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Feedback from January 20

TaxDollars Review

With Intuit's dropping of the DOS version of the product I needed a replacement that didn't entail Windows - just didn't want to load all that extra baggage on my machine. So I went shopping with a simple criteria: OS/2 tax personal. One of the first few hits was your periodical.

What a surprise to find a well balanced article on an OS/2 alternative! It was well written and with sufficient detail that I'm going to buy the product.

Alias NaughtHead


Don't forget, that was a review of last year's version of TaxDollars. The new version is out now (which you probably already know).

- editor


Slice-it makes me ask about ZIP drives and Backup programs

I recently acquired a Parallel ZIP drive (which I am quite thrilled with!). The only thing: I wish to instal Warp 4 but won't until I can back up my whole system simply and easily to a ZIP drive.

Is there any utility or program that will let me do that, without any fuss or bother. (I have been using FASTBACK for DOS in the past and am comfortable the way it works.)

Tom Neumann


Have a look at our latest issue. We review BackAgain/2 Pro which supports backing up disks to Zip drives.

- editor


Thanks for the stocking stuffer!

Hi. Just wanted to thank you all for this great OS/2 online mag! I get a lot of my OS/2 news from this site and I work for IBM!

I had a couple of thoughts that you might want to share with your readers. I hope that IBM continues to improve OS/2 itself and not just the Java VM. I am very frustrated with the industry in its reporting of Java as being the solution to everything! Currently, I myself am working on 2 projects involving Java and I know that it will be very successful for business applications but Java (at least in its current form) will never be able to exploit a computer to its full potential its just too slow and restrictive.

I'm very tired of so called experts saying that C++ and other languages are crap because it adds too much complexity to programming and Java is the solution to every problem. The programmer should always use the right tool to solve the problem. C++ does add complexity but you can choose not to use it. For example, our team developed a 30,000 line application without using a single pointer, new, or delete! This was a very sophisticated application that included TCP/IP, DB/2, and client/server technology.

BTW, in your review of Netscape Navigator you mentioned that NN didn't support QuickTime videos but in fact it does if you download the QT viewer beta for OS/2. It is included with DEVCON12. It doesn't support all QT videos yet but it is a great first step.

Kirk Rasmussen


IBM and OS/2 Magazine

I liked your eulogy for OS/2 magazine. I would have suscribed, but at 20 cents per page, I thought that I was not getting enough value for my money. So far, I'll stick to Dr. Dobbs, PC-MAGAZINE, and LAN-MAGAZINE.

IBM has blocked noses. They cannot smell the roses (IE WARP/OS2 followers). I regret that they will miss, once again, golden opportunities to get some market share where it counts, in the public's eye.

With the existing marketing approach to OS/2, I can't see the product existing by the turn of the century.

That's sad, and also makes me reluctant to invest in OS/2 software from third parties.

Leslie Satenstein


Netscape for OS/2 v. WebEx

Although I too preferred the snappiness and look of WebEx, I am more pleased that a vendor like Netscape is willing to throw their hat into the OS/2 arena. The golden version of Netscape is much better then the 2nd beta... how do you like it?

Roger Borrello


We do like it Roger. In fact, we are so happy with it, we have begun to test our magazine's pages primarily with Netscape Navigator. We are also implementing some small Javascript improvements to OS/2 e-Zine! (but don't worry, none that will confuse WebEx).

- editor


Long file names from DOS

A while back, a reader wrote to your "Answers" column, looking for a tool that "provides long file name support (HPFS file names) for Windows applications running under Win-OS2. It would be nice if it suppoerted DOS applications as well." Your staff replied that to their knowledge, no such application exists.

In the course of my 'net "surfing" I discovered an FTP site with a small treasure chest of OS/2 utilites at os2.musthave.com/OS2. One of the applications, HPFS/DOS (hpfsa102.zip), allows HPFS access from DOS and sounds what your reader was looking for.

John Morrow


Fiddle Sticks

I just read your article "Fiddle Sticks" and I appreciate hearing that IBM is not giving up on OS/2. I am a home user, and I also think that OS/2 is the best OS.

I love getting into conversatons with others about the virtues of OS/2 and am spreading the word (part-time crusader!). I now have my eye doctor interested in changing to Warp 4 to run his office. I, also plan on upgrading to Warp 4 very soon.

I am in the graphics industry and I work with some of those staunch MAC supporters - using Photoshop and Quark programs. I am very interested in finding out if there are any OS/2 programs comparable - and is there enough support for the periferal hardware, like scanners and film recorderd, etc.

Thanks again for your support of OS/2 and good crusading !

Terry Monahan


Terry, there certainly are! There is ColorWorks, which can go head to head with PhotoShop any time and also Photo>Graphics and Impos/2. At least two of those (Impos/2 and ColorWorks V2) have scanner support and great printer support.

- editor


IBM has given up the "kitchentop" market. The connected customer is their main target. I am a connected customer, and I want my home PC to connect to my university's network in the most efficient way. That means by ISDN connection. But with the OS that is targeted at the connected customer, in the most current version and the version that comes after a version called "connect", comes no ISDN support. I have to PCs at home that I want to connect via ISDN. One with "kitchentop" OS, better known as Windows95, and one with the OS for "the connected customer". For my "kitchen-top" PC, I have a wide selections of ISDN software, for my "connected customer" PC, I hardly find anything.

I have to add: To me it seems that the US ISDN market tends to use terminal adapters ("ISDN Modems"). In Europe ISDN cards that works almost like network cards, are much more in use. A terminal adapter costs about five times as much as an ISDN card. And if it is possible to have all the needed ISDN functions via an ISDN card under Windows95, it should be possible to do it under OS/2.

The message to IBM should be very simple: Serve your connected customers. Make sure that there are drivers for ISDN cards and communication software. Do it now, and have the software ready by yesterday.

And IBM, as many other US companies, should realize that US standards are not always world standards. In Europe, we want support for the Euro-ISDN standard!

Olav Torvund


Creative Labs

I cannot blame Creative Labs for their stand. IBM has shown over and over again it has no interest in the concerns of the small user as per their press releases. I have been using OS/2 since 2.1 including beta programs. I am not currently using Merlin; I refused to upgrade from Warp. The reason is simple: if I want to remain competitive in the job market I must use apps that run with Microsoft.

I havent switched to 95 yet on the hopes that IBM will wake up and supply services to run 95 apps. Unfortunately I have to make the decision to switch to 95 very soon but I will hold out to the bitter end. I personaly think IBM has the best OS around and will be sorry to see it go but I do have to concider my own future. IBM it has been realy nice, sorry we will have to part company soon.

Doug Donaldson


ESS Sound Card Sound Quality

Nowhere in the article does the author comment on the sound quality of the ESS card. I bought an ESS Sound Card about 3 years ago and even though it was compatiable with OS/2, I didn't think the sound quality matched the SB-16 (non-wavetable). But 3 years are a long time in this industry. How does the ESS card compare in sound quality in comparision with the SB-16?

Tom Martin


Your ESS was, as you said, 3 years old. You wouldn't happen to remember the chipset number on it, would you? (It was probably 3 digit, if I remember right.) The current ESS chipsets (including the 1868 which I talked about) compare quite well with the SB16 (non-wavetable). Unless you're an audiophile, I don't think you'd be able to hear a difference between the two. And even if you are, the differences are slim.

Also, the ESS 1868 will accept the Wave Blaster daughtercard, so if you do want to upgrade to wavetable sound, you can go the Creative Labs route.

And as I mentioned in my column, the ESS does have certain advantages over the SB16, such as the drivers which "cooperate" with Win-OS2, and the ability to use the full duplex features of the card.

- Jon Cochran


Internet World

One minor note regarding Internet World in New York. OS/2 was indeed there. IBM was demonstrating Netscape/2 2.02. According to the IBM rep demonstrating it, things looked pretty dismal for a while but they recently recieved the go ahead to develop a new version of OS/2 for 1998. So it looks like they're back in business. It also looks like IBM is jerking their OS/2 Staff around like a yo-yo. One time they're UP, and the next they're down.

IBM was also demonstrating Visual Age for Java on OS/2 connected to another Win 3.1 machine. They also claimed their purely graphical Java development tool would be available on OS/2 'eventually.'

Finally, IBM had some big area cornered off. There was a mainframe with what looked like Warp 3.0 connected to it.

Although barely present, it was there......

Marco J. Shmerykowsky


Another View of Archivers

Good job on the Archivers article. I tried RAR when it first became available for OS/2, but dismissed it as just another archiver. After reading your article, I think I'm going to give it another shot. The "Solid Mode" feature looks like it could be very useful for some situations.

I do want to mention another archiver that you overlooked. LxLite is a cross between an archiver and a disk compression utility. OS/2 (Warp 3 and higher) has decompression for RLE files BUILT IN! LxLite will compress RLE files so that OS/2 can decmpress them when it needs them. As an example, we have a 8MB, 486-66, with limited disk space running Warp 3. I used LxLite to compress all the EXE and DLL files in the C:\OS2 directory. It Worked! OS/2 booted normally from compressed files on a normal (no special directories or files) disk. The increased overhead of decompression was easily made up for in faster disk times.

LxLite is a fantastic program that makes use of a decompression feature that you already have built into your operating system. I would like to see LxLite considered in any future reviews.

William R. Nau


Web Explorer compatibility

Glad to see that someone out there acknowledges the fact that there are some of us that are not all aglow with Netscape.

I have already deleted one OS/2 'zine (namely OS/2 Computing!) from my list due to their total abandonment of WebEx in favor of Netscape only. I will not tolerate ANYONE forcing their idea of what browser to use on MY system.

Jim Nuytens


Info-ZIP Answer is Misleading

Your answer about Info-Zip's zip.exe was not entirely accurate. If you use the option '-k' and the '-X' options, those poor individuals forced to use PkZip may unzip the archive. I use this extensively with friends who won't change OS's.

Keith Horsfield


Thanks Keith! I've been needing someone to tell me how to do that.

- editor

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