Magic Birds and Other Apparitions- editorial

Well, it seems that after the months (and years for some) that we have suffered persecution from the non-OS/2 computing world, we are finally going to get our day in the sun. Some of the events of late last month bode extremely well for OS/2 in general and, yes, for OS/2 in the "home" market too. Despite its "demise" according to some computer journalists years ago, it seems that OS/2 is about to finally shake off its voodoo curse, rise up from its trance and walk the world of the living once more. The source of all this magic? Merlin of course.

OK, I know that was a horribly inconsistent use of symbols and metaphors but you get the point, I'm sure.

To put it bluntly, instead of withering away, an OS already arguably the best in the world is about to get beefed up, prettied up and generally, "kick some butt" (to quote a well known OS/2 ISV).

Speaking of well known OS/2 ISVs, one of the "events late last month" that I mentioned above was, of course, the IBM Technical Interchange which took place in Nashville, Tennessee and included its share of OS/2 celebrities. The event was a showcase of IBM's and Independent Software Vendors' (ISVs') commitment to OS/2, both as a corporate and an end-user platform. Stardock Systems Inc. President and all-around OS/2 advocate, Brad Wardell, took a minute to jot down some notes for those of us not fortunate enough to make it to Nashville and was kind enough to post them on Stardock's WWW site. There's no need to go all the way over there though (not just yet anyway), since we've reprinted Brad's thoughts and impressions right here in the pages of this month's e-Zine!.

And if you thought that was about all the earthshaking news that IBM could muster in one month, think again. Our crack reporter, Chris Wenham stopped by that other major display of OS/2 magic last month, The IBM OS/2 Warp Teleseminar 2. Among other things to amaze and delight, IBM's David Barnes performed his own magic with Merlin to the crowds' delight; but don't take my word for it, Chris reveals all in his full report this month!

In fact, so much noise is being made lately about Merlin that we've been wondering if IBM has started hiring away Microsoft marketing employees. Of course they haven't, but regardless, on top of official demonstrations at the TI and the Warp Teleseminar, screen shots of Merlin have been popping up on FTP and WWW sites worldwide.

So is our day in the sun at hand? Initial response from the non-OS/2 media seems promising. As some are saying, with the disappointment of Windows 95 sales in retail channels (the vast majority of sales being preloads) and the present technical superiority of Warp, this rejuvenation of interest and interface might be enough to finally dispel the image of hopeless underdog OS/2 has suffered from. Well, maybe that's hoping for too much, but it would be nice to be just an underdog, wouldn't it?

I can feel that sunshine now...

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