able to make any time to
see them.
My first stop was at the Cabletron exhibit. They had a virtual reality
theater. Since I had never experienced virtual reality before, this seemed
like the perfect opportunity, particularly since it was early in the morning
and there was not much of a wait. Our leader told us that it was the largest
virtual reality theater and that it had been featured on CNN.
The "theater" held about 20 seats. On the back of each seat was a helmet that
had a viewing screen and speakers encased within it. When we had all been
briefed, we were instructed to put on the helmets. The virtual reality
"experience" was a trip through one of their hubs. She had encouraged us to
look up, down and to the sides, so I did. It was neat, but there was a lot
more virtual than reality. When our "trip" was over, she said that she always
liked to pick the person who was most creative in trying to view the
experience. I was the winner. That would have been great if I had gotten a
prize, or if I hadn't noticed that an 8 year old boy was the winner at another
session. Hey, I was just trying to get the full experience.
I looked around at a few of the other exhibits, but I have to admit, I was
overwhelmed. This country boy had never seen so many products and vendors at
one place! I wandered around like a bumpkin in a city for about an hour,
before deciding to check on the status of the testing.
The server had crashed again! So the people who had started yesterday when the
server crashed still were not finished with their tests. They were taking no
more sign-ups for testing today. By the time I had gathered this information,
the next session had already started. The one that I had penciled in was "LAN
Netview Management Utilities".
I was not as enthused about this, because we already had the product and it's
fairly easy to use and configure. However, when the presenter said something
about editing the user's CONFIG.SYS, my ears picked up! We were not able to
directly do this! I asked her to elucidate, and was disappointed to find that
her solutions for doing this were no different than ours -- either run a REXX
program to update it, or copy it to a shared drive, edit it, copy it back.
Something I nearly forgot about! It's possible to create an entry in the
SYSLEVEL file for non-IBM products. I've got to look into this further.
Currently, in reporting files that it finds on a user's machine, it will report
the date and time. It's up to the administrator to know what versions those
correspond to. In the third quarter of next year, it will apparently add a
database, so that it will report what version of software, rather than just
date and time. LMU will be shipped with Netview for OS/2. Hmmm, that might
change our purchasing plans.
There is supposed to be a CSD released for LMU at the end of September that
will have some enhanced functionality: User defined security by the
administrator, an Enhanced GUI -- that will allow you to save the options you
have set up. If you want, you can add a bitmap to the background. I did that
for our print server (added a bitmap of the floor plan with the printer icons
placed in the appropriate positions) but boy, did it slow down that window
coming up! I finally disabled the bitmap. Maybe it'll return if Warp brings
it up faster.
Let's see, there is also supposed to be new hardware supported by the Vital
Product Data, the number of characters to alert Netview has been increased from
44 to 100. The scheduler is now multi-threaded.
At noon, I went to check the testing situation again. The server still was not
up. Since my pace had been slowed down, it seemed like a good time to grab
something to eat. I'm trying to fill my eyes and brain with everything that is
available here, so filling my stomach takes on less importance. I certainly
don't want to waste the time to go off-site to find a place to eat, but the
prices are exorbitant here! $7.00 for a personal pan pizza and a soda! And the
state only allows $15.00 per day for meals.
As I was strolling down the hall, I came upon Michelle Wilson, who was speaking
to someone from the One Up Corporation. I busted in on the conversation and we
discussed the Smart program. I recognized him as being one of the winners of
the Lotus SmartSuite on Sunday night. He said he had given it away to someone
else sitting at his table. Dang. I should have sat there! Not only that, but
the lady sitting next to him was the winner of one of the Pentiums! That's
where I should have been sitting!
My next appointment was one for which I had volunteered. The folks in charge
of the testing wanted some feedback on the tests. Well, I always like to get
in my 2Ы worth, so I was ready. I was a little disgruntled with the tests,
primarily because of the situation with the servers, which I knew was beyond
their control, and because I was still shocked that I had failed any sort of
test about OS/2!
If I was disgruntled, the other folks in my group were downright steamed! As
I've mentioned, the tests are geared towards what is being taught by Drake.
Come to find out, I was not the only one who failed. A large number of people
were failing. Opinions were along the same line -- it's a trivia contest; it
should be open book; it should test real-world knowledge, not book-l'arnin'; it
should test knowing where to go for answers. Everyone was ripping the test.
As I heard their arguments, however, I think they were like me -- shocked at
having failed any test about OS/2. The fact of the matter is, I didn't think
the tests were that bad. The certification tests are there to ensure that
there is some sort of standard. If someone is weak in a particular area
because of lack of experience or knowledge, it needs to be exposed. I, for
example, did not know the best configuration for OS/2 1.3 and OS/2 2.x. There
are some folks, I guess, for whom that is a concern, so it's good that this
area of weakness was exposed.
On the other hand, I'm pretty fortunate. I can sit down and read something
like the class notes, and remember a good chunk of what I read after one
sitting -- and it will last for a fairly long period of time. My wife is
always amazed at how quickly I can learn something for a class. On the other
hand, there is a penalty for the peculiar type of memory I have -- "Where did I
put those keys?" "What was that name?" "I was supposed to stop by the
store!?" She's pretty amazed by that, too!
After our feedback session, I approached one of the IBMers and told him that I
was really distraught. I had received permission to come to this because of
the testing offered, and now I was unable to take the tests, because of the
hardware failures! He escorted me back to the testing room, found me a seat,
and told me to go ahead and take as many tests as I could.
Weeeellllll, all right! I took Advanced OS/2 Support, OS/2 Performance and
Tuning, and OS/2 LAN Administration I. I passed Advanced Support. 72% was
needed to pass. That's what I got. I received a 63% on Performance and Tuning
(needed a 73%) and a 57% on LAN Administration (needed a 69%).
I was discouraged. Nearly half the time was gone for the week. I had wanted
to take a total of 9 tests to become an OS/2 Engineer and a LAN Server
Engineer. At this point, I had passed only 2 tests! Had I known in advance
how difficult it was going to be, I would have changed my strategy and studied
before attempting the tests.
Because of my extended testing, I was unable to get back to the hotel at the
time I promised Pam, so I called her and told her I would meet her as she
walked toward the Convention Center.
After we met, we proceeded to the area near the Georgia Dome where the busses
were loading. There was a surprisingly small crowd that went to Six Flags. I
saw Jim Crapenhoft and David Moskowicz, but that was about it. Bob Holmes told
me the next day that he had seen me there, but I had not spotted him. Of
course, I was really impressed by the film stars I met there! That Bugs Bunny
-- what an actor! And the angst shown by Wile E. Coyote -- Tim Robbins would
be envious!
A bunch of Loony Tunes.
The food provided was excellent! We were talking to some of the employees who
asked it how it was, for Six Flags itself provided the buffet, whereas usually
they had it catered in. The deserts were fantastic. My favorites were the
petite-fours and the little cream puffs.
I had the dixieland band play while I took
the picture so that you could see the notes.
Pam is a roller-coaster fanatic, and I am roller-coaster frantic! The last
time I rode a roller-coaster, I was so scared I used language I didn't know I
knew. So, despite her pleading, we rode no rides together. She did ride
something. I think it was called "The Wheel". If it had been warmer, we would
have done Thunder River. I like the water rides. Because we're primarily soft
drinkers, we gave our drink tickets to some folks who were brave enough to get
soaked riding Thunder River in the cool evening.
There was a pretty silly skit about "Bad Bob" returning to kill the sheriff.
My favorite line occurred after Bad Bob spit about 15 feet into a spittoon.
The sheriff commented that that was pretty good. Bob replied, "I was a member
of the Salivation Army." OK, I'm a sucker for a good pun. If that's not an
oxymoron.
Since I was sitting in the front row, Bad Bob threatened to shoot me. With my
shaved head and beard, I suppose I did have unique features which qualified me
as a victim. Now that Fall is here, however, I'm letting my fringe return to
keep my head at least slightly warm.
The skit was followed by more drawings. I didn't win anything, but neither did
Melissa Driver. Why do I remember that name? You had to be present to win.
Her name was drawn. She wasn't there. The prize? Another dual 90 Mhz
Pentium.
We left shortly after the drawing. I was worn out.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5.4. Tuesday, September 13, 1994 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Tuesday, September 13, 1994
I got up early so that I could be in the front of the line for testing. My
morning was pretty straight forward. After signing up, I went to Study Hall to
bone up on the Installing Manual. After only 10 minutes, I was called up. I
had barely cracked the notes, but I guess it was sufficient. A 73% was needed
and I received a 75%.
I signed up again and studied for the Performance and Tuning test. The line
had grown, so I had better than an hour to study. Unfortunately, that was a
pretty popular manual, so I only got to look at it for about half an hour. The
results were exactly the same as the Installing.
I signed up again for the LAN Server Administration. Again, I had better than
an hour to study. The primary reason I had more time was because the server
crashed again. Nothing too serious -- someone tripped over the cord and
unplugged it! Since more people were going for OS/2 Engineer certification, I
had full access to the manual. A 69% was needed and I received a 78%.
I finished all of these tests a little after 1:00 pm. Official pins had just
come in, so I was able to walk away with two pins classifying me as a certified
OS/2 Engineer and a certified LAN Administrator. I took 8 tests, 3 of which I
would not have been able to pass without access to the training manuals. Tests
are $100 each, and classes are nearly $1000. I had the manual for one of the
tests back at work, so I figure it would have cost $2800 to accomplish the same
thing in Kansas City, not counting meals, transportation and hotel bills. The
entire trip to Atlanta, including everything was about $2000. So I figure this
saved the state about $2000. It would have been more if I had not made some
bad judgments. I shouldn't have rented a car in Atlanta, and rather than
driving my car to the airport and paying parking, I should have taken Tiger
Express, which costs about $25. That would have shaved about another $350 off
of the cost. That's what I'll do the next time!
The highly sought after certification pins.
I could have taken some more tests to prepare for the LAN Server Engineer, but
there just was not enough time to complete the certification before it would be
necessary to leave. In addition, I was pretty stressed out by this time. Pam
was getting tired of me coming to the hotel and worrying about those tests!
So, I decided for the remaining 24 hours I would go to conferences and
exhibits!
There was a little area cordoned off for folks attending the Update to relax
and smoke. While I was relaxing during the lunch break, I struck up a
conversation with a fellow from Germany. IBM was going to have something
similar over there, but it was 2000 marks more. Since he worked for Lufthansa
(I think that's how it's spelled), it was cheaper for him to fly over here.
I knew that OS/2 was popular over there, because there is a lot of shareware
that I've seen that's come from there. ZOC and SCHEDULE come to mind, and I
think ZIPME. He said that IBM has struck a deal with a company similar to our
Packard-Bell to preload OS/2. I wish they could strike a deal like that with
Packard-Bell here!
After I left there, I finally ran into Hank Henderson again. I had hoped to
see him at Six Flags, but he was at a Spencer F. Katt party. Drat, I had hoped
to get wind of a Spencer party, just to say that I had been there. Oh well. I
scribbled in that I also got to see Jack Hiatt and Bob Holmes again. I've been
seeing Frank McKenney all over this place!
Speaking of the Katt, this might be a good time to spread my own rumors. Let's
see... I've heard that the Katt himself is really himselves. A group of 5 or 6
writers handle the gossip duties, one of whom is Jim Seymour. There is talk
that a new national LAN Systems User Group may be forming that will be able to
have input to IBM similar to GUIDE or SHARE. The OS2BBS could be undergoing a
change in management and saying bye-bye to BEST. And when OS/2 version 3.0 is
announced in October, a certain captain with a pate similar to my own will be
making an appearance. Make it so.
I felt better about failing tests after talking to Jack Hiatt. As I've
mentioned before, Jack is a general all-around OS/2 guru who answers many
questions on the OS2BBS and the PCC BBS. One particular test, he needed a 72%.
He got a 69%. Took it again. 69%. Took it again. 69%. Took it again. 67%.
I'm not lying when I say you have to know your stuff in all areas. Those tests
are hard.
I went down to the Networld-Interop exhibitions and wandered over to the IBM
exhibit. They were just getting ready to do a demo of LAN Server 4.0, so I
grabbed a chair and a PC and prepared to see what it would do. The
presentation only lasted half an hour, but it was enough to knock my socks off!
Instead of a Public Application folder, there is now a Network Application
folder, which will handle DOS, OS/2 and Windows Applications. The Domain Icon
looks like a little castle. Users, Groups, Network Applications and other
resources can all be created using Drag and Drop. Talk about EASY! Icons can
be associated with a particular Network Application. Almost anything that can
be done on the screen can be done at the command line, and anything that you
can do on the command line can be done on screen. This was not the case with
LAN Server 3.0. Some options could only be done from the command line, and
others could only be done from the Full Screen Interface. In addition, there
is a NETGUI for DOS, that comes up with a very attractive GUI for the DOS
interface. It received Best of Show. I was knocked out. We have already
started rolling out 115 LANs for our MACSS project, but I would really, really
like to be shipping out 4.0 rather than 3.0. On a scale of 1 to 10 for ease of
administration, I'd give Netware a 1, LAN Server 3.0 a 2, and LAN Server 4.0 a
9! WOW!
I hurried from the exhibit hall back upstairs to the conference. I rushed into
LAD/2. There was a lot to like about LAD/2. Earlier I had commented that one
person had said a person needed to be a PhD to do CID. LAD/2 eases the CID
process, as well as DM/2. It's possible to contract with IBM to install and
train LAD/2. It will automatically generate response files for various CID
enabled products. It will generate the CID CMD file, it can customize
desktops.
My concern is that when an update comes out for a product, LAD/2 has to be
updated. They responded that they usually came out with updates for LAD/2
about a month after a product was released. They are encouraging IBM and
Independent Vendors to use Software Installer so that there is a common look
and feel for installation for all products. During the first year, the upgrades
for LAD/2 are free, then it starts to cost to upgrade. LAD/2 is $4995 per
server. Cough Cough. Whoops, I misread a flier. They had the cost for
installing with LAD/2 as $695, but they were talking about people hours,
compared to trying to set up CID or DM/2 by hand. LAD/2 is supposed to be
included with DM/2 in about 18 months. Drat, we're going to be getting DM/2
pretty quickly. To get LAD/2 now or not to get LAD/2 now, that is the
question. Whether 'tis nobler to face the slings and arrows of setting up DM/2
or to use LAD/2 must give us pause.
After the LAD/2 presentation, the day was officially over. All that remained
was the Birds of a Feather sessions. I went down to check it out. Hank was
going to do a presentation on the World Wide Web, but because of technical
problems that he had been battling all week, he was not going to be able to do
a live demo. I felt like a deserter, but I was just so tired, I did not
attend, but headed for the hotel.
Unfortunately, when I got to the hotel, I found there was no rest for the
wicked. Pam wanted to go to the "Underground". Someone had mentioned on the
OS2BBS that it was one of the places to go. It was interesting, in that there
was a streetlamp there with a hole in it, caused by a civil war cannonball.
There were a lot of little shops. We ate at a fish place there, bought a few
souvenirs from the Coke plant across the street, and rode the MARTA back to our
hotel.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5.5. Wednesday, September 14, 1994 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Wednesday, September 14, 1994
I had packed my bags the night before, so I took everything but one bag to the
car. I also took the car keys, so Pam had to check the one bag at the front
desk, since we had to be out by 11:00 a.m. In retrospect, I wish I had spent
another night so that I wouldn't have been so rushed on the last day of the
conference and I possibly would have had a chance to see a little bit more of
Atlanta.
I went back to the convention center, and as my first stop, I returned an
evaluation form. They were bribing folks to return them by offering a
commemorative t-shirt. It worked. I returned mine! While I was standing in
line, I heard something of a tip. Someone was saying that if he gets hung up
and can't CTRL+ALT+DEL, he'll do a CTRL+ALT+NUMLOCK+NUMLOCK. When it prompts
for the Dump diskette, he'll do a CTRL+ALT+DEL. It still leaves the disk
dirty, but it saves the power hit.
After waffling among "Customizing and Using the WorkPlace Shell", "LAN
Distance", and "Lotus OS/2 Development Directions" I finally decided to go to
the "LAN Server Administration Hands On Lab". I was disappointed. I picked up
a few more things which I'll discuss shortly, but the technical knowledge of
the presenter was minimal. I think I had more information imparted in the half
hour I spent at the exhibit than in the hour and fifteen minutes spent in the
lab. Unfortunately, I didn't have an evaluation form.
They were also very paranoid. I wanted to check out the new configuration tool
that is included in LAN Server 4.0. As soon as I brought it up, someone came
running up to dissuade me from looking at it, since it was partially disabled.
Well heck, can't I even get an idea of what it'll look like?
One tool that I learned about was that in the new version there will be a
productivity aid that will let you convert the DCDB to a DB2/2 database, make
changes from the DB2/2 database, and import it back to the DCDB. I'm not
exactly sure of the advantage of this, unless there is something that could be
done programmatically against the database easier than using the other tools
provided.
I also found out that the Chess game can be played across the network. It's too
bad I don't care for chess. How about a scrabble game?
Something else that I saw (totally unrelated), was that when they were at an
OS/2 prompt, they'd issue "START EPM", so that they would still have the
command prompt. Now I knew you could do that, and I had seen someone else
doing it recently, but it's just not a habit I had formed until after this
trip.
On the whole, I was really disappointed with this session. Perhaps I would not
have been if I had not seen the exhibit.
While I was taking a break, someone came up to me and saw my certification
pins, which I had proudly attached to my shirt. "I have new respect for you,"
he said. "I've had to take one test three times now." I'll admit: I puffed
up.
My next session was "Avoiding Common Problems and Problem Determination with
CM/2". It was awfully informative, but I was freezing to death. Everything
has been cold in here. Before I left, I wanted to pack a Mid-Missouri OS/2
User Group sweatshirt. It is the coolest OS/2 sweatshirt I've seen, custom
made for us. The OS/2 logo is airbrushed on the front, with 2.1 airbrushed
underneath. On the back is the name of our user group done in green with black
shading. I like showing it off, but I figured, "A sweatshirt, in Atlanta? No
way!" In the Conference Center it felt more like Alaska than Atlanta.
Back to CM/2. I've written and re-written this trying to make it interesting.
But I can't. This stuff is dry, I'm just going to list every sentence in my
notes. That way, if you're not interested, you can just skip over the list.
o With VTAM 4.2, it is possible to do asynch dial-in with CM/2 version 1.11.
o The Message Reference and Problem Determination Guide are not installed by
default.
o If the wrong Token-Ring address is given, check the Message Log Formatter.
o Whenever you go into the Message Log Formatter, there is always an ominous
message: "Warning -- Data May be Lost". I've never lost any data, but
o I always figured it was a matter of time. I was relieved to find out that
message is absolutely meaningless and they want to get it removed.
o If Alert=Yes in the Message Formatter, there will always be a dump.
o The Message Console is like the Netview console. It is sometimes useful for
CMVERIFY, to ensure everything is going OK.
o Routing alerts, refer to chart.
o PMDSPLAY displays the active configuration. Oh, Oh. Bad handwriting. It
either says "Display will slow everything" or "Display will show everything".
o Useful for testing command line utils.
o CMEMUL is on the Productivity Aids Diskette and will start and stop 3270 and
5250 sessions.
o ACSTRACE starts trace services.
o CMPD gets everything to send to support.
o ACS2501 error usually means to check the Logical Links display.
Whew, wasn't that interesting? If you're not into CM/2 -- WAKE UP!!
After that class, it was time to break until 1:00 pm. At 1:00 pm, there was
only one conference that looked interesting: The Lotus Smart Suite for OS/2.
Since Pam had been booted from the hotel at 11:00 a.m. (and stay out!!), I had
made arrangements with someone who was not able to come to the conference at
all today to leave me her badge last night. That way Pam could be admitted to
see all of the Networld-Interop exhibits.
The identification cards were really neat. They all looked something like a
credit card, so if vendors wanted to put you on their mailing list, they just
ran it through a scanner or made an impression. Much easier than business
cards. We threatened our benefactor by telling her that Pam was going to go
from booth to booth letting vendors run her badge! By November she would be
flooded with junk mail!
At this point, my notes stopped. So everything from this point on is strictly
from memory. So anyway, I told Lou Gerstner, "Lou, I don't care how much you
offer me, I like working for the state." Oh, oh! I could get into trouble
relying on my memory.
As I mentioned earlier, there were so many exhibits, it was overwhelming. Pam
wanted to stop at almost every exhibit, and I wanted to hurry on to see the
exhibits I had not yet seen. Somewhere there was an exhibit with folks dressed
up like Star Trek characters. I never did find it.
We stopped longest at the Lotus booth. We decided to see the Lotus Organizer
presentation, although we accidently sat down at first in the section that was
demonstrating Notes Express. I wish in retrospect that we had stayed there.
Not only because they were giving away a copy of Notes Express to everyone who
sat through the demo, but because it was over about 10 minutes before our
presentation and was probably more interesting. Oh well.
Shortly after that, it was time to head for the airport. We arrived in plenty
of time, returned the rental car with no problem, although there was quite a
line of returning cars, and flew out on time.
We arrived at KCI at about 7:30 p.m., and made it back to Jefferson City about
midnight.
All in all, a successful, informative and tiring trip!
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Advertisements ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Advertisements
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. Office Solutions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Office Solutions
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.2. A Quick Tour of Mosaic ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
A Quick Tour of Mosaic
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.3. IBM and Lotus Present ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
IBM and Lotus Present
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Next MMOUG Meeting ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Next MMOUG Meeting
Next month's MMOUG meeting will be held in Columbia on Wednesday, October 19, 4
pm at:
Boone County Electrical Cooperative
1414 Range Line
Columbia, MO 65101
From Jefferson City:
Take Highway 63 North to Interstate 70. Go West on I-70 to the Range Line
Exit. Go South on Range Line less than a block. Boone County Electrical
Cooperative is the first building past the restaurant.
N
I-70 W--|--E
__________________________________________________S_________________
|P |R H|
|R Boone Co. Electical Coop. X |A W|
|O |N Y|
|V |G |
|I |E 6|
|D | 3|
|E |L |
|N |I |
|C |N |
|E |E |
We will have a representative from Describe show us the latest and greatest
from version 5.0 of their award-winning word processor.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. MMOUG Registration Form ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Name:_____________________________________ Nickname:_____________________
Last Name, First Initial
Company Name:_____________________________
Address:___________________________________ Work Phone:___________________
___________________________________ Home Phone:__________________
City:_________________________ State:_______ Zip Code:_____________________
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Questionnaire
Your Operating System:
___ DOS ___ OS/2 ___ WINDOWS ___ UNIX ___ OTHER __________________
Your Interest in Computers Include (Check all that apply):
___ Education ___ Business ___ Entertainment ___ OTHER ________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Annual membership fee for the Mid Missouri OS/2 Users Group is $30.00 US.