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============================================================ HOME COMPUTING ON OS/2 August 31, 1993 Wayne M. Caswell IBM PSPD COPYRIGHT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION 1993. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ============================================================ PREFACE VISION: What's the future of computing? Try 2.5 PCs in every home by the end of the decade. That's the view of Channel Marketing Corporation, the Dallas market research and consulting firm that projects that more than 100 million computers will be sold in 1999 (not by 1999). What are the market drivers? Parents working more at home. Kids Education. Hand-held and notebook PCs. And interactive TV.(1) IBM is in a unique position to take the lead in computer growth for the home. This is because of its collection of enabling technologies, skills and alliances. IBM technologies will make personal computers more portable, more powerful and much easier to use, expanding their role and improving their benefit. As collaborative business systems, they'll help you stay in touch with people and information, any time and anywhere you happen to be. And as personal agents, they'll act as your partner and advisor, letting you spend more time with family while improving business effectiveness. You'll have more freedom over where and when you work and live. This paper is intended to show existing PC users how IBM technologies can be applied to home computing applications and how OS/2 provides unique benefits as a PC operating system for the home. There is still much work to be done to make OS/2 (and personal computers in general) more of a consumer product, like the telephone or TV or VCR. Almost every household in America has a phone and TV. Many have several. Computer technology, however, is still too new, lacks compelling applications, and is too difficult to use for many consumers to be interested. That's the current view, but OS/2 is helping to change that view. DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this document has not been submitted to any formal IBM test and is distributed on an "as is" basis without any warranty either express or implied. The use of this information or the implementation of any of these techniques is a customer responsibility and depends on the customer's ability to evaluate and integrate them into the customer's operational environment. While each item may have been reviewed by IBM for accuracy in a specific situation, there is no guarantee that similar outcomes will result elsewhere. Customers attempting to adapt these techniques to their own environments do so at their own risk. This information is not intended to be an assertion of future action or a commitment to deliver products. ---------------- 1 Tom Steinert-Threlkeld, "The Dallas Morning News," July 3, 1993, p. F1. ============================================================ DIRECT COMMENTS CONCERNING THIS PAPER AND ANY CORRECTIONS TO: MAIL: Wayne Caswell Program Manager, Marketing Strategies IBM Personal Software Products Division 11400 Burnet Rd. Bldg.808, Zip 2999 Austin, TX 78758 TELEPHONE: 512-823-1746 / TL-793-1746 (external/internal VOICE line) 512-823-2733 / TL-793-2733 (external/internal FAX line) IBM FORUMS: OS2HOME on IBMPC (IBM internal forum) IBMMAIL: USIB2H7H INTERNET: WCASWELL@VNET.IBM.COM PROFS: WCASWELL at AUSVM1 The author (and IBM) may use or distribute any information you supply in any way believed appropriate without incurring any obligation whatever. ============================================================ TABLE OF CONTENTS HOME COMPUTING ON OS/2 Operating System/2 Highlights A Vision of Home Computing Today Today's Advantages for the Work-at-home Office Choosing Application Software Telecommunications Electronic Mail On-line Services Advanced Telephone Features Voice Mail Facsimile Fax-on-demand Family Advisor Financial Management Software On-screen Reminder System Education and Games Multimedia Music Education Graphics and Photographs Video and TV Special Needs Voice Recognition Language Translation A Vision of Home Computing Tomorrow Tomorrow's Promise for the "Electronic Home" Home Network and Automation High Speed Communications Interactive TV Standards and Regulations Developing Applications with Reusable Objects Happy Home Computing Requirements Multitasking Compatibility with your PC Hardware and Applications Ease of Learning and Use Ease of Installation Leaving your PC up and running Choosing the location of your PC Choosing the Right Hardware Backup and Recovery Don't forget Insurance Preparing for Scheduling Conflicts Who works at Home? Technical Tips for OS/2 users at Home Can't Microsoft Windows do that? OS/2 Awards Information Sources Ordering Information ============================================================ HOME COMPUTING ON OS/2 OS/2 has the potential to change the way you use your computer, elevating it from hobby status to home appliance and tool, and increasing its value to you and your entire family. This guide includes a vision of home computing that happens when you leave your computer powered on and run a multitasking system like OS/2. It then describes how to happily apply OS/2 technology today. Although OS/2 is known as the world's leading system for enterprise computing, you'll soon discover its potential in the home. OPERATING SYSTEM/2 HIGHLIGHTS OS/2 2.1 is the latest release of IBM's award-winning PC operating system. OS/2 Version 2 was more than a new version. It was a new vision and a breakthrough operating system that exploits the power of today's 32-bit Intel-based processors (386, 486, etc.). It takes your PC applications beyond the limitations of the past and lets you do more with them than you ever could with DOS or with DOS & Windows. It also lets you run tens of thousands of DOS, Windows and OS/2 applications, and run them concurrently -- an important capability for the work-at-home household. In other words, true multitasking. "But wait a minute. Why should I care about multitasking?" you may ask. "I only do one thing at a time." That's because your PC operating system only lets you do one thing at a time. But is your dinner prepared that way? 1. Pour a drink. 2. Wait until finished drinking. 3. Prepare a salad. 4. Eat the salad. 5. Prepare a potato. 6. Eat the potato. 7. Prepare the meat. 8. Eat the meat. 9. Prepare desert. 10. ... No. As ridiculous as this scenario is, it makes you wonder why anything would work that way. A cook sets up each item, cooking and switching between tasks as he feels necessary. A cook handles interruptions, such as a pot boiling over, and switches attention as needed. The potato and steak continue cooking (in the background) while the cook takes the pot off of the burner or prepares the desert. A computer should do the same and can with OS/2. And with OS/2 Crash Protection, each running application is protected from the next, so if one fails it won't affect the others. About the only thing better than how much OS/2 can do, is how easily it does it all. There's a graphical interface -- the WorkPlace Shell -- that makes OS/2 easy to install, learn and use. And OS/2 comes with a collection of support services, including a toll-free number. But maybe the best part is that instead of buying DOS, Windows and other software to get more out of your computer, you get them all with OS/2. So for a whole lot less, OS/2 gives you a whole lot more. That's why over 2 million copies of OS/2 were sold during its first nine months and why hundreds of hardware vendors and thousands of software developers are supporting it. And now version 2.1 is available with even more features and even better performance. o OS/2 is Versatile: It runs virtually all DOS, Windows & OS/2 applications from a single system. OS/2 2.1 adds support for Windows 3.1 and Windows Enhanced Mode applications. You can even run Standard Mode and Enhanced Mode applications at the same time. o OS/2 is Fast: It makes the most of your 32-bit hardware (Intel 386 SX and above). OS/2 removes the memory limitations of DOS and gives your programs more space to grow. By using your disk drive and virtual storage technology, OS/2 lets your application programs think they each have up to 512 million bytes of memory, and it does it automatically. OS/2 runs the fastest 32-bit applications and the older 16-bit DOS and Windows applications. In general, it runs them as fast or faster than under DOS or Windows. o OS/2 is Simple: OS/2 includes the Workplace Shell, a state-of-the-art graphical interface that is easier to learn and use than other graphical windowing systems. But if you are already a Windows user and don't want to take time learning a new interface, you can start any of your DOS, Windows or OS/2 programs from a familiar Windows interface. As you learn more about the Workplace Shell, however, you'll likely make the switch to improved productivity. o OS/2 is Technically Superior: OS/2 has been praised for its Preemptive Multitasking, Overlapped I/O, High Performance File System, and Crash Protection. Although most of the application examples used in this paper can be done today on DOS and Windows, this paper should show why OS/2 is a superior environment for running those applications. o OS/2 2.1 includes built-in Multimedia Support: It accommodates popular sound cards and CD-ROM drives and includes software to support audio (record & play), and and software motion video (play). If your computer has a 386 SX or better, you should consider OS/2 2.1 so you can exploit the 32-bit power you paid for. With OS/2 you can finally do the only thing you haven't been able to do with your computer -- make the most of it. OS/2's reliable multitasking lets you leave your system powered on with your favorite applications just an icon away while service applications (such as fax & phone mail and energy & security management) run in the background. And OS/2 runs well on most of the current systems being sold, since they are typically 386 or 486-based. ============================================================ A VISION OF HOME COMPUTING TODAY TODAY'S ADVANTAGES FOR THE WORK-AT-HOME OFFICE For the many people who work out of their home, OS/2 provides an ideal operating environment for productive multitasking. For others, who buy a home computer so they can bring office work home and spend more time with their family, OS/2 offers the freedom to run the DOS or Windows applications that you might already have at home as well as the OS/2 applications that you run at the office -- or the power to try new OS/2 applications at home while your office mates still trudge along with DOS or Windows. CHOOSING APPLICATION SOFTWARE OS/2 comes with a collection of applications and games that provides instant productivity. They include a basic spreadsheet, database, graphics editor, calculator, calendar, daily planner, communications program, and more. And you can choose from the vast selection of supported software. o DOS applications (30,000+) o Windows applications (7,000+) o 16-bit OS/2 applications (2,500+) o 32-bit OS/2 applications (1,300+) The leading categories of application software haven't changed in years. The top five (in order of popularity) still include Word Processing, Database Management, Presentation Graphics, Spreadsheet, and Accounting/Budgeting. Application software can be found today for everything from writing a business plan to managing sales, advertising and personnel. Although new 32-bit applications are available in all major categories, you may have existing preferences or a need to run older 16-bit applications. OS/2 lets you protect past investments while moving forward with new technologies. When selecting OS/2 applications some people will choose an integrated package such as PFS: Works.(2) Others will choose individual packages from a consistent family, such as that provided by Computer Associates.(3) And still others will select best of breed packages in each application category, such as Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect.(4) But perhaps the most exciting applications are those new ones written from ground up to exploit the advanced 32-bit power of OS/2. DeScribe is such an application. If you desire an OS/2 application that combines advanced word processing functions with powerful desktop publishing features and extensive drawing capabilities, there's really just one word to know -- DeScribe. TELECOMMUNICATIONS Whether it is facsimile or data, communications is one of the most compelling reasons for OS/2's multitasking features. OS/2 lets you send or receive a fax, down-load mail or programs from a BBS, and even run your own BBS in the background -- all while doing other PC tasks such as writing a letter or printing in the foreground. ELECTRONIC MAIL Forget printing, stuffing envelopes, licking stamps, frantically running to the post office, and paying for overnight services to meet a deadline. With a modem and E-mail (as with fax) you can send memos, letters, and other information to your clients or suppliers around the world and around the clock -- at 3:00 a.m. if you like. With a press of a key, your message is signed, sealed and delivered to the right person, on time. E-mail can be a real time, money and aggravation saver. You can use services like MCI Mail to send to large distribution lists of other E-mail users and non-E-mail users, in which case MCI can convert your documents to fax or printed form using your company letter-head. ON-LINE SERVICES In addition to sending mail electronically, you can also tap into large libraries of on-line information to read the day's news, see the latest stock quotes, reserve an airline ticket, do your banking, and order anything from office supplies to a new wardrobe. You can even turn your own PC into an on-line service or bulletin board system (BBS), letting other PC users access your inventory, products or information and place orders. When selecting a modem to connect to an on-line service like CompuServe, Prodigy or America On-line, modem speed and data compression are primary factors. ADVANCED TELEPHONE FEATURES You can use your PC and modem to add convenience features to your telephone. These include auto-dialing, automatic call back of busy numbers, activity reporting (especially useful if billing for your time), and caller identification (requires a phone line feature) to display the database record of the person who is calling or to screen out unwanted calls. VOICE MAIL More of today's work-at-home offices include telephone answering machines (66%) than include PCs (51.3%).(5) For business use, the inexpensive models that record on magnetic tape suffer from a lack of important features (e.g. ability to keep some messages and erase others). Digital answering machines address some of these issues but are costly, as much as $200. With a PC and OS/2 there's another alternative. Some of today's modems combine data, fax and voice functions and let the one-person home office compete with the big guys. Voice Mail replaces the tape answering machine that doesn't cut it for business use. People expect lots of choices ("press 1 for customer service; 2 for sales; 9 for world peace"). Data/fax/voice modems are available from vendors such as AT&T, Micronix, and IBM(6) (see below) and cost as little as $399 including software. FACSIMILE Stand-alone fax machines are another popular investment for the home office, but rather than rush out and spend $400 for a low-cost fax machine (or up to $3000 for one with rich features), consider a fax modem instead. A fax modem does everything that regular modems do, like connecting you to services such as Prodigy, CompuServe or bulletin boards. But it also sends and receives faxes. When sending a fax straight from your PC application, however, the quality is much better than sending from a fax machine. It's almost as good as a laser printer. So now your PC can serve as a top-of-the-line plain-paper fax machine capable of sending dozens of faxes with the push of a button. And best of all, it will cost you less than a traditional fax machine -- under $150 for the software or $300 for adapter card and software. Some sample products include: o BitFax for OS/2, $99 software from Bit Software, Inc. (408-263-2197) o FaxWorks for OS/2, $149 software from SofNet (800-432-9967) o Fax/PM, from Microformatic USA (203-644-1708) o Home Office, $299 retail from Prometheus Products (modem & software) o WinFax PRO, $119 software from Delrina Technology These products offer a variety of rich features including sending faxes with your letterhead and signatures. Getting them into your system the first time is easy. Just use a fax machine to send your stationery to yourself. When broadcasting group faxes, each could have a different message on the cover sheet and the entire job can be scheduled for midnight when long distance rates are lower. Incoming faxes can be forwarded to another machine when you are not there to receive them. And OCR (optical character recognition) software can convert fax images into editable text that takes less hard disk space to store and 50% less time to print. But there are some (usually minor) drawbacks. You won't be able to send original paper documents without also buying a scanner and going through the extra step of scanning the document into the PC. And faxes, especially those with lots of graphics, takes up lots of disk space. You'll likely want to delete fax images once they are printed. In general though, you'll get more fax features with a PC than with a stand-alone unit, and you'll be able to do some neat tricks that just aren't possible otherwise. FAX-ON-DEMAND This technology is a merger of telephony, fax, and database applications and was once only affordable by large companies. Your customers can now dial into your PC to "request" specific fax documents. Recorded telephone messages prompt the user to select document numbers through the telephone key-pad, then ask for the phone number of their fax machine, and finally faxes the documents automatically. Two examples of software to create fax-on-demand systems include: o FaxForward, $1,495-2,495 from Computer Systems Integration, Inc. (401-331-1117) o Open+Fax, $1,795 from Open+Voice, Inc. (214-497-9022) FAMILY ADVISOR There are many PC programs available that play an advisory role. They cover financial Issues (budgets, taxes, estate planning, net worth...), legal Issues (writing wills, lease contracts...), medical Issues (first aid, diet and exercise planning...), home Repair, trip Planning, general reference, etc. Again, most of these programs can run under DOS or Windows, but OS/2's multitasking can make using them more convenient. OS/2 can also make it easier to exchange information between programs, using techniques such as cut & paste, dynamic data exchange (DDE), object linking and embedding (OLE), and more. That's one reason IBM calls OS/2 "The Integrating Platform." FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE This is a class of home application that is used to write checks, manage budgets, and gather data for taxes. Examples include Managing Your Money, Microsoft Money, and Quicken. Information is entered only once, instead of being written on the check and then into the check register. The system keeps track of repetitive payments to make even that one entry easier. Newer printers allow you to insert single checks from your check book, so you don't even need special forms if you want the computer to print your checks for you. With the right printer, you won't have to change printer paper. Although this kind of application can run under DOS or Windows and use any printer, you'll find that it becomes easier to justify and a joy to use if you choose the right printer and leave the system powered on with OS/2 and the application started and waiting in the background -- waiting to write your next check. ON-SCREEN REMINDER SYSTEM One of the most important things needed for the productive home-office is self-discipline. OS/2 can't substitute for this personal trait, but it can help. It comes packaged with alarms, a calendar, a daily planner and an electronic sticky pad. And if you are already used to using the basic calendar that comes with Windows, you'll find that included with OS/2 too. These simple tools can prove useful for an individual who has his office at home or a family that needs to post messages and reminders to each other. So, you may never miss another birthday or anniversary. EDUCATION AND GAMES Freedom of choice is an advantage when selecting business software and an for educational software and games too. While you use the PC for business, your children can use it to create their own music videos, take imaginary trips down the Amazon, or practice economic skills by running a dinosaur theme park. All this in the name of education. Textbook publishers are starting to produce software alternatives as big states like California and Texas begin allowing textbook budgets to be spent on software. Optical Data's Windows on Science, a videodisc-based science program, was adopted by the state of Texas in 1990 as a textbook alternative. And California has put out a framework for education that requires technology to be integrated with any printed material, especially in math, by 1995. Unlike school software, however, home education products must compete with all other things a kid could be doing -- like watching TV, playing video games, even reading a book. Home software must be fun or it will become shelfware. By exploiting today's computer hardware, advanced graphics and sound, new programs (like Davidson's Math Blaster, which lets kids solve math problems by blasting numbers out of the sky) have given birth to the new term "edutainment" to describe software that both teaches and entertains.(7) MULTIMEDIA Two of the most exciting technologies to affect education are multimedia and the optical compact disk (CD-ROM). The CD-ROM drive can play music from audio CDs and can also access up to 600 MB of data on computer CDs. With access to so much storage, the games and educational software delivered on CD are rich in exciting images, digitized voice and music, animated graphics, and even TV-like video. Because entire multimedia encyclopedias can now fit on a single compact disk, more electronic encyclopedias are sold today than printed ones. OS/2 is an ideal environment for running your DOS games and multimedia applications, especially if something else needs to run as well (like fax or voice mail). It effectively supports the heavy demands of sound, image, animation and video that weren't even considered when DOS was written. Unlike word processors and other business software that gracefully wait until their turn to use the central processor, multimedia applications can't tolerate delays without a loss in presentation quality. Video must be delivered fast enough to not appear jerky, and sound must be synchronized with the action. OS/2 supports preemptive multitasking that can guarantee responsiveness to your multimedia applications so you don't have to dedicate your computer to running a single program. With the release of OS/2 2.1, Multimedia Presentation Manager/2 (MMPM/2) is packaged with OS/2. It supports a wide variety of CD-ROM drives and sound cards and can even handle concurrent use of the sound card by game and music software so you can listen to Mozart and the sound effects of your action game at the same time. And it comes with a collection of sounds that are associated with system events such as opening or closing a window, picking up or dropping an object, and information or warning messages, thus transforming the OS/2 desktop into a multimedia-enabled workplace. MUSIC EDUCATION You would like Johnny to learn piano, so you buy an electronic piano keyboard, and a software package is provided which teaches music theory & composition, stores songs, prints sheet music from the score, and electronically scans in sheet music converting it to MIDI formats for editing and playback in CD quality.(8) (see below) GRAPHICS AND PHOTOGRAPHS OS/2 can help when working with computer graphics. Graphic files with high resolution and lots of colors can be quite large. Editing them can require lots of storage, often more than DOS allows, especially if you have any special device drivers. OS/2 gives your DOS applications access to more storage, making new functions possible and improving the performance of existing functions. OS/2-specific applications have access to even more memory and can benefit from 32-bit performance and virtual storage. The Kodak Photo-CD lets you take your 35mm film to be processed and get back the prints and an optical disk with digitized images. The images can be read from a CD-ROM XA drive and displayed on your computer. You can even edit copies of the pictures and print them or include them in documents. With Kodak's exciting new technology and a CD-ROM XA drive, the power of multimedia is available to anyone with a camera. VIDEO AND TV Add-on products like IBM's PS/2 TV let you view TV broadcasts in a window or full screen on your computer monitor. You can simultaneously connect to your telephone and TV cable to check the morning news and weather on Prodigy while watching The Today Show in a TV window. OS/2 2.1 includes built-in support of a new type of video, called digital video, with no need for additional hardware. In contrast to analog video (e.g. TV broadcasts), digital video lets you electronically retrieve and play video clips from your hard disk or CD, access digital interactive TV for education and games, or participate in a video conference with someone anywhere in the world. Advances in communication speeds promise to make video conferencing a mainstream application, letting you spend more time with your family or giving you more choice over where you live. SPECIAL NEEDS For most people, technology makes things easier. For the disabled, technology makes things possible. The PC can be the window to much of the world for the blind and others with vision problems, and it offers new hope to the deaf, the voiceless, slow learners, the mentally retarded, to people with brain injuries, and -- most dramatically -- to those contending with severe mobility problems.(9) When the appropriate equipment is attached to a PC, these people can control their environment and communicate with virtually anyone with little or no assistance. A wide array of products already exist to aid the disabled, including systems that talk, listen, teach, communicate and translate for the user. Although most of these products are designed for DOS, OS/2 lets them work together with other applications. Grandfather, for example, has difficulty reading a news paper because of his failing eye sight. With OS/2 and Prodigy, he can download and read his personalized "electronic" newspaper, specially enlarged and displayed on a big screen that has been customized with his favorite colors and large fonts. Combined with voice recognition and home automation (see Home Network and Automation), the PC also recognizes Grandfather's spoken commands so he doesn't have to get up to turn on the lights or make a phone call. VOICE RECOGNITION IBM's desktop dictation technology provides the most accurate and sophisticated speech recognition capabilities available today. Featuring a 20,000 word vocabulary, it takes dictation at a throughput of more than 70 words per minute. What makes it unique is its use of advanced algorithms, developed by IBM Research, to analyze acoustical data and word sequences to correctly choose between like-sounding words, such as "to," "two" and "too" or "our" and "hour," and to recognize the start of a sentence and provide capitalization. In addition, IBM's desktop dictation technology has navigation capabilities which let users use voice commands to move around within their document or the system while dictating. You can control the operation of your PC using voice commands and a microphone (next is telephone and intercom). With voice recognition you can dictate your letters (or even a book) instead of typing them. When combined with voice synthesis software, you could call your computer to request that your electronic mail or faxes be read to you over the phone and then dictate your response, which is sent as if you had typed it. LANGUAGE TRANSLATION Within five years, we'll also start to see the impact of real-time language translation. This future technology will let you talk to someone in Mexico who doesn't speak or understand English. The computer will be your translator. But this is FUTURE and belongs in the next section. OS/2 is TODAY. ---------------- 2 PFS: Works for OS/2, from Spinnaker Software Corp, takes full advantage of OS/2's power and function and retails for just $149. 3 Computer Associates has a popular line of productivity and business software for Windows. Although these packages can already run under OS/2, CA is rebuilding their entire line to better exploit the power of OS/2. 4 Again you will find that the DOS and Windows versions run under OS/2, but the OS/2 versions exploit unique OS/2 functions for added power and convenience. As an example, WordPerfect 5.2 for OS/2 comes filled with best-of-breed features and advanced Workplace Shell integration. And with OS/2, you can exchange information between applications that never knew they'd be working together, so the new ones you buy will work with the old ones you already have. 5 Link Resources. 6 For just $399, the IBM Mwave WindSurfer Communications Adapter utilizes Mwave technology to consolidate the separate data/FAX modem and voice messaging & telephone answering functions into a single add-in card with supporting software for the DOS/Windows environment. Even greater benefits for the home-office, however, will come with planned OS/2 support and the programmability of the Mwave Digital Signal Processor (DSP) developed by IBM, Texas Instruments and Intermetrics. Because the DSP is programmable, the WindSurfer can acquire new functions through software upgrades. Functions such as higher speed modems, stereo sound, MIDI, speech recognition, text-to-speech, image compression/decompression and even motion video acceleration are possible without changing the hardware. 7 "Computer Letter," May 24, 1993, v9 n17, p. 1-7. 8 The IBM WindSurfer provides CD quality stereo sound with sample rates up to 44.1 KHz. Its state-of-the-art Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) sound comes from digital samples of actual instruments instead of the combination of noises to make music, a common technique used in today's sound boards. 9 IBM's National Support Center for Persons with Disabilities was created to help professionals and others learn how computers can enhance the work and life styles of people with disabilities. To visit the Center or for more information, call 1-800-426-2133 (voice) or 1-800-284-9482 (TDD). ============================================================ A VISION OF HOME COMPUTING TOMORROW TOMORROW'S PROMISE FOR THE "ELECTRONIC HOME" The previous section covered what can easily be done today. In this section, we'll look at the future of home computing, knowing that some of the applications are already in use by early adopters today and that others are still in development. HOME NETWORK AND AUTOMATION Children studying for school on the PCs in their room share information with the master PC in the den. From their PC, they can print on the downstairs printer, or use its modem to access Prodigy and dial into vast libraries, or access its CD-ROM drive and multimedia encyclopedia. Today, they may use DOS or Windows on desktop PCs and connect via an unused phone line, but soon they'll use sub-notebook systems and wireless networks. You too will use sub-notebook or hand-held computers and wirelessly connect to mail services or your home computer, keeping in touch anytime and anywhere you happen to be. But your home network can connect more than just personal computers. It can also include an array of intelligent devices for complete home automation. As appliances gain computer intelligence, the differences between PC and intelligent device will blur. You'll likely see PC technology in televisions and could even see it built into the refrigerator door. Wouldn't it be neat to network your bathroom scale to the refrigerator, automatically locking the fridge door if your weight exceeds a preset limit? I'm just kidding, although that may not be a bad idea. Here is a sample of what "is" possible with today's technology. Adrian, our 9 year old, is watching the TV in the den while gathering goodies from the kitchen. When he takes his snack to his room, the TV in his room turns on to the same channel, and the TV in the den turns off. When it's study time, he's not allowed access to the TV at all. The rest of the time he can watch programming that has been selected for him, such as The Discovery Channel. And certain channels, such as HBO or MTV have been reserved as rewards, to be paid for with earned credits. If Adrian doesn't get home from school on time and enter his security code, we get an automatic phone call. During the week, Yvonne and I go to bed about 11:00 PM after watching the news. Before retiring, we use a telephone key pad (or intercom with voice recognition) to start a script of commands that turns off the TV, arms the security system, puts the lighting into sleep mode, and sets the thermostat. If Yvonne gets up at 2:00 AM to get a cold drink from the kitchen, the security system tracks her movement and turns lights on in front of her and off behind her. If the system had detected an unexpected presence (a potential burglar), it would have tripped an alarm and announced the likely point of break in. In the morning, a second script starts at a pre-set time, turns up the thermostat and hot water heater, turns on the bathroom lights, opens the curtains to let the light in, and wakes Yvonne and I with our favorite music. I respond with a command, "Computer, Access Calendar," and voice recognition software responds to my command to access today's activities, and then "reads" them through the intercom speaker. I might then ask for yesterday's articles on IBM, the status of stocks I'm tracking, or a summary of my net worth. I control the operation of my house the same way that I control other PC programs. For example I might use the mouse, icon objects, and drag & drop capabilities of OS/2's WorkPlace Shell to re-program home automation tasks. First I click on the House icon, which brings up a scanned-in picture of our floor plan. Then I click on the master bedroom, which zooms in with more detail so I can select both lamps on either side of the bed. The right mouse button shows the functions of the lamp objects in the same way that it shows the functions of all other objects in OS/2. Instead of using a mouse, I could also control my PC or house with a keyboard, touch screen or voice commands. The computer now acts as my partner and advisor, letting me spend more time with family while helping me improve business effectiveness. And I have more control of where and when I work and live. These Home Automation benefits have long been available for technofanatics willing to pay $20,000 to $200,000. Now it is possible, at reasonable prices, to link once separate systems (telephony, security, voice recognition, heating/cooling, lighting and appliance control, audio/visual, etc.) into an integrated whole -- a Home Network. And Home Automation saves money, cutting utility bills an average of 20% - 30%.(10) If the PC plays a role in home automation today, it is typically just to program a stand-alone controller device and then disconnect. That's because of the relatively high cost of dedicating a PC to control and monitoring functions. But with a multitasking operating system (OS/2) and a PC that is already purchased for other functions, it becomes easier to justify having the PC play a greater role. One advantage of using the PC as home automation controller is the ability to include artificial intelligence features so your system learns your habits and acts accordingly, making useful suggestions. Another advantage is the ability to access more information (e.g. weather and utility rates that may change hourly) so it can better determine the least expensive time to water the lawn or run the washer and dryer. HIGH SPEED COMMUNICATIONS Key to our nation's success in the Industrial Age was a transportation system that moved raw materials to factories and then on to consumers. As we move through the Information Age, our success depends on a communications system based on an "information highway," as proposed by the Clinton Administration. High speed communications will be one of the most important technologies for the future. It will affect how we live, where we live and the landscape of our cities, just as electricity did in the early 1900s. Our grandparents may have had electric lights, but there were few electric motors. Nothing to spin the laundry or run the dish washer or play the VCR. So they couldn't imagine how air conditioning and elevators would bring people together into tall buildings. Today, we are just starting to imagine the impact of personal computing and high speed communications. The nation is being rewired with fiber optics. When you see cable companies digging up the street, you can bet they are laying new fiber, and the same goes for telephone companies. We expect to see multi-gigabit/sec phone lines in the mid-90's and speeds measured in terabits/sec by the year 2000. (At 1 Tbit/sec, you could ship the Encyclopedia Britanica in 1.5 milliseconds!). INTERACTIVE TV The fiber that eventually finds its way into your home will carry all kinds of information services (telephone, newspaper, home shopping, home banking, mail, etc), but the most compelling application is likely to be Interactive TV. Cable companies want to replace movie rental companies, giving you the ability to select from thousands of titles for viewing when you want to instead of when they are broadcast, pausing for breaks when you want to instead of when the networks decide to. As you might imagine, rental companies like Block Buster Video and networks like CBS and NBC view this as competition and opportunity. But consider the benefits to the consumer: o ELECTRONIC TV GUIDE: Downloaded to your PC once a week, the electronic TV guide helps you find your way through the greatly expanded collection of programming that has become available. You search through available programs by key word and schedule automatic video taping of your favorites. You'll be guided along by your computer with new user interfaces that make programming today's VCR seem like programming computers in COBOL, and your PC will learn your preferences and make appropriate suggestions. o INTERACTIVE TV EDUCATION: Students can participate in interactive education through their TV, having access to the world's best specialists in their field of study. Teachers can reach more students, and students have access to more teachers and subject experts. Multimedia and the ability to pull the best teachers together electronically can enrich the learning process and better prepare our children to compete in a global society and do this at less cost. o SEARCH, CUT & PASTE: Johnny can search for specific still images or video clips for a book report using key words and hyperlinks. He then pastes the image or video into his document. His "report" is submitted electronically, and the teacher clicks on an icon to view the video. o JUST-IN-TIME EDUCATION: You can view portions of "how to" videos right when you need them and without having to view the entire video, just the part about fixing the leak under the sink. If you need more help, you can be connected to an expert through video conferencing. o VIDEO CONFERENCING: You initially were excited about the potential need for less business travel, but you discover that the real benefit is your ability to bring collections of experts together more quickly. This gives you a competitive edge -- from your home, which is now on the beach or in the mountains. Some of the experts you include in your conference don't even speak English, but their PCs translate for them. You realize that you are no longer constrained to hire talent from within a limited geography but have access to the world. The result is that nations who succeed in the Information Age are the ones who had vision and invested in infrastructure -- "The Information Highway." "Wo ha! Let's get back down to earth! Is all this really going to happen?" you say. Yep... and more, but your mind may already be spinning (mine is). STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS Change of this magnitude brings large challenges, many in the area of standards. IBM is committed to industry standards and currently sits on over 3500 standards committees around the world. With all of the arguments over standards and who has access to the fiber, the FCC still has not yet decided who will get the right to bring it into your home and what services will be allowed on it. The politics are overwhelming, as are the opportunities. At stake are the fortunes of companies and the viability of nations. DEVELOPING APPLICATIONS WITH REUSABLE OBJECTS Hardware technology is coming at us so fast that one thing's for sure: Software will have a hard time keeping up if we develop it like we have in the past. Fortunately, the industry is moving to the use of reusable and interchangeable objects (e.g. object-oriented programming), much like interchangeable parts for cars. Objects can represent program segments (such as a video player), data files (the compressed video), or hardware devices (e.g. a wall switch). You can combine objects to make new objects to perform specific services, such as downloading various pieces of information from Prodigy each morning and presenting it in the format you like, or making it available for programmed tasks (e.g. water the lawn at 4:00 AM if it is dry and no rain is predicted). We'll soon see tools that make it easy for many PC users to create their own applications, simply by dragging objects around on the screen and connecting them. You'll be able to combine your favorite word processor object and favorite spell checker (from different vendors and written in different computer languages). You'll then select a graphics conversion utility and a drawing tool and a business graphics engine that can be linked to a spreadsheet. With access to hundreds of fonts and clip art from several types of libraries, you put your presentation together to be shown with a presentation tool from even another vendor. It all snaps together seemlessly and you have made your customized version of -- Lotus Freelance. Lotus and WordPerfect and others will sell class libraries of reusable objects so you can pick and choose. You'll be able to access objects that are stored on your own system or ones that are stored on some remote system on a different kind of computer. IBM has a powerful, open, distributed object strategy for the future and a defined platform in OS/2 for object exploitation today with the Workplace Shell, System Object Module (SOM) and Distributed SOM (DSOM). Our technology is being developed with partners like Apple, HP and Sun, is being shared with standards bodies, and is consistent with CORBA of OMG (Common Object Request Broker Architecture, endorsed by the Object Management Group). ---------------- 10 "Smart Houses: Getting Switched On," Business Week, June 28, 1993, p.128. ============================================================ HAPPY HOME COMPUTING REQUIREMENTS This section describes how to implement the dream with the least effort. IBM's vision of the future of home computing isn't that much different from that of a dozen other companies. What is different is how it takes you from today's realities to tomorrow's promise. OS/2 is a key part of IBM's software plan for delivering that promise. It improves the quality of the journey by eliminating many of the pains, migrations, upgrades, and relearning that you might otherwise expect. MULTITASKING Because users should not have to turn off their fax and voicemail applications or shut down their security system in order to write a letter, this is the #1 requirement for the Vision portrayed here. OS/2 offers fast and safe multitasking so you don't have to wait on your computer and so you can make these visions become real. COMPATIBILITY WITH YOUR PC HARDWARE AND APPLICATIONS Because people don't like too much change, however, any new operating system must be compatible with existing hardware and applications. For this reason, IBM has tested OS/2 on hundreds of 32-bit IBM-compatible computers and offers a money-back guarantee if it won't run on yours, given enough memory and disk. OS/2 comes with more than 260 printer device drivers for all of the leading printers. It supports all of the most popular CD-ROM drives and their associated SCSI adapters. Leading audio/sound adapters are also supported.(11) OS/2 excels in application compatibility too, with its ability to run virtually any DOS or Windows or OS/2 application. It also has a strong evolutionary future that lets you expand your system without constant upgrades to application software. EASE OF LEARNING AND USE The user interface must be intuitive and easy to use, because the biggest barrier to wide-spread use of personal computers has been the effort to learn and apply the technology. We've come a long way since the DOS prompt (C:>), with graphical user interfaces. OS/2 goes further still and sets new standards for ease of learning and use, with its object-oriented user interface. Objects on the OS/2 desktop (folders, files, printers, disk drives, etc.) act just like everyday objects. To print a file, just drag it over to the printer; to put it away, drag it into a folder; to delete it, drag it to the shredder. OS/2 users LOVE OS/2! "I find this system so convenient and uncomplicated to use that most of my time is spent fighting my SEVEN YEAR OLD son for control of my computer. I feel that IBM has once again proven that it is not only the front runner of microcomputer technology, but also the trail blazer of times to come!" DONALD K. CHAMPINE, SECURITY PACIFIC AUTOMATION COMPANY, INC. IN SEATTLE, WA. EASE OF INSTALLATION New system software should also be easy to install with minimal training. Ideally there would be no training required for family members, and OS/2 lives up to that ideal. It is important, however, to have someone technical enough to take charge of installing and setting up the system for other family members. When installing OS/2 for the first time, some have described the experience like that of moving into a new house. "There are always a few things that take a while to find, but the pain of moving is soon forgotten and well worth the benefit." OS/2 2.1 ships on over 20 diskettes (or on CD-ROM), and no matter what IBM does, this still seems overwhelming to many potential users. IBM is evaluating various options for turn-key packages for the home markets, recognizing that delivering the Vision of this paper requires more computer skill than we'd like. Currently, the easiest way to install OS/2 is to buy a system that has it pre-installed. If you are buying from a retail store today, the systems you'll find with OS/2 pre-installed may be IBM systems, but we are now seeing more PC manufacturers willing to pre-install OS/2 upon request and hope to see this as a standard practice in the future. LEAVING YOUR PC UP AND RUNNING Rather than turning on your PC, running your application, and turning it off, you might decide to just keep it on with your favorite applications already started and running. This is especially attractive when running a sophisticated system like OS/2 (or DOS with Windows and lots of other extensions) because of the time to boot up. CHOOSING THE LOCATION OF YOUR PC Where you put your computer depends on its intended use and users. Because 75% of PC-owning households are work-at-home households, many people put their PC in a home-office. That can be a spare room, a corner of a room, or even a large closet. A home-office can provide privacy and a way to hide office clutter while protecting equipment and work in process. And when company calls, just close the door. This works especially well if you are the only person who will use the system and may be required if you want to take an income tax deduction for home-office expenses. If, however, you put your system out in the open (e.g. den or kitchen)(12) and leave it always powered on and ready to use, you should find new uses... and new users -- the whole family. This is ideal if your objective is kids education, family entertainment, managing health and finances, or home automation. CHOOSING THE RIGHT HARDWARE SIZE -- One way to save space and avoid conflicts with home decor is with the new notebook PCs. They can also be moved into a quiet room for privacy, possibly eliminating the need for a dedicated home-office. Besides being portable, they are smaller, quieter, and consume less power than desktop PCs; and they have suspend/resume features. Rather than close your OS/2 applications and turn off the power, you can simply close the cover of the notebook, putting the system into "suspend mode" and saving energy. Opening the cover brings the system back to life with all of your applications loaded and running, just like you left them. Newer desktop PCs may have similar suspend/resume features that cause them to use less power during periods of inactivity and "wake up" when input is sensed (from keyboard, mouse, fax, etc). Many people will choose desktop PCs instead of notebook PCs because of larger hard disks, more expansion slots or lower cost (especially when fitted with a color monitor). Some will choose to have both and may even want them to communicate in a network. MEMORY & DISK -- OS/2 offers a lot of power and function but does require more memory and disk than native DOS. OS/2 can support simple DOS applications with as little as 4 megabytes (MB) of memory, but Windows users will be more satisfied with 8MB or more. And OS/2 needs 15 to 40 MB(13) of available disk space for all of its function, on-line documentation, built-in applications, and scalable type fonts. Almost all systems sold today are already OS/2 capable, and some have OS/2 pre-loaded. "I was reluctant to move to OS/2 2.0, but now I can't imagine using anything else. If you have the horses, you're crazy not to try it, folks, no matter what they say. It takes 55 minutes to install, and if your hardware can handle it, the software is rock solid, just like the OS/2 nutballs say it is... It's not particularly fun to tell these guys that they were right." JOHN C. DVORAK, PC MAGAZINE, AUGUST 1992. PROCESSOR -- By "horses," John Dvorak is referring to memory and disk storage, as OS/2 doesn't have the voracious appetite for processor speed that Windows has, thanks to genuine preemptive multithreading. Processor speed is less of an issue when you don't have to wait for one application to complete before moving on to the next and when background applications don't interfere with the useability of foreground applications as they do with Windows. While some people always want the fastest computer they can buy, others believe that because of OS/2, the muscle computer could go the way of the muscle car. "Today it's not important how well your automobile runs at 120 MPH, but how well it does at 55. OS/2 will allow productivity to be measured in multitasking versatility, not sheer velocity." EDWIN BLACK, OS/2 PROFESSIONAL, NOVEMBER 1992. SUPPORT -- When users run their home-office or entire home on a PC, support can become critical and vendor reputation deserves strong consideration. Now you can buy PCs from IBM and Apple at Sears instead of Zeos and Gateway through the mail. BACKUP AND RECOVERY Your PC is likely the most important piece of equipment in your home-office, so take care of it and backup your system faithfully. Neglecting this important rule is common with DOS and Windows users, because when backup is running nothing else does. With OS/2 it is easier. As expected, OS/2 comes with backup and restore utilities. They can be used to backup parts of your system while you work actively on other parts. Or you can choose add-on products that make backup even easier and support a wide variety of devices, such as diskette, 4mm Digital Audio Tape, 8mm tape, and 3.5" rewritable optical disks.(14) DON'T FORGET INSURANCE Another way of protecting yourself and your home-based business is with insurance. Homeowner and renter policies can cover your computer equipment and software for a modest additional premium. They are often limited to $5,000 or $10,000 which should be enough for most home offices but may may not be enough for a sophisticated one, including its software. In any case, check with your insurance company. PREPARING FOR SCHEDULING CONFLICTS You can encourage PC use and increase PC benefits by matching convenience with the excitement and power of OS/2. Even small families, however, should prepare for scheduling conflicts as described by OS/2 users. They say it's like a late model sports car with an innovative new body on a racing chassis and with an awesome new turbo-charged engine. As such, it surpasses the popular windowing systems such as Microsoft Windows that simply put a new body over DOS's Volkswagen engine. When you get familiar with working with OS/2 and past the "ah-ha" stage, you too will find that OS/2 is a dream to drive. And just like the conflict when your son wants to borrow your car but you need it to run errands, expect scheduling conflicts with your PC. You may need to plan your home-office time so it doesn't conflict with school and entertainment time (or even include a second PC in a network for your kids and spouse). "I write to you now as a last resort. You see, I have lost my boyfriend to OS/2. For the last two weeks he as been locked in the computer room as if he was a mad scientist on the verge of a momentous discovery. I knock, I pound, I whimper into the keyhole, I slide notes under the door; and to no avail... I could hear him cackling with glee and often I heard awe in his voice that sounded as if he were witnessing the second coming... I must go in after him. Clearly this man of mine cannot help himself. The temptation of OS/2 is too great. He is hooked and I am the only chance he has left... If you can't beat em, join em!" L. CHRISTIAN CANDELMIRE, UNIVERSITY OF CA AT BERKELEY. ---------------- 11 Kevin Maier, "What's New in OS/2 2.1," Personal Software Technical Newsletter, Issue 1 1993, p.3. 12 A computer for the den or breakfast room, however, should be small, quiet, and fit into the room's decor. And a computer used for home automation to save energy should itself be energy efficient. IBM's new PS/2E is an example of the first "Green PCs" to ship this summer. It consumes just 23 watts of peak power and 16 watts in suspend mode (vs 180 watts for the average PC), so it needs no noisy cooling fan. It comes with a 10.4" flat color display (active matrix LCD, 256 color VGA) and can operate vertically in a book shelf or be hung on the wall. And it's made of recyclable materials. 13 Two products have been announced that support "on-the-fly" disk compression. STACKER 2.0 (by Stac Electronics) is available now, and DCF/2 (Disk Compression Facility for OS/2, by Proportional Software) will be available in the second half of 1993. Disk compression of up to 50% is possible. This means that OS/2 might take just 8-20MB, and all other applications and files would be compressed as well. The difference between the two packages is that Stacker compresses the entire disk partition (easiest), while DCF/2 lets you tune performance by choosing what is compressed (fastest, but slightly more complex). Stacker was designed for DOS and is being ported to OS/2, while DCF/2 was designed for OS/2 and supports both FAT and HPFS file systems. 14 Sytos Plus, by Sytron Corporation, is a complete OS/2 backup soluiton capable of handling HPFS files, long pathnames up to 260 characters and Exteneded Attributes of OS/2 files. A companion product, Sytos Rebound, extends recovery even further. To find out more, call 1-800-3IBM-OS2 (1-800-465-7999 in Canada). ============================================================ WHO WORKS AT HOME? When the bureaucracy of a large company makes it difficult to buy new software or when users don't have time to experiment, the home PC takes on a new and hidden role -- as a place to learn new computer skills and to try out new software applications. Even though IBM's heritage has been solving the business computing needs of large corporations, there is a need to understand the interests and motivations of the home worker. This is partially because user opinions and preferences that affect corporate standards often start at home. But interest in this market isn't just limited to its affect on large corporations. Its an exciting and growing market where IBM can apply leadership technologies. The following is from the 7th survey of 2,500 households done by Link Resources.(15) It covers the work-at-home market segment but ignores other home uses of PCs. THE NEW ENTREPRENEUR (12.1 M individuals in 9.6 M households) -- These self-employed, full-time workers depend on the business they run out of their home for their primary income. For this reason, they tend to spend more on home PCs, fax machines and telephone services than do moonlighters and corporate homeworkers. Owning the right home-office equipment is important, and if they believe OS/2 or any other new product will help bring in more cash, they'll buy. A subset of New Entrepreneur is the person who's home-based business is fulfilling a life long dream. Because making money is relatively unimportant to them, they tend to buy equipment impulsively with little regard to its financial justification. THE CONTRIBUTOR (11.7 M individuals in 9.2 M households) -- This segment includes people who are part-time self-employed, who are moonlighting, or who do freelance work. They contribute to family income and increase in numbers during hard economic times in order to help make ends meet. With less earning power than New Entrepreneurs, Contributors tend to buy more portable PCs, but they invest more cautiously. THE CORPORATE EAGER BEAVER (8.4 M households) -- These days, many corporate employees bring work home from the office in the evenings or on weekends so they can compete with their peers while spending more time with their family. Link Resources reports that 54% of them have a PC at home, but since they also have access to equipment at the office, they tend to buy only the essentials for home. Although some corporations help Eager Beavers fund equipment purchases, most are on their own. A subset of Corporate Eager Beavers are principals and senior executives with large corporations. Financially well off, they occasionally work from home rather than in the office for reasons of convenience, productivity and life style. Although spending levels may vary by industry, PCs and advanced communications are essential. THE TELECOMMUTER (6.6 M individuals in 4.9 M households) -- More and more companies are allowing employees to work out of the home at least 1 day a week. This cuts down on travel time, improves productivity by eliminating office distractions, and lets the company keep valuable employees (such as new mothers) who might otherwise quit. By supporting telecommuting, companies may also have access to a larger skill base, because they aren't limited by geography. They often save on expensive real estate costs and can support a larger customer base with fewer offices. With a strong need to stay in touch with the company office and customers, communications is extremely important. THE CASUAL HOMEWORKER (77.3 M individuals in 48.7 M households) -- This larger group brings work home only occasionally. Because their interest in a home PC is driven by motivations other than work (such as kids education or family finance), they are not included in most of the analysis of the Link Resources study. ---------------- 15 Thomas E. Miller, "Home Office Overview," Report #01358, Link Resources Corp. (a New York based research and consulting firm), March 1993. ============================================================ OTHER INTERESTING HOMEWORKER STATISTICS -- o 39.0 M Americans (out of 124.5 M USA worker population) work at home part time or full time, rising to 49 M in 1996. - primary self-employed (12.1M) - part-time self-employed (11.7M, e.g. moonlighting) - corporate after-hours (8.4M, e.g. bring work home) - company telecommuter (6.6M, e.g. formal arrangement with employer) o 75% of PC-owning households are "work-at-home" households, going to 80-85% by 1995. This has major implications for applications & packaging. o Home PC demand will likely be driven by: - Government incentives or requirements favoring telecommuting - Corporate downsizing creating new opportunities for small business - Baby boom workforce demographics reaching prime work-at-home age (35-54) - Economic pressures to supplement income through moonlighting - Family time pressures on dual-income families - Desire for more flexibility and control of family and work life - Continued ease-of-use improvements & increasing computer literacy - Increases in portable computing and wireless communications - Price/performance curve (e.g. low cost 486 systems vs expensive people) This will drive demand for more PC households and more PCs per household. o Many small businesses start in the home, and paradigms start here. - 20% of businesses located in office or industr ial areas started in the home, including such well known companies as Apple, Dell, and Ford. - 56% of ALL US businesses have less than 5 employees!!! (3.6 M) - 20% have 6-9 employees (1.3 M) - 25% have 10-100 employees (.8 M) - .01% have > 1000 employees (.006 M) o 1st time buyer motives: 70.2% for business work-at-home. They need "application suites" 38.5% for home finance/budgeting/taxes 33.7% for children's education, with increasing need for multimedia 17.3% to learn more about computers 13.5% because of improved price/performance 11.5% because it's important to have a PC at home Satisfying these demands requires bundled, plug-n-play solutions (e.g. IBM PS/1, Mwave, CD-ROM, and OS/2 apps). o 2nd time buyer motives: 43.9% out-growing current system capabilities 36.4% improved price/performance Satisfying these demands requires compatibility with current applications, devices & skills. o Many experts say $1000 is the key price point, but - 1989 average home PC = $1550 - 1992 average home PC = $1875, plus $962 for peripherals and $416 for software ($3253 total). - PC spending increases with time spent working at home - $12.3 Billion market for home-office PCs, up 27% from $9.7 Billion in 1991. This discounts other home PC use. o Home information products now comprise 25% of ALL consumer electronics. o 28% PC penetration (in '92), going to 32% (in '95) o 55% penetration for incomes > $100K (only about 4M households), but interest in PCs is increasing for lower incomes ($30-100K). o 62.2% of home-office users run DOS applications. o 28.3% of home-office users run Windows applications, up from 25.1% in 1991. 83.2% of Windows users said they actually use it. o 4.0 M households have either a standalone or PC fax device, up 82% from 2.2 M in 1991. ============================================================ TECHNICAL TIPS FOR OS/2 USERS AT HOME I started my son, Adrian, with Early Games by SpringBoard Software when he was 2 years old. I made a cardboard template to cover all but the numeric keys. First topic: recognize shapes (6 vs 9, 3 vs 8, 1 vs 7) and names (I'd pronounce each new number when it appeared). Next: recognize values (9 is larger than 6) by counting the number of blocks and choosing the corresponding key. Adrian is now 9 and is an OS/2 user. Most agree that OS/2 sets new levels in ease of learning and use (especially for kids) and is fairly forgiving. It is still wise, however, to have someone set up the system for the rest of the family. Here are some tips that I've learned from experience and from talking to others: o Small children make wrong choices on purpose (to see what happens), like holding down the keys until the keyboard buffer fills and the system beeps endlessly. They aren't intimidated by computers. o Watch out for miscellaneous objects inserted into the diskette drives. Watching me insert diskettes, my son inserted keys, coins, candy, and other objects. Assume that he'll try to do anything he watches you do. The diskette problem went away with parental guidance and computer literacy (age 3-4 in my case). o Get rid of the shredder. Put it in the "Dad" folder or delete it completely. You don't need it anyway since the right-mouse-button menu includes a "delete" function. o Hide things in the OS/2 System Folder that you don't want the rest of the family using, such as Shredder, Templates, and other items the install process puts on the desktop for you. It gets them out of the way and makes the desktop cleaner. o Set-up all the folders for the kids and spouse with shadows of the program objects. This way even if they delete the shadow object, they won't delete the original. o Have the system come up with the GAMES folder open and set it up with icons that children know. I "window" the DOS session long enough to "cut" out a representative graphics and "paste" into the icon editor. o Make unique folders for each child with attractive icons that let them know that this is the part of the computer they are allowed and encouraged to use. Put the icons in an obvious place, and make the resulting folder large enough to cover most of the desktop. o Teach your child how to "shut down" and scold him when he forgets. Some have even made a "turn off the computer" icon. At risk is that some of your system changes may not be saved or that disk output may not have completed yet. Shutting down is most important for users who've chosen the High Performance File System (HPFS), but it's not that big of a deal to wait while recovering the Swap file if young ones do forget, but they quickly learn the rule. Chuck Brazie agrees that shutting down is not a problem. "My 4 year old likes Reader Rabbit, Mixed up Fairy Tales, the puzzle applet, and even playing with Corel Draw. She can shutdown the system like a champ, and she waits for the 'little box to turn into the big box' before powering off. The 10 year old likes Operation Neptune, the Carmen San Diego Series, Mario Teaches Typing, Oregon Trail, Mahjong, and even experiments with Basic and Rexx programs." o Protect your .INI files. Gene Fine warns that OS/2's ease of use can cause curious side effects. "My daughter gets a blast out of bringing up the scheme palette, with the help of my son, and changing the colors to those of her likings. One night I booted a screen with Barbie colors (yuk!), a pink background, and other changes." This can be avoided by maintaining and restoring backup copies of .INI files. (e.g. add XCOPY of .INI files in STARTUP.CMD). There are also free utilities available on dial-up bulletin boards that protect against any change in the workplace shell. o Pat Hammond uses multiple icons and folders to encourage shared use. "One of the games that our 6 year old really likes is one of the coloring programs. I have set it up so two players can take turns. All it takes is Alt-Esc to switch between sessions. I'm not sure if she can set this up by herself or not, but once it is up she can handle the switching. I have separate directories for each child's pictures and separate program icons that point to each directory." o One of the really nice things that can be done with OS/2 is setting up associations, special links between program objects and data-file objects. For example, you can link the program object for a spreadsheet to every spreadsheet object. Associations can be made by file type or by file name (including wildcards). You can set up *.PCW for PC Write and *.WKS for spreadsheets. Now all the user has to do is double click on the data file, and the system opens the program with data file already loaded -- true object oriented. Each family member can have a folder with private data files and won't have to worry about what command or path is needed to start an application. To work on a letter file, simply double click on the document. To work on a spreadsheet, double click. Similarly, *.X10 can be used for appliance controllers to let you "click" a lamp on or off. o From Ray Dixon: "The AUTOSTART statement will allow you to prevent things from being automatically restarted at boot time. Say your son had about 10 games going under DOS full screens, and he didn't exit them before doing a shutdown. When you reboot, if AUTOSTART=PROGRAMS is set, then all 10 copies will be restarted. You may not want that, as it can cause your boot time to seem longer. To prevent this, remove the PROGRAMS from the AUTOSTART statement in CONFIG.SYS." SET AUTOSTART=PROGRAMS,TASKLIST,FOLDERS OS/2 has the power and flexibility to work like you do, so you'll likely discover your own setup preferences. If you discover some interesting tips of your own, please forward them to the author. ============================================================ CAN'T MICROSOFT WINDOWS DO THAT? Yes. And No. Windows 3.1 can likely do any one of the applications described in this guide, but it has difficulty doing several at the same time. o WORD PROCESSING: Long running tasks can interfere with keyboarding, making text entry painfully slow. Examples include distributing a fax, formatting a diskette, backing up your system, down-loading a file from a BBS, or simply printing. While performing any of these tasks, delays in Windows multitasking can cause characters to display several seconds after you enter them, if at all. The user interface becomes completely unresponsive and you give up and decide to go out for dinner. With OS/2, you can have many active tasks running, and the user interface still responds like like a champ. You keep on typing and admire your productivity improvement. o SPREADSHEETS: Your PC-attached CD-ROM drive is playing stereo music through the sound card of your PC when you start up an Excel macro. You wonder why the sound stops (and starts, and stops again...). It's because Windows does a poor job of multitasking compared to OS/2. With OS/2, you could have several audio sources piped through the same or multiple sound cards while other tasks are running and the music never skips a beat. o GAMES: Your 12 year old son is playing Space Quest V, a DOS game with impressive graphics, animation, and digital sound. The phone rings and it's an in-coming fax. While receiving the fax, the responsiveness of the game goes down the toilet and your son hasn't a clue why. He starts messing around with system settings but even finds that difficult and slow, so he re-boots the system. So much for your fax. o GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT: You've been working for hours on a document, spreadsheet, or presentation with graphics when you start another task and get the famous "General Protection Fault." The Windows memory protection feature warns you that a program erroneously accessed memory outside of its own address space, but this time it doesn't give you the advertised option of closing that one application because some system control blocks were changed. The system is locked up now, and your only option is to re-boot without the ability to save your work. It has been reported that Windows users tend to get used to re-booting and losing data, but OS/2 users often run for weeks or months without even shutting down. OS/2's "crash protection" is an advantage for both home and enterprise environments. As a DOS-extender, Windows 3.1 adds some amazing new function to the 13-year old DOS that it relies on for input, output and other system functions. OS/2, on the other hand, is a replacement for DOS (and Windows). OS/2 was designed for today's multitasking environments and provides its own system services. It generally runs Windows applications as fast or faster than Windows does and runs them with better safety. Unlike Windows 3.1 or Windows NT, OS/2 lets Windows users run Standard Mode and Enhanced Mode applications concurrently, taking the full screen or participating seemlessly with other windowed applications on the desktop, and running in a separate session for maximum protection or with other Windows applications in a single session to conserve system resources. Running DOS or Windows applications under OS/2 has many other advantages over running them in their native environments. Most of those benefits won't be discussed in this paper, however, except to contrast with what Windows did to extend DOS. o MEMORY MANAGER: Windows provides a memory manager function so DOS applications can access more than 640 K of memory. OS/2, on the other hand, doesn't have to contend with the out-dated memory schemes found in DOS, which requires that programs be written in 64 KB segments (the register size of early Intel processors). OS/2 improves support for DOS applications with up to 32 MB of EMS/XMS memory and 512 MB of DPMI memory per ___ application. And OS/2 applications are free of page segments with the ability to address memory contiguously and the ability to use 32-bit instructions to exploit your 32-bit hardware. o GRAPHICAL PROGRAM LAUNCHER: Windows adds a graphical user interface (GUI) to DOS, but OS/2 advances the user interface a generation beyond the GUI found in Windows 3.1 or Windows NT. OS/2 has an object-oriented interface, the WorkPlace Shell, where each icon on the "desktop" represents an object (printer, disk drive, program, folder, file, etc). The metaphor is more life-like and new users find it much easier to learn. Even experienced Windows users find OS/2 easier to use, because most operations can be completed with one mouse click. To print a document, simply drag to the printer instead of (in Windows) opening the program manager, then the word processor, then selecting File and Directory and File Name just to open the document and finally selecting Print and Print Location to finish the printing task. (And don't forget to close the word processor.) o WINDOWING TASK SELECTOR: Windows 3.1 lets users switch back and forth between running applications, even between DOS and Windows applications, that appear in overlapping windows. It also includes ways of exchanging information, with Cut & Paste, DDE, and OLE. But multitasking under Windows is limited because it sits on DOS, which was never designed to run more than one thing at a time. DOS suffers from a single I/O buffer that forces all I/O operations to be serialized (one at a time), and since Windows relies on DOS for its I/O, Windows suffers too. OS/2 on the other hand was designed specifically to support preemptive multitasking. This allows applications to better share system resources and all run at the same time. OS/2 can also support several overlapped I/O operations due to multiple, shared I/O buffers. WHAT ARE YOUR GROWTH OPTIONS? There is one last issue with Windows, and that's where do you go from here? Microsoft is already talking about Chicago (a code name for Windows 4.0), which is not expected until sometime in 1994. Chicago hopes to solve some of the problems Windows users have today by by-passing DOS completely and doing its own I/O and by adding support for 32-bit applications. To exploit Chicago, you will likely have to upgrade all of your Windows applications again, as you've done in the past going from one release to another. With OS/2, you can run your 16-bit DOS and Windows applications and add new 32-bit applications when you are ready. As in the past, when moving to new OS/2 releases, your old applications should still run fine because of IBM's long-term commitment to protecting customer investments in hardware, system software, and applications. ============================================================ OS/2 AWARDS Over 2 million copies of OS/2 2.0 were sold in its first 9 months, and OS/2 continues to garner international acclaim from the computer industry's leading publications and delighted end users. Since November, 1992, IBM OS/2 2.0 has won 15 awards from the computer industry's leading U.S trade publications -- PC Magazine, PC Computing, PC World, Information Week, and Corporate Computing -- honoring OS/2 in categories such as technical excellence, most promising new product and best operating system/environment. Specific honors and awards presented to IBM OS/2 2.0 include: o PC Magazine - December 22, 1992 "Technical Excellence" Award Winner, "Operating Systems and Software Standards" o InformationWeek - December 22, 1992 "1992 Top Products -- The 10 Most Likely to Succeed" o PC Week -- December 28, 1992 "Top Products of '92" o PC World - December 1992 "PC Industry Achievement" Award for "Most Promising Newcomer, Software" o PC/Computing -- December 1992 "Most Valuable Product" (MVP) Award for "Operating System/Environment" o Corporate Computing -- January 1993 "Best Buy for 1993" o PC Magazine (Italy) -- February 3, 1993 "PC Technology" Award o Software noviny (Czechia) -- February, 1993 "Product of the Year 1992" o Datamation -- February 15, 1993 "Product of the Year," PC Software category o Computer Language -- February 23, 1993 "Jolt Cola" Award for "Product Excellence 1992" o PC Magazine (Spain) -- March 1993 "Product of the Year" o InfoWorld -- April 26, 1993 "Software Product of the Year" o InfoWorld -- April 26, 1993 "Overall Product of the Year"(16) (see below) o Soft et Micro (France) -- April 1993 "1993 Must-Have" o Ziff-Davis (Europe) -- 7 June 1993 "Software Excellence Award", "Environment and Desktop" category ---------------- 16 The most important thing regarding this award is that it comes from the readers and users, not just the decision of a publisher or committee. ============================================================ INFORMATION SOURCES o TELEPHONE: You can get more information on OS/2 by calling IBM at 1-800-3IBM-OS2 for a free demo diskette or to order your copy of OS/2. They can also refer you to a local PC dealer equipped to give you a demonstration. o WHERE TO FIND OS/2 APPLICATIONS: The "OS/2 Applications Solutions Directory," lists thousands of OS/2 applications from independent software vendors. To order your copy, call 800-READ-OS2. o FOR INDEPENDENT VENDORS PROVIDING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT SUPPORT OS/2: To order "The I.V. League" catalog, call 800-342-6672. o IBM COURSEWARE AND EDUCATION: Skill Dynamics, an IBM Company, call 800-IBM-TEACh, ext.137. o FAX: Call 800-IBM-4FAX and request an index of documents. Use your touch-tone phone to request by document number. o BOOKS & MAGAZINES: Over 35 OS/2 books are in print, with three of the top-10 computer books being on OS/2. They range from a paperback-sized "10 Minute Guide to OS/2 2.1" to the larger "OS/2 2.1 Unleashed," which is over 1,000 pages. - "OS/2 Professional" magazine, by I.F.Computer Media, call 301-770-4OS2 to subscribe. - "OS/2 Monthly" magazine, by JDF Publishing, call 800-365-2642 to subscribe. - "OS/2 Computing" magazine, by Miller Freeman, Inc., call 415-905-2200 to subscribe. - "OS/2 Developer" magazine, by IBM, call 800-WANT-OS2 to subscribe. o ON-LINE INFORMATION: On-line documentation contained within OS/2 2.1 is so extensive that, even compressed, it takes up 2.5 megabytes of your hard disk. If it were printed, it would be over 2,000 pages. With such a vast library of information available, IBM has taken great pains to make it easy to access and navigate through. Helps are context-sensitive, and often contain hyper-links to more detail if needed. This is just a small subset of the many sources of information on OS/2. ORDERING INFORMATION The suggested retail price of OS/2 is $249, including all of the functions of DOS and Windows and more. During a promotional period (which ends September 15, 1993), however, existing DOS users can upgrade for just $99 (CD-ROM version) or $119 (diskette version). OS/2 users can send in a rebate coupon worth $30, getting the price down as low as $69! To order your copy today and participate in the promotional pricing, call IBM at 1-800-3IBM-OS2. ============================================================ TRADEMARKS: IBM, OS/2, WorkPlace Shell, Crash Protection, Skill Dynamics, Multimedia Presentation Manager/2, MMPM/2, Mwave, WindSurfer, DataFax, PhoneFX, SOM, DSOM, PS/1, PS/2, PS/2E, PowerPC, PS/2 TV, SNA, and Rexx are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Adobe Type Manager is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. America Online is a registered service mark of America Online, Inc. BitFax is a trademark of Bit Software, Inc. CompuServe is a registered trademark of the CompuServe Corporation. DCF/2 is a trademark of Proportional Software. DeScribe is a registered trademark of DeScribe, Inc. FaxForward is a trademark of Computer Systems Integration, Inc. Fax/PM is a trademark of Microformatic USA. Lotus 1-2-3 and Freelance are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corp. Home Office is a trademark of Prometheus Products. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Windows 3.1, Windows NT, Microsoft Money, Excel, OLE and Cairo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Open+Fax is a trademark of Open+Voice, Inc. PFS: Works is a trademark of Spinnaker Software Corp. Photo CD is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company. PMfax is a trademark of Keller Group, Inc. Prodigy is a trademark of PRODIGY Services Company, Inc. Quicken is a trademark of Intuit Corporation. Stacker is a trademark of STACK Electronics Inc. Sytos Plus and Sytos Rebound are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sytron Corporation. WinFax is a trademark of Delrina Technology. WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. 486 and Pentium are trademarks of Intel Corporation.