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Copyright information "IBM OS/2 Warp 1995 TechNotes" Copyright IBM Corp. 1996. All rights reserved. Information current as of December 31, 1995 Author Information Chris Novak is a Senior Technical Development Manager with IBM in Chicago. A Certified OS/2 Warp Engineer, he works with IBM Software Channel customers. TechNotes Article #1 (February 1995) Welcome to TechNotes. This collection will provide you with some useful information on how to get more out of OS/2 Warp and IBM's BonusPak. Each collection will have a major theme (this month's is the "Internet Connection for OS/2"), but I also intend to publish other useful notes and comments as appropriate. 1) Buyer's of OS/2 Warp are entitled to 60 days free support, but that support is NOT toll-free. If you call IBM's 1-800-992-4777 support number and navigate through the menus, you'll be told the 'Getting Started' support number is 1-407-994-5544. Save yourself some time, and call it directly if you need assistance. 2) If you're a user of BonusPak's HyperACCESS Lite, there is an update to this program which fixes some problems related to modems not initializing properly. Use the Hilgraeve BBS icon included in HyperACCESS Lite's phone book. 3) IBM's Internet WebExplorer is now available. If it didn't ship with your copy of BonusPak, you can download it by using the Internet Connection's "Retrieve Software Updates" option, or you can get it via FTP-PM it from "ftp://ftp.ibm.net/pub/webexplorer". 4) Your local bookstore's "Computer" book section should have LOTS of books about using the Internet. Since OS/2 Warp makes Internet 'surfers' out of 'newbies' (slang for experienced users and new users, respectively), you can IGNORE all of the sections on UNIX commands, and flip to the "Interesting Places to Visit" section. Concentrate on World-Wide-Web, Gopher, and FTP resources, and buy the book(s) which most appeal to you there. 5) You can use the IBM Internet Connection even if you only have a 2400bps modem. Just restrict yourself to FTP (just like downloading software from a BBS) and Gopher (text documents only!). An average page of text is about 3,000 characters, which you should receive in 10-15 seconds at 2400bps. However, if you plan on accessing Gopher picture files (like *.GIF), or using the IBM WebExplorer, the files sent to your computer are MUCH LARGER! For example, a full-screen (640x480) PC image at 256 color resolution is over 300,000 characters (100 times the text page above!). While you might wait 10-15 seconds for a text page, your wait for an image could be 1,000-1,500 seconds (or 16-24 minutes!). Invest in at least a 14.4 modem to use the IBM WebExplorer, and you might want to consider 28.8 versions now becoming available (make sure your Internet Service provider offers 28.8 access!). 14.4 and 28.8 are 6x and 12x faster (respectively) than a 2400bps modem, and usually come with full fax send/receive functions as well. 6) How come I didn't get MOSAIC with the Internet Connection software in OS/2 Warp? I hear that it's a "must-have" for Internet users! MOSAIC is the name of a program which is used to access the Internet's World-Wide-Web. Your tool for accessing the Web is IBM's WebExplorer (see Tip #3 above for how to get it free), which is BETTER than the MOSAIC available today. How is it better? Well: a) It allows you to view large documents WHILE THEY'RE BEING RECEIVED! You can read all the text while the images are still being downloaded. Just use the mouse scroll bars on the right side of the screen, or your PgUp/PgDn keys to move through the Web document's text (you can go back and view the fancy pictures and icons later). b) It's a 32-bit OS/2 application, so while a large document/picture is being downloaded to your PC, you can minimize it the WebExplorer, and work at something else on your PC (even another copy of WebExplorer -- see Tip #7 below!). c) If you MUST have MOSAIC, use the WebExplorer to contact NCSA's Web Server at "http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu" for more information on compatibility with OS/2 Warp, and how to get it. 7) A SLIP connection to the Internet (like the one provided by the IBM Global Network) is multi-tasking, which means you can run multiple Internet programs to different Internet resources AT THE SAME TIME! For example, while you're using "Retrieve Software Updates" to get the latest Internet Connection capabilities, you might also use the WebExplorer to access IBM's "home page" (http://WWW.IBM.COM), a second copy of the WebExplorer to peruse the Library of Congress (http://LCWEB.LOC.GOV), and the Gopher to read a copy of Business Week on-line! (gopher.enews.com/business/pubs/business/bw). All at the same time! This multi-tasking capability also applies to ANY applications which use your Internet connection, such as UltiMail Lite, FTP-PM, Telnet, Retrieve Software Updates, NewsReader/2, and other applications (see Tip #10 below). WARNING: Such multi-tasking use is liable to make your 14.4 modem appear to be slower than 2400bps! If you like doing multiple Internet functions at the same time, consider a 28.8 modem to keep things moving (as soon as your service provider offers 28.8 support). 8) You have different Internet Connection programs to help you do different things. For example, Gopher finds information and pictures, FTP transfers files to and from your computer, and the WebExplorer gives you multimedia (audio/video) hypertext (fancy term for built-in footnotes and references) access to all kinds of organizations on the Web. DID YOU KNOW that the WebExplorer can also access Gopher information AND transfer files from FTP sites? It's true! The 'secret' is in defining the Web URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), and they define the type of Internet service at the address which follows. Example (URL is in bold): http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/warp.html (IBM OS/2 Warp page) means World-Wide-Web type service. Requires WebExplorer or MOSAIC ftp://ftp-os2.cdrom.com (Hobbes OS/2 Shareware archives) means File Transfer Protocol service. Use FTP-PM or WebExplorer. (FTP-PM doesn't understand URLs. To use a URL address with ftp, DROP the URL prefix "ftp://" and just use "ftp-os2.cdrom.com". gopher://index.almaden.ibm.com/1os2dsn (IBM PSP Dev. Support) means Gopher service. Use Gopher or WebExplorer. file:///d:\tcpip\tmp\webmap.htm (Web map from your last session) means a local file on your PC (yes, this one has 3 slashes, not 2). 9) So why would you want to use "file:///"? Well, WebExplorer allows you to save World-Wide-Web documents to your disk. It even stores the last Web map you used in \tcpip\tmp\webmap.htm. You can specify this path (add your drive letter where TCP/IP is installed) in WebExplorer's URL field, or drag and drop any *.HTM file onto the WebExplorer icon. To make it even easier, modify the WebExplorer's SETTINGS - ASSOCIATION to add *.HTM. Now you can double-click directly on any HTM file on your system. 10) Another application which can operate across the Internet is BonusPak's Person to Person/2 (P2P/2) desktop conferencing. P2P/2 must be configured with TCP/IP 'enabled' and "Slow-but effective" compression selected. AFTER your Internet "SLIP" connection has been started, bring up the P2P/2 Call Manager. Call Manager status should be "NO CALLS" instead of "INACTIVE", indicating that the TCP/IP Internet connection has been established. All each P2P/2 system needs now is the IP address of the other to complete the connection. That information is established dynamically at the start of each Internet session (changes each time), and can be found by maximizing the Internet Dialer, and scrolling down to find the line which says: "nnn.nn.nnn.nnn is your IP address". This (for example: 129.37.124.135) is the address that should be entered into the P2P Address OF THE OTHER P2P/2 SYSTEM (and vice versa). Now, you're ready to initiate contact with the other P2P/2 system. Allow 5-20 seconds for it to be completed, and you're ready to use any of the P2P/2 functions across the Internet. You should also be able to use WebExplorer, Gopher, FTP-PM, and UltiMail Lite at the same time! 11) P2P/2 is missing one small piece from the original, complete IBM application. Relax, IBM isn't asking you to pay an upgrade fee to get it, it was only left out because of BonusPak diskette space, even with those 1.7MB XDF (eXtended Diskette Format) diskette images!. You can get your free copy of P2P/2's own File Transfer capability via CompuServe (GO IBMP2P, Library 2, file P2P-FT.ZIP) or from the Internet via "FTP.HURSLEY.IBM.COM/PUB/P2P/P2P-FT.ZIP" (to practice Tip #8 above, try getting this by using the WebExplorer instead of FTP-PM, and don't forget to add an FTP's URL ("ftp://") to the FTP address for WebExplorer). 12) Hooked on the Internet and you'd like to reduce your costs? Use the WebExplorer to checkout IBM's new pricing plan (http://WWW.IBM.NET) for volume users. Instead of $12.95/month for 6 hours and $6 for each additional hour, as of 1/23/95, you'll have an additional plan choice of $29.95/month for 30 hours and $3 for each additional hour. That's a 50% savings, and you still get local call access in many cities around the world. With either plan, 800# access costs $6 per hour additional for ALL hours used. If you never travel outside your local calling area, a local service provider might be less expensive yet. 13) Now that you're Warp'ed, are you looking for some good OS/2 Shareware and Freeware? Look no further than FTP-PM (or WebExplorer), and access "ftp-os2.cdrom.com", the Hobbes Internet OS/2 Archive. What, there's so much there you don't want to spend all your time downloading? Well, the folks who run the OS/2 Archive will sell you a CD-ROM with ALL of it at a reasonable price. What, you don't have a CD-ROM drive? Well, you can spend all your Internet hours downloading the stuff . . . Note: FTP-PM only requires the address as listed above. If you use the WebExplorer, you must expand the address to include the URL (see Tip #8 above) so WebExplorer knows what type of service it is accessing. 14) Other interesting Web sites to visit might include the White House at http://www.whitehouse.gov. See photos of Jupiter after Comet Shoemaker-Levy impacted at "http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/sl9.html". Get your young 'uns hooked on the Internet by showing them Barney's Page at "http://www.galcit.caltech.edu/~ta/barney/barney.html" (with your kids as heavy Internet users, consider a second phone line, a 28.8 modem, and the alternate pricing plans in Tip #12 above!). 15) As you explore the World-Wide-Web, if you find an interesting "page", don't forget to mouse-click the 'thumbs-up' button on the WebExplorer's button bar. This will 'bookmark' where you are, so you can come back another time (Gopher has a similar facility). If you don't, be prepared for frustration, as the Internet is VERY BIG, and it can be difficult to find your way back another time. Bookmarking will take you directly there in a future session, just use the WebExplorer's "Quicklist" pulldown menu to display all of your bookmarks. You can also use the Web Map icon, which maintains your entire Quicklist as well as all the places you've visited in the current session. If your Quicklist grows too large, you can edit it (carefully!) by editing the Quicklist section of \TCPIP\ETC\EXPLORE.INI. Each entry has two lines, use your favorite ASCII editor to delete, cut, and paste to your heart's content (wouldn't be a bad idea to backup this file before editing!). 16) Want to save time when using the WebExplorer? By default, the IBM " home page" (WWW.IBM.COM) is loaded each time the WebExplorer starts. You can change this to be any other home page, or none at all.. To disable this, use WebExplorer's "Configure" pull-down, select "Servers", and make sure that the "Load on Startup" box is NOT checked (or change the Home Document to be another of your choosing). Now, WebExplorer will come up blank, and you can use your Quicklist pulldown to select which of your bookmarks you wish to access first. If you change your 'home page' to be "file:///d:\tcpip\tmp\webmap.htm", you'll get the Web map from your last WebExplorer session ( which should include your Quicklist as well). 17) Did you know there are two flavors of OS/2 Warp? Both let you run all your DOS applications as well as OS/2 applications. The difference is in how Windows applications are supported. "OS/2 Warp" requires that a copy of Microsoft Windows (or Windows for Workgroups) already be installed on your machine so that it can reuse this code to operate Windows applications on your newly Warp'ed desktop. "OS/2 Warp with WINOS2" contains an IBM version of Windows (we call it WIN-OS/2), so it can be installed on PCs which only have DOS (or no operating system at all, since OS/2 Warp DOES NOT REQUIRE DOS! Once installed, either system looks identical. You could use OS/2's SYSLEVEL command, but an easier way is to run the Windows Program Manager, and select the HELP - ABOUT pulldown menu. This will tell you if you have Windows or WIN-OS/2. Both versions include the complete set of BonusPak applications. 18) Although IBM has also announced future plans for an "OS/2 Warp LAN Client", that doesn't mean that today's "OS/2 Warp" (with or without WIN-OS/2) can't operate on a LAN! The LAN Client version merely will have a number of popular LAN Client programs (Netware, IBM LAN Server, etc.) packaged with OS/2 Warp. If you want to add the Netware Requester for OS/2 to an OS/2 Warp system today, go right ahead! 19) Resellers who are IBM BESTeam members will find all of the files mentioned in this article on the second edition of their BESTeam OS/2 & LAN Server CD-ROM (release date 2/28/95). Credits Some of this information was contributed by Joel Kruse, IBM Dallas. TechNotes Article #2 (March 1995) Well, it's time for some more useful bits of information about OS/2 Warp. Hopefully there's something in here for everyone. Keep those electronic cards and letters coming! 1) As mentioned last time (Volume 1/Issue 1, Tip #17), there are two 'flavors' of OS/2 Warp. The one with the RED spine on the box requires Windows (or W4W) 3.1x to run Windows applications on OS/2 Warp. And the flavor with the BLUE spine on the box contains everything you need to run DOS, Windows, and OS/2 applications. BOTH varieties also include the capability of running WIN32s applications! 2) Some interesting news for you OEMs who resell Computer System Units under your own logo: in addition to single-unit OS/2 Warp shrink-wrap, IBM now offers OS/2 WARP Version 3 MultiPaks. Announced to IBM's Authorized Distributors on December 20, 1994, these are a less-costly means of pre-loading OS/2 Warp onto systems you ship. Each Preload MultiPak contains everything you need to preload five computer system units, including the media and concise users guide. The OS/2 offering also includes end-user service free from IBM for 60 days. Please ask your favorite distributor about pricing and availability. IBM part number 83G8673 is for OS/2 Warp (RED spine) Preload MultiPak (you'll also need to pre-load DOS and Windows for Windows application support). 83G8713 is for OS/2 Warp w/ WINOS2 (BLUE spine) Preload MultiPak (you don't need to pre-load anything else, since this product contains DOS emulation and Windows (WINOS2) application support, along with OS/2 and the BonusPak). IBM also offers PC DOS Version 7 MultiPaks featuring its new PC-DOS 7, that provides more memory, space, performance and value than MS-DOS 6.22. Announced February 28, 1995, PC DOS 7 includes Stacker 4.0 disk compression for DOS and Windows, IBM AntiVirus for DOS and Windows, extensive on-line documentation, REXX programming language support, the ability to load DOS device drivers from a batch (*.BAT) file, and much much more! Order IBM part number 83G9318 for the PC DOS Version 7 Preload MultiPak (with media), and 83G9317 for the PC DOS Version 7 Distribution MultiPak (without media). 3) Artisoft has shipped LANtastic for OS/2, giving OS/2 Warp users the ability to share information with other LANtastic or Windows for Workgroups peers. Contact Artisoft at 1-800-846-9726 for more information. 4) Stac Electronics has shipped Stacker 4.0 for OS/2 and DOS. This product will convert existing DoubleSpace, DriveSpace, and SuperStor/DS compressed drives into Stacker drives compatible with OS/2 Warp. Contact Stac at 619- 431-7474 for more information. 5) Some folks are hesitant about installing a new operating system on a production machine, for fear that something will happen to take that machine out of production. IBM designed OS/2 Warp's dual-boot with you in mind. Dual-Boot means that while OS/2 Warp has been added to your system, your original DOS/Windows environment has been completely preserved! For you techies, this means that OS/2 Warp has saved your DOS hidden files and the disk boot sector which points to them, along with CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT in the \OS2\SYSTEM directory. Inside the Command Prompts folder, you'll find a Dual-Boot icon which will restore these files (while saving the OS/2 Warp counterparts), and boot your machine exactly as it was prior to installing OS/2 Warp (with the exception of the 40-50MB of disk space OS/2 Warp requires). New users find this to be quite a relief, as they can switch back to the old environment while they're still getting used to the new one (and then switch back again to OS/2 Warp as desired). Dual-boot should be standard equipment with EVERY operating system upgrade! 6) If your OS/2 Warp system should ever crash due to a power loss, or inadvertent CTRL-ALT-DEL, the default is for the system to not only start back up again, but also to re-start any applications which were running at the time of the crash. Sometimes, however, OS/2 Warp re-creates this a little too perfectly, since when you Dual-Boot back from DOS to OS/2 Warp, one of the applications re-started is a Dual-Boot from OS/2 Warp to DOS! By adding the following to OS/2 Warp's CONFIG.SYS file: SET RESTARTOBJECTS=STARTUPFOLDERSONLY, OS/2 Warp will NOT restart any running applications unless they are specified in the system's STARTUP folder group. 7) Should anything really bad happen to your working OS/2 Warp system, such as a corrupted system file, or a bad display device driver, OS/2 Warp allows you to easily recover to a prior, stable system. When OS/2 Warp first starts up, in the upper left corner of your display you'll see a white block and "OS/2" displayed. While this is being displayed, press the ALT-F1 keys, and you'll be taken to a menu allowing you to choose a previous configuration or display driver known to be good. 8) Per Tip #7 above, if you press ALT-F2 while the 'white block' and "OS/2" are displayed, OS/2 Warp will display the names of all the device drivers being loaded while booting. This can be helpful in diagnosing drivers which may be causing problems, or which are not being loaded properly. NOTE: The 'white block' "OS/2" will display very quickly on faster systems, so be ready to press ALT-Fx just after your system beeps at boot time. 9) OS/2 Warp is designed to be a very flexible and open system in which users have the complete ability to change whatever suits them. Sometimes, however, you may not want users to change much (for example store demo machines, or where several users share one system). Well, there's an UNDOCUMENTED parameter in OS/2 Warp which allows you to restrict all pop-up menu options except Open and Help. Add: SET MENUSTYLE=SHORT to your CONFIG.SYS file to implement this. 10) OS/2 Warp has some very good on-line documentation available with application compatibility tips and other 'how-to' information. In addition to this, there are (IMHO) two other excellent (and on-line and FREE!) compilations of information about OS/2 available. Tim Sipples (now of IBM) has just released an updated OS/2 FAQ file (FAQ is Internetese for Frequently Asked Questions) for OS/2 Warp. The other good reference is OS/2 Tricks by Melissa Woo of the Champaign-Urbana OS/2 Users Group. Well worth the download time! (see Tip #11 for details). 11) IBM offers a BBS with lots of OS/2 drivers, fixes, files, and other good stuff at 1-919-517-0001. It's also accessible via the Internet at FTP.PCCO.IBM.COM (for WebExplorer users, that's ftp://FTP.PCCO.IBM.COM). That means if you have Internet access, you can get to our BBS via a LOCAL phone call! The on-line books referenced in Tip #10 are available as WARPFAQ.INF and TRICKS4.ZIP in /pub/os2_text_files. 12) In addition to #11, there's also WARPTIPS.ZIP which contains OS/2 Warp installation tips and tricks, along with the README files for the product. OS2AWARD.ZIP contains a list of awards IBM's OS/2 products have received, along with press clippings and other comments. Retrieve from the FTP (BBS) directory mentioned in Tip #11. 13) Internet users whose service provider supported PPP instead of SLIP have had a problem until recently: PPP service was not yet available in the RED spine Warp for Windows box, and they couldn't use "Retrieve Software Updates" to download the PPP gamma (now gold) software. This suPPPort (!) was declared gold in January, and is shipped as part of (BLUE spine) OS/2 Warp w/WINOS2 (along with WebExplorer) in the refreshed Internet Access Kit. Users who need it can either download it via the IAK's "Retrieve Software Updates" option, or use FTP to access: "FTP.IBM.NET", directory /pub/ppp, and download PPP.ZIP and README.PPP. NOTE: PPP support may be listed as 'gamma', but has been declared 'gold'; the on-line text hasn't been updated yet. 14) If you're interested in helping IBM spread the word about OS/2 Warp via user group presentations, you might check out the Team OS/2 newsletters also available (per Tip #11, as TNEWxx.ZIP). Or, send e-mail to IBM's User Group Support organization at IBMPCUG@VNET.IBM.COM. 15) Lots of folks like IBM's OS/2 Warp TV ad campaign. Now these commercials are available for you to use in demonstrating OS/2 Warp's multimedia capabilities. You'll need PKUNZIP (or equivalent) to decompress the files (size before compression was about 5MB). There are 18 commercials available IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES (yes, this includes the CZECH nuns!). Use the Internet Connection's WebExplorer for address "gopher://www.austin.ibm.com/PSPINFO". Or you can use Gopher to access "OS2INFO.AUSTIN.IBM.COM" and go to directory "/OS2/OS2_AVI/OS2_AVI.70". 16) Finally, a tip (especially for those with High Performance File System drives): do yourself a favor and run Shutdown instead of just turning your system off or pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL. Shutdown ensures that all applications with open files (including ones you may have forgotten were open and active) are closed and completed safely. Credits Thanks to David Barnes, Mary Cipriani, Karl Lawall, and Tim Sipples (all with IBM) for some of the material included in this column. TechNotes Article #3 (April/May 1995) Hello again. This article's focus is the BonusPak which comes free with each copy of OS/2 Warp. I think you'll find some valuable information here. If you have any additional BonusPak tips, please send them in (address to follow). I strive to have at least one useful tip for everyone in these articles. If you're not finding anything of value, please let me know. A collection of all TechNotes articles is available from IBM BBS (address to follow). 1) IBM has released FixPack5 for OS/2 Warp. This supersedes FixPacks 1 and 3, and contains a total of 52 fixes for OS/2 Warp for Windows. (FYI, FixPack5 does NOT include BonusPak updates, such as CompuServe Information Manager, HyperAccess Lite, and WebExplorer). FixPack5 is now available on-line for downloading at your convenience. It consists of three 3.5" 1.44MB diskette images, and can be obtained from CompuServe (GO IBMSERV), IBM's PCC BBS (Public Area), from the Internet (via Anonymous FTP from "software.watson.ibm.com", directory "/pub/os2"), and from Prodigy and 'America On Line'. To apply any FixPack (this is the third released), you'll also need the following files: WKICKER.ZIP (which contains two additional 'boot' diskette images to prepare your system for service), and LDF.COM (which contains the utility for unpacking the diskette image files onto diskettes for use). BESTeam members will find the WKICKER.ZIP diskette images, as well as the LDF diskette utility (LOADDSKF.EXE) in the \FIXES and \BESTINST directories of their 2nd Edition OS/2 & LAN Server CD-ROM. 2) Previous versions of OS/2 contained limited-function "applets". Many of these applets have been replaced by BonusPak programs which are full-function 32-bit OS/2 applications. Some offer upgrades to "professional" versions with added function, but all offer many capabilities immediately useful to OS/2 Warp users. Also, whereas the applets (such as Seek and Scan and PM Terminal) were considered "as is" (regarding defects), BonusPak applications are fully defect-supported. Any remaining applets (not replaced by a BonusPak application) are still "as is". 3) OS/2 Warp supports drag and drop printing and faxing of plain text and printer specific (eg. Postscript) files. Many 32-bit OS/2 applications (such as BonusPak's IBM Works, OS/2 Warp's Enhanced Editor, and DeScribe word processing) also support drag and drop printing/faxing of files created by these applications. If after dragging and dropping you get a prompt asking if the file is "Plain Text or Printer Specific", that application doesn't support drag 'n drop faxing or printing. The exceptions are text editor files (for which you should check "Plain Text") or PostScript files (dropped onto a PostScript printer object for which you should check "Printer specific"). FxPrint (from FAXWorks) emulates a 24-wire dot-matrix printer (IBM Proprinter X24e), and cannot understand PostScript files. For applications which don't support drag/drop printing/faxing (including all Windows 3.1 apps), just "print" to the fax/modem (default installed as LPT3:). NOTE: Upgrading to FaxWorks Pro will gain you a number of additional features including HP LaserJet PCL emulation, OCR (FAX image to ASCII text), Fax distribution lists and more. Upgrades cost $49.95, call SofNet at 1-800-370-8965 for information. 4) BonusPak's IBM Works applications are highly integrated for drag and drop operations. When sending a fax, you can use the phone directory of FaxWorks to select one or more recipients to send to. If you wish to FAX output from one of the IBM Works applications (word processing, spreadsheet, database, report writer, etc.), you can drag/drop one or more entries from the BonusPak PIM (Personal Information Manager) Address/Phone Book (FAX phone numbers are identified with "FAX:") onto the IBM Works file icon (not the open file, sorry), and then drag/drop the 'addressed' icon (it'll now have a little postcard icon attached to the original) onto the FAX printer object for automatic faxing without further intervention. To view the "attached data", display the "settings" of the IBM Works data object. Make sure the "action on drop" button is set to "none", otherwise the file will "open" or "print" when dropping PIM address book information onto it. 5) If you're having a hard time figuring out how to do certain things in IBM Works, there are a couple of resources you can use for information. First, there's online help (F1) within each IBM Works app which can answer many questions. Second, is a Works ReadMe document which contains a summary of a number of features of the product. If these aren't sufficient, there are two printed guides about the previous version of the product (which was sold only outside of the US). These are very inexpensive (about $8 for the pair) and can be ordered from IBM by calling 1-800-879-2755. Order Part Numbers 93G7202 and 93G7203, or IBM Publication Numbers S93G-7202 and S93G-7203 to get the "IBM Works Installing and Learning Guide" and the "IBM Works User's Guide". These books are written in U.K. English, and were written for both the OS/2 and Windows version of IBM Works Classic. 6) One of the greatest strengths of the IBM Works applications, is the ability to exchange data with their office suite cousins. Here is a summary of the different file formats which can be exchanged with various IBM Works applications. Text files which can be imported into the IBM Works Word Processor and Database include: DOC (Word for Windows 1.x/2.x), TXT (plain ASCII text), LWP (IBM Works Word Processor), WP5 (WordPerfect for DOS and Windows 5.x), RTF (Microsoft Rich Text Format), WPD (WordPerfect for DOS and Windows 6.0), and SAM (AMI Pro for Windows 1.x/2.0/3.0). Picture files which can be imported into the IBM Works Word Processor, Chart, and Database include: BMP (Both Windows & OS/2 bitmaps), MAC (MacPaint), CGM (Computer Graphics Metafiles), MET (OS/2 Metafile), CLP (Windows clipboard bitmap), MSP (Microsoft Paint), DRW (Micrografx Designer), PCT (Macintosh PICT), DXF (AutoCAD), PCX (Z-Soft PC Paintbrush), EPS (Encapsulated PostScript), PIC (IBM Storyboard), GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), PIC (Micrografx Draw), GRF (Micrografx Charisma), PIF (IBM Picture Interchange Format), HGL (HP Graphics Language), TIF (Tagged Image File Format), IMG (GEM Bitmap), and WMF (Windows Metafile). Database files which can be exchanged to/from the IBM Works Database include: CSV (Comma Separated Values), DBF (dBASE IV), LDB (IBM Works database content), LDF (IBM Works database format), TSV (Tab Separated Values), and DEL (IBM DB2/2 Delimited files.) Files which can be exchanged to/from the IBM Works Spreadsheet include: CSV (Comma Separated Values), LSS (IBM Works spreadsheet), TSV (Tab Separated Values), WKS (Lotus 1-2-3 1A), WK1 (Lotus 1-2-3 2.x). In addition, XLS (MS Excel 1.0, 2.0) can be imported. You won't find an "Export" option in the Files menus. Instead, choose "Save As", and select the file type here. All files created with PM Chart (OS/2 2.x applet) are saved in either .DRW or .GRF format, and so can be easily imported into IBM Works applications. By the way, altho the manuals say that 32KB is the largest file which can be pasted into the database module, bitmaps as large as 787KB (1024x768x256 colors) have been successfully pasted into all three programs. Even the dimensions of the image may not be a serious problem, as the picture borders can be dragged to the appropriate size and shape once dropped onto the document, chart, or database. 7) IBM Works (and the other OS/2 Warp BonusPak applications) are not installed via "Selective Install" (in the System Setup folder). BonusPak has it's own INSTALL program on the BonusPak CD-ROM. Look in the subdirectory which corresponds to your language version of the BonusPak (US = U.S.-English, BR = Brazil, CF = Canadian French, DK = Denmark, FR = France, GR = Germany, IT = Italy, LA = Latin America, NL = Netherlands, NO = Norway, PO = Portugal, SP = Spain, SU = Finland, SV = Sweden, UK = United Kingdom), and execute the INSTALL program from there. 8) If you accidentally delete the IBM Works folder, you don't have to reinstall IBM Works to recreate it. Just run the IBMWDESK.CMD command from the \IBMWORKS directory, and you'll be back in business. If you really want to delete IBM Works, use the BonusPak INSTALL program's "Uninstall" feature to remove all traces (including program templates) of the application, and the cancel out of the BonusPak Installation program. 9) If when starting IBM Works you get a TRAP error in PMMERGE.DLL, you've probably accidentally deleted a font called MARKSYM (PFB & OFM). Without this font, IBM Works will not open. Either restore the font from backup (and then reinstall via the Font Palette in System Setup), or reinstall IBM Works to fix the problem. Credits Much of the above information comes from Mark Chapman's PS Assistant, the OS/2 Warp BonusPak Q&A section. The complete PS Assistant (updated about every two weeks), as well as the on-line collection of these TechNotes can be downloaded from IBM's BBS. TechNotes Article #4 (June 1995) Hello again. LOTS of interesting items and announcements to write about, and I hope everyone finds at least one item of value here (if you don't, send me a note!). 1) If you've never used IBM's Faxback service and/or haven't yet seen an announcement letter or spec sheet on IBM's new "OS/2 Warp Connect" product, now's a good time to try it. Call 1-800-IBM-4FAX (that's 1-800-426-4329) and request document number 295199. Or, you can hop on the Internet and use a web browser (like IBM's WebExplorer) to access "http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/warpconnect.html". While in either place, you might also request an index of all the information available to you about OS/2 Warp and other IBM software products. Starting with item #8 below, I'll have some specific OS/2 Warp Connect information for you. 2) Some folks asked about using BonusPak applications such as IBM Works on older OS/2 for Windows and OS/2 2.1x systems. Even if you obeyed the licensing issues (ie bought a copy of OS/2 Warp just to get the BonusPak programs), many of the BonusPak applications have system-level dependencies specifically for version 3 (ie OS/2 Warp) and are not backward compatible. IBM Works had been upgraded from previous versions (not available in the United States) to implement some advanced drag and drop features made possible by the SOM II (System Object Model Version 2) APIs newly available in OS/2 Warp (earlier versions of OS/2 2.x only supported the original "SOM/SOM I" specification, with less-sophisticated drag and drop capabilities). (upgrading to SOM II also significantly reduced the size of IBM Works DLL file (Dynamic Link Libraries, program code shared among multiple programs) which reduces disk and memory requirements and allows IBM Works to load and run faster. Other BonusPak applications may have other dependencies. For example, you can use IBM's Internet WebExplorer (FTP'able from "FTP.IBM.NET/pub/webexplorer") with IBM's standard TCP/IP 2.0 for OS/2, but only if the TCP/IP product has been updated to fix level UN64092, dated 8/30/94. If you are unsure of your current fix levels, type "syslevel" at any OS/2 command prompt, or run BonusPak's System Information Tool and view the "Operating System" section. 3) I found a typo in Issue #2, Item 15, about where on the Internet you can "Gopher" to download IBM's OS/2 Warp commercials. Part of the Gopher address was incorrectly printed as "OS@INFO"; it should be "OS2INFO". So, to restate: use Gopher to access "OS2INFO.AUSTIN.IBM.COM" and go to directory "/OS2/OS2_AVI/OS2_AVI.70". 4) IBM has released version 1.01 of the Internet WebExplorer. If you are an IBM Global Network subscriber, you can use the "Retrieve Software Updates" icon in your Internet Connection folder to download and automatically install this new version. Or, you can use anonymous FTP to access ftp.ibm.net and download the file WEB101.ZIP. Unzip this file in a temporary directory, then run WEBINST.EXE to install (ignore the message to "Reboot after Installation"). If you have any questions, you are encouraged to make use of the Internet Newsgroup "comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip" for problem determination, frequently asked questions, and bug reports. In addition to the 1.01, you'll also find a WebExplorer beta which is testing enhancements such as a) Mailto tags support for short messages via SMTP, b) Hierarchical Tree display of News Reader Articles, c) Posting to appropriate News Groups while viewing news, and d) Disable/Enable Proxy and Socks Servers configuration on the fly. Other IBM Internet Connection applications which have updates are UltiMail Lite (both updates to 2.00 - 99KB, and the new 2.10 version - 1.9MB), SLIP and PPP access, and NewsReader/2 (ver 1.09), as well a an "Archie" beta. 5) Several of you have asked about an Internet application known as IRC or Internet Relay Chat. While not part of IBM's Internet Connection (or TCP/IP) software, you can download a text version from the Hobbes OS/2 Shareware archives. Use FTP, and download "irc2_035.zip" from:"hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/network/tcpip". If the Hobbes archive is too busy, try "ftp-os2.cdrom.com"; this is Walnut Creek's copy of the Hobbes OS/2 archives (from whence they publish complete CD-ROMs full of OS/2 and other Shareware). Use WebExplorer to access "http://www.cdrom.com" for more details. If you're interested in a PM (GUI) version of IRC, SofTouch Systems has just released GammaTech IRC for OS/2. Promotional pricing is $39.95, call SofTouch at 405-947-8080 for more details. 6) Access IBM's Personal Software Service and Support "home page" at "http://ps.boulder.ibm.com/www/usa/ps/services". This web server contains tips and techniques, closed APARs (IBMese for product bug fixes), service offerings, and marketing information. You can browse the items and search for information. IBM will keep the Hints and Tips information up-to-date for products such as AnyNet/2, OS/2 Warp, CSet++, DB2/2, LAN Server, LAN Distance, VisualAge, TCP/IP, and MANY others! 7) IBM's Raleigh NC facility is the home of our Enterprise LAN Integration Test & Evaluation (ELITE) Center. Their mission includes integration testing for IBM software products. Their reports on compatibility results give many helpful hints and tips for using the products in an integrated environment, including corrective service fixes required, remote installation procedures, and samples. All of their current reports are accessible via the Internet. Access IBM's Networking Home Page (http:\\www.raleigh.ibm.com), click on "Resources" and look for the ELITE reports entry. There are currently thirty seven test reports and three books available, including: OS/2 WARP Version 3 (Report #29), OS/2 WARP with WINOS2 (#33), OS/2 for SMP (Symmetrical Multi-Processing) Version 2.11 (#28), PC DOS V6.3 (#16), CICS OS/2 V2.0 (transaction processing) (#14), DB2 (Database 2) Version 1.2 for OS/2 (#22), NetView Distribution Manager 2.1 for OS/2, (LAN software distribution) (#31), LAN Distance V1.1 (remote LAN access) (#19), DCAF V1.3 for OS/2 (remote PC control) (#34), and NetView for OS/2 (#37). 8) OS/2 Warp Connect was just announced by IBM on May 16th. It does NOT replace existing OS/2 Warp, rather, it is a version designed for users who need workgroup to enterprise connectivity, in addition to robust stand-alone computing. Of course, you can add just about any connection package you wish to existing OS/2 Warp systems, but OS/2 Warp Connect has the most popular capabilities all in one box, integrated and tested, with simplified installation, and very attractive pricing. Like OS/2 Warp, there will be "red" and "blue" flavors ("red" requires Windows 3.1x and "blue" includes WINOS2). Existing OS/2 2.1 and OS/2 Warp w/WINOS2 licensees qualify for $25 and $50 (respectively) rebates from IBM when upgrading to OS/2 Warp Connect w/WINOS2. See IBM's announcement letter (Item #1) for more details. IBM will also offer "Pre-load MultiPaks" so that you can preload OS/2 Warp Connect at a lower cost. Check with your favorite software distributor for details. 9) So what's included in OS/2 Warp Connect? Remember the phrase "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something BLUE"? Well, for "old", there's IBM's Network Signon Coordinator, and IBM's LAN Distance Remote Access requester. For "new", there's IBM's Peer for OS/2. For "borrowed", there's the Netware Requester 2.11 for OS/2 and a Lotus Notes Express requester license. For "blue" we have IBM's TCP/IP 3.0 for OS/2, as well as IBM's LAN Requester 4.0 for OS/2. In addition to all of these, there's a copy of IBM's self-help Q&A tool called AskPSP (updates available via IBM's Technical Connection subscription CD-ROM), as well as an all-new "converged" version of IBM's LAN adapter interface MPTS/2 software, and other goodies. 10) With all these connectivity options, OS/2 Warp Connect ships ONLY on THREE CD-ROMs. One contains the much acclaimed BonusPak, another has the Lotus Notes Express software, and the third contains everything else. OS/2 Warp Connect can be installed from the CD-ROMs OR via a very flexible LAN installation utility. If you really need to install from diskettes, image files (70-90 of them) and an unpacker utility are provided so you can build the (3.5") diskettes yourself. OS/2 Warp Connect's system requirements are: a supported LAN adapter (see the announcement letter for a list), at least 8MB RAM, up to 90MB free hard disk space (for the 'easy' install), and up to 30MB additional free space for BonusPak selections. You may not use all the install options; for example TCP/IP 3.0 is a superset of BonusPak's Internet Connection, so you wouldn't install both. Also, IBM Peer contains everything most folks need to access IBM's LAN Servers, so you don't also need to install the LAN Requester code. Like OS/2 Warp, there's both an Easy Install, and an Advanced Install. Easy Install installs on drive C:, and prompts you for the most popular connections, such as IBM Peer, NetWare Client, and Internet via modem. Advanced Install allows you to choose among all products and options. With both installations, new Selective Install options will be added to your OS/2 System Folder to allow you to add or remove features later on. 11) In addition to CD-ROM or (homemade) diskette installs, any OS/2 Warp Connect system with a CD-ROM drive may act as a host to install other systems across a NetBIOS LAN (but not across a TCP/IP router). There's a special utility to create two 'boot' diskettes for each workstation type (3.5" only, based upon LAN adapter type). Just make sure the main CD-ROM is inserted in the host system, and boot one or more PCs with the special diskettes to initiate easy or advanced install across the network. Products on the BonusPak and Lotus Notes Express CD-ROMs are installed separately. So much for installation, let's take a closer look at some of OS/2 Warp Connect's new features and capabilities. 12) IBM's all-new "Peer for OS/2" (not sold separately) allows your PC to "talk" to other OS/2 Warp Connect users, IBM's LAN Server and PC LAN Program 1.3 servers, Artisoft's LANtastic 6.0 DOS or OS/2 peers, Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups peers, LAN Manager 2.x and NT Advanced Servers (note:Microsoft may require NTAS users to pay an additional connection fee). IBM Peer for OS/2 not only utilizes existing network adapters, but can also operate via parallel port connections (with a LapLink-style parallel transfer cable) or via infrared wireless connections! IBM Peer offers drag and drop sharing of your computer's resources, and allows you to establish multiple levels of security. Since IBM Peer for OS/2 uses SMB protocols, existing LANTASTIC peers must not be using SNB. Further, while LANTASTIC peers may use IBM Peer resources, IBM Peers cannot (today) use LANTASTIC resources. Lastly, while you can use IBM Peer to access IBM LAN Servers, you cannot use it to administer an IBM LAN Server, LAN Requester for OS/2 (included in OS/2 Warp Connect) is still required for that function (and you can't have both IBM Peer and LAN Requester installed on the same system). IBM's LAN Requester version 4 allows LAN Administrators to graphically drag-and-drop administer a LAN Server network (the domain controller, and all the servers, resources, and users in it), even if you're still using LAN Server version 3! 13) For you TCP/IP fans, IBM's TCP/IP 3.0 for OS/2 (also not sold separately) is a complete upgrade for TCP/IP 2.0 for OS/2. Unlike the async-only TCP/IP in OS/2 Warp's BonusPak, you get a complete set of TCP/IP LAN transports as well as dial-up (SLIP or PPP) access. Included is the ability to talk to two different TCP/IP domains at once, for example, an internal TCP/IP LAN network and a connection (async or router) to the "real" external Internet. You'll find all of your favorite TCP/IP and Internet applications and capabilities including IBM WebExplorer (1.01), an upgraded MIME compliant UltiMail Lite (2.10), Gopher Client, NewsReader/2 (1.09), Telnet, PMANT, FTP (client AND server), LPR/LPD (distributed printing), SNMP, remote command client and server (RSH/RSHD, REXEC/REXECD) and more. Note: Internet users should install TCP/IP 3.0 for OS/2 and NOT the Internet Connection software included with the BonusPak CD-ROM. Otherwise you won't get the full benefit of the application upgrades included in TCP/IP 3.0. Users of TCP/IP 2.0 for OS/2 will find kits such as the DOS/Windows Access (including WINSOCK support) and TCP/IP over NetBIOS are included in OS/2 Warp Connect. Other IBM kits such as NFS and X-Windows client/server are compatible with OS/2 Warp Connect, and may be purchased separately. 14) The included NetWare Client version 2.11 for OS/2 gives OS/2 Warp Connect users native Novell NetWare 4.x and 3.x connectivity. Note: Novell has released a "field test" maintenance package for this client. It is NOT included with OS/2 Warp Connect, but you can download R211FT.EXE (last updated approx 3/24/95), from NetWire (on CompuServe) and other services. 15) IBM's Network SignON Coordinator is a client utility which handles via a single userid and password logon, access to multiple IBM Lan Server, Novell Netware server, and 3270/5250 systems, coordinating the use (and changing when necessary) of all the different userids and passwords required. 16) IBM's LAN Distance Remote for OS/2 gives a remote PC the same access to LAN resources as a locally-attached device. This is a "remote node" product, not a "remote control" product (for remote control, check out IBM's DCAF product -- see Item #7 above for more information). LAN Distance Remote can also allow two PCs to connect together asynchronously to share resources between themselves. To become a remote LAN node, you'll also need LAN Distance Connection server software on your network. This doesn't have to be a separate machine, but can exist together with IBM LAN Server, TCP/IP 3.0 services, and even NetWare 4.x servers (with NetWare for OS/2 software). 17) There are also a number of utilities bundled with OS/2 Warp Connect. a) AskPSP is your personal help desk which uses a natural language interface to assist you discovering answers to questions about OS/2 Warp, LAN Requester, LAN Distance and NetWare Client. b) On-line publications for connectivity products may be viewed and/or printed. c) Single Component Installs allow connectivity products to be installed via the CD-ROM, OR removed individually. d) Finally, there are diskette image files for all of the connectivity products which enables them to be installed separately from diskettes (these are 3.5" diskette images only!). 18) For those of you not familiar with Lotus's Notes groupware, it's essentially a communication and collaboration platform which allows workgroups (local or remote) to work together. The included Notes Express Requester features an easy to use graphical user interface based on forms and views, and comes with SEVEN ready to use application templates: a) Discussion, b) Client/server e-mail, c) Phone directory, d) Reference database outline, e) News databases, f) Customer tracking, and g) Service and Support (these last two are extra applications for OS/2 Warp Connect users which are not normally included in Lotus' Notes Express product). If you wish to use any additional Lotus Notes applications, you'll need to upgrade this "Notes Express" license to a full "Notes Requester". 19) All in all, OS/2 Warp Connect is a terrific CLIENT operating system which can interoperate with other clients and servers in your local area networks. With the capabilities of IBM Peer and TCP/IP 3.0, file/print server capabilities are yours to command, right out of the box. If you don't already have a server in place, you might also checkout IBM's Advanced Server for Workgroups. Coupled with IBM's LAN Distance Connection server, you can have (in a single machine) remote LAN access, a Lotus Notes Server, and a full-function IBM ADVANCED LAN Server (including fault tolerance, disk mirroring, and other advanced capabilities) to satisfy the needs of your workgroup and enterprise users. Credits Some of the information above comes from Mark Chapman's (IBM Raleigh NC) PS Assistant. Other contributors were Lori Sackowitz (IBM San Francisco), Jerry Stegenga (IBM Boca), and Paul Braren (Mind Share, Layton UT). The on-line collection of these TechNotes can be downloaded from IBM's BBS. TechNotes Article #5 (July 1995) Summer's here (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway!), and I've got lots of sizzling tips for you OS/2 Warp folks out there! 1) First some errata from previous articles. Last time I reported that IBM is offering upgrade pricing from OS/2 and OS/2 Warp to OS/2 Warp Connect. In order to simply the quantity of part numbers, this was changed at the last minute to be 'rebates', not separate upgrade offerings. The information in IBM's announcement letter is correct; you can get this from 1-800-IBM-4FAX, document number 295199. 2) There was also a typo last issue on where to get a complete collection of all of these TechNotes articles. The correct electronic addresses may be found at the end of THIS article! So much for these, now on to the GOOD STUFF ! 3) Officially you can't upgrade from OS/2 Warp for Windows to OS/2 Warp w/WINOS2 or OS/2 Warp Connect w/WINOS2. However, if you REALLY want to try this, (after backing everything up!) DELETE \OS2\INSTALL\SYSLEVEL.* and you should now be able to install the blue box versions of OS/2 Warp and OS/2 Warp Connect. This is an UNSUPPORTED technique, but it appears to work. 4) Want to squeeze a little more performance out of your disk drives? If you're using the default FAT file system, change your DISKCACHE line to read DISKCACHE=D,LW,32. This configures the maximum record size cached (32K) and lets OS/2 default to the correct size cache for the amount of memory you have installed (10% of available RAM). HPFS users should increase the /CRECL: value on the HPFS.IFS line to 32 or 64. This allows the HPFS file system to cache a larger record size (32K or 64K) instead of the default of 4K. Depending on the mix of applications you are running, this change may provide a performance boost. Some users may have BOTH HPFS and FAT file systems, if you have multiple disk partitions or multiple disk drives. 5) Mixing the latest software with the latest hardware can be a problem, especially if updated device drivers aren't available for that ultra-speed CD-ROM drive or other shiny new hardware device. You can check PCMTAB.ZIP (available from "ftp://ftp.pcco.ibm.com/os2_text_files/PCMTAB.ZIP"); this is IBM's latest list of supported systems, CD-ROM drives, SCSI, video, tape, another other devices which have OS/2 Warp support. If your device isn't on this list, ask the manufacturer when you'll be able to get OS/2 Warp drivers. If they're not interested in supporting OS/2 Warp, vote with your dollars, return the device, and get another one which is listed as having OS/2 Warp support. 6) Does your machine have a really new or a very old CD-ROM drive? Or do you have a CD-ROM on the network, but not on the machine you wish to install OS/2? If you have enough disk space on the 'target' machine, you should be able to use DOS to "XCOPY" the files from CD and install from your hard disk instead. From the root directory of your OS/2 CD-ROM key: "TYPE OS2SE20.SRC" and press ENTER. This will display the directory name on the CD-ROM where the OS/2 files are stored. In the following example, "OS2IMAGE" is the name of the CD-ROM directory where the OS/2 files are. Use "XCOPY d:\OS2IMAGE\ c:\OS2IMAGE /s/v" (where "d:" is the CD-ROM drive letter and "c:" is your hard disk drive letter) to copy 45MB of files from the OS/2 Warp CD-ROM to your hard disk. Also "COPY d:\OS2SE20.SRC c:\ /v" (from your CD-ROM to your hard disk drive). Next, make a copy of diskette #1, and edit the copy's CONFIG.SYS file. Modify the line which says SET OS2_SHELL=CDINST.EXE to read "SET OS2_SHELL=c:\OS2IMAGE\DISK_1\SYSINST2.EXE" (where "c:" is your hard disk drive letter), and save the file. Now you're ready to re-boot with the OS/2 Warp Installation Disk and install OS/2 Warp. After installation, you can erase the \OS2IMAGE subdirectory (created above on your hard disk) to reclaim the space. 7) Now that IBM has released IBM Peer as part of OS/2 Warp Connect, some of you have asked why IBM LAN Server 4; why not use IBM Peer for OS/2 for everything? Well, for smaller sized networks (typically 10 or fewer PCs), or for a decentralized campus environment (such as a university), IBM Peer for OS/2 is ideal. However, when your network begins to grow, IBM LAN Server 4 has a number of advantages. LAN Server 4 resources can be centrally managed, and security is implemented centrally through the domain controller concept (OS/2 Peer systems cannot be a domain controller, but do not require a domain controller to establish connections with other network peers). In addition to central network management and security, IBM LAN Server will outperform OS/2 Peer as your network grows in size (especially LAN Server 4 Advanced). IBM LAN Server 4 also has a unique feature for OS/2 Warp clients known as the Network Applications folder. Without modifying any OS/2 Warp client systems, a network administrator can create icons for applications stored on the server. These icons automatically appear in the Network Applications folder on the OS/2 Warp desktop when an OS/2 user logs in, complete with any special settings required. This feature makes deploying new network applications much easier. As a rule of thumb, IBM Peer for OS/2 is best with networks of 10 or fewer PCs. Beyond 8 PCs, start considering IBM LAN Server 4 Entry. Beyond about 40 PCs, start considering IBM LAN Server 4 Advanced. There's significant overlap in these rules of thumb, depending on what you need out of your network; there are no hard and fast rules. 8) Even though OS/2 Warp Connect is primarily for networked computers, you do NOT necessarily need a network adapter to take advantage of its networking features! For example, IBM Peer for OS/2 may be implemented between two OS/2 Warp Connect systems with a LinkRight/LinkWiz/LapLink-style parallel-port cable! Consult the file "\IBMCOM\MACS\PRNANDIS.TXT" for more information on the IBM Parallel Port driver; this file is included when you install OS/2 Warp Connect. You may also use IBM's LAN Distance Remote feature (included in OS/2 Warp Connect) to establish a virtual network link from a remote PC to a local LAN (remote node technology) via IBM's LAN Distance Connection Server. Even if you don't have a Connection Server, you can connect two OS/2 Warp Connect machines via their modems and the LAN Distance Remote software included in OS/2 Warp Connect. LAN Distance provides the ability to use ANY network protocol via your modem. LAN Distance is flexible enough to operate with either a modem or a LAN adapter! It includes a "shuttle" feature which automatically reconfigures your PC (such as a notebook computer) for either in-office (network card attached) or out-of-office (modem attached) operation. 9) IBM's TCP/IP Version 3 (included free with OS/2 Warp Connect) can maintain a dial-up Internet connection and a LAN TCP/IP connection at the same. It also can function as a TCP/IP router, AND includes FTP and Telnet SERVER software. It provides WINSock compatibility so that Windows-based TCP/IP applications can plug in and use its capabilities. You can even add other OS/2 released and beta products, such as GOSERVE (available from "ftp://ftp.pcco.ibm.com/os2_ews/GOSERVE.ZIP"), which provides a Gopher and World-Wide-Web SERVER capability. Credits Many thanks to Tim Sipples and Kris Kwilas (both with IBM in Chicago) for many of the items listed here. The on-line collection of these TechNotes can be downloaded from IBM's BBS. TechNotes Article #6 (August/September 1995) I guess it's difficult to pickup ANY publication this fall and not find an article about Microsoft's new Windows 95 (version 1.0). Brad Silverberg (Microsoft's senior VP of personal systems) was quoted in InfoWorld (6/12/95) as saying "It's clear that the hype for Windows 95 got out of hand...We take our share of responsibility for creating unreasonable expectations". Well, I think it's about time someone told you the 'rest of the story'. Despite Microsoft's wishes, and some misquoting in the press, OS/2 Warp is NOT dead, IBM will continue to make significant investments in it, and IBM's recent acquisition of Lotus Development makes for an ever stronger and better integrated IBM-Lotus product line. IBM's OS/2 product line now includes OS/2 Warp, OS/2 Warp Connect, OS/2 Warp Connect for the PowerPC (currently in second beta), OS/2 for SMP (up to 16-way Symmetrical Multiprocessing), and OS/2 Warp Server (first beta now available). All of these platforms run the same applications on minimal or extremely powerful hardware. 1) Despite all of Microsoft's pronouncements to the contrary, OS/2 Warp is NOT dead! There's a reason why OS/2 has won almost 70 major awards in the last three years and has sold over 9 million copies (over 2.5 million since last November alone). Recent awards include PC Magazine's July 1995 annual reader survey where OS/2 Warp received the highest rating in "Overall Satisfaction among Operating Systems". OS/2 Warp also received from InfoWorld's readers their "Product of the Year" this year, for the THIRD year in a row! In 1995, OS/2 Warp was also named "Product of the Year" by PC World and Byte magazines. ComputerWorld got into the act, in April naming OS/2 Warp number one on the desktop. Also in April, Canada's "The Computer Paper" gave OS/2 Warp (compared to Windows 95 and Mac OS) awards for Best Multitasking, Best Internet Support, Best Bundled Applications, and Best Technical Support. IBM has also won the Software Service Provider Associations STAR award for "Best High Call Volume" for the SECOND year in a row. 2) Someone asked if you could install OS/2 Warp/Connect and Windows 95 on the same system. The answer is yes, just be careful how you do it! If your demo system already has DOS, Windows 3.1, and OS/2 Warp (or Connect) red box installed in a single disk partition, you may dual-boot back to DOS, load Windows, and run the Windows 95 setup. Caution: Do NOT install Windows 95 into the \WINDOWS directory, or you'll disable OS/2 Warp's capability to run Windows 3.1 applications (Windows 95 overwrites Windows 3.1 programs to recycle disk space). Install Windows 95 into a separate directory. 3) After Windows 95 is installed, it won't normally allow OS/2's default dual-boot BOOT.COM program to run (since it'll reboot Windows 95). The solution is to either shutdown Windows 95 into "Single MS-DOS mode" and then run "\OS2\BOOT /OS2" or to create a PIF file to run BOOT.COM, selecting the Advanced setting of "Single MS-DOS mode". This will shutdown Windows 95 and allow OS/2 Warp to startup. A copy of DUALBOOT.PIF has been added to the TECHNOTE.ZIP compendium of all TechNotes articles; see below for information on how to get your copy. 4) If your system currently has OS/2's Boot Manager installed with DOS/Windows on one partition and OS/2 Warp on another, installing Windows 95 will disable Boot Manager so that its installation may complete normally. Not to worry. Next time Windows 95 boots with the "Starting Windows 95" message, press F8 and select a Command Prompt. From the command prompt run the FDISK command. Look at the partitions, find the non-DOS partition about 1MB in size (that's Boot Manager!), and use option 2 to mark it as Active. Next boot, Boot Manager will come up normally, and you'll be able to choose between DOS/Windows/Windows 95 and OS/2 Warp. If you'd like to change the name of the DOS/Windows partition to Windows 95, you'll need to startup OS/2 Warp, run FDISKPM from an OS/2 Command prompt (or choose "create partition" from the Drives folder popup). Use the mouse pointer to highlight the partition whose name you wish to change on the Boot Manager menu, and select from the Options pulldown "Change Partition Name", and then use F3 to "Save and Exit". 5) If you've already installed Windows 95 into the \WINDOWS directory and you wish to add OS/2 Warp, you must use the 'blue' box version of OS/2 Warp (this includes IBM's WINOS2 code to support 16-bit Windows applications). Otherwise, you must uninstall Windows 95, restore your \WINDOWS directory, and reinstall Windows 95 into a separate directory so that you can use 'red' box OS/2 Warp/Connect. If uninstalling is not an option, well, officially you can't upgrade from OS/2 Warp/Connect red box to blue box. However, after backing everything up, you can try deleting all of the \OS2\INSTALL\SYSLEVEL.* files. NOW you should be able to install the blue box versions of OS/2 Warp/Connect. This is NOT SUPPORTED by IBM, but it appears to work. 6) When installing OS/2 Warp on a system which already has Windows 95, be careful about automatically migrating programs to the Workplace Shell desktop. While OS/2 Warp is compatible with WIN32S applications (up to Wincode 1.15), it is not compatible with Windows 95 (Wincode 1.2+) programs. Messages such as "DOS Error 23" or "You need a new version of WINOS2", mean you're trying to run a Windows 95 application under OS/2 Warp. When installing OS/2 Warp, instead of migrating all applications automatically to your OS/2 Workplace Shell Desktop, choose the "Select New Programs" option. This allows you to select/deselect which ones to add. Avoid any applications in \PROGRA~1 and the Windows 95 directory (\WINDOWS, if that's where you installed Windows 95). 7) Well, Microsoft now has TWO desktop operating systems: Windows 95, and NT Workstation. These two products are part of a family, but do you know what the differences are? Enquiring minds should want to know, and how to choose between them. Essentially, Windows 95 (version 1.0) was designed for backwards compatibility (it's even compatible with General Protection Faults!), and NT Workstation was designed for robustness, SMP, RISC, and server applications. Microsoft itself says Windows 95 (version 1.0) does not have: a) power to run demanding applications, b) the highest level of protection for data and applications, c) scalability to multiprocessors d) processor independence, and e) server capability. Microsoft's recommendation for a robust operating system for mission-critical client/server applications should be NT Workstation (if not, ask why -- Microsoft has a flyer on this). Since you'll never see Windows 95 on RISC, SMP, or a file/print/application server, support personnel must gain and maintain Windows 95 & NT Workstation skills. If NT Workstation seems a better choice, remember that it costs $319 (not $89), and requires 4-8MB more RAM than OS/2 Warp Connect (at a cost greater than $150 per 4MB). Further, 5-10% of Windows 95 applications (such as those requiring a VxD) won't run on NT Workstation. NT doesn't support as wide a range of hardware choices as OS/2 Warp, NT requires all-new device drivers (unlike Win95 MS-DOS compatibility), and is a poor performer running Win16 apps. 8) Windows 95 (version 1.0) is going to cost most users much more than its $89 upgrade price. For example, you get full preemptive multitasking only if ALL of your applications are new 32-bit versions (and that includes your favorite shareware programs too)! If you CAN'T get some 32-bit upgrades, you'll be partially using cooperative multitasking (like Windows 3.1). For those of you a little fuzzy on the difference, here's an analogy: Cooperative multitasking is like two toddlers and a toy; the other can play only when the first gives it up. Preemptive multitasking is like two toddlers, a toy, and a Mom; the Mom decides when it is the other's turn! Since 16-bit Windows applications use some critical Windows 95 components which 32-bit applications also use, if they hangup, your preemptively multitasked 32-bit applications can freeze long enough to disrupt or abort time-critical applications, such as file transfer, FAXing, and multimedia. Compare this to OS/2 Warp, which for years has allowed you to upgrade to an advanced application platform without requiring you to upgrade your applications. An Office 95 upgrade is over $180 after discounts and rebates! Microsoft points out that 16-bit Windows applications under OS/2 Warp are by default cooperatively multitasked and it's bad to preemptively multitask them in separate virtual machines because OLE may not work properly. Funny, they ADDED the same capability (with the same limitations) to NT Workstation! Also, 32-bit OS/2 Warp applications do not rely on operating system modules corruptable by errant 16-bit Windows applications. 9) Be careful of Microsoft's claims that Windows 95 (version 1.0) provides Internet access. It does provide TCP/IP plumbing, but doesn't provide any GUI tools such as a Gopher or Web Browser. To get these, you must purchase a separate package such as Microsoft Plus which costs $45-$50 MORE. Compare this to OS/2 Warp's BonusPak which includes a free, comprehensive set of Internet tools. Microsoft says you'll get a free downloadable Web Browser when you subscribe to their new Microsoft Network offering (for another extra fee, of course!). 10) There have been a number of comparisons of Windows 95 versus OS/2 Warp, describing on a feature by feature basis why it would cost hundreds of dollars to bring OS/2 Warp up to Windows 95's functionality. Well, the rest of the story is that comparisons which faulted OS/2 Warp on its lack of networking features conveniently ignored OS/2 Warp Connect and its superior networking feature set! Those comparisons also ignore OS/2 Warp's free BonusPak of full-function OS/2 applications because Windows 95 doesn't have comparable offerings. Finally, while comparisons taunt that OS/2 Warp won't run Windows 95 applications (version 1.0 or not yet available), they fail to mention you can't run any of the several thousand available OS/2 GUI applications on any member of the Windows family. 11) There's a new beta version of IBM's Internet Connection WebExplorer available from "ftp://ftp.ibm.net/pub/WebExplorer/WEB0814.ZIP". This one is post version 1.02, and adds HTML 3.0 support and enhances Newsgroup functions. There's a new Newsgroup Manager which monitors all subscriptions and reports the number of unread items since your last session. Also added is a "Next Thread" and "Previous Thread" function which allows you to easily follow Newsgroup 'conversations'. 12) IBM Europe maintains an OS/2 Device Driver Repository available to anyone with internet access. The repository contains hundreds of megabytes of files, mostly OS/2 device drivers and information (hints & tips) files. The addresses for the FTP server are: "http://www.europe.ibm.com/getdoc/psmemea/progserv/os2drivers/". 13) In the past, some clone NE2000 network cards have caused problems during OS/2 Warp's installation. OS/2 Warp Connect includes a new device driver, DETNE2.SYS to detect these network cards. In addition, OS/2 Warp Connect includes a driver for the Eagle NE2000plus network adapter, which is the most popular NE2000 adapter. However, many NE2000 adapters are not quite compatible with the Eagle. A "generic" NE2000 driver package has been created and can be retrieved from the Internet via anonymous ftp from "ftp://ftp-os2.nmsu.edu/os2/drivers/ne2000wc.zip". Credits As usual I owe thanks to many people for identifying and verifying information gathered for this article. This time, they include Kris Kwilas (IBM Chicago), Bill Maloney (IBM ISSC Austin), Ashish Gupta (IBM Austin), and Fred Behning (IBM Boca). The on-line collection of these TechNotes can be downloaded from IBM's BBS. TechNotes Article #7 (October/November 1995) 1) As many of you know, the Internet is a VERY dynamic medium, with things changing CONSTANTLY! This includes addresses on where to find things. In my last article, I published IBM Europe's OS/2 Device Driver Repository address, and by the time the article was published, IBM had changed the address (to make it easier to use!). The new address is "http://www.europe.ibm.com/getdoc/psmemea/progserv/device". This will give you an index of the different kinds of devices from which you may choose. If you've had trouble accessing this from the US, try in the afternoon. Depending on your time zone, you're 5-8 hours behind Europe, and your "afternoon" will be their evening (when local usage is less). If you ever have problems with http or ftp addresses, you might try what I do, and that is to "back-up" the directory tree one or more directories, to see if you can find an index pointing you onto the new path. Hope this tip helps. 2) Speaking of dynamic, there's new stuff all the time. Last time I also told you about a new beta version of IBM's Internet Connection WebExplorer. Well, it has gone "gold", and you may now download version 1.03 from "ftp://ftp.ibm.net/pub/WebExplorer/WEB103.ZIP". This adds HTML 3.0 support and enhanced Newsgroup functions such as "Next Thread" and "Previous Thread". By the way, if you're tired of the default WebExplorer animated icon, check out "http://www.kuwait.net/~morpheus/web-anim.html". You'll find a bunch of new animations and even instructions on how to integrate them into your own web pages! Note: Make sure you activate "Customized Animations" from WebExplorer's "Options" pulldown. 3) In "Other Internet News", IBM has announced a slew of new Internet-related products, including standard Internet Web Servers, as well as Secure Servers and Browsers. The "Secure" products are designed to aid commerce across the Internet by providing encryption of credit card and PIN numbers. Many companies are embracing external Internet technology internally, by setting up internal-only Web sites protected by "fire-walls" to prevent external hackers. Internal-only Web sites are usually referred to as "little i" internet (or Intranet) as opposed to the external, world-wide "Big I" Internet. If interested, you may get more information about these product offerings from IBM's Web site at: "http://www.raleigh.ibm.com/icf/icfprod.html". 4) In Issue number 5, I told you about IBM's OS/2 Warp Connect. IBM announced two NetBIOS products with it: IBM Peer and LAN Requester 4.0. For those of you who want to exploit IBM Peer's capabilities at the same time as using the GUI to administer IBM's LAN Server 4.0 (or OS/2 Warp Server beta), here's how you can install BOTH LAN Requester 4.0 and IBM Peer for OS/2 on the same machine at the same time! NOTE: this procedure has not been extensively tested and is recommended only if you absolutely need the graphical LAN Server Administration capability. Here are the steps you must follow: A. Install OS/2 Warp Connect with LAN Requester first. B. Make a copy of the IBM LAN Services folder and rename it to Temp LAN Services. C. Copy the contents of the directories \IBMLAN\NETPROG and \IBMLAN\NETLIB to \TEMPLAN\NETPROG and \TEMPLAN\NETLIB, respectively. D. Install OS/2 Peer on top of LAN Requester (using the PRODINST program included with OS/2 Warp Connect). E. Copy the files in \TEMPLAN\NETPROG to \IBMLAN\NETPROG. You can use the Drives object in your OS/2 System folder. Find and open the \TEMPLAN\NETPROG folder, select all files in the folder, and copy them to \IBMLAN\NETPROG. Do NOT replace any duplicate files in \IBMLAN\NETPROG (click on Cancel when prompted). You should only copy those files in \TEMPLAN\NETPROG which are not already in \IBMLAN\NETPROG. F. Repeat Step E for the \TEMPLAN\NETLIB and \IBMLAN\NETLIB directories. G. Rename the Temp LAN Services folder back to IBM LAN Services. H. Restart your OS/2 Warp PC for changes to take effect. 5) While we're talking about OS/2 Warp Connect, in the "Did You Know" department, OS/2 Peer users can access directories (folders), drives (including diskette drives, CD-ROM drives, optical drives, etc.), printers (the actual print queue), and ports (both parallel and serial). Non-OS/2 Peer users (such as LANtastic clients) can access printers, drives, and directories only. The ability to share CD-ROM drives and COM ports (modems, for example) over the network is rare or even unique to OS/2 Peer. Suppose you have a high speed modem attached to one OS/2 Warp Connect PC. You can share out that fancy V.34 modem to other PCs running OS/2 Peer so that they can use standard communications software (not necessarily network- aware communications software!) to dial-out with that modem and communicate with other systems. Some communications software (such as HyperAccess/5 for OS/2) can open the COM port in "shared mode," which means that you can have other communications software monitoring and displaying the traffic being passed to/from that COM port, even from somewhere else on the network! 6) And while we're talking about COM ports, here's SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW. The standard COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS with OS/2 Warp/Connect support speeds up to 57,600. "So what", you may say. Well, a 14.4 modem running V.42bis 4:1 compression EQUALS 57,600. Since 28.8 modems are under $200 by now, if you use V.34 compression, you've got an effective data rate of 115,200, which OS/2's standard COM drivers can't handle! The solution is to get a set of shareware COM drivers known as SIO from Ray Gwinn. SIO.SYS and VSIO.SYS replace IBM's COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS. Not only do they provide support for up to 115,200 in OS/2, they also are a GREAT aid to DOS/Windows communications programs (Prodigy, WinFAX, etc) running under OS/2. If you have older, non-buffered hardware ports (such as 8250 or 16450), SIO provides virtual 16550 buffered UARTs (Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter to you uninitiated out there), which help maintain async connections even when your system is VERY BUSY multitasking. You can get a shareware copy of SIO (current version is 1.53, request registration $25) by downloading SIO153.ZIP from IBM's BBS (address at end of article). 7) Halloween's over, and you're STILL feeling tricked by Windows 95? Grab a treat from IBM's "Just Add OS/2 Warp" Web Page at "http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/drk95.html". "Just Add OS/2 Warp" includes a demo of Warp, a utility to allow OS/2 Warp to see and convert Windows 95 long file-names (BTW, welcome to the club), and the means to test a system for compatibility with OS/2 Warp. Did I forget to mention it also includes a "Remove Windows 95" option? Further, it can be installed and used on Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and OS/2 Warp. 8) For those of you used to working with OS/2 Warp or OS/2 Warp Connect, here are some cool add-ons, (some free, some fee), which you might want to checkout. There are a number of products which enhance the OS/2 Warp object-oriented desktop. NPSWPS allows you to add more than twenty other "I didn't know I needed it until I got it" features. Get your FREE copy from "ftp://ftp-os2.nmsu.edu/os2/wpsutil/npswp181.zip". In the fee category, there's Stardock Systems' "Object Desktop" which supercharges OS/2 by adding performance and productivity enhancements These new features include the Object Navigator, Control Center, Keyboard LaunchPad, Object Archives, HyperDrive, and HyperCache. It has neat features, such as allowing you to manipulate ZIP files as if they were OS/2 folders, and even launch programs from inside ZIP folders. It allows you to use ZIP's compression capabilities without the command parameters. See "http://oeonline.com/~stardock/" for more information. 9) Since the release of OS/2 Warp Connect, IBM has also released "AttachPak for OS/2 Warp Connect". AttachPak provides advanced connectivity features for business users above and beyond standard OS/2 Warp Connect features. For example, it upgrades the Lotus Notes Express client to a full Lotus Notes Desktop client. Express allows you to utilize only the seven included application templates. Desktop includes over 20 application templates, as well as allowing you to use any custom templates your programmers have created. For IBM mainframe users, there's also IBM's Personal Communications/3270 for OS/2 (Entry Level), IBM's DIALS client (remote dialup to IBM 8235 remote access ports), Mobile File Synchronization, System Performance Monitor, and much more. For more information, checkout "http://www.austin.ibm.com/nwsattach.html". Credits As usual I owe thanks to many people for identifying and verifying information gathered for this article. They include Al Kalar (Viking Waters), Mark Neumann (IBM Milwaukee), Kevin Maier (IBM Boca), and Kris Kwilas (University of Illinois). The on-line collection of these TechNotes can be downloaded from IBM's BBS. Miscellaneous If you have any OS/2 Warp TechNotes of your own which you'd like to share with others, please send them to me by email at CJNOVAK&VNET.IBM.COM or FAX to 1-312-245-2069. Submissions cannot be acknowledged individually, but will be recognized in the column they are used in. Thanks for your help and support! You'll find TECHNOTE.ZIP on IBM's BBS (1-919-517-0001) in the "OS/2 Text Files" section. Or, you can FTP it via the Internet from "ftp://ftp.pcco.ibm.com" in the directory "/pub/pccbbs/os2_text_files". For membership information about IBM's BESTeam program and the benefits VARs and Integrators can receive, please call 1-800-IBM-1822, Option 6, Option 1 (in Canada that's 1-800-IBM-CALL x371). An index of HTML versions of current and past TechNotes are available on the Internet via the IBM BESTeam US page at "http://www.software.ibm.com/sw-sell/rebna.html". Choose the FAQ option, then select TechNotes. Author Information Chris Novak is a Senior Technical Development Manager with IBM in Chicago. A Certified OS/2 Warp Engineer, he works with IBM Software Channel customers.