You may have noticed that this issue was a few days late. Well, truth be told, I simply forgot to get it done.
The week before the issue was to go up, I was finishing up a contract, and with a million little last-minute
details to take care of, I made one rather big oversight. However, now the May issue is here, with some additional
news: I'm going to be retiring as Editor in Chief of the OS/2 eZine shortly. Hopefully this month, however in
any case, the June issue will be my last. If you're interested in the position,
just email me.
I'm making some big changes in my life, and unfortunately, things aren't going to allow
for me to continue to be the EiC any more. I've been struggling these last few months and while I'm
hoping to still write articles, on a month-to-month basis, I don't feel I can give the eZine the attention
it needs any more. Like those before me, I feel that I've done what I wanted to with the OS/2 eZine,
and that it is time for someone new to see what they can do with it.
About the Position
The upside of the EiC position is that you get some recognizability in the community, a
fair amount of free stuff, you get to read new OS/2 articles before anyone else,
and you get the incomparable feeling that comes from the
god-like ability to wield at a whim, the spectacular power of a massive publishing empire that comprises
half of the OS/2 magazine marketplace. The downside of course,
is that you don't get paid.
The EiC position involves a minimum of 4-6 hours a month to edit and lay out the
articles. Basically this involves making sure the screenshots the authors give us fit, doing
spellchecking, and reading everything over to make sure the articles make sense. Other than
that, you have to do the prize draws and email notices once a month to prod our stable of authors
into motion.
The actual layout of the eZine is completely automated, and requires running a single .CMD
file to link all the articles together, put them in the standard layout, bring in bios and
photos, etc.
Once the issue is together and you are satisfied, you just upload it to the servers at BMT
micro using FTP, update the forums for the month, and the issue is ready to go.
I can give whoever replaces me lots of examples and as much help as
they need with the layout and technical side of the issue production and with PPWizard. It should be
easy to get the current production system working for someone else.
Experience Required
Whoever ends up taking on the EiC position will need to be comfortable with FTP and HTML, needs to be
able to spell and string words together in some minimal fashion, and if they are
going to continue with the current automated system (highly recommended) then they'll need to learn
some basic HTML markup tags.
I hope that whoever takes over the position will also bring some fresh ideas, some new perspective,
and hopefully a monthly op-ed column, something I've missed during my time as EiC.
eComStation 1.1 Released
You can read over at http://www.ecomstation.com about the new 1.1 release. They've done a nice
detailed brochure. If you have eCS 1.0, they even have a promotional discount deal for you until June 15.
Interesting Article
If you're interested in learning more about Stardock's Galactic Civilizations, there's an interesting post-mortem column
over at Gamasutra.com (http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20030507/wardell_01.shtml) although
you need to register (free) to view it.
This Month
For reviews this month, Isaac Leung looks at an image editor and a couple of CAD applications.
Bas Heijermans looks at CONFIG.SYS and offers some OS/2 history and Tim Swank offers up a couple
more cool desktop images.
Looking for More OS/2 eZine Content?
How about writing it? The OS/2 eZine has to be a community effort, the more writers we have to spread the
work around, the better the issues will be and the easier it is for everyone. If you're working on a cool OS/2 project that you think the readership of the OS/2 eZine
would find interesting, we're looking for one-off articles as well as short series and monthly columns to fill the
pages of the OS/2 eZine. Trying some cool new software? How about writing a short review? It doesn't
take much time and you can win some great prizes!
Have a Product or Service you think our readers would be interested In?
If you have a product you think the readership of the OS/2 eZine might find interesting, take a look at our
Advertising (http://www.os2ezine.com/advertising.html) page. We've got an offer we think you'll find
hard to refuse.
The OS/2 eZine is committed to serving the OS/2 and eCS community by providing accurate, useful, and timely information every month. We will deliver user-oriented hardware and software reviews, thoughtful editorial comment, and 'how-to' articles which will include useful tips for both the novice and the experienced OS/2 user.
Robert Basler is the president of
Aurora Systems, Inc. (http://www.aurora-systems.com)
and has been a dedicated OS/2 user since he tired of rebooting Windows 3.1 twenty times a day.
He spends what free time he can manage travelling the world. Photo was taken at Franz Josef
glacier, New Zealand.
Robert Basler is the president of
Aurora Systems, Inc. (http://www.aurora-systems.com)
and has been a dedicated OS/2 user since he tired of rebooting Windows 3.1 twenty times a day.
He spends what free time he can manage travelling the world. Photo was taken at Franz Josef
glacier, New Zealand.