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Feedback from April 7

Windows users' opinions of OS/2 and other OSs

I have been using OS/2 since v.2 (the one when IBM took over the OS/2 developement). I also encounter a lot of Windows users (some of them computer professionals) asking why I am still using OS/2?

Then I asked them:
Have you ever used OS/2? No.
Have you used any OS other than Windows (3.1 or 95)? Eh... No.

If you tell them that the only tool they know is no good, then you can image their reactions.

Erwin Ho


I sympathize with what you say about the OS/2 whiners. I can only offer a couple of reasons why they exist.

1) Some people can't stand to see other people happier than them. They have bought into the Window Pains solution but (naturally) they are not happy. It does, after all, crash.

2) Others think there should be only one operating system. These poeple also think there should be only one language, one country, one cable company, one phone company, one... well you get the idea. The logic behind this point of view; compatiblity. There big problem (besides the obvious) is they made the wrong choice of OS.

3) Microsoft does have an enormous amount of money. Could they be hiring people just to bug us?

Tom Harger


Well said!

I have a productive environment and am very happy with it. People tell me that I can do all of this on NT and I should go there. No one I know has this set up on NT, but they want me to spend time trying to get what I already have.

LeSunda Broome


The Rave on InfoZip Utilities

Bravo, Mr. Walker! I as well have often marveled at the Info Zip archivers as they speed along, running lickety-split in the background, backing up untold megabytes of my (not really) priceless data. As a dual Windows & OS/2 user, I have found nothing in the Microsoft realm that matches the sheer performance of this freeware wonder; PKWare came close with PKZip for Win95, but still fell short.

Hmm, maybe Tim could try out the File Manager/2 suite of utilities from Barebones Software next...

Jim Holley


OS/2 e-Zine! IP Masquerading article

I enjoyed reading your article on your new LAN - INet setup using InJoy. I just wanted to make one additional observation that may save a few folks a little money. If you are setting this up for only two computers, you don't even need a hub! It is a simple matter to build a cable that will allow you to connect two computers together over 10-baseT without a hub.

The cables used on a 10-baseT network are straight-through cables with RJ-45 ends. These have eight wires, but only four are used, arranged as one transmit, and one recieve pair. If you turn the connector so the metal pins are facing you and the wire is running down, then the pins are numbered 1 through 8 from the left. Pins one and two are one pair, pins 3 and 6 are the other (I can't ever remember which is which ). By building a cable that crosses these pairs over - 1 to 3 and 2 to 6 in both directions - you have simulated the crossover function of the hub, connecting the send pair on one LAN port the the receive pair on the other and vice-versa.

This cable then becomes very handy - especially with a laptop. I always carry mine with me - it's a great way to connect two PCs together while travelling. Plus it supports all networking protocols: Warp peer-to peer, Windows 95/NT, and full blown Lan Server (NetBIOS); Netware (IPX); as well as Inter/IntraNet protocols (TCP/IP). You know, there's probably a cottage industry hiding here somewhere that could service this need via mail order - hmm... if anyone's interested, send me an email and I'll work out a deal to build one for them.

Mick Smothers

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