Welcome back to the Beta File, your source for the latest breaking news in OS/2 beta development. As Big Blue and Lotus march on toward the release of Merlin and SmartSuite for OS/2, a horde of smaller ISVs are using the quiet time to work away at their own projects. Let's just say, we've got a lot to talk about.
Of course, during any given month, we don't come across every company currently in development. What's that you say? You want to help fill out this column? You have a product that you're sure is going to be the next killer app? You want a little free hype? Well get off your keister and drop us a note!
Now, to business.
Prepress houses will be pleased to hear that Andrew Glynn and Norman Burkies of Carmel Graphic Systems are about to begin beta testing the SILO Extensions to the SpringBoard Prepress Archiving & Connectivity System. As the product nears beta there will be a web site with sample databases that can be browsed by any Web Browser but at press time it was not yet announced.
The SILO Extensions archive all types of files without operator intervention, produce thumbnail images and 72dpi view files for supported image formats, retrieve images in any requested format and at any requested resolution, connect to proprietary systems via SCSI emulation technology, support database browsing through HTML or Lotus Notes, connect to SpringWell shared SCSI servers and can integrate to SpringWell's internal database. Support for most image, linework, and page formats, including proprietary high-end formats such as Crosfield, Scitex, and Linotype is included as is support for multimedia and 3d formats. It also has full support for Macintosh files and full client platform support through use of HTML and Notes front ends.
Initial availability will be as a commercial product, but Carmel Graphic Systems is looking into the possibility of putting out a smaller "standalone" version with support for only "public" file formats as shareware for the individual OS/2 market.
The alpha version has been tested by 4 large prepress houses over the past couple of months; SpringBoard itself is in operation currently at over 200 full service prepress and printing shops, and is currently at version 3.5.7, having been released originally in 1990 using OS/2 1.2. The SILO Extensions will be released in the second quarter of 1996 for OS/2, and the third or fourth quarter for NT and Solaris. While the price will vary based on options purchased, support plans, platform purchased, etc., it will be much cheaper on OS/2 than on NT or Solaris, simply due to lower support costs for the developers.
Still on the high end of things, Client Server Networking Inc. has announced beta testing for its new WATCHIT Plus. WATCHIT Plus, quite simply, provides the information to optimize any IBM LAN SERVER. Platforms include OS2, AIX, MVS\VM, or AS\400. The product will graph mean response, sessions, shares, bytes transferred, print jobs, big buffer and request buffer allocations. Graphs direct administrators to the detail information needed to improve performance and expand capacity.
The commercial product will be available from most OS/2 software retailers in the second quarter of 1996 (around May or June). The beta test started on February 20th but is still open to interested parties (check the web page for details). The price for the GA has not been set yet.
For further information e-mail Robert Labenski of Client Server Networking Inc. or call (860) 233-2951.
If all that technical talk made you think that game developers have abandoned OS/2, think again. Grinning Lizard in conjunction with Rhintek, Incorporated has announced that they are developing a new network aware multi-player game, Bug-Eyed Monsters from Outer Space (BEM) and they are looking for beta testers. BEM is heralded as a multiplayer, action/strategy game with '50s styling and '90s rocket launchers.
Lee Thomason and Bill Herrington of Grinning Lizard and David Mearns of Rhintek are working on the game which can have multiple players through dialup, serial connections, local networks, and, of course, the Internet. It will also have lots of different types of scenarios for individualized play. Players can work against one another or as a team. Genetic algorithms are used to create troops and BEMs to allow increases in difficulty. And the AI doesn't cheat!
The final version will be a commercial product with a list price of US$69. Company officials say it will be released in August 1996 and that the date is, "not a moveable [one], either." In the mean time, if you want to jump onto the beta bandwagon, drop by the Rhintek web site for details. I've been told that, "There are plans to have Grinning Lizard host a game every day for people wanting to try multiplayer action." This sounds like a company to watch!
Still on the multimedia game front, Max Marsiglietti and Dan Libby are still accepting participants in their beta test of their OS/2 pinball game. The temporary working name for the application is Psyberball. There will also almost certainly be a pinball construction kit to go along with the game.
Featuring DIVE (including FS DIVE) graphics, DART sound support for real time music and sound effects and running up to 66+ frames per second on a 486, the initial demo/beta copies distributed to test the graphics and game engine look good. The final decision on whether this will be a shareware or commercial product has yet to be determined and the final release date is also up in the air. Expect it some time this year is as specific as the developer would be.
Currently, there are about 70 testers, and growing. If you want to get in on the fun, send an e-mail to maxmars@pianeta.it. As Marsiglietti says, "by testing these early releases you'll be sure that the final release will work on your box."
In a less game oriented use of multimedia, WiSHware Inc. is continuing its ongoing beta testing of the freeware PMsndX. What does PMsndX do? Well, it does a whole lot. Just about anything you can think of for digital audio is in the program.
Actually PMsndX is two programs, EdSndX.exe and PlSndX.exe, which are aimed at different users. These tools are intended for use by the average home user who wants to play with sound bytes (small sound files) which are typically less than one or two megabytes. EdSndX.EXE is the primary tool for editing audio files of many different formats including Sun, WAV, VOC, MAC, IRCAM, and all the raw formats. PlSndX.EXE is the primary tool for playing sound files. This program is unique in that not only can it can load any of the formats that EdSndX can edit, but it also has special features to make it easy to play sounds directly from the command line.
Have you ever downloaded an .au file and found that it will not play with wepm or ab.exe? This is normally because the file is sampled at 8kHz which the normal players have problems with. PlSndX solves this problem by automatically adjusting the rate to a multiple of 11025 which makes most sound cards very happy. All of these tools are integrated into the WPS environment and support Drag/Drop as well as integrated on-line help.
In an interesting switch, author William S. Hiles distributes PMSndX only as freeware and only to home users. In his words, "It is intended for home users. The licenses are free for the asking and the only thing that I require is that the user demonstrate that he/she will be using it for personal applications." He further says, "I give this program away in hopes that someone will find it useful and so that I can feel like I contributed to the OS/2 community in a positive way." If only there were more like him!
In one of the most eloquent statements ever heard from a shareware or freeware developer, Hiles says, "Due to the nature of the program, it is always a beta and always a final release." Two years of beta testing has made it stable (Version 2.15) but new features are always being added and new beta testers are always welcome. Just send him a message explaining why you feel that you should be included on the "early list". Hiles sends out notes to the "early testers" to let them know what area has changed and where to really focus the testing.
The program can be found on most FTP sites as pmsx215.zip as of March.
Finally this month, another developer is jumping into the Internet application ring. The Internet Adventurer for OS/2 PM by Kim Rasmussen is an Internet suite for OS/2, currently supporting IRC (including rexx scripts) and WWW using the WebExplorer API. Soon however, FTP, Telnet, News, Mail, and possibly other protocols will be added.
Until now, the beta test has been going for around one month, and there have already been more that 100 testers. If you would like to participate, just send an e-mail to kr@belle.dk with the subject Internet Adventurer Beta Request, or drop by the web site for more details.
Final pricing and release date for this shareware suite is still not decided. The author plans to ask all beta participants what they think would be a valid price for it, but for now, the beta is free. So drop by!
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