| Graphics, Graphics, Everywhere

  or a long time now, the staff and contributors of OS/2 e-Zine! have been chomping at the bit to do a, "massive blow out graphics comparison issue," (in the words of one editor). The truth is, over the past year, we've often planned to do just that, but for one reason or another, things always got sidetracked. But with the recent uproar about SPG ceasing OS/2 development and the resulting demand for comprehensive and accurate graphics application reviews, we knew the time had finally come. When we realized this, shortly before our last issue went on-line, we made the decision to remove a few graphics program reviews (Embellish and WebAK) from our line up, specifically to save them for this month. The result is the magazine you are reading now.

  As you will probably notice from our table of contents, the Internet's largest OS/2 mag has undergone a massive growth this month -- this issue is almost 50% larger than our regular issues! When we sat down to make a list of programs for review this month, we quickly realized that with all the OS/2 apps available, we just couldn't do the job in the (already large) number of pages we normally publish. So we decided to throw the doors open and really cram all the info we could possibly fit into this super sized graphics issue.

  And what would a graphics application round up be without a ton of pictures? While we have always had screen shots of most products we review, this month's monster line up means a monster amount of screen shots too. Don't worry though, as usual, our graphics wizards have pulled every trick possible to shrink those GIFs to the smallest file sizes without sacrificing picture quality.

  You'll also probably notice that since we are focusing on graphics applications this month, we decided to create a whole new look for our pages too. Some of you have been telling us for many months that it was time for this and when our readers speak, we listen! But, as always, OS/2 e-Zine! is a work in progress, so if you have suggestions for more (or better) changes, please let us know!

  Also, while we have overhauled our look, you'll notice some important things have remained the same. Most importantly, we still pay attention to overall page loading times. Unlike some web sites, you still won't find our pages bogged down with graphics so numerous or large that you could read "War and Peace" while waiting for them to load. And things are still cleanly laid out with a minimum of flashing lights and dancing icons. After all, you're here for the content, right?

  And those of you who are really observant will note that our resident comical and artistic genius, Christopher B. Wright, not to be outdone, has given his highly acclaimed "Help Desk" comic strip a great new look too. That's right, the Internet's funniest on-line cartoon -- exclusive to OS/2 e-Zine!, of course -- has gotten even better. Have a look, but grab a hanky, because you'll laugh 'til you cry. <g>

  As you may remember, last month I suggested we regularly single out one company or person who has shown dedication to OS/2 and send them our thanks.

  We received a ton of e-mail with suggestions for developers to thank in the past month, but one of the most common suggestions was SouthSoft, Inc.. As most of you already know, Robert Novitskey and Evan Goldring, the founders of SouthSoft, are the driving force behind one of the most popular e-mail clients for OS/2 home users, PMMail. If you feel, as we do, that SouthSoft has been a valuable and loyal supporter of the OS/2 community, why not use our form to say, "thank you"?

  (By the way, we also received many suggestions that we thank Knightware Software Products, makers of MR/2 ICE, and InnoVal Systems Solutions, makers of Post Road Mailer. We're taking this project one company at a time, but please, feel free to send your letters of thanks to these other companies as well if you feel they deserve them!)

  To thank Robert and Evan, just type your comments in the box below (don't forget to enter your name and e-mail address) and press the "Thank those men!" button. Naturally, the point of this exercise is to encourage developers so please, send only positive comments via this form (we will not be monitoring your messages in any way).

  Name |
  e-mail |

  (Please do not click the "Thank those men!" button more than once.)

  If this form does not work for you and you want to participate, you can e-mail SouthSoft with your WWW browser's e-mail function or with your favourite e-mail program at info@southsoft.com.

  Who else should we acknowledge? We're open to suggestions. Who do you think has been a great supporter of OS/2 today or in the past? Who deserves the recognition of our readers? Send us their names and we'll dig up their e-mail addresses!

  And, by the way, don't feel you need to wait for us to suggest a developer to be thanked -- please feel free to fire up your e-mail programs and write letters of support to any and all OS/2 developers you feel deserve it. It can only be a positive thing.

--

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

Copyright © 1997 - Falcon Networking