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1994-03-10
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Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!swrinde!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!honeydew.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!toads.pgh.pa.us!birdie-blue.cis.pitt.edu!pitt.edu!wcbst4
From: wcbst4+@pitt.edu (William C Beegle)
Newsgroups: comp.os.geos,comp.os.msdos.pcgeos,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: PC/GEOS FAQ List part 1/2 -- General questions
Summary: PC/GEOS is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) developed by
Geoworks. It runs on top of MS or DR DOS and provides
a multitasking, multithreaded environment for any DOS
machine with at least 640k of RAM and a hard disk.
Message-ID: <16905@blue.cis.pitt.edu>
Date: 10 Mar 94 22:14:47 GMT
Sender: news+@pitt.edu
Followup-To: comp.os.geos
Lines: 590
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu comp.os.geos:2276 comp.os.msdos.pcgeos:4442 comp.answers:4108 news.answers:16221
Archive-name: pcgeos-faq/part1
Last-modified: modified March 7, 1994
The most recent version of this file can be found at any news.answers
archive site. One such site is rtfm.mit.edu, in the
/pub/usenet/comp/os/geos subdirectory. Please send comments, suggestions,
or corrections to wcbst4+@pitt.edu.
I can't take credit for what's in this list of Q's & A's. It's compiled
from what I read in this newsgroup, in the manual and in computer
magazines. If you ask a good question or provide a good answer, you might
well see it included in this list. Thanks to everyone for their input,
and to Doug Taylor for providing the original version.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article does not necessarily
represent the official position of Geoworks in any way. It is compiled
from various sources, including documentation, press conferences,
advertising, and direct use of software.
----
[CONTENTS] Table of Contents:
Search for: To find out about:
----------------------------------------
[GENERAL] What is GEOS?
[CONTACT] How do I contact them?
[3RDPARTY] What else is available?
[GROUPS] User and Support Groups
[DOSTECH] "How to" information for using GEOS with DOS
[GEOSTECH] "How to" information within the GEOS environment
[END] End of FAQ 1
[NEW] * Marks new questions
-----
[GENERAL]
Q: What is GEOS?
A: GEOS is a state-of-the-art graphical operating system from Geoworks
(formerly Berkeley Softworks). It runs on top of MS-DOS or OS/2, and
provides a preemptive multitasking, multithreaded, object-oriented
environment for any PC-compatible with 640k and a hard drive. (A '286 is
strongly recommended.) It also provides built-in memory management,
virtual (disk) memory, a single imaging model, outline font technology,
automatic scrolling and scaling, complex graphic and management tools, and
a flexible, scalable GUI.
Geoworks Ensemble is a suite of programs which run under GEOS.
The current version is 2.0.
Q: Is GEOS a real operating system?
A: It certainly is a real operating system. DOS is only used for the
file system support. By the way, many people consider MS-Windows to be a
real operating system too. GEOS is the first object-oriented operating
system (OOOS) for the PC.
Q: Is GEOS an alternative to Windows?
A: That depends on what you mean by "alternative". It won't run Windows
applications, but it will provide you with a lot of functionality that
Windows won't, especially if you have a low-end machine (less than a '386,
and/or less than 4 megs of RAM).
Q: Does GEOS exist in any other language versions than English?
A: GEOS 1.x is available in seven languages: Dutch, English, Finnish,
French, German, Italian, and Spanish. According to Geoworks, GEOS 2.0 is
only available in English.
Q: Is GEOS available as a pen system?
A: Pen/GEOS was announced by Geoworks CEO Brian Dougherty at the Spring
1993 Pen Computing conference. Due to GEOS's object-oriented design, once
the basic pen support was added to the appropriate system level objects,
all of the applications automatically have basic Pen support. For all
intents and purposes, GEOS is identical to Pen/GEOS. Palm Software has
written a set of applications for GEOS, and major manufacturers of
pen-based computers are signing on to bundle GEOS and the Palm software
with their new devices. The list so far includes Tandy's Z-PDA and
Casio's Z-7000, both Zoomer-class devices, and Sharp's PT-9000, a somewhat
larger and more powerful unit. SunDisk has announced plans to provide
"flash memory" storage units in sizes up to 20mb for the Zoomer-class devices.
Q: What is the connection between GEOS and PM/Lite (or OS/2 Lite)? Did
Geoworks take over PM/Lite from IBM?
A: Other than rumor, none. GEOS was developed by Berkeley Softworks (now
Geoworks), not by IBM. Rumor had it Geoworks was at one time working
towards an agreement bundling Ensemble with IBM's PS/1's, but that
agreement fell through. It was also rumored that IBM talked to Geoworks
about taking over PM/Lite, but nothing ever came of that either. Ensemble
2.0, of course, has enough features to leave any "Lite" program in the dust.
Q: What new features does Ensemble 2.0 include?
A: GeoWrite - New features include text wrapping around pictures, a
built-in thesaurus, importing from and exporting to WordPerfect, WordStar,
MultiMate, Ms-Word and Xywrite, search-and-replace, and built-in graphic
capabilities.
GeoComm hasn't been substantially altered, but at least it doesn't
crash on the VT-100 change-scroll-region code like the old one did.
Third-party communications applications are expected in late summer or
early fall. There is at least one in development now.
GeoFile - A new forms-based graphical database with import-export
functionality and built-in text, graphic, and spreadsheet capabilities.
GeoCalc - A new graphical spreadsheet with import-export
functionality and built-in text, graphic, and database capabilities.
Calculator - The calculator has been enhanced with scientific math
functions and multiple memory registers. Metric/Imperial conversion
functions are also included.
GeoDraw - GeoDraw now has a whole range of import/export filters
(PCX, TIFF, GIF, MAC, PICT, and Windows clipboard formats). It allows
conversion between bitmaps and graphic object, editing of bitmaps,
advanced object manipulation, polycurves, skewing, and much more, and also
has full text capabilities.
Spell Checker - The spell checker now operates across all text
applications, and multiple dictionaries are available for "American
English" and "British English." A thesaurus has been added, which is also
available system-wide.
Text File Editor - A new text file editor, allowing multiple
documents to be open simultaneously, plus spell-checking and thesaurus
capabilities.
Perf and Screen Dumper are also available via FTP, most major
Computer networks (America Online, GEnie, etc.) and many BBSs.
Q: Can anyone tell me the difference between Ensemble 1, Ensemble 2, and
Pro?
A: Geoworks Ensemble 1.2 is the old version of the GEOS environment and
the Ensemble applications. It is faster on old machines, but lacks MANY
features of version 2.0.
The most glaring omission of 1.2 was the lack of a spreadsheet, so
Geoworks Pro was released with Quattro Pro SE, a DOS spreadsheet from
Borland that you can buy separately. There was a spreadsheet viewer in
Pro which worked with Quattro and Lotus files. The viewer ran under GEOS,
and allowed font changes, printing, and cutting-and-paste into other
Geoworks applications.
Ensemble 2.0 comes, of course, with GeoCalc, which runs entirely
under GEOS, thus negating the need for a DOS-based spreadsheet to be bundled.
Q: So where do I get a copy of Ensemble? Is it shareware?
A: No, it's not shareware. Currently Ensemble 2.0 is only available as
an upgrade to existing users, but it should be available from any DOS
software retailer later this summer. The list price is $79.95 plus
shipping and is available directly from Geoworks
Q: Where can I get a demo version of GEOS?
A demo version of Ensemble 2.0 has not yet been announced, but the
demo of the Ensemble 1.2 was available from software retailers for $10,
and the cost was deducted from the cost of the full package.
-----
[CONTACT]
Q: How can I contact Geoworks?
A: As of January 31, Geoworks moved its main offices to a new location.
Their new address is:
Geoworks
860 Atlantic Ave
Alameda, CA 94501
Here are some phone numbers and other information that may be of interest:
ORDER NUMBERS
Ensemble 2.0: 800-824-4558 ext 553
Font Packs: 800-824-4558 ext 654
Quick Shuffle: 800-824-4558 ext 450
SDK: 800-GEOS-SDK
Form Factor: 800-224-2411 ext 200
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Technical support for all Geoworks desktop products: 900-555-GEOS
(first minute free, then $1 per minute)
Geoworks BBS: 510-549-1884 (all files on the BBS are available on America
Online)
- Starting January 31: 510-814-4262
Fax-on-demand: 510-644-0883 ext 720
- Starting January 31: 510-814-4266
Recorded voice support:
- Starting January 31: 510-814-1660
Fax number for tech support/customer service: 510-549-0538
- Starting January 31: 510-814-4260
Technical support for the SDK (only): 510-204-8545
- Starting January 31: 510-814-5745
Geoworks main business phone number: 510-644-0883
- Starting January 31: 510-814-1660
Geoworks main business fax line: 510-644-0928
- Starting January 31: 510-814-4250
Geoworks Products:
GeoWorks Ensemble 2.0
- GEOS environment & bundled applications
Software Development Kit (SDK)
- create GEOS applications
Fun Fonts
Business Fonts
Newsletter Fonts
Clip Art I
Clip Art II
Clip Art III
GeoWorks Pro
- GEOS, bundled apps, & Quattro Pro SE
GeoWorks Quick Start
- GEOS and bundled Apps
Quick Shuffle
- PCMCIA card games for Zoomer
Form Factor
- Data collection software for Zoomer,
published by Meta Pacific, distributed by Geoworks
GeoWorks Writer - discontinued
GeoWorks Designer - discontinued
GeoWorks Desktop - discontinued
The Commodore GEOS product line has been take over by Creative Micro
Designs. Here are their numbers:
Order number: 800-638-3263
Technical support (Commodore GEOS only!): 413-525-0023
The Apple GEOS line has been discontinued. Berkeley Softworks is no longer
selling, distributing, or supporting any Apple GEOS products.
DISK REPLACEMENTS
For Ensemble 2.0:
The first 90 days, free replacement of defective disks. After 90 days,
cost is $10 s/h, plus $1 per disk (7 disks = $17, for example).
All other PC/GEOS desktop products:
Disk replacements are no longer guaranteed to be available for GEOS 1.x
products. Geoworks recommends upgrading to Ensemble 2.0.
Q: What about games?
A: Solitaire and Tetris come with Ensemble 2.0. Geoworks also sells a
game package called Escape. It is $8.95 to upgrade from Escape for GEOS
1.x. If you didn't have Escape for version 1, well, you don't need it.
Call and ask for the Escape upgrade anyway. Geoworks neglected to
announce a non-upgrade price.
-----
[3RDPARTY]
Q: Are there any third-party apps for GEOS?
A: While the SDK was only released a little while ago, a few programs are
available.
Games: Towers of Hanoi - a disk and ring game. Maze Runner -
creates a maze on the screen and lets the user trace a path through.
BattleRaft - a battleship clone. Keyboard - a little on-screen piano
keyboard with different instruments.
Text Utilities: Font Magic - does shadowing. TextArc - prepares
circular and angled text. RoundText - circular text.
Other: There is a CD-Player that uses the Beta Sound-Blaster driver.
Q: What fonts are available for GEOS?
A: Ensemble 2.0 converts and uses the same fonts used by earlier
versions, and leaves room for future font-conversion applications. There
are 3 font packs available directly from Geoworks that provide a variety
of typefaces, and both Micrologic and Atech have font conversion programs
that support the Geoworks Nimbus font format.
A wide variety of fonts are also available via FTP, networks, and
supporting BBSs. America Online now has a font area for GEOS fonts.
Q: Are there any anonymous FTP sites for GEOS stuff?
A: There are currently two anonymous FTP sites with GEOS-specific files.
First, there is mir.eco.utexas.edu [128.83.172.17]. The files are
in the /pub/geos directory. Access time is 6:00 pm to 8:00 am CST. If
you want to upload, compress your file or files using PKZip, and put the
zipfile in the /inbasket directory. Then send a note to Tony Yen
(tyen@mundo.eco.utexas.edu). Use the filename as the subject of the
message, and leave a single-line description in the body of the message.
Tony is quite busy, and may not always move files into the /pub/geos
directory quickly.
Second, the army's Simtel-20 archive now has a GEOWORKS directory
in its MSDOS section for Geos 1.x and GEOS 2.x (Called geos1x and geos2x),
as well as back issues of GeoBytes magazine (in geonews). The best way to
access the Simtel archive is through one of its mirror sites, like
oak.oakland.edu or wuarchive.wustl.edu. If you have a program to upload
to Simtel, please send e-mail to Keith Petersen
(w8sdz@tacom-emh1.army.mil) with a short description of the file or files
you wish to submit. He will provide you with instruction on how to
upload. Please do *not* send files to that mailbox.
Q: Is there a USENET newsgroup for GEOS?
A: Yes; it is named comp.os.geos. This is the "new group" and use of it
is encouraged. The "old group" is comp.os.msdos.pcgeos. New messages
should be posted to the new group. The pcgeos-list mailing list has been
gatewayed to the new group, and should be working properly very soon.
Several subgroups have been proposed for the Comp.os.geos
hierarchy. This post stolen from Shag:
This is a reposted RFD (Request for Discussion) of the creation of a new
newsgroup for the posting of binary files for the GEOS operating system
from GeoWorks (Berkeley CA). This is not being posted to
news.announce.newgroups, as the original RFD was posted there some time ago.
PROPOSED GROUP: comp.binaries.geos Moderated
RATIONALE:
Increasing amounts of material for the GEOS operating system are becoming
available in binary form. This material includes applications, system
drivers, system binary data (fonts, icons), and application binary data
(templates, DTP documents, clip-art). Lengthy postings of UUencoded
material to the general comp.os.geos newsgroup have received negative
reactions from the readers of that group, including at least one GeoWorks
employee, and the creation of a group in a binaries hierarchy has been
suggested. As GEOS runs on both IBM PC-Compatibles and a rapidly growing
variety of Intel-based PDA's and pen systems, it is unlikely that the
group would fit in as a subgroup in another comp.binaries hierarchy.
CHARTER:
comp.binaries.geos will be a newsgroup for the posting of UUencoded
binaries for use with the GEOS operating system on. This would include any
free or shareware applications, document templates, screen backgrounds,
clip-art, GEOS binary document files, et cetera. The group will be
moderated to prevent misues (incompatible files, non-binaries, discussion,
etc).
CFV:
Calls for votes will begin in about a month (early February, 1994), if
there are no strong objections. The voting procedure will be handled by
an independent person, most likely one of Ron Dippold's vote-gatherers.
NOTE:
As this RFD was posted earlier and we were unable to find a clear solution
with regard to moderation, I am volunteering to moderate it until one of
the following criteria is met:
- Someone with consistent (not just during the school year)
access to the 'net, mail, and news volunteers.
- Someone sets up either a special account, or some mail-handling
scripts, to facilitate moderation by a group.
DISCUSSION:
Discussion of the proposed group should be held on news.groups.
---END STOLEN POST
Q: I do not have access to usenet. Can I follow the newsgroup by e-mail?
A: Yes, the newsgroup is gatewayed to e-mail through a mailing list
managed by listserv software. Subscribe by sending a specially formatted
message to listserv@pandora.sf.ca.us (no subject is required). Put your
own full personal name in the space "Firstname Lastname"; otherwise the
message text must be exactly as shown below:
subscribe pcgeos-list "Firstname Lastname"
To unsubscribe, the message text is:
unsubscribe pcgeos-list
To get information about listserver commands, the message text is:
help
To get a summarized digest mailed every 1-3 days, instead of a
separate mail message for each posting, the message text is:
set pcgeos-list mail digest
Q: I have a friend who's interested in GEOS, but he doesn't have access
to the internet. How can he learn more?
A: Well, there are active support groups on America Online, GEnie, and
Compuserve. There's also a Fidonet Echo for GEOS. Bug your local Fidonet
SysOp.
Q: But he doesn't have a modem. Is he out of luck?
A: No. There's a volunteer group called the Geoworks Snail Mail Network.
(GWSMN) They send out a monthly mailing of newsletters, fonts, etc. You
do need a 3.5 HD disk drive. For more information, write:
GWSMN Membership Dept.
attn: Joseph L. Hodge
3402 Saline Circle
Bossier City, LA 71112
-----
[DOSTECH]
Q: Does Ensemble support MS-DOS 5.0 or DR-DOS 6.0 task-switching?
A: Ensemble 2.0 currently only supports DR-DOS TaskMax switching, but
leaves room for future task-switching modules. Brian Dougherty, CEO of
Geoworks, predicts that interest in running DOS apps will decline rapidly
in the next two years.
[NEW]
Q: What about the Task Switcher/Multitasker in Novell's NW-DOS 7?
A: The multitasker and GEOS don't work together AT ALL. You can get the
task switcher to work with GEOS by making sure that it uses <Ctrl><Esc> as
it's key combination. Select the DR-DOS TaskMax switcher in preferences,
and it should work.
[NEW]
Q: I switched from MS-DOS/PC-DOS to DR-DOS and GEOS won't load, even
after i run SETUP. What am I doing wrong?
A: Make sure that you have FILES=120 or MORE. DR-DOS uses files
differently and needs more available. This DOES NOT apply to NW-DOS 7.
NW-DOS is okay with 30.
Q: What about windows and OS/2 compatibility?
A: GEOS 2.0 is compatible with both OS/2 and windows. A .pif and .ico
are included in the /geos20 directory.
[NEW]
Q: I'm running Ensemble with Stacker installed. Drive C is my stacker
volume. For some reason GeoManager insists on looking at drive E for the
/geoworks/world directory, even though when I exit geoworks, I'm on drive
C. Any ideas?
A: Check the volume labels for drives C, D, and E. If they're identical,
then use GeoManager to edit the volume labels so that each drive has its
own distinct label. On some computers, you may have to exit to DOS to
change the drive label (use the LABEL command).
[NEW]
Q: I'm having problems with MS-DOS 6 or 6.2, or PC-DOS 6.1 and GEOS 2.0.
Why won't it work?
A: First, make sure that FILES=30 or more, and BUFFERS=30 or more. If
this doesn't help, try using SETVER.
Q: I keep having problems with GEOS 2.0 and
DoubleSpace/SuuperStor/Stacker. What can I do?
A: Everything works together except the geos swap file. In preferences,
click the GEOS button and make sure the swap file is on an uncompressed drive.
[NEW]
Q: I keep getting SHARE or File Lock errors when I run Geos. What's
going on?
A: Geos needs a lot of files open at once. If you're using SHARE, try
adding the switch /f:4096 or /f:2048.
-----
[GEOSTECH]
Q: I don't like the interface. Can I customize it?
A: Ensemble 2.0 offers four levels of interface complexity, and "fine
tuning" options within each level, so you can customize each application
to present you with as few or as many functions as you desire.
GEOS also supports a "Generic/Specific UI" concept. This means
that applications are is written for a very powerful dynamically bound
object oriented generic user interface. At runtime the system 'binds' the
Generic UI to a Specific UI, and all output is presented through that
Specific UI. The only currently available Specific UI is Motif-based. A
"leaked" CUA-based Specific UI surfaced briefly for Ensemble 1.x, but no
alternative UIs are available for Ensemble 2.0... yet.
[NEW]
Q: In the GEOS area of Preferences, what is Wait/Post?
A: (From the America Online GeoInfo Database) Wait/post is a small
optimization that comes into play when you're trying to make your system
do a couple things at a time, one of which is using the disk a lot. Simply
put, the BIOS will notify GEOS that it is waiting for something to happen
(e.g. the disk to read a particular sector), allowing GEOS to switch to
something else, rather than waiting in BIOS until the thread's time has
expired and the system goes to look for something more important to do.
When the hardware notifies BIOS the thing for which it was waiting has
come to pass, the BIOS posts this notification to GEOS, which then makes
the waiting thread run again.
This used to be the default behavior in Ensemble 1.2, but it caused
problems on enough machines (forcing people to pass the /nowaitpost switch
to the kernel whenever they ran it), that we decided to change it to be
optional in 2.0, enabled in Preferences.
It is automatically disabled for the session following a crash, to allow
you to turn it off again in Preferences, should it cause your system to crash.
Article#0328
Updated 06/26/93
Q: Which character set does GEOS use? Most European languages need the
special characters above CHR(127)...
A: GEOS has quite a large available character set. For instance, all the
vowels can be given acute, dieresis, grave, and circumflex accents in both
upper- and lower-case. You can also use the Spanish ~n (as in se~nor),
Danish (?) O-with-a-slash-through-it, the German ess-tset (double s), and
many other special language characters.
You also have a choice of various typographical, punctuation,
currency, and mathematical symbols. These are all documented in the
manual, or you can bring up a floating keyboard if you are willing to
modify your GEOS.INI file. (Geoworks DOES NOT recommend modifying the
GEOS.INI file- but when have we let that stop us?)
Q: When I install other fonts, they are displayed in the fonts menu in
the order they were installed. Is there a way to have them in
alphabetical order?
A: The Preferences application in Ensemble 2.0 allows you to select which
fonts you wish to have appear in your font menu, and their order.
Q: Is there a way to print using my printer's built-in fonts?
A: There's no way to embed printer codes in an Ensemble document. You
might try setting your printer to use the font you want before you enter
Ensemble, then print using text-only mode, but GEOS usually delivers much
higher-quality output than any built-in font.
Q: I'm having trouble printing with Ensemble 2.0.
A: Geoworks has recently released updated printer drivers. The new
drivers can be found on America Online, SIMTEL, and mir.eco.utexas.edu.
To obtain them from SIMTEL, FTP to oak.oakland.edu, and they can
be found in the /geos2x directory under the filename PDR93_07.ZIP. You
may also want to get the updated print spooler, filename SPL93_07.ZIP.
If this does not fix your problem, check to be sure you have
installed the correct printer on the correct port. If your printer is not
listed, you'll have to choose the next best choice. Often, the printer
manual will have a list of best choices. If all else fails, keep
experimenting.
If you have a laser printer connected via serial port, it may be
working fine, but due to the sheer volume of data that must be sent for a
high-quality page, it may take a few minutes to start printing.
Q: I'm having trouble importing my graphics file into GEOS. When I use
the Import option it imports it, but the colors are all screwed up.
What's going on?
A: GEOS forces any picture you import to use the GEOS color palette
instead of the palette embedded in the picture itself. This is what
screws up the colors.
You need to get a copy of the files PICLB183.ZIP and ENSEMBUL.ZIP
from the one of the anonymous FTP sites. PICLB183.ZIP contains a program
called Piclab which is useful for manipulating GIF files. Among other
things, Piclab lets you alter the default color map of a GIF file, and
lets you set the number of colors as well. Ensembul.zip is a file
containing information on how to use Piclab to convert your picture for
use with GEOS. Some people have also had luck with a program called
NeoPaint (available on simtel in the /graphics directory as NEOPNT2A.ZIP)
Hopefully, 256 color drivers will be released soon. It is known
that they were available to beta testers, but Geoworks didn't think they
were "stable" enough for the general release.
Q: OK, now I've fixed the palette on my GIF file and now I want to make
it into a GEOS background. How do I do that?
A: Enter GEOS and start up GeoDraw or the Scrapbook. Use the Import
option (on the File menu) to import your file into GeoDraw. Make sure
that the imported image is "selected" and then use the Edit menu to either
Cut or Copy it to the clipboard.
Next, start up Preferences and select the Background option. Once
there, click on the "Get background from clipboard" button, give it a
name, and your image magically appears as a background.
Q: I can't get my backspace character to work with GeoComm when I dial
into Unix. What's wrong?
A: GeoComm doesn't send the DELETE (ASCII 127) character. Try the
following solutions to make Unix accept BACKSPACE (ASCII 8) instead:
At the unix command line:
stty erase "^H"
In GNU-Emacs:
Meta-X global-set-key "\C-h" 'backward-delete-char-untabify
If you absolutely must send a delete character, try this:
Create a DELETE.TXT file containing just the delete character.
(You'll have to use a DOS-based text editor to do it.)
To send a delete, select "Type From Text File" on the FILE menu.
In the dialog box, choose DELETE.TXT, this will send the delete.
[END]