Connect the World with Merlin- by Tim Bryce

Note: The following note was excerpted from the Editorial Page of the April 1996 issue of the OS/2 CONNECT newsletter. Since Mr. Bryce's original posting of this letter, much interest has been generated and subsequent replies have been written. Please check the OS/2 CONNECT site for further details.

Connect the World with Merlin

A couple of weeks ago the Board of Directors of our local Tampa Bay OS/2 Users' Group (TBOUG) met to discuss group activities and plans. Since we're always looking for ways to promote OS/2, discussions turned to how our group could best support IBM locally in its promotional efforts. One idea was to conduct demonstrations of OS/2 at some of the computer super stores in the area (CompUSA, Computer City, and Egghead Software). This would help educate both the consumer and local store sales people alike. Although this type of demo could be easily performed, we questioned why we should stop there. Perhaps a more dramatic presentation could be done to showcase the power of the product. Instead of a single demonstration, one store at a time, an alternative plan was proposed: to conduct several presentations throughout the Tampa Bay area simultaneously on the same day all connected through a network. This would allow a presenter in Tampa to show what was going on at other stores in Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, etc. But then again, "Why stop there?" Why not link into other user groups throughout Florida? Again we asked, "Why stop there?" Why not link all of the other OS/2 user groups around the globe? Perhaps we could build a map of the world over the Internet using OS/2 Warp Connect and OS/2 Warp Server. The map could show who has logged on to the network over a 24 hour period of time (such as user group name, location, time, etc.; perhaps a graphic image such as a JPG or GIF file could be uploaded or even an audio message could be placed on the map). Think about it: But when would be the best time to conduct such an event? How about the launch of the next generation of OS/2 Warp Connect, "Merlin," the version aimed specifically at the end-user, scheduled for delivery around mid-year (perhaps July).

This is exactly what I proposed to John W. Thompson, Wally Casey and other IBMers at the Warp Server launch in San Francisco. Thompson in particular seemed to find the idea intriguing. From IBM's point of view, the project would be simple to implement; they would have to supply a dedicated Warp Server machine and provide Internet access to it. They would, of course, also have to supply user group volunteers with an advanced copy of "Merlin" to demonstrate.

Recruiting user group or Team OS/2 volunteers should not be a problem. We could probably garner the necessary volunteers from the readers of OS/2 CONNECT alone.

IBM has not promised to implement this idea yet but they said they would give it some serious thought. In the meantime, if you or your user group are interested in participating in this project, please drop me a line to express your interest. Please include your name and title, user group name, mailing address, country, telephone, fax, and e-mail address.

Tim Bryce
Editor, OS/2 CONNECT
April 1996

Send a letter to the editor.

Our Sponsors: [Bianchi Software] [BMT Micro] [ChipChat] [SPG] [Stardock]


Back to Contents | ® Previous Article | Next Article ¯


This page is maintained by Falcon Networking. We welcome your suggestions.

Copyright © 1996 - Falcon Networking