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the Beta File- by Ryan Dill
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Welcome back to the Beta File, your source for the latest breaking news in OS/2 beta development. Every month we scour the OS/2 world to bring you interesting news of OS/2 software in development. If you have a product that you're sure is going to be the next killer app, or you want a little free exposure for your beta test, drop us a note!

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We'll start off this month with some beta updates to programs e-Zine's already mentioned..

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Those who use scanners under OS/2 may be interested to know that Stan Irish has released a new version of his program PMSANE. PMSANE is a Presentation Manager front-end for the OS/2 version of SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy), a program which provides OS/2 command-line support for a variety of SCSI scanners. Using PMSANE rather than SANE means you don't have to remember a bunch of command-line switches, since the GUI of PMSANE takes care of them invisibly. This new version of PMSANE works with HP scanners and has beta code included for Microtek scanners, as well as a variety of bug fixes (it now works on 4OS2 systems!), minor enhancements, and better exception handling and error logging features. A beta version of PMSANE version 0.25 can be downloaded from Hobbes. Note that it also requires a copy of SANE already be installed -- SANE v0.66a can also be downloaded from Hobbes. If you have a SCSI scanner of a type besides HP or Microtek, Irish invites you to help in adding support for your own scanner to PMSANE; details on how to assist are included in the PMSANE package.

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As mentioned in this month's News From the OS/2 Community column, IBM recently made available a prerelease version of Java 1.1.6 for OS/2. This version of Java was, in fact, released within the same month as the reference version by Sun Microsystems.

This version replaces the existing Java 1.1.4 for OS/2 and provides a runtime environment, Java Development Kit (JDK), just-in-time (JIT) compiler, and International Support. Java 1.1.6 for OS/2 Warp will work with OS/2 Warp 4, OS/2 Warp Server, OS/2 Warp Server SMP, and WorkSpace On-Demand.

You can check out Java 1.1.6 for OS/2 now by visiting IBM's prerelease software site. You will be required to fill out a registration form, but no fee is required. Be warned though, just the run time ZIP archive is 7.5 meg!

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Sergey I. Yevtushenko, author of PU Monitor, a small monitoring utility, capable of showing useful information such as CPU load, free physical memory, TCP/IP traffic (for selected interface) and uptime, has released a new beta version (1.10d).

[PU Monitor Graphic]

PU Monitor can be positioned and sized as users prefer.

No firm date for "official" release is set at this time, but PU Monitor is and will remain freeware. The current beta can be downloaded from the ES Home Page.

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After it purchased the rights to Mesa 2, Sundial Systems began a process of updating the venerable spreadsheet package to breathe new life into it. Recently, they released the latest in a series of "prereleases", (PR 5) of version 2.2. PR5 includes a variety of changes and enhancements over the previous prerelease, including:

This prerelease, like the ones before it, is available for download free of charge from the Sundial web site. No final pricing or release date has been announced, however, the MSRP for the current version of Mesa 2 is US$169 (upgrade pricing is available).

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Ryan Dill is a student in Computer Science at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS and e-Zine! 's assistant editor. He is reported to be relieved that, with the advent of Warp 4, talking to your computer is no longer considered a sign of mental instability.


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