[Please note: this is a text only version of the on-line magazine, OS/2 e-Zine!.  OS/2 e-Zine! is a graphical, WWW OS/2 publication and, if possible, should be viewed in its HTML format available on-line at http://www.os2ezine.com/ or zipped for off-line reading.  Some graphically oriented articles have been removed from this document.

For best reading of this ASCII version of OS/2 e-Zine!, use a text editor at full-screen width.]


OS/2 e-Zine!		September 16, 1997		volume 2, number 9
----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1997		Falcon Networking  		ISSN 1203-5696

                  "Half a million readers and growing!"


OPINIONS:

  From the Editor
  Chris' Rant
  the Rave: SysBar v0.10
  Glasnost!
 
DEPARTMENTS:

  the Beta File
  Answers from e-Zine!
  News from the OS/2 World
  OS/2 Gaming News
  Chris' Graphics Powertips
  Object Desktop Tips
  Networking with OS/2
  the REXX Files
  How Do I?


FOCUS: Word Pro 96 for OS/2


OTHER REVIEWS:

-Animation Software-
WebAK v1.1 - Chris Wenham
MainActor/2 v1.1 - Dr. Dirk Terrell
AnPoCODEC/QuickMotion - Ryan Dill

-First Looks and Nifty Gadgets-
PKZip for OS/2 v2.50	ZipZap v1.25
Stats v1.02		CandyBarZ v1.10

-Games-
GalCiv II Expansion Pack - Colin L. Hildinger
Seahaven Solitaire - Jeffrey Smick


READER SURVEY

Results from our August Survey
    Find out what your fellow readers told us last month! 

What should IBM do with OS/2?
    Answer these 3 simple questions and find out how you compare to
    other OS/2 users.  Results will be printed next month!


CELEBRITY CORNER

OS/2 Past, Present, Future - Brad Wardell
    Each month, OS/2 e-Zine! brings you IBMers, ISVs, OS/2
    industry personalities, and celebrities to share their opinions
    and more!  This month, Stardock Systems' Brad Wardell
    concludes his three part series on the life and times of OS/2.


THE OS/2 DEBATE

Focus: Will Java Save OS/2? - Chris Wright & Dr. Dirk Terrell
    Join OS/2 e-Zine! staff as they debate some of the most
    controversial topics affecting OS/2 users today.  Pick a side 
    and join in!


END NOTES:

  Hot Sellers - the top 15 selling OS/2 apps from Indelible Blue.
  Hot Sellers - the top 10 selling OS/2 apps from J3 Computer Technologies.
  Hot Sellers - the top 10 selling OS/2 apps from BMT Micro.


ODDS & ENDS:

* How to Subscribe to OS/2 e-Zine! for FREE.
* How YOU can Sponsor OS/2 e-Zine!
* The Sponsors that Make this Issue Possible


Copyright 1997   -   Falcon Networking
ISSN 1203-5696

***********************************

Where are we going today?

I guess my first order of business this month should be to say "goodbye" to OS/2 Computing! Magazine -- but "hello" to 32 Bits Online Magazine.  As many of you know, Medullas Publishing announced a short time ago that, after this month (September, 1997), they would cease publishing OS/2 Computing! as an OS/2-only magazine and change the name to the more general, "32 Bits Online Magazine".

In a way, this is sad, because many people felt that OS/2 Computing! was a valuable source of OS/2 information.  In the past, other magazines dedicated to OS/2 have chosen to cease publishing and I have been personally disappointed each and every time.  One of OS/2 Computing!'s own contributors said it best in that magazine's pages this month:

"But nonetheless, we are one of the only remaining OS/2-dedicated magazines, whether on-line or print, and it's sad to see yet another sector of the computer media shift its focus away from OS/2.

                    - John L. Berger

But, on the brighter side of things, Medullas has not chosen to cease publication, and they have not chosen to forsake OS/2.  While they may have expanded their focus, as John says, they still remain firmly committed to OS/2, according to editor and publisher, Ronny Ko, and as OS/2 users, we are all appreciative of that.  Medullas plans to continue to review OS/2 products as well as products for other platforms, which they feel will expose a wider audience to OS/2.

Because of OS/2 Computing!'s name change though, I've been receiving many letters asking about Haligonian Media's commitment to OS/2 e-Zine!.  So I would like to reassure the entire OS/2 community that Haligonian Media remains completely committed to OS/2.  We will continue to publish OS/2 e-Zine! and it will remain, as it has always been, an OS/2-only magazine.  And we have lots of great ideas for even more expanded OS/2 coverage in the months to come!

* * *

And being an OS/2-only magazine, we're all very excited about a brand new service that OS/2 e-Zine! and (http://www.os2ss.com/) the OS/2 Supersite introduced recently: the (http://www.os2ezine.com/warpcast/) WarpCast News Service.

I won't go into too much detail here (partly because our Technical Editor, Ryan Dill, has the complete scoop in this month's "News from the OS/2 World").  But do stop by the (http://www.os2ezine.com/warpcast/) WarpCast home page and have a look.  It is our goal to provide the OS/2 Community with the most timely, comprehensive and unbiased news source in the world and we welcome your suggestions to make sure we succeed.

* * *

Finally, in this issue, Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock Systems, wraps up his three part series, OS/2: Past, Present, Future.  This last installment is especially thought provoking and is a must read for all OS/2 users who want to know what the future holds for OS/2 and, more importantly, if there is any way we can guide that future.

Brad raises some interesting ideas in his article.  He suggests (and I believe, as do many end-users of OS/2) that the time has come for us to take action.

Does OS/2 have a rosy future?  Does OS/2 have any future?  Only time will tell, but as of today, I can tell you two things with absolute certainty:

Haligonian Media, OS/2 e-Zine! and I all remain firmly committed and as enthusiastic about OS/2 as we have ever been and I believe that OS/2 does have a future.

How about you?

***********************************

Corporate Sponsors of OS/2 e-Zine!

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Your complete source for over 175 of the best OS/2 shareware applications available.  Drop by today and check out our WWW catalog or download the .INF version.

(http://www.ChipChat.com/os2ezine) ChipChat Technology Group
ChipChat produces excellent 32-bit OS/2 software for wireless text paging and state-of-the-art multimedia Sound Cards for Micro Channel PS/2 computers.

(http://www.fx.dk/) F/X Communications
Home of the top selling (http://www.fx.dk/injoy/) InJoy dialer, ranked #1 in worldwide OS/2 shareware sales (Jan-97).

(http://www.indelible-blue.com/) Indelible Blue
Indelible Blue, a mail order company, provides OS/2 software and hardware solutions to customers worldwide.

(http://www.kellergroup.com/) Keller Group Inc.
Developers of FaxWorks for OS/2 and PMfax, the fax and voice solution for OS/2, with versions for stand-alone, LAN and Internet Faxing.

(http://www.mensys.nl/indexuk.html) Mensys
The one place to go in Europe for all OS/2 Warp software.

(http://www.OberonSoftware.com/) Oberon Software, Inc.
Home of TE/2, TE/2 Pro and other fine OS/2 programs.  Specializing in telecommunications, Java apps and the Internet.

(http://www.pcs-soft.com/) Perez Computing Services
Defend against desktop freezes with Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander and create online documents/help with the IPF Editor.

(http://www.prioritymaster.com/) ScheduPerformance, Inc.
Dramatically improve performance on your OS/2 system now with the patented priority scanning logic and visual priority identification of Priority Master II.

(http://www.softouch.com/) SofTouch Systems, Inc.
Home of the bestselling set of disk and desktop maintenance products for 
OS/2: GammaTech Utilities, UniMaint, and FileStar/2!  ---- Your System's Safe and Sound with SofTouch Around

(http://www.stardock.com/) Stardock Systems
Providing quality software for the home and office.

(http://www.sundialsystems.com/) Sundial Systems Corporation
Productivity applications:  Relish - time management; Mesa 2 - spreadsheet; Clearlook - word processor; DBExpert - database.

***********************************

Chris' Rant	- by Chris Wenham

What I Like About/2

I didn't try OS/2 because I already knew what it could offer me, I tried it because I was impetuous and I had the luxury of doing so.  At the time, if you asked me what was special about OS/2, I would have said "32 bits..." and stopped.  I mean I really didn't know much about it, all I wanted to do was try something different.  Now I'm sold, but why?

First I have to recognize that there are very few features in OS/2, the operating system, that are unique.  It's not the only 32-bit game out there, it's not the only one with crash protection, it's not the only one with a solid file system, and it's not even the only one with an object-oriented Desktop.  In fact going down a feature list you must agree that there's precious little that sets it apart from others like the Unixes, Windows NT, Be, and what-have-you.

If I were to single out any one feature, it'd only be a matter of time before some other OS matches it in some way.

While I'm at it, I should also push aside the, "it's not Microsoft," mentality.  Have some sympathy for the devil; Microsoft came to riches through being smart and their competitors being dumb.  That's all there really is to it.  Instead of waving our double standards around and snorting at their use of "per processor" licenses we should ask, "Why didn't somebody else do that first?" and, "Why isn't someone taking notes?"

I don't let my love of one platform depend on hate for another.

I was about to say that the phenomenon of OS/2, the history of underdog fighting the status quo, that seductive air of being part of an exciting movement, was the unique draw for someone with stars in his eyes.  But the Amiga had ((http://www.coax.net/people/erics/AGrass.htm) still has?) that same spirit too, just like the Mac and Linux of today.

That movement is very seductive.  There are things around the corner that could make OS/2 a very exciting place to be in a few months, if all turns out well.  But it's not unique to us.

I almost became stuck, wondering what on Earth it was that keeps me rooted here.  I was about to write it down to personal whim.

Then I fell over and hit my head, knocking sense into myself at last.

I like it because it has everything I just described all in one place and was available at just the right time.  It was the packaging!  (No, not the box, silly.)  A rolling together into one place of all that makes a platform great.  It's been a hotbed of new techniques and technology.  All things considered, I'm enjoying the ride.  OS/2 has provided more fun than anything else.

(And besides, the Workplace Shell kicks ass.)

I'm interested in your ideas too.  What made you switch?  What's your killer app?  Send your thoughts to me at (chris@os2ezine.com) chris@os2ezine.com and if I get enough replies I'll put them into next month's column.

* * *

(http://www.spectra.net/~fox/) Chris Wenham is a freelance web designer, writer and Englishman who now lives in Endicott, NY.  In the past he has written comedy, sci-fi, Pascal, Rexx, HTML and Gibberish.  He has been using OS/2 exclusively for the past 2 years.

***********************************

the Rave: SysBar/2 v0.10	- by Chris Wenham

Filed under the "Neat Little Widgets" category you'll find SysBar, a handy quadruplet of utilities that'll make managing and monitoring your system just a little bit nicer.  Packaged as a suite, you'll find a task-switcher, clock, CD player and something called a Pipe Monitor (which I'll explain later).  The best feature of all these utilities is that they're all stuffed into tiny little strips, no thicker than the Warp Center, which you can dock to any side of the screen for maximum space efficiency.

Task-Switcher

The SysBar/2 task-switcher comes close to the embodiment of the perfect task-switching utility.  It can be set to orient itself either horizontally or vertically, growing and shrinking itself as tasks are started and stopped.  What I found most useful about it is its filtering capability; to save clutter you can filter any task out of the icon display, such as the programs you run automatically from the Startup Folder.  You can also filter by specifying the programs it should only show.

Clock

SysBar/2's clock has a very compact digital display that's remarkably similar to the "SCUSEPRETTYCLOCK" version of the one in the WarpCenter.  The difference is that SysBar/2 uses an 'LCD' style font and manages to squeeze the date in the corner too.  Time is displayable in either 12 or 24 hour modes.  (I do wish it had an alarm of some kind though.)

CD Player

The CD player is a real gem.  Like all of the other utilities it's small and can squeeze into a tiny corner of your Desktop, anchoring itself there if need be.  It doesn't have half the features of most players -- just the basics -- but it's the convenience of having something so ridiculously compact that made it win out over all the other CD players I've tried before.  With its ability to pop up and disappear as the mouse waves over its screen-space I can have all the CD controls I need, instantly without sacrificing a pixel of screen real estate.

Feedback on time and tracks can be toggled easily through various states too.  You can set it to show time passed per track, for the whole CD, or countdown to the end of track or CD.  Four configurations in all!

Pipe Monitor

But here's the most curious gadget of the set: the Pipe Monitor.  What it does is set itself up to listen to named pipes on your system, any named pipe you want.  A named pipe is pretty much as the name implies, it's a pipe with a unique name which data can be fed through.  An example would be "\pipe\mail" -- something to which the current count of e-mail messages waiting in your inbox could be written to.  Named pipes can be created and written to remarkably easy.

    echo Hello mom! > \pipe\greeting

is an example of something you could type at the command line to send the message "Hello mom!" to the pipe "\pipe\greeting" (which is created the instant you press the Enter key.)

Now, with Pipe Monitor, you can display that greeting in its own separate cell on the screen, configured to appear in a unique color to make it easy to identify.  SysBar/2 comes with a sample Rexx script which will feed the current SWAPPER.DAT size, hard drive free space, and the remaining mail in your PMMail inbox to the Pipe Monitor through a set of named pipes.  The script can be very easily modified to work with software other than PMMail, or to pipe almost any kind of feedback you can think of.

SysBar/2

SysBar/2 is a charming little package that's worth trying.  The most appealing feature of the whole set is that you need only run what you find useful, since it is freeware and modular.  With that being said, I'd actually like to see a version that integrated all four applets, along with a program launcher, into a single bar that could replace the WarpCenter!  Meanwhile, the existing SysBar/2 utilities are thin enough to live happily over your existing WarpCenter.  Bugs are few and far between and I doubt anyone will have a serious problem with its miniscule RAM footprint.  Definitely a great utility!

* * *

SysBar/2 v0.10
by Dmitry I.  Platonoff
download from the (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/os2/util/wps/sbr2_010.zip) OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 133k)
Registration: FREE

(http://www.spectra.net/~fox/) Chris Wenham is a freelance web designer, writer and Englishman who now lives in Endicott, NY.  In the past he has written comedy, sci-fi, Pascal, Rexx, HTML and Gibberish.  He has been using OS/2 exclusively for the past 2 years.

***********************************

Glasnost!	- by Kel Brown

Glasnost is a Russian word and it means openness.  If IBM can embrace this idea as policy in time for the release of Warp 5.0, OS/2 might be its biggest release yet.

Warp 5.0 is still a long way off, so why is its release on my mind?  Because NT 5.0 and Windows '98 are on my mind.  Both of the Microsoft products are still a long way off but the press surrounding their respective beta testing is nothing short of phenomenal.

I want to install something.  I want to see cool new icons on my Desktop and use all 22 of the new functions that have been built into the system clock for the first and last time.  I want to be excited again about how much OS/2 is going to improve the way I work and the way I play.  More than anything, I want to be able to stick it to all the Windows users and tell them over and over again how pitiful their OS is compared to the power and elegance of "the new OS/2".

If we ignore PC Computing (which has had the imminent release of Windows 98 on its front cover for 6 months) and Windows Magazine (which escapes by virtue of its intended bias) and concentrate only on the more general computing monthlies, we still find ourselves drowning in a sea of articles itemizing the lists of features found on the Windows 98 desktop.  Articles about how it is guaranteed to dominate.  Articles about Internet Explorer 4.0.

Where does the impetuous for the press come from?  I am sure Microsoft encourages up-to-the-minute press on '95, '98 and NT, but magazine editors also know that readers are rabid for every tidbit about the next greatly insane operating system to come out of Redmond.  But where, in all this frenzy for the up-to-date and great, is news of Warp 5?

The fault is not with the editors and writers of OS/2-oriented publications.  If the editor here at OS/2 e-Zine! had solid information about a new release, you would be reading about that here, ad nauseam, instead of wading through my pitiful ravings.

With that in mind I can only conclude that IBM does not want any advance press on the next version of Warp.  The reasons why Big Blue does or doesn't do something could fill whole seasons of X-Files episodes so I won't put myself through the frustration involved in speculation.

Without something to look forward to in this "newer is better" industry, Warp 5 could suffer a death by apathy before it gets a chance to prove itself.  Proposed feature lists, the personalities and politics involved, anything, even the reasons for delays would be better than the infernal, eternal wall of silence.

In their defence I must say IBM has been trying to connect to the user.  Their monthly web newsletter, Warp FM, has made it past the experimental stage and Mike Lawrie (PSP Division's General Manager) seems to be taking an active role in seeing it, and OS/2, succeed.  The effort is appreciated and needed but it's still a little too quiet.

How can we coax IBM into opening their doors further?  IBM can only profit by using Microsoft's policy of tantalizing users with what's to come and constantly refocusing that vision in response to user's reactions.  OS/2's technological lead is eroding quickly and the more I know about how insanely great Warp 5.0 will be, the more ammunition I will have to fight its detractors.  And maybe even bring a few more of the faithful into the fold.

* * *

(evilkel@iname.com) Kel Brown is a Math and Computer Science major at Saint Mary's University.  He is an avid OS/2 supporter and a member of Team OS/2.

***********************************

the Beta File	- by Ryan Dill

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, (feedback@os2ezine.com) drop us a note!

* * *

We'll start off this month with a few updates to beta programs e-Zine!'s already mentioned.  The beta of the graphics front-end IPAD, mentioned in (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n7/beta.htm) July's Beta File, has been updated to (http://www.demon.co.uk/cgi-bin/titan/getfile?/IPAD/os2/ipad301b.zip) v0.3.01 (ZIP, 752k); Panacea Software's ProNews, also mentioned in July, has been updated to (http://www.program.com/panacea/pn210b3.zip) beta 3 (ZIP, 568k).  Lastly, Attribute Manager, mentioned in (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n8/beta.htm) August's Beta File, has been updated to (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/os2/util/diskutil/attmn07a.zip) v0.71.62 (ZIP, 60k).

Other betas that have also been recently updated:

o  One that might be of interest to any Gravis Ultrasound user -- the Manley Drivers for the Gravis Ultrasound have had a (http://www.xs4all.nl/~sandervl/ultra120.zip) public beta 29 (ZIP, 673k) of v1.20 released for testing.  (A full list of features and other information can be found on the (http://www.xs4all.nl/~sandervl/) GUS drivers web page.)

o  For anyone who uses (http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/u/cdmckill/povos2/) POV-Ray for OS/2 to create ray-traced graphics on the OS/2 platform, the ForeSpace graphical front-end for POV-Ray reached beta version 0.42 last month.  ("This release deals with most of the problems in v0.30b and has additional functionality such as TrueType text objects, polygons, finishes etc...")  For a full review of the POV-Ray/ForeSpace combination, see (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n8/pov.htm) Dirk Terrell's review in August's issue.  The author of ForeSpace, (damien@comcen.com.au) Sean Ryan, left a few features out of version 0.42 to work on them some more, so he has stated he hopes to release another update in a week or so, once it's tweaked to his satisfaction.

* * *

For anyone who hasn't heard, StarOffice is a full office suite for OS/2, which includes capability for word processing (StarWriter), data analysis (StarCalc), databasing (StarBase), and presentation management (StarImpress) all in one package.  Beginning with version 4, StarOffice abandons its previous method of having separate programs for each of these functions and turns them all into modules of a common 'Desktop' program instead.  This Desktop architecture is much like Microsoft's Explorer interface, where one can easily manipulate all functions of the package from a common location.  (The layout also reminds me of (http://www.corel.com) Corel's Office for Java.)  More information on StarOffice 4 can be found at (http://www.stardivision.com/staroffice/so40.html) Star Division's web site.

With its extensive internet integration (including its own browser, e-mail and newsreader), StarOffice is receiving rave reviews on all its supported platforms (Windows95/NT, OS/2 and Linux.)  Feel free to download it and see if the OS/2 version lives up to its reputation.  First, it's a good idea to (http://support.stardiv.de/ASPDownload/so40int.asp?ver=os2) register with StarDivision to let them know that you're interested in the OS/2 version, then you can either download it from StarDivision themselves or from (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/new/ib2_os2.exe) the OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 3.5M).  StarOffice 4.0 is a commercial suite which is expected to retail for around US$275 (an update from version 3 is about US$110).  However, the current beta version 2 is fully functional, and may be used free of charge until December 31st, at which time it'll stop working.  (The release date of the English SO4 keeps being pushed back further and further, so no concrete info is known on general availability at this time.)

* * *

Keeping on the subject of office suites, (http://www.lotus.com/) Lotus announced last week that they're seeking beta testers for the upcoming SmartSuite 97 for OS/2 Warp 4.  SmartSuite 96 for OS/2 occasionally received flak in the past for not being fully OS/2-native (some of its included applications were WIN-OS/2 programs rather than native OS/2), but Lotus has fixed this in SmartSuite 97.  The package will contain six native OS/2 applications: Word Pro 97 for word processing, 1-2-3 97 for spreadsheets, Approach 97 for databasing, Organizer 97 GS for scheduling, Freelance Graphics 97 for presentations, and ScreenCam 97 for viewing of (http://www.lotus.com/screencam/) Lotus ScreenCam movies.

If you have a machine you'd like to set aside for beta testing (Lotus recommends that you do _not_ use your everyday OS/2 machine, just in case something should go wrong while testing), then fill out the form at Lotus' (http://beta.lotus.com/register) beta application page at any time up to October 19th.  After this time, the beta program will close to new participants.  If you're selected as a tester, you should know by October 31st, and have a beta CD in your mailbox no later than November 14th.  All other terms and conditions for the beta are listed at the beta application page above.

More information on the OS/2 version of SmartSuite may be found at the (http://www2.lotus.com/smartsuite/os2.nsf) SmartSuite for OS/2 web page.  Lotus SmartSuite 97 for Windows 95 is currently priced at US$159 from Lotus, so I would expect that SmartSuite 97 for OS/2 will cost close to that amount when finally released, some time in 1998.

* * *

Next up this month is WarpCron.  Having just reached beta 1.98, WarpCron is a scheduling program which will allow you to set your OS/2 system to run programs at a specified time.  A text-mode application with an extremely small memory footprint, WarpCron can start pretty much any program OS/2 can run and at any time or interval you desire.  New in this version, is e-mail support, allowing a daily log file (and any error messages) to be sent at a specified time each day.  WarpCron even includes support for those who use 4OS/2 as their primary shell instead of CMD.EXE.

WarpCron is postcardware, which means that the small nag reminder that pops up when using the program can be eliminated just by sending a postcard to the author (julian@10vorne.shnet.org) Julian Buss, telling him of your experiences with WarpCron; you'll get a registration code, and that'll be that.  If the program sounds like something you could use, you can download version 1.98 from (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/os2/util/schedule/wcron198.zip) the OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 67k).  Version 2.0 is still in development, and is intended to have pipe support and a few more features.

* * *

In the finance software market, (http://www.mount-baker.com/) Mount Baker Software has just released a preview version of their Money Tree software to the public.  Money Tree is a powerful personal finance tool for OS/2 which allows you to keep track of a variety of things, including checking accounts, loans, credit card activity, and customized budgets.  You can even use it to help pay your bills, printing checks directly from the program.

Money Tree is fully integrated with OS/2's Workplace Shell, includes ledgers for nearly any account you could have need of, and will even perform a number of financial analyses for you, allowing you to predict your financial status from whatever information you have available.  With the ability to read files created in the (http://www.quicken.com/) Quicken file format, Money Tree provides you with an easy upgrade path from the accounting software you may be using at the moment.  More information on the features Money Tree offers can be found at the product's web site, where an (http://www.mount-baker.com/mtdemo/mtdemo.htm) on-line tour of the package is also available.

Mount Baker is currently offering a preview release special -- purchase Money Tree now, and when the full version is available, you'll recieve a US$10 discount from the regular MSRP of US$69.95.  This offer is only available until September 30th, though, so it's in your best interest to try the preview release as soon as possible.  If you like it, buy it!  The final version is expected to be available at the end of September, and will be purchaseable on-line and by phone from Mount Baker, as well as from your regular OS/2 software distributors.  More information can be found at (http://www.mount-baker.com/) Mount Baker's web site.

* * *

(rstangl@vnet.ibm.com) Roman Stangl has recently announced that he's seeking beta testers for his freeware Desktop enhancement, Program Commander/2.  Currently at beta level 1.99w, PC/2 is a program which can be used either as an add-on or as a replacement for OS/2's own Workplace Shell.  It features such common Desktop enhancement features as virtual Desktops, hot-keys, Win95 key support, sliding mouse focus and menu selection.  PC/2 also includes some more advanced features; it allows you to specify individual environment settings for any program you run (No more cluttering up your CONFIG.SYS PATH and LIBPATH with an entry for each program you have installed), has enhanced handling of OS/2 trap and pop-up information to assist in bug reports, and its custom Spooler gives you an interface to OS/2's print spooler even when you're not running the WPS.

And it has too many more features to mention here.  You can find more information about PC/2 at (http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/7885/DownloadPC2Beta.html) the PC/2 beta page, where you can download either the beta or the latest release version ((http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/7885/DownloadPC2.html) v1.90).  Program Commander/2 v2.00 will be available soon, but the program will remain freeware upon release.  Feel free to try it out and send Roman your feedback.

* * *

(dill@os2ezine.com) Ryan Dill is a student in Computer Science at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS and e-Zine!'s technical 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.

***********************************

Answers from e-Zine!

Welcome back to "Answers from e-Zine!, your source for answers to all your OS/2 questions!  Each month we bring you tips, tricks, questions and answers from our readers and contributors.  If you've got a question or tip you would like to share with us, (feedback@os2ezine.com) send it in!

* * *

Q --  I have an Aptiva running Warp 4 in which I have installed two hard drives running HPFS.  I am seeking a method whereby critical data can be automatically backed up on the other hard drive to reduce the frequency of making offline backups.
            
1. Is it possible to instruct the OS/2 file I/O routines directly to do this so that a second copy can be stored in "real time"?

2. If not, is there a way to intercept Shutdown to run an executable that can automatically copy important files from disk to disk before Shutdown completes?

A --  While it isn't possible to do the first (without going with a true RAID setup), the second option is simple to do even without any special software.  The simplest solution is to create a SHUTDOWN.CMD file which performs whatever tasks you'd like it to and then shuts down the machine.  The following is an example:

COPY C:\MYDIR\MYFILE.ext D:\SAVEFILE
COPY C:\MYDIR\MYFILE1.ext D:\SAVEFILE1
C:\OS2\INSTALL\SHUTDOWN.exe
EXIT

Make a program object for this .CMD file and use it to shut down your machine.

 - (rjacox@exis.net) Richard Jacox

* * *

Q --  It seems that since OS/2 Warp 3 there has been a "Locked Files"  device driver which can be used to replace files which are normally in use while OS/2 is running (DLLs etc).
                
How do you use this "Locked Files" device driver and cause a file to be replaced?  Ideally I would like to be able to use it via a Rexx program.

A --  The "Locked Files" device driver is a driver called IBMCSFLK.SYS and it works in conjunction with a program called IBMCSFLK.EXE.  The lines in the config.sys should look something like this:

DEVICE=x:\OS2\INSTALL\IBMCSFLK.SYS x:\OS2\INSTALL\IBMCSFLK.LST
CALL=x:\OS2\INSTALL\IBMCSFLK.EXE x:\OS2\INSTALL\IBMCSFLK.LST

IBMCSFLK.LST is a file that contains the files to be replaced, and of course can have a different name.  Within the file you would use a list of commands such as (samples from a FixPak install):

OS2 Corrective Service XR_M003
8-24-1997 15:24:18
MOVE I:\IBMCSFLK\FIX\OS2KRNL.___ E:\OS2KRNL
RESET
RMTREE I:\IBMCSFLK

It's a simple format.  The first two lines identify the update, the rest are commands:  COPY, MOVE, REN, DEL, RESET, MKDIR, RMDIR, RMTREE.

 - (feedback@os2ezine.com) OS/2 e-Zine! Answer Crew

* * *

Q --  I have a NEC 6x4 CD-ROM drive, with 4 drive slots.  I want to assign them letters W,X,Y,Z so that they do not interfere with any additional hard drives I may install.  How can I do this? 

A --  In Warp 4 you can reserve drive letters in the Properties notebook of the Drives object.  In Warp 3 (if you have one of the later FixPaks installed), in CONFIG.SYS enter:

RESERVEDRIVELETTER=V

By reserving the letter V you cause the first CD-ROM to become drive W:

 - (rjacox@exis.net) Richard Jacox

* * *

Q --  After upgrading from OS/2 Warp 3.0 (FixPak 26) to Warp 4, EPM 6.03 no longer works as desired.  I get an error message stating that EPM.EX is no longer valid.  I have applied Warp 4 FixPak 1 and reinstalled EPM6 with no luck.  Any ideas on what could be causing this?

A --  Assuming this is the downloadable updated version of EPM, make sure that:

o  the DLL directory is ahead of ?:\OS2\APPS\DLL in the LIBPATH;
o  the EXE directory is ahead of ?:\OS2\APPS in the PATH;
o  EPMPATH is set to the correct directory;
o  the "OS/2 Extended Editor" program object points to the correct copy.

EPMPATH is a path-like environment variable; if OpenDoc is enabled, it should list the EPM directory first, then the OpenDoc bin directory.  Remove ?:\OS2\APPS from it and replace with the new directory.

If this doesn't work, open an OS/2 Window, change to the EPM directory and run "ETPM EPM.E".

 - (bsa@kf8nh.apk.net) Brandon S. Allbery

* * *

This question gets the award for being repeated by the most readers.

Q --  Is there any way to make the Precision LS-120 Internal drive work with Warp 4?

A --  IBM actually wrote up a tech note to say that no, they don't support it:

(http://service2.boulder.ibm.com/pspsdocs/7846_30e.html) http://service2.boulder.ibm.com/pspsdocs/7846_30e.html

 - (bsa@kf8nh.apk.net) Brandon S. Allbery

* * *

Tip --  If you receive a gratuitous amount of unsolicited e-mail (AKA: SPAM), you may consider setting up a SPAM filter.  Most SPAM doesn't have your e-mail address in the "To:" address, so you can trash most e-mail that comes in not addressed to you and eliminate a significant number of these annoying e-mails.  In PMMail you can set up an "Advanced Filter" for incoming e-mail that looks like this:

!((h.to="yourid@")|(h.cc="yourid@"))

and sends all unwanted messages to your trash folder.  You may or may not want to mark these messages as "read" in the filter.

Take care, however.  Most mailing lists (like the (http://www.os2ezine.com/warpcast/) WarpCast News Service) don't contain your e-mail address in the "To:" address either.  In order to avoid trashing all of your mailing list messages, set up another filter for each them and make sure that the SPAM filter is the last one in the list.

 - (feedback@os2ezine.com) OS/2 e-Zine! Staff

* * *

Correction? --  After last month's mention that ATAPI Zip drives wouldn't work in OS/2, we got a flood of e-mail from people who were successfully using their Zip drives under OS/2 using the NEWDASD drivers.  Some have said to not set up the BIOS to recognize the ATAPI Zip drive and others have said to do so.

We also have an e-mail from IBM support saying:

"We don't have any driver support for ATAPI disk devices.  Only ATAPI CD-ROM is supported so far.

We know about this, and may have a solution by end of year."

Your mileage may vary.  It probably isn't advisable to purchase a new ATAPI Zip drive with the intention of using it under OS/2.  If you've already purchased one, experimenting with the NEWDASD drivers may be worth your time though.

 - (feedback@os2ezine.com) OS/2 e-Zine! Staff

* * *

That's it for this month.  If you have a tip or question that you don't see covered here, don't forget to (feedback@os2ezine.com) send it in!

***********************************

News from the OS/2 World	- by Ryan Dill

Greetings all, and welcome again to OS/2 e-Zine!'s monthly news update.  This column is designed to go over certain topics that the brand new (http://www.os2ezine.com/warpcast/) WarpCast News Service (brought to you by OS/2 e-Zine! and (http://www.os2ss.com/) the OS/2 Supersite) might have missed or  glossed over.

When it comes to up-to-the-minute, accurate information, you'll find that WarpCast can't be beat, but this column will sometimes offer a bit more detail about things we think are of interest to OS/2 users everywhere.  Grassroots support, off-the-record news and updates -- stuff that other sources may have missed -- you name it, we've got it!

* * *

First of all, as we mentioned above, you might notice that our (http://www.os2ezine.com/news.htm) News Folder has a new section this month which we at OS/2 e-Zine! are extremely pleased to be a part of.  WarpCast, a brand-spanking-new news service brought to you by OS/2 e-Zine! and (http://www.os2ss.com/) the OS/2 Supersite, came into being late last month, and is intended to bring interesting news to OS/2 users as promptly and accurately as possible.  The keystone of WarpCast is a moderated mailing list which relies on the combined industry contacts and resources of both its partners.  As OS/2 news and tips are unearthed, whether from Internet news groups, other OS/2 users' news pages, from IBM and other ISVs or through direct e-mail to WarpCast staff, each tidbit is weighed in importance, verified as much as possible, and then e-mailed out to all of WarpCast's subscribers.

WarpCast e-mail messages are clearly labeled as such, allowing them to easily be filtered to a convenient mail folder for easier reading by subscribers.  All messages include the information of where the news was obtained, who deserves credit for it, and whether it's been verified or is currently just a rumor.

This provides (we believe) the best way of not only keeping up with the latest OS/2 news, but also of getting your own OS/2 news out to a large number of people at one time -- if you have information that you believe would be of interest to OS/2 users, simply e-mail it to (news@os2ezine.com) news@os2ezine.com and it'll be moderated by WarpCast staff.

You can subscribe to the WarpCast list through the (http://www.os2ezine.com/warpcast/subscribe.html) WarpCast subscription form, simply by providing a valid e-mail address.  Users have a choice of whether they'd like to receive news as it's posted to the list (immediate delivery) or to receive a digest of the day's messages at the end of each day.  And by the time you read this (or shortly after), you'll also be able to browse the daily digests on-line, in e-Zine!'s (http://www.os2ezine.com/news.htm) News Folder.

If you have any questions about the service that aren't answered in the (http://www.os2ezine.com/warpcast/faq.html) WarpCast FAQ, feel free to (feedback@os2ezine.com) let us know.

* * *

A few Netscape tidbits: after all of the fake Communicator screen shots floating around the Internet for the past month or so, Dan Libby of the Communicator for OS/2 team finally revealed some _real_ ones at the beginning of September.  You can see them on display at the (http://people.netscape.com/danda/commun.html) Communicator section of the Unofficial Netscape for OS/2 page.

The latest word out of Steve Wendt's (http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/OS2News.html) OS/2 Warp News and Rumours page says that a Communicator beta for OS/2 is due in about a week and a half from today ('today' being e-Zine!'s publication date -- the 16th -- so around the 26th of September), and that internal beta testers say it's working "juuust fine".

Also from the above page, unverified insider information from (dion@multitask.com.au) Dion Gallard:

"...Netscape Communicator will be released as IBM Communicator for OS/2.  It will not include the 'groupware' components of Communicator (as it competes with the Lotus stuff).  It will also only be available through the 'Software Choice' web site and only be available to those with Upgrade Protection (you'll need a key to download it)..."

In other words, it appears that Communicator will be a commercial product for OS/2, instead of Netscape Corp.'s usual practice (which is a free trial of 90 days, and thereafter still free in cases such as academic institutions).  Ick.

This could be why IBM is working hard to make sure you can use Java v1.1 with the older Netscape 2.02: a 'bridge' (currently at the pre-alpha stage) is unofficially available which updates a few files and allows Navigator 2.02 to use your existing Java 1.1 installation instead of the older Java 1.02, as was necessary previously.  (One reason for wanting to use Java 1.1 with Netscape is greater speed at running applets.)  You can download the bridge from the (ftp://os2forum.or.at/incoming/njbridge.zip) OS/2 Forum Austria.  Keep in mind this is _pre_-alpha software, so use at your own risk.

Lastly, IBM has (http://www.ibm.com/News/1997/08/ls9708182.html) recently signed agreements which give it the rights to bundle Netscape Navigator 4.0 with OS/2.  Not Netscape Communicator, just the browser portion.  Now we know from comments and screen shots (see above) from the Communicator for OS/2 team that more than just the browser already exists, so this licensing agreement doesn't necessarily mean that IBM is never going to let the rest of Communicator see the light of day; it's already programmed, so that would be dumb and wasteful.  It does mean that IBM is going to be focusing a lot more on the browser portion in the future than the rest of the Communicator suite though.

The reason for this, as mentioned by various people, is that (http://www.lotus.com/) Lotus, now owned by IBM, sells groupware applications like Notes which compete with some of the features in the Communicator suite.  Lotus doesn't want IBM bundling the competition, so IBM has had to tread very lightly in this area.  Hopefully the Communicator for OS/2 team will be permitted to have their entire effort released to the public.  As long as that happens, I personally don't care if only the browser gets bundled with the OS, as anyone who wants the entire suite will still be able to get it from the 'net.

* * *

If you haven't heard yet, QuickTime for OS/2 is almost definitely not going to see the light of day.  All of the rumors in the past few months culminated in a comment by an Apple employee on (http://discuss.info.apple.com/boards/qtime.nsf/ccb088a1de6aac738525631c0067846b/2aa7a71f3a710f798625650d004f5c2e?OpenDocument) Apple's support site.  The comment implies that IBM and Apple parted ways under a mutual agreement, but I've heard contrary rumors that Apple simply abandoned the project, leaving IBM's developers in the lurch.  Who knows?

Fortunately, OS/2 still has two excellent options for working with QuickTime content: QuickMotion and MainActor/2.  Both are reviewed in this month's issue.

* * *

IBM's been fairly busy this month in terms of updates.  It seems every time I turn around, they've released another TCP/IP stack tweak.  As I write this, the latest version of TCP/IP is 4.02b, which can be downloaded for update at (ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/tcpip/rsu/stack/latestv4.html) IBM's OS/2 TCP/IP v4 update page.  (To find out the level of TCP/IP you're currently running, type "INETVER" at an OS/2 command prompt.

As well, IBM has released a new version of OS/2's CD system file, CDFS.IFS.  The new version includes support for Microsoft's new (http://www.cd-r.com/library/filename.html#Joliet) Joliet CD format, and also adds support for CDs with mixed-case filenames longer than 32 characters, which might be found on various Java toolkit CD-ROMs emerging nowadays.  You can download the CDFS.IFS update from (http://service.software.ibm.com/os2ddpak/html/miscellb/os_2warp/updatedc/index.htm) OS/2's Device Driver Pack Online.

* * *

That's it for this month.  If you have a tip that you want followed up or a news item you think should be reported, don't hesitate to (feedback@os2ezine.com) let us know!

* * *

(dill@os2ezine.com) Ryan Dill is a student in Computer Science at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS and OS/2 e-Zine!'s Technical 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.

***********************************

OS/2 Gaming News	- by Colin L. Hildinger

It's time once again to check out the latest news that affects OS/2 gaming and gamers.  Each month we scour the 'net and hound ISVs to provide you with a digest of all the events and updates in the OS/2 gaming market, complete with helpful links.  Enjoy!

* * *

Cosmic Defender Beta

A new flight sim/3D shooter is entering beta testing as we publish this issue.  Basically in the game, you fly a ship over the surface of a planet and shoot the bad guys.  It looks like this could turn out to be a pretty fun game, (http://www.hut.fi/~rahonen/cosmic.html) check it out.

New Drilling Billy Beta

Two months ago I announced that a new version of Drilling Billy with better full screen and DIVE support was being worked on, and now it's here!  To try it out you'll need to carefully follow the included directions, but it should work on many systems now.  You can download the OS/2 version from (http://www.esperanto.dk/billy/) Northwind's home page.

Entrepreneur Demo Released

Last month I announced a "beta demo" of Entrepreneur from (http://www.stardock.com/) Stardock Systems.  Well, a few days later they released a GA demo (GA stands for General Availability, meaning release level code).  The GA demo limits your play but allows you to play both on STARDOCK.NET and off-line.  STARDOCK.NET lets Entrepreneur players get together and start games over the Internet.

One thing to make sure you do before you play the game is read the (http://www.stardock.com/products/ent/tutorial.html) on-line documentation in PDF format.  (You will need to install the Acrobat Reader for OS/2 to do this if you haven't already.)  Also, when you're playing the demo, remember the limitations.  There are things that you just can't do in the demo, so your strategy needs to be tailored towards those limitations.

Expect to see an unsupported full screen version of Entrepreneur for OS/2 some time after release.  And don't forget, the pre-order price will end on the first of October!

GoldenLeaf Beta

A beta of the movement engine for OS/2's first 3D first person RPG is available on the (http://www.ionet.net/~colin/games.html) Ultimate OS/2 Gaming Page.  There's not a lot to do with it yet, but it shows potential.

Links for OS/2 Fix

If you've had any trouble with Links for OS/2, be sure to get the service release from (http://www.stardock.com/update/update_links.html) Stardock.  This release should fix all known issues.

PlusPak: B.U.G.S. Update

The update B.U.G.S. players have been waiting for is here --  Joystick support and more!  And, if you're having trouble getting B.U.G.S. to work under Warp 3 make sure you check out the Warp 3 update kit available on (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bugs_home/download.htm) the B.U.G.S. web page which will help you get DART up and running on Warp 3.

PowerGamer '97

Last month, Stardock announced a special deal called PowerGamer '97.  For US$99.95 you get Galactic Civilizations II, Star Emperor Advanced, Avarice Preview, Avarice TFS, and Trials of Battle.  This is a great deal, even if you already have one of these games!  See (http://www.stardock.com/) Stardock's web site for more details.

Quake II for OS/2

That's right, it's looking very possible that OS/2 will get a full blown port of Quake II.  Since id isn't writing a version for DOS, they have recognized that we OS/2 gamers might appreciate the opportunity to give them money.  I can't give out further details, and nothing's final yet, but I'm eagerly looking forward to hearing more about this.  And when I do hear, so will you!

The Ultimate OS/2 Games CD, Volume I

New from GCS, the Ultimate OS/2 Games CD, Volume I puts some of the all-time classic OS/2 games on one CD:

o  (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n5/entertn.html) Entertainment Pack for OS/2
o  (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n10/toyland.htm) Toyland
o  (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n6/matrix.html) Matrix
o  SeaHaven Towers Solitaire
o  (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n10/aqua.htm) Aquanaut
o  And more...

All of these games have been reviewed in OS/2 e-Zine!, and note that some of them have been updated since the reviews were done (see (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n8/revisit.htm) last month's game update).  The CD will ship in October of this year.  See (http://www.ionet.net/~colin/uos2gcdv1.html) the web page for more details, including pre-order information.

That's it for this month.  For the latest news remember to always check out the (http://www.ionet.net/~colin/games.html) Ultimate OS/2 Gaming Page, and if you know something that you think I don't, (colin@os2ezine.com) let me know!

* * *

(http://www.ionet.net/~colin/) Colin Hildinger is an Aerospace Engineering senior at (http://www.okstate.edu/) Oklahoma State University and has been using OS/2 for the last 3 years.  In addition to being the Games Editor for OS/2 e-Zine!, he maintains (http://www.ionet.net/~colin/games.html) The Ultimate OS/2 Gaming Page and the (http://www.ionet.net/~colin/awe32.html) AWE32 and OS/2 Page in his "spare" time.

***********************************

Chris' Graphics Powertips	- by Chris Wenham

Text on a curve

I'll bet you didn't think Embellish was able to put text on a curve, did you?  Well, not normally, no, but there is a way of obtaining a similar result.  By using the "Polar Coordinates" effect you can set text or other shapes onto a circle.  It's not very flexible, but it might be enough for what you want.  Best of all though, it's quick and easy.

Start with a square canvas, say about 400x400 pixels or so.  Use the text tool to place some lettering in the center of the canvas (Embellish will place text in the center by default, so after clicking Apply Text in the text tool dialog, just right-click on the canvas and pick Apply Shape.) 

Before we apply the Polar Coordinates effect we need to flip the text back to front, just so it'll be the right way around after the Polar Coordinates effect.  Pick Edit.Flip.Horiz All.

Now we're ready to apply the finishing touch.  Just go to Effects.Polar Coordinates and make sure the "Create New Object" radio button is selected.  Click "Go!" and you're finished.  What this effect is doing is mapping all the pixels in the regular Cartesian coordinate space (the x and y system) into a Polar coordinate space instead.  This gives it the appearance of being spread over the surface of a globe that's being viewed head-on from the poles.

In case you're not quite completely finished (ie: The text isn't rotated the way you want it), you can use the rotate commands found in the Edit.Rotate menu.  If you use the Custom Rotate feature, make sure you've selected the polarized text first and choose the "Selected Objects" radio button.  That will prevent Embellish from re-sizing the canvas, as it would have to if you rotated base objects and all.

Of Italics and SX Paint

In last month's review of SX Paint I pointed out that there was no way of getting 'proper' italics with the text tool.  Checking the 'Italics' box simply made the program generate artificial italics by slanting the text instead of using the predefined italicized version of the font on disk.  Well Modular Dreams recently wrote to me to say that, while they're still working on a real fix, there is an easy workaround.  Just type the word "Italic" after the font name in the text entry dialog of SX Paint (see graphic below), leaving the Italics box unchecked.

If you're still curious as to what the difference is between simulated and real italics, note how the two appear in the following image.  Look closely at the letter 'i' and notice the difference in serifs (the 'feet' of the letters.)

* * *

(http://www.spectra.net/~fox/) Chris Wenham is a freelance web designer, writer and Englishman who now lives in Endicott, NY.  In the past he has written comedy, sci-fi, Pascal, Rexx, HTML and Gibberish.  He has been using OS/2

***********************************

Object Desktop tips	- by Alexander Antoniades

Standardizing Corporate Desktops!

One of the features that many people don't realize is in Object Desktop (and more prominently in Object Desktop Professional) is the ability to move Desktops onto different systems or to restore them infinitely on a single system using Object Package.

While end users may find this unnecessary, for corporate users and IS managers it's a dream come true.  For example, sales people who take laptops on the road to demonstrate programs need to be sure what state their computer is in at the start of every demo.  Another area where a single Desktop layout/style is useful is when it comes to training employees.  The list goes on and on.

For starters, one thing that many people don't realize that you can do with Object Desktop is have OS/2 constantly start with a single Desktop, regardless of what else has been done to the system.  To do this, what you have to do is start an Object Package restore from a REXX script before the system is completely up.

First you need to have a package of the Desktop you want the system to restore from.  The next step is to start a REXX program from STARTUP.CMD (note: you can't have this as a RUN statement or anything else that might try to start before PM is initialized).

The REXX program reads as follows:

/* */
rc = SysSetObjectData( 'c:\Desktop.opg', 'UNPACKTO=C:\;' ) ;

NOTE: 'c\Desktop.opg' is the location of the package file, and the 'C:\' at the end of the 'UNPACKTO=' statement, is, of course, the path where the \Desktop directory lies.

CAUTION: While this routine does work as listed on most systems, there are certain combinations of programs and drivers that may interfere with this process.  It may need tweaking to work on some configurations.

OK, now that we've established how to make the machine boot with the same Desktop every time, let's go and create a package worthy of that status.  First, find a Desktop that contains all of the objects that suit the needs of all users on the network.  My suggestion is to keep it simple and try not to use any fancy backgrounds, since that can effect the size of the file.

Now that you have the Desktop, package it up.  You can do this by dragging a blank package template from the Object Desktop folder onto the Desktop and opening it by double clicking on it.  When the package opens, it will ask you if you want to store your Desktop; answer yes.  Now you have a package of the current Desktop.

The best thing to do at this point is clean out any unnecessary classes that might be on your system, but not in everyone else's.  The tool necessary to do this is the Object Class Editor which comes with Object Desktop Professional.  The Object Class Editor can be accessed by right-clicking on any package file and selecting "Class Editor" under the "Open As..."  menu.  In there you will see all of the classes associated with the package file.  When you try to restore these classes to a system that doesn't have them registered you will see a dialog which asks what DLL to associate the class with, which, needless to say, would put a cramp in any sort of automated restore.

Additionally, you can remove unneeded classes, like all of the classes beginning with ADV which are only used for the IBM.NET Advantis dialer (which are pretty worthless to people who don't use it).  This can improve performance on some systems since there are less classes for the Workplace Shell to go through.

OK, now that you have a clean package of the perfect Desktop, duplicate it as needed, which makes setting up new systems and administering old ones, easier than ever.  Proving to more and more people that Object Desktop is much more than just a pretty face.

* * *

(sander@stardock.com) Alexander Antoniades is the former Associate Editor of OS/2 Magazine and the current Vice President of Marketing at Stardock Systems.

***********************************

Networking with OS/2	- by Brian L. Juergensmeyer

Welcome back everyone.  This month, we are going to take a brief look at two programs, netstat and ifconfig.  These two programs are used together to monitor and adjust the bare-bones TCP/IP configuration that your machine has with its server.  Both of these programs are inherited, to some extent, from the Unix (or, in this case, AIX) world.  (Note however, that at least some of the options available have been changed from a standard BSD (or GNU) distribution.  As I do not have access to an AIX (or other server type OS) machine, I don't know if these commands are functionally identical across the spectrum of IBM's operating systems.)

In order to give a demonstration of the usefulness of these programs, we are going to start with a mythical system and a not-so-mythical problem.  The problem will be the one that I described last month: your Warp Internet stuff is frustratingly close to working.  You can browse the web all day long.  You can read Usenet news.  You can use Gopher and FTP.  You can PING hosts with no problems.  You can read e-mail.

You can not, however, send e-mail to anyone, nor can you post to Usenet.  You have adhered to the instructions that your ISP gave you, and their tech support (such as it is) is left shaking its head.  It is apparent that you have gotten all the help that you are going to get from them and it's now up to you and a few other folks from the Internet to diagnose the problem and solve it.

The first thing that you need to do is to quantify the problem.  When does it happen?

We already answered that question above; it happens when you try to send mail or news.  Does that suggest a pattern?  To an experienced user, it may.  However, we need to get a better grip on exactly what is going on.  So, we start our TCP/IP connection and whip up an e-mail, try to send it and watch the behavior.  Does an error come back immediately from the e-mail attempt?  Does the request finally time out and die?  (In this situation, let's say our request times out after about 5 minutes.)

After the request finally dies, we open up an OS/2 window and type netstat -?.  This will bring up all the ways (and there are quite a few) in which netstat can be used.  We use netstat -t.

If you look at the on-line help for TCP/IP in Warp 4, you will note that there is a fairly small (and modestly helpful) section on netstat.  It's nested a couple of folders deep in the Assistance Center; look under "Information" and then "Reference and Commands".  Below is an actual copy of the output received from running nestat -t on my own Warp 4 PC (in our hypothetical problem, some of these numbers would be greater than zero):

[C:\]netstat -t
TCP STATISTICS .... TYPE ANY KEY TO CONTINUE
connections initiated             0
connections accepted              0
connections established           0
connections dropped               0
embryonic connections dropped     0
conn. closed (includes drops)     0
segs where we tried to get rtt    0
times we succeeded                0
delayed acks sent                 0
conn. dropped in rxmt timeout     0
retransmit timeouts               0
persist timeouts                  0
keepalive timeouts                0
keepalive probes sent             0
connections dropped in keepalive  0
total packets sent                0
data packets sent                 0
data bytes sent                   0
data packets retransmitted        0
data bytes retransmitted          0
TYPE ANY KEY TO CONTINUE
ack-only packets sent             0
window probes sent                0
packets sent with URG only        0
window update-only packets sent   0
control (SYN|FIN|RST) packets sent0
RST packets sent                  0
total packets received            0
packets received in sequence      0
bytes received in sequence        0
packets received with ccksum errs 0
packets received with bad offset  0
packets received too short        0
duplicate-only packets received   0
duplicate-only bytes received     0
packets with some duplicate data  0
dup. bytes in part-dup. packets   0
out-of-order packets received     0
out-of-order bytes received       0
packets with data after window    0
bytes rcvd after window           0
packets rcvd after close          0
rcvd window probe packets         0
TYPE ANY KEY TO CONTINUE
rcvd duplicate acks               0
rcvd acks for unsent data         0
rcvd ack packets                  0
bytes acked by rcvd acks          0
rcvd window update packets        0

The three lines above that we want to look at are the 'retransmit timeouts", "data packets sent" and "data packets retransmitted".

In the case that we are playing detective with right now, let's assume that the numbers on the "data packets sent" and "data packets retransmitted" lines were very close to each other.  This would be our first indication of real problems.  What this says is that almost every packet sent was retransmitted due to retransmission errors.

In our hypothetical situation there were also a large number of retransmit timeouts.  Retransmit timeouts occur because (wisely), the system will only attempt to retransmit a given packet a certain number of times.  If a successful transmission of this packet has not occurred by the time the timeout limit has been reached, the system just gives up.

As an aside, you can see that there is a lot of information returned by netstat.  Alternatively, typing netstat -u will give udp (instead of tcp) statistics.  UDP and TCP (which stand for User Datagram Protocol and Transmission Control Protocol, respectively) are the two most common types of communication protocol found on the internet and they are quite the opposite of each other.  For example, a TCP packet (which is used, for instance, by the FTP protocol) requires an acknowledgement (or "ack") when it is received, and the receiver must check whether or not it is intact or needs to be resent.  You may think of sending a TCP packet as being like sending an important letter to a friend via registered mail.

UDP, on the other hand, is like sending a standard third-class letter.  There is no return receipt (or ack) from the recipient, and if the UDP packet is garbled in transmit, the sending program will not know unless the receiving program (not the operating system or TCP/IP stack) is specifically told to send an error message to the sender.

Now, we know that there is a problem with the packets that we are sending to our server.  For some reason, they are getting garbled.  But there is one more piece of information that we require before we can put a cohesive picture of the problem together: when we request that a remote server send us some information, very few (if any) of the packets that we receive will be "full" packets.  That is, while we have specified an MRU of 1500, very few of the incoming packets will be 1500 bytes.  Most of the time, incoming packet size will be very small.

I can not say for certain that this is the reason, but common sense indicates that this is due to the multitasking nature of Internet servers; most Internet servers use an operating system (like OS/2) that is capable of preemptive, round-robin style multitasking.  This means that our request to get info from the server gets a certain amount of data until the server preempts our task.  When our task comes around again, the server will see the old packet waiting to be sent and will send it immediately.  Then a new packet will be constructed.

However, when we send data to our servers, we fill complete packets.  All the way up to the 1500 byte limit.  So, if we have noisy lines, it is also common sense, given a constant percentage chance of a byte being garbled in transmit, that a packet of 1500 bytes will have at least one garbled byte (and one garbled byte is all it takes to screw up checksum calculations and cause a retransmit request).

Now, we have a hypothesis.  What can we do to prove that this is the situation and then solve the problem?  That is where ifconfig comes in.  Ifconfig is a program that allows us to modify almost all of the parameters of a TCP/IP connection, from the command line.  In our case, we will want to modify the MTU size of our ppp0 connection.  Our syntax will be:

ifconfig ppp0 mtu 296

This allows us to shrink the size of our maximum transmissible unit from 1500 to 296, thus greatly increasing our chances of getting a packet through unscathed.  I chose an MTU size of 296 to make it very small but not too small; OS/2 will not allow you to reduce the MTU below 256 and we want to pick a number slightly above that,just to be safe.

Ifconfig also allows us to modify our IP address by hand.  Many of us have, at some point, been forced to rely on using a REXX script in conjunction with the Dial Other Internet Providers applet to connect with our ISPs, and are quite familiar with the ifconfig localhost remotehost statement in our REXX script.  In addition to IP address and MTU, you can view a modest number of settings just by typing ifconfig ppp0 for a PPP connection or ifconfig sl0 for a SL/IP connection.  By the way, ifconfig does not normally require that you reboot the system to make changes take effect.  This can be very useful in troubleshooting or just plain tweaking systems where rebooting is not an option at the time.  But be careful and use caution!  With such power also comes the ability to make things worse if not used correctly.

The last thing that we need to do is to test this attempt at a solution.  We can simply dial our ISP now and try to send an e-mail, or we can try to quantify our improvement in the transmission problem areas.  To do this, we must first either reboot or write down the starting points with a call to netstat -t before we start our connection.  This is because the netstat log is only reset on reboot.

I'm happy to report that in our (not so) hypothetical case, the mystery was solved, the guilty punished, and I received a commendation from the Chief Detective.

* * *

(brianj@kansas.net) Brian L. Juergensmeyer is a programmer at the VA hospital in Topeka, Kansas.   He annoys his IS manager by trying get him to convert from NT/WfW 3.11 to Warp Connect/Warp Server.

***********************************

the REXX Files	- by Dr. Dirk Terrell

Yesterday, while working on some new pages for (http://www.os2ss.com/) the OS/2 Supersite, I came across something that I needed a Rexx program for.  The program I was working on was one to generate some HTML files from a text file that contained all the images, hyperlinks, etc. for the web page.  I wanted the program to generate the HEIGHT and WIDTH parameters for the tags automatically.

If you've used my (http://www.gnv.com/HTMLWizard/) HTML Wizard program, you probably know that it automatically generates these parameters when you create an IMG tag.  It's really not too difficult once you know a little bit about the structure of GIF and JPEG images.

Let's start off with GIF images this month.  A GIF file begins with a header block as follows:

   1. A six-byte identifier, either GIF87a or GIF89a
   2. A two byte width field
   3. A two byte height field
   4. A one byte flag field
   5. A one byte background color field
   6. A one byte aspect ratio field

The identifier field makes it possible to detect a GIF file and since it is a string value, it is very simple to read it with a Rexx program.  Since we want to read the file byte by byte, we'll use the charin function.  Let's say that our image file (which, for now, we know is a GIF image) is test.gif.  To read in the GIF identifier, use:

ID=Charin("test.gif",1,6)

Which means "starting at the first byte of the file test.gif, read six bytes and place them into the variable ID".  With the above, we could write a very simple program to take as input a GIF file and print its identifier field:

/* Prints out the identifier field of a GIF file */
Parse Arg F
ID=Charin(F,1,6)
rc=Stream(F,"C","Close")
Say F "is in the" ID "format."
Exit

Now, on to the width and height fields.  Technically, these are not the height and width of the image, but the height and width of the screen that was used to initially view the GIF file being created.  However, I have found that most images have these values set to the width and height of the image.  The actual dimensions of an image are to be found farther into the GIF file, and it takes a bit more work to get them out.  Let's assume, for the time being, that the width and height fields in the header are the same as the image height and width.  What we have is a two-byte field that we need to convert into an integer number of pixels.  If you just read two more bytes after reading the identifier field and print out the result:

Width=Charin("test.gif",,2)
Say "Width is" Width "pixels."

you will probably see something that looks nothing like a number which, when run on a sample GIF file, returned:

Width is #! pixels.

The problem is that we have to convert the character string into an integer.  With a two-byte integer, we have the "low" and "high" bytes that go together to represent the number.  Recall that the eight bits that make up a byte can represent 2^8, or 256, numbers.  With two bytes (16 bits), we can have 2^16, or 65,536 numbers.  In a GIF file, the low byte comes first and then the high byte.  So, to read them in, use something like this:

F="test.gif"      /* Saves some typing */
ID=Charin(F,1,6)
ByteLow=Charin(F,,1)
ByteHigh=Charin(F,,1)

By leaving the second parameter of Charin blank, we read from the position where we left off after the previous read.  

Now we have the low and high bytes of the width field, but how do we convert the two bytes into one integer?  That's where the C2D, or Character to Decimal, function comes in.  C2D converts character strings into decimals.  If you use C2D on a letter, it returns the ASCII code for that letter.  For example:

Say C2D("A")

returns:

65

For our image width, we just concatenate the low and high bytes and pass that to C2D:

ImageWidth=c2d(ByteH||ByteL)

Let's modify our simple program above to print out not only the GIF identifier, but also the width and height of the image:

/* Prints out the identifier field of a GIF file and the image dimensions*/
Parse Arg F
ID=Charin(F,1,6)
WidthLow=Charin(F,,1)
WidthHigh=Charin(F,,1)
ImageWidth=c2d(WidthHigh||WidthLow)
HeightLow=Charin(F,,1)
HeightHigh=Charin(F,,1)
ImageHeight=c2d(HeightHigh||HeightLow)
rc=Stream(F,"C","Close")
Say F "is in the" ID "format."
Say "Width is" ImageWidth "pixels."
Say "Height is" ImageHeight "pixels."
Exit

Now you have a handy little program for printing out information about GIF files.  You can also turn this code into a subroutine that could be called from within other Rexx programs and have it return the GIF type and image dimensions.  If you generate HTML files with Rexx programs, you can now add the WIDTH and HEIGHT parameters to your IMG tags automatically, and that will probably save you a lot of time.  Next month we'll look at the more complicated JPEG image format.

* * *

(http://www.gnv.com/HTMLWizard/) Dr. Dirk Terrell is an astronomer at the University of Florida specializing in interacting binary stars.  His hobbies include cave diving, martial arts, painting and writing OS/2 software such as HTML Wizard.

***********************************

How Do I?	- by Eric Slaats

Hi, I'm back!  I had a great time on vacation and my kids are satisfied with the amount of undivided attention they had in the last month.  I also I had time to think some stuff over.  One of the things that crossed my mind when lying on the beach was the direction of this column.  Up until now I did one or two 'theoretical' articles on Presentation Manager and a lot of practical ones.  The practical ones sometimes contained some theory on how things work.  I guess it's always good to mix the theoretical stuff with the practical, so this approach will be continued.  However, I decided to throw in a more theoretical article every now and then to add some deeper knowledge about PM.  Making things work is important, but understanding things is an absolute must.

Last month a simple but essential typo slipped through.  The text, "don't use WinDefDlgProc in dialogs," in the 5th paragraph of last month's article should have read, "don't use _WinDefWindowProc_."  In dialogs you should always use WinDefDlgProc.  (Thanks for the alertness Guillermo.)

* * *

Well, what are we going to do this month?  There are lots of areas in PM that are used almost without thinking.  The whole message model is an example of this (see the first article in this column).  Other examples are threading, posting/sending and the WPS.  Before I continue on the dialog stuff I started some months ago, we'll take a look once more at messaging.

A stream of messages

As discussed in the article about the event paradigm ((http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n12/howdoi.htm) Oct/96), all events (like a mouse click, a mouse move, a menu action, a keystroke, window resizing, etc.) are handled by a messaging mechanism.  All these actions will generate a message that will be entered in the system queue.  Every message contains a window handle so that the system knows to which window the message has to be forwarded.  We have seen that every window has a so-called window procedure which handles the messages that are directed to that window.  The bottom line of this thought is that if we want something from a window, we just send it a message and the window procedure of that window will handle the message and take action on it.

As I've said, every window has a window procedure.  For our own applications we'll write the window procedure of the client window ourselves.  Controls like buttons, MLE's etc. have their own automatic window procedures.  So if we want some action from a certain control, we can ask for it by sending a message to that control.

The sheer amount of messages that the PM can handle can be seen in the OS/2 documentation where this info is divided among every standard control.  The fact that we can send messages to a control means not only that events can generate messages, but also that programs will generate a generous load of messages.  So we're looking at quite a swollen stream of messages!  How can we influence things so they are handled in an optimal manner?

Sending and posting

There are two major ways to get a message delivered to a window procedure.  We can "send" a message or "post" it.  We usually talk about "sending" messages to a window without specifying what we actually do.  Let's take a look at both methods.

When a message is "posted" to a window the WinPostMsg API call must be used.  (There is another way, but it is not really relevant at the moment.)  First the message is placed in the appropriate message queue (the message queue that is attached to the application that holds the window the message is posted to).

Posted messages are also referred to as "queued messages".  Queued messages are used for asynchronous processing.  Eh?  Well, I must admit it sounds very difficult, but it's not really that hard to understand.  When a message is posted, WinPostMsg returns immediately.  The only action WinPostMsg takes is to place the message in the queue.  It doesn't sit around waiting for the message to be handled, so the program will continue with the next statement directly after the WinPostMsg call.

The handling of the message is done by the "dispatcher" which will get a message from the queue and deliver it to the right window procedure.  "Asynchronous" means that the program will not know when exactly the message is processed.  The processing of the message is asynchronous to the function that posted the message.

We can also send a message to a window with the WinSendMsg API call.  In this case the message will not be placed in the queue.  It will advance to the head of the queue and be processed immediately.  The WinSendMsg call will wait until the message is processed and return the return-value of the message call.  This way of handling a message is referred to as "synchronous".  The reason for this is that the calling program always knows when the message is processed.  (Simply, when the call is placed it is immediately processed.)

When do we use what?

This is a simple question in one way and a tough one in another.  The bottom line is that WinSendMsg will execute immediately and the WinPostMsg will be handled when the window gets around to it.  There are some pitfalls here though.

Since a WinSendMsg waits around for the window procedure to complete, it will block your program from doing anything else while waiting for the message to be processed.  If this is a very long task, it's not advisable to use WinSendMsg.  Your application won't respond to user events as long as it is processing the message.  (Note: Using WinSendMsg to one of the OS/2 controls is usually a safe method.  The controls will handle the messages quickly.)

Messaging can also be used to get information from a control.  Most of the messages will return a value or will assign something to a pointer carried in one of the message parameters.  Especially when using pointers in message parameters it's advisable to use WinSendMsg.  This way you can be fairly sure the pointer points to something valid when the message is handled.

WinPostMsg should be used when you don't care about the reply or when exactly the message is handled.  (You can be fairly sure it won't take very long to handle the queued messages.  This is what makes sure the PM stays snappy.)

In general, use WinPostMsg because it's a much safer procedure.  However, reading the above, we'll find that in most cases WinSendMsg is used.

This Month's Sample and 'That Multithreaded Thing'

It's hard to dream up a sample that displays the behaviour of posting and sending in a proper way since I like to keep this column simple and we haven't talked about multithreading yet.  Posting messages really has a big impact.  I'll discuss this in a moment, but first the sample.  In (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n9/sample11.zip) this month's sample (ZIP, 14k), I created a simple window with a menu.  The menu consists of two menu items: one will "post" a user message, the other one will "send" it.  The message that is sent is a so-called "user message".  (Yes, we're able to define our own set of messages that we can use for whatever we want.)  When we define a user message we use a base number (remember, a message is only a long number) that the PM has kept free for user messages.  This number is defined as WM_ USER.  So we define our user message like this:

#define UM_BEEP		 	WM_USER + 1	// User message

To guess what this message will do in this month's program shouldn't be too hard.  Indeed, it triggers a function that will produce a series of beeps.

To make clear what really happens, the code initiated by the Send or Post menu actions also draws some text in the titlebar of the application.  Both execute the following lines after the message is posted or sent:

WinSetWindowText(hwndFrame, "This");
DosSleep(500);
WinSetWindowText(hwndFrame, "This is");
DosSleep(500);
WinSetWindowText(hwndFrame, "This is a");
DosSleep(500);
WinSetWindowText(hwndFrame, "This is a test");

If you try this, you'll find that the post action will continue with the drawing of the titlebar.  After this is done, the dispatcher gets its chance to execute the user message.  So a series of beeps will be audible after the titlebar draw.  When Send is used, exactly the opposite happens.  The beeps come before the draws.  This illustrates that the program is waiting for the user message to return.

You may also notice some other behaviour.  In both cases you can't access the menu after Post or Send is activated.  In fact, you can't access anything in the system when the code is executing.  This can be effectively tackled by using multithreading.  Every good OS/2 program is multithreaded!

Consider the following: if a program has a second thread for executing stuff like the beeps and the draws, the main thread can continue to process other messages, meaning that the interface can keep reacting to user events.  Thinking about this in light of this month's sample, multithreading is a must.  So in future columns I will look at simple ways to multithread your programs.

That's it for this month.  I hope the extra theory I included this month didn't make it too stuffy.  Next month we'll continue on our exploration concerning dialogs and somewhere this year we'll be going multithreaded.  Take care.

* * *

(eric.slaats@pi.net) Eric Slaats holds a degree in Computer Science and teaches computer technology in Eindhoven.  He is the creator of the (http://www.bmtmicro.com/catalog/smalled/) Smalled utilities.

***********************************

Word Pro 96 for OS/2	- by Pete Grubbs

Sign on to any Warped listserv or drop into any OS/2 chat forum and you'll quickly discover that one of the most popular topics of conversation is the lack of big-name apps for our favorite operating system.  Since I signed on as an OS/2 user, I've seen a number of major applications orphaned.  As a writer, I suppose I'm a bit more sensitive to the loss of word processors, a loss that has been felt on many different platforms.  In a world that used to see machines running Word Star, DeScribe, PC Write, WordPerfect, Ami Pro, Word, Windows Write (ugh!), Office Writer, XYWrite and Display Write, we're rapidly finding ourselves shuttled towards increasingly fewer choices.

As OS/2 users, those choices have become even more limited.  The folks in Orem, Utah abandoned us long ago and since the Java revolution doesn't appear to extend to a stand-alone version of WordPerfect, Corel style, there's little chance that we'll see anything for the OS/2 world in the near future, if ever.  While Indelible Blue is still offering the DeScribe Voyager CD for $59 (as of August 28th, at least) there's no refund, no tech support and no hope that we'll ever see any improvements made to this long-standing member of the OS/2 family.

So, where does that leave the true OS/2 diehard, the user who would rather pull out an IBM Selectric than run a word processor with the Microsoft seal of approval?  Well, as this publication noted back in (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n3/) January of '96 Clearlook and Star Writer are certainly still viable, worthy products.  And so, too, is an old friend with a new name: Ami Pro, now known as Lotus Word Pro.  Word Pro is a feature-rich application with a number of advantages that might make it your word processor of choice.

Test System

The machine used to rate this product is powered by a Cyrix 100 chip with 32M of RAM.  The graphics card is a D24 BitBlaster with 1M of RAM hooked into an AcerView 56 15" monitor.  The single hard drive is a Fujitsu 1090M and the operating system is OS/2 Warp 4.0 (with FixPak #1 in place).  I also have (http://www.stardock.com/) Stardock's Process Commander and (http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/npswps/index.html) NPS WPS installed.  I use an (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n8/keybd.htm) Adesso NUForm Win95 keyboard w/Glidepoint in place of a standard keyboard and mouse.  I have a Canon BJ 200e printer set up with a 134 byte buffer.

For many reviews, the reader may not gain much by knowing his author's background or habits.  After all, file management utilities or disk defraggers have a limited job description and, basically, they're either reliable or they're not.  Word processors, on the other hand, have to perform many of the same basic chores from user to user, but are also expected to accomplish specialized tasks as well.  These are often as individual as the user.

So, for this article, I believe you should know a bit more about your reviewer.  I am working on a PhD in English Literature at a moderate-sized university in Western Pennsylvania.  I also teach composition for a branch campus of the Pennsylvania State University.  As a writer, I've had my poetry and prose rejected by some of the finest publications in the United States but have been fortunate enough to find an outlet for my work here at OS/2 e-Zine! (Editor's Note: Ouch! <g>).  I've also created basic business documents and an employee handbook for a new business in my area.

The kind of functionality that I require from a word processor has a lot to do with the particular project I'm currently working on.  I might need to rotate text and import graphics for one job and place special characters, footnotes or end notes in another.  And, since I've got just about all my time scheduled for the next 10 years, I need a tool that works right out of the box, with a minimum of set up and as flat a learning curve as possible.

I have also discovered that I'm a much more productive writer if I can keep my hands at the keyboard and not have to chase all over my desk for a mouse.  Thus, I'm more likely to favor a product that either relies upon keystrokes for those basic formatting and insertion operations (bolding, italicizing, inserting special characters and footnoting) or that offers keystrokes as well as mouse clicks to get the job done.

Installation

After clawing the shrink-wrap off my box of Word Pro, I slotted the CD-ROM and began installing.  I didn't get very far.  Word Pro requires Warp 3.0 to have FixPak 26 (special edition) installed, or FixPak 1 in place if, like me, you're running Warp 4.0.  Since I devoutly believe in the motto, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and since I had no problems with OS/2 that were screaming for a FixPak, I had a bit of upgrading to do before I could even install Word Pro.

After downloading and installing FixPak 1 (an experience that increased the time it took to get Word Pro up and running by a factor of 10), I was finally able to install the app.  Lotus took some pains with the interface for this part of Word Pro.  It's a fine example of a subtle, yet handsome product.  Aesthetics aside, the installation gives users three options: a Default (read 'full') installation (which requires 84M of free space); a Minimum installation (which uses 43M) and a Customized installation.  Since drive space is at a premium on my machine right now, I chose the third, setting up all the basic components but leaving out the Equation Editor since I've never needed one in the 20 years or so that I've been writing.

The Custom installation also allows the user to select import/export filters for both word processing and graphics files.  You can also specify different locations for files and directories, in case you need to chop things up a bit when drive space is tight.  After sorting through the various options, I was just a bit startled when a second installation app started.  I later realized that the first routine was a .CMD file that set the stage for OS/2's Installation utility.  This loaded smoothly and the rest of the procedure went without a hitch.  It took just about 22 minutes for the entire process.  Then I was ready to crunch some words.

The Basics

The Word Pro installation set up a folder named Lotus Smart Suite on my Desktop with two additional folders nested inside (Lotus Accessories and Lotus User Assistance) as well as a Word Pro object.  Loading Word Pro the first time went easily, but I noticed a significant difference in the length of time it takes compared to DeScribe -- more than twice as long (18 seconds for DeScribe and 40 seconds for Word Pro).   Double clicking on the Word Pro icon gets you to the main screen.  Word Pro makes its features available through a combination of pull-down menus, SmartIcons and a Status Bar.  While the menus are preset, the SmartIcons and Status Bar are very flexible.

Setting up the SmartIcon bar is a simple matter of dragging and dropping icons and/or spacers.  There are different SmartIcon bars pre-made for different tasks and Lotus made them context-sensitive (i.e., Text tools appear when you're dealing with text; Graphics tools when you're working with a picture; etc.) so you always have the appropriate bar pop up when you need it.  (You can also disable all of the SmartIcon bars if you prefer the cleaner look that the old DOS versions of WordPerfect used.  This option is mapped to the keyboard and works very nicely.  I've included a GIF of the Word Pro screen without SmartIcons or the division/section tabs so you can compare between displays.)  In fact, just about everything Word Pro does can be controlled with SmartIcons, which can be a real blessing if you have trouble learning new keystroke commands.

On the other hand, many of the operations I use frequently also have hard-wired keystrokes to invoke them (Cntrl-I toggles italics, Cntrl-B bold, Cntrl-U underlining, and so on) which are identical to WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows (3.1) and DeScribe.

At the bottom of the display is a Status Bar that offers yet another method of accessing Word Pro's tools.  The button on the far left not only displays the current font, but can be used to change it.  This same functionality is built into the other buttons next to it, so the user can easily see (and change) point size, text color, bolding, italics, underlining and the style used for the current document.

Next to the style button is a nifty spelling checker that will change color when your fingers decide to do the typo tango.  If you click on this button when it flags a word, it will display a list of possible replacements for the suspect along with a list of options that will add the word to your user dictionary: skip this instance, skip all instances or replace the suspected word with one from the suggested list.  This is in addition to Word Pro's SmartCorrect, a fix-it-as-you-go speller that's great for those typos you habitually repeat ("t-e-h" for "t-h-e", etc.).

Next to the speller is another elongated button which can be set to display the date & time, typing mode (Insert or Type Over), language, editor, version and cursor position.  As handy as this button is, I can't help but wonder why Lotus didn't build in the flexibility to display more than just one of these fields at a time.  There's certainly lots of room to do so, but users are limited, for example, to seeing the cursor's position or type mode, not both.

At the far right of the Status Bar is one button that has three functions.  Click on the down arrow and you page down.  Click on the up arrow and you page up.  Click between the two on the text that indicates your present page and you'll get a "Go To" dialog that offers tons of different choices for navigating through your document.  You can proceed to a page number, a bookmark, a header or footer, a column break, inserted page layout, inserted ruler, and the list goes on.  (This same dialog is mapped to Cntrl-G on the keyboard, a much more efficient way to work, if you ask me.)

The difference between a good app and a great app can often be found in the way little, annoying tasks are handled.  When I moved from WordPerfect to DeScribe, one of the things I missed was being able to delete a word by using Cntrl-Del or Cntrl-Backspace.  I was quite pleased to discover that Word Pro maps this function to these keystrokes.  You can also jump from paragraph to paragraph by hitting the up or down cursor key while holding down a Control key.  For those who like to drag and drop text, Lotus has done you a huge favor.  Word Pro's vertical cursor changes color when you're dragging text so you can see it very clearly.  Dragging a blocked section of text moves the cursor so you can position the blocked text exactly where you want it.  Dropping a sentence or fragment anywhere is a very easy and precise operation.

Print speed and quality are also very important to most of us who crunch words daily.  In this category, Word Pro holds its own, but only if you have OS/2's print spooler enabled.  It took 22 seconds to prepare a print job for a letter I wrote using the SmartMaster letterhead (a template which provides a basic format and user-completed fields to create specific documents).  Word Pro kept control of my machine while preparing the print job, returning it only after the job spooled.  I tried that same print job with spooling disabled and saw a HUGE difference in performance... for the worse.

Screen redraw speed is also acceptable.  The document you're reading is approximately 820k (in Word Pro format), including one graphic.  Scrolling up and down through it is reasonably smooth with only a little hesitation on the page with the graphic.

Other Goodies

When it comes to extras, Word Pro is packed fairly to the brim.  I'll only touch upon the ones that I found particularly useful, so don't take this as an exhaustive listing.

At the top of the list is the collection of mark up tools included in this package.  I always liked the way WordPerfect and DeScribe provided for the creation of comments within a document.  I quickly learned to use these when I needed to remind myself to add specific information within a text and my proofreader used them to flag passages she thought might have errors.  Word Pro takes this one step further and allows the user to block and highlight specific lines and insert comments associated with the highlighting.  I've used this feature several times while writing this review and I can see using it constantly in the future.

Take a close look at the first screen shot above directly beneath the SmartIcon bar, and you'll notice something that looks exactly like a little file folder tab with the words, "OS/2 e-Zine! - Word Pro 96 for OS/2" on it.  This is a "section tab", one of the cooler tools that Word Pro has included in this version.  Division or section tabs can be set up to separate long documents.  Clicking on the tab jumps you straight to the beginning of that section, a very efficient way to get through something lengthy, like a yearend report, a novel, or, in my case, a dissertation.  Working with section tabs is fairly straightforward, requiring little more than a mouse click on the Create option from the menu and selecting "Section" from the pull-down.  A dialog box takes you the rest of the way.

Like its predecessor, Ami Pro, and DeScribe, Word Pro is frame based.  This offers tremendous flexibility in the creation of special effects and insertion of illustrations.  In fact, DeScribe users will find it easy to make the transition from DeScribe to Word Pro.

One of the coolest features in Word Pro is the way it handles document views.  You'd expect any WYSIWYG word processor to allow the user to set zooms and Word Pro is no different.  But Lotus included 4 "Special Views" which make adjusting layouts a snap.  The PageWalker setting, my favorite, splits the window into a larger WYSIWYG display on the left while the right side shows the full page in a reduced format.  Changes made in the left window are immediately updated in the right.  Need to adjust the exact position of a graphic?  Use the large window to drag the anchor to another location and drop it in place.  The smaller gives you an overall view of the relationship between text and graphic.  Other Special Views are variations on this basic theme.  These views provide the user with the power to control document layout easily.

Hmm...  Is this a bug or a feature?

A week or two after installing Word Pro, while doing some general maintenance on my system, I opened my Start-Up folder and found an icon I'd never seen before.  It controls the Lotus Smart Suite Quick Start, which seems to be similar in function to the Windows kernel OS/2 loads whenever you enable "Fast Load" in the WIN-OS/2 properties notebook.  The only way you'll ever be aware that Quick Start is running is to bring up a thread or process list with something like Stardock's Process Commander or WatchCat.  I haven't noticed any significant lag time on my machine with Quick Start installed but I did discover its effect on loading Word Pro when I closed the app, killed Quick Start and then reloaded Word Pro.  Without Quick Start, Word Pro takes nearly twice as long to load.  All things considered, I'm glad that Lotus included this applet, but I would've been a lot happier finding out about it from a manual or a readme file instead of bumping into it accidentally.

As I mentioned above, Word Pro's installation was a breeze, so I was quite surprised when I tried to change fonts in a blocked portion of text and found myself looking at a dialog box announcing a 3175 error.  After reloading Word Pro, I gave it another try with much better results and came to the conclusion that I must've had a temporary problem that disappeared on its own.  I was a bit nonplused when I got the same error message after trying to check the stats for that document.  I loaded Word Pro and tried it again, with the same frustrating results.  Two more trials convinced me that I'd have to live without this feature.

Fortunately, I picked up a tip from the (http://www.bestofos2.com/) Best of OS/2 web site and found a patch on the (ftp://ftp.support.lotus.com/pub/desktop/wordpro/os2) Lotus FTP site which seems to have sorted out the problem.  The patch includes a .CFG, an executable and a couple .DLL files.  Although I looked for a README or other instructions, I didn't find anything, so I checked for the current location of the files and then rebooted to a command line (using Alt-F1).  This allowed me to replace the .DLLs without any open file conflicts.  When I couldn't find a home in any of the Word Pro subdirectories for file LWPDCAO.DLL, I dumped it into OS/2's DLL directory and this seems to have worked.  At least, I haven't had any more problems with 3175s nor have I noticed any dark blue smoke rolling out of the back of my computer's case.

I gave Lotus Tech Support a call to check on a few questions that I couldn't find answers to in any of the documentation as well as to check on a bug that vanished mysteriously as soon as I talked to Susan, the tech rep.  The bad news about Lotus Tech Support is this: it's limited to 60 days from the date of your first toll phone call.  (Oh, for the days of lifetime, toll-free support!)  I don't know about you, but this is far from the worst news I've had all year.

The good news is really good.  First there's an OS/2-specific help desk.  This means, simply, that you won't find yourself cursing wildly when you hear some ditzy tech say, "Uh, this product won't work with OS/2."  The wait time when I called was minimal and the procedure to set up my help account was simple.  (One word of caution: keep every piece of printed matter that comes with your package until you find your 9-digit ID number.)  Susan was not only very knowledgeable but quite pleasant to talk with.

The Wish List

There's a lot to like about Word Pro, but I can think of a few improvements I'd make if I could.  At the top of my list is an honest-to-god manual.  The documentation that ships with this application is as close to useless as you can get.  In fact, the book (if you can legitimately call something this brief a book) says that it, "is not a user's guide."  Rather, this is a, "book of ideas about how to use SmartSuite products efficiently."  Well, in spite of the warm-fuzzy tone, the documentation isn't worth the paper it's printed on.  While I have no need for another 800 page book to trip over, I'd rather have something substantial to work with than nothing at all.

Lotus does include a hefty Help file and its "Ask the Expert" feature, but neither of these make up for the total lack of a decent user guide and tutorial.

Word Pro would also benefit from a more flexible keyboard mapping system.  For example, I'd like to be able to insert a foot note (or end note) by hitting Cntrl-F instead of clicking on Create in the Menu and then clicking on Footnote/Endnote.  The user should be able to set a preference for either kind of note (along with its formatting options) and then get on with the business of writing.  (Yes, you can hold down the Alt key and access the menu and, yes, that is a keyboard-centric method of performing the job, but it's twice as kludgy as it should be and disrupts the writer's flow of thought as well as his typing.)

I'd also like to see Lotus make it easier to insert special characters into text.  The best work-around I've been able to find requires changing from my base type font to the Lotus WP Type set, inserting the required character and switching back again.  This makes spell checking a real thrill because the checker identifies the inserted dash as a letter and flags every word that has a dash attached to it.

Another weakness that has caused me some extra work is a total lack of support for DeScribe files.  In order to work with older documents I originally created in DeScribe, I was forced to save them in Ami Pro format and then reopen them in Word Pro.  I won't hazard any guesses, but I can't help wondering what Lotus was thinking when they didn't directly support file formats for one of the most popular OS/2 word processors.

I'd like to be able to look at the status bar and see if I've modified the current document.  Surprisingly, this doesn't appear to be an option.  The user should also be able to select multitasking priority when it comes down to automatic file saves.  I have Word Pro set to back up all open documents every 15 minutes, and every quarter of an hour I have to wait to use my keyboard for about 20 seconds while a backup is made.

Finally, it would also be nice to have some control over the color used to separate pages.  A yucky olive color is hard-coded, so you can either learn to ignore it or disable any separation between pages.  Maybe this is a bit picky, but with all of the other neat stuff that's included, it kind of amazes me that something this obvious slipped through the cracks.

To Buy or Not to Buy 

Lotus uses the phrase, "team word processor," to describe their product and that definitely fits.  Word Pro has extensive tools to support collaborative work.  It will track various versions of a given document and will display the name or initials of the last person who edited it.  In fact, there are a lot of nifty bells and whistles that I haven't had a chance to play with yet, even though I've devoted the better part of my free time for a month to working on this review.  I found it difficult to end this review with so much left unsaid, but there's just too much stuff here beyond the basics to try to get everything in.

This focus on group work doesn't make Word Pro inappropriate for those of us who don't work in group situations, but it does add to the application's overhead, both in initial cost and memory usage.  There are many features included in the purchase price that I'm unlikely to ever look at, even if they are sitting right there on my hard drive.  If you've got hard drive and memory to spare and you don't mind devoting some of those to features you're not going to use, this isn't really an issue.  Conversely, if you're not bashful about digging into subdirectories in search of unnecessary files, you may be able to trim the fat a bit.

If you don't need all the functionality and don't want to trim, you might want to look elsewhere.  Personally, I've already become accustomed to Word Pro's features and performance and I'm looking at other writing jobs with just a bit more ease than I did in August.  I think Word Pro will be my tool of choice for quite some time to come.

* * *

Lotus Word Pro 96 for OS/2
by (http://www.lotus.com/) Lotus Development Corp.
MSRP: US$109

(peg5@psu.edu) Pete Grubbs is a self-described OS/2 wonk, a doctoral candidate in English literature at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a part-time faculty member at Penn State and is currently developing a copy editing/creation service, The Document Doctor, which tailors documents for small businesses.

***********************************

Web Animation Kit v1.1	- by Chris Wenham

Last month I reviewed (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n8/sxpaint.htm) WebAK and SX Paint together but did not have the room to go into depth about either program's animation capabilities.  WebAK's reason for being is to create GIF animations for web pages and, as such, the animation module is the centerpiece of its varied features.  It does a good job, but it doesn't do the best job.

However, if GIF animations for web pages are all you're interested in, WebAK is still probably the best value around thanks to extra utilities that are thrown in such as pattern generators, the image mapper and image tiler.  It's also highly useful if you need to produce many similar animations that could be automated by its built in, C++ like scripting language.

Installation & Documentation

The install procedure for WebAK is stone-age.  Two Rexx scripts, one run after the other, copy files from the five floppy disks to a directory on your hard drive.  Upon completion it suggests you should drag-n-drop a shadow of the .EXE file onto your Desktop.  I think it wouldn't have been too hard for the developers to consolidate the installation into one script that also creates a program object on your Desktop automatically, at the very least.

But the documentation is a neatly bound booklet that explains the concepts behind WebAK's use of "Image View Canvases" and how to use all the different modules for creating animations and patterns, complete with screen shots and examples.

Animation

WebAK can only manage animated GIFs; if you want to import or export to other animation formats, you're out of luck.  But the GIF animation module is still more than capable enough for producing complex animations, complete with offset frames, pauses between frames, comments for each frame, multiple dispose techniques and more.

Adding frames to an animation is fairly simple, you right-click on the gray area bordering a frame and pick 'Add Frames' from the pop-up menu that follows.  You can add spaces for frames one at a time or in batches, but you can not add the images for those frames in batches like you can with MainActor/2.  The user must either load them one-by-one with the pop-up menus for each frame, or drag-n-drop them from WebAK's main window.  Nor does WebAK display the size of each frame in bytes, as MainActor/2 does.  Deleting frames is an easy right-click affair though.

The GIF specification was designed to allow the animator to update the whole image in each frame, or just part of it.  For example, if you wanted to create an animation of a person looking back and forth with their eyes you only need to make the first frame display the whole face, while the remaining frames can update just the eyes.  In this scenario you could have one 100x100 pixel image of the face, but each frame of the moving pupils could be just tiny 10x10 images.  WebAK allows you to specify an offset for each new frame so the eyes are lined up properly with the initial image of the face.

In conventional animation formats, each new frame must have the same 100x100 pixel dimensions as the first and replace any data that would be 'wiped out' as it is written over the previous frame.  Luckily, the GIF's bandwidth conserving scheme has allowed clever artists to create highly complex multi-frame animations that take only seconds to download with a web browser.  Unfortunately, WebAK was missing an optimizing routine that could automatically extract only those pixels that change between frames -- forcing the artist to manually figure this out for himself.

WebAK can give each frame a separate delay, meaning that the last frame could stick around for a couple of seconds before the animation cycles again.  Or intermediate frames can pause to let the viewer read any text that may vanish on the next frame.  Disposal methods are also widely supported, even ones that aren't supported by Netscape or other web browsers.  Perhaps in anticipation of browser updates?

For playback of animations the user is given three VCR-like controls, two for stepping backwards and forwards frame by frame and a dual-purpose Play/Stop button.  Click on this play button to view the animation, then click it again to unlatch and stop.  In practice, stopping the animation is harder than it sounds, since I was never able to get it to stop with just one click.  Double clicks often failed to work too, triggering Warp's "unresponsive application" safeguards, and popping up the window list (repainting the screen, keeping the animation going, grinding the hard drive for a while before I got the chance to try again...).  I think either a separate 'stop' button or a more responsive unlatching mechanism for the 'play' button would be desirable.

Summary

The other goodies that come with WebAK, such as the Pattern Generator and the unique "Collapse and Resurrect" ability to store work environments or trade with colleagues were discussed in last month's review in further detail.  WebAK is not really a multimedia tool, but it's clearly the best value for web designers who are unconcerned with other video formats and need the most control over the finer elements of GIF animation.  Its stability was called into question though, since WebAK was annoyingly easy to crash.

* * *

Web Animation Kit v1.1
by (http://www.modulardreams.com/) Modular Dreams, Inc.
MSRP: US$69.99 

(http://www.spectra.net/~fox/) Chris Wenham is a freelance web designer, writer and Englishman who now lives in Endicott, NY.  In the past he has written comedy, sci-fi, Pascal, Rexx, HTML and Gibberish.  He has been using OS/2 exclusively for the past 2 years.

***********************************

MainActor/2 v1.1	- by Dr. Dirk Terrell

MainActor from (http://www.mainconcept.de/) MainConcept is a cross-platform animation processing tool that supports a wide variety of animation formats.  Versions are available for both OS/2 and Win95/NT.  MainActor makes the creation and editing of animations about as simple as it can get.  (Note though, that MainActor does not create frames; it takes frames output by some other program, like (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n8/pov.htm) POV-Ray or (http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n8/neon3d.htm) Neon Grafix 3D, and creates an animation file such as an Animated GIF or MPEG file.)

Installation

MainActor is a shareware application that you can download from the various OS/2 sites, such as the (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/os2/apps/graphics/animate/mactr110.zip) OS/2 Supersite.  Installation amounts to unzipping the file in the desired directory and running the install program, which creates Desktop objects.

Up and Running

The main window of MainActor organizes animations as "Projects" on the left and the animation frames on the right.  Most programs that generate frames for an animation will output the frames with sequential numbers such as frame01.gif, frame02.gif, frame03.gif and so on.  Loading the frames into MainActor is very easy.  Choose "File" then "Open" from the menu, select the first image in the file dialog and load it.  MainActor will detect that the file is part of a sequence and ask if you want to load the others.  Or, you can drag and drop image objects directly into the project container.

Once you have all of the images loaded, you can preview the animation by clicking on the play button on the toolbar.  The default time between frames (the timecode) is 1,000 milliseconds.  Changing the timecodes of the frames is almost effortless.  If all of the timecodes are the same, you can set the Global Timecode.  If you need to set timecodes for each frame, MainActor makes that easy too.  Just right-click on the frame and select the "Local Timecodes" item in the pop-up menu.

Creating and Editing Animation Files

When you have all of the frames for an animation and you have the timecodes set the way you want them, you are ready to create an animation file.  There are many different animation formats and MainActor supports -- more than any other program I have seen.  The frame, animation, and audio formats currently supported are:

   o  AVI
   o  BMP
   o  DL
   o  FLC
   o  FLI
   o  GIF
   o  GIF-Anim
   o  IFF
   o  IFF-Anim3/5/7/8/J
   o  JPEG
   o  MPEG-I/II
   o  MPEG-Audio Layer I/II/III
   o  PCX
   o  TGA
   o  QuickTime
   o  Video Data
   o  WAV

And if the format you need isn't supported, MainConcept makes their (http://www.mainconcept.de/developers/index.html) plug-in Developer's Kit
available for free.

From the Save Window dialog, you can choose the type of animation file, make palette modifications, and set the options for that particular format.  For example, with the Animated GIF format, you can set the number of loops and the transparent color.  Pressing the "Save" button then brings up a file dialog.  Enter a name for the animation file and MainActor creates it.  If you want to save the same animation in another format, just choose one in the Save Window, enter a name, and it's done.  I don't think creating animations could get any simpler than this.

MainActor does more than just create animations too.  It is a powerful multimedia processing tool.  If you have an animation that you need to do some work on, perhaps palette changes or timecode changes, MainActor can load the animation and let you work on it frame-by-frame.  You can then save the animation in any of the formats that the program supports.  You can also split audio from an animation and even join animations.  And it also comes with a viewer, MainView, that supports the various animation formats and which can be used as a helper application with Navigator/2 for displaying animations such as QuickTime movies.

Summary

MainActor is a shining example of the kind of high quality work that can be done by a small ISV.  There are several programs out there for creating animations, but none of them have the breadth of features and the polish of MainActor.  German users will be pleased to find that the program can display its text in German as well as English.

When it comes to animation, nothing on any platform approaches the power and ease of use of MainActor, and the registration fee of US$60 is quite reasonable given the program's features.

* * *

MainActor v1.11
by (http://www.mainconcept.de/) MainConcept
download from (ftp://ftp.bmtmicro.com/bmtmicro/mactr111.zip) BMT Micro (ZIP, 2.5M)
Registration: US$60

(http://www.gnv.com/HTMLWizard/) Dr.  Dirk Terrell is an astronomer at the University of Florida specializing in interacting binary stars.  His hobbies include cave diving, martial arts, painting and writing OS/2 software such as HTML Wizard.

***********************************

AnPoCODEC/QuickMotion	- by Ryan Dill

Because of the varied platforms in existence, when one creates multimedia video it's often more efficient to use a format optimized for one's own operating system.  Unfortunately, if you do so, you run the risk of that multimedia being unreadable by someone with another operating system.

There are a few ways to get around this problem -- you can use a full animation package, like MainActor/2 (see its review in this month's issue), which can convert animations in addition to creating, editing and playing them.  Or you can simply create a plug-in which allows your OS's own programs to read such movies normally.  Such plug-ins, since they CODe and DECode multimedia formats, are simply called CODECs.  With CODECs, you don't need to spend resources creating a whole program to work with the media (complete with user interface, help files, VCR buttons and so-forth), since the OS's own multimedia players handle that already.

AnPoCODEC and QuickMotion are two packages for OS/2 which add to the number of video CODECs that OS/2's multimedia subsystem (MMPM/2) understands.  Specifically, AnPoCODEC allows OS/2 to read certain Windows-specific forms of AVI video, while QuickMotion provides the ability to view Apples's (http://quicktime.apple.com/) QuickTime 1.0 format (files with the extension .MOV or .QT).  Although the two are separate products, they deserve mention in a common review because they are often bundled together -- in fact, purchasing QuickMotion grants you a free registration of AnPoCODEC.

Installation

Both packages use OS/2's own Multimedia Application Install program to integrate themselves into the operating system; just run the install program (located in your System Setup folder in Warp 3, or System Setup's 'Install/Remove' folder in Warp 4), choose the directory where you have the QuickMotion and/or AnPoCODEC files, and with a few clicks, the package is installed.  (Note that if you are running (http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/npswps/index.html) NPS WPS, you should close it before running the Multimedia installation program, or problems may result.)

After a reboot to load the new multimedia libraries, all of OS/2's own video applications (MPPM.EXE, VB.EXE or SWVR.EXE from Warp's VideoIN) will be able to play videos of the type you just installed CODECs for.

AnPoCODEC, by (http://www.student.informatik.th-darmstadt.de/~portele/english.html) Andreas Portele (hence the 'AnPo'), is currently at version 6.  This version includes five CODECs, allowing you to play Windows-style videos of the types:

o     Video1 8-bit
o     Video1 16-bit
o     Cinepak
o     Cinepak 8-bit
o     RLE. 

AnPoCODEC is nagware -- it can be downloaded and used immediately, but until it's registered it will continue to display an 'Unregistered' message every time you use MMOS/2 to play a video encoded in one of its formats.  Registration costs around US$20 (or again, it's free, if you register QuickMotion first), for which the author will then send you, via e-mail, a registration key that banishes the 'Unregistered' notice.

AnPoCODEC doesn't play all the formats of Windows video currently available, but it allows OS/2 to read many more of the common videos out there than Base OS/2 alone does.  The documentation states that more CODECs may be developed and added to the package as demand requires.

QuickMotion, developed by (http://www.practice.xo.com/) Practice Corporation, is currently in version 1.3.  The package can either be purchased and direct-downloaded on-line, or shipped on CD from a licensed vendor.  Each purchase method has its advantages: I opted for the CD version -- with it you receive the earlier v1.1 rather than the latest 1.3 (a downloadable upgrade to v1.3 is free to owners of v1.1 though), but you also receive a collection of over 50 QuickTime movies for testing and perusal.  On the other hand, the on-line version is automatically the most up-to-date; and you receive it over the Internet, eliminating any shipping costs, and getting it into your hands faster than waiting for the CD to come by postal mail.  Note that the on-line direct download version requires WIN-OS/2 support to be installed, as it uses the Windows-based ZipLock software for secure transactions.  (See (http://www.practice.xo.com/ziplock.html) Practice's site for more info about ZipLock.)  Possible use of a Java-based transaction package to replace ZipLock is being investigated by Practice.

QuickMotion is a commercial product, but a downloadable demo (of v1.1) is available from (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/os2/apps/mmedia/video/players/qmdemo11.zip) the OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 413k), which will allow you to test out the package and see if it's to your liking.  (The demo halts playback of QuickTime videos after the first 15 seconds.)  The on-line version costs US$25 direct from Practice, but vendors will no doubt charge more for the CD version -- possibly upwards of US$30-$35.

QuickMotion includes CODECs for the playback of all QuickTime 1.0 video formats and the IMA 4:1 audio format, but unfortunately does not currently have saving capabilities.  This and other features like MIDI and (http://quicktimevr.apple.com/) QuickTime Virtual Reality support are said to be in development for upcoming versions of QuickMotion (in the words of Practice's Tom Harding, "We want to take OS/2 users to (http://quicktime.apple.com/mars/) Mars!").

QuickMotion registration also entitles you to a free copy of Practice's QuickFlick software.

What's QuickFlick?

QuickFlick is a QuickTime plug-in for OS/2's Netscape Navigator.  IBM's Netscape Plug-in Pack includes its own QuickTime plug-in, but it only works if MMPM/2 is already set up to understand QuickTime movies, meaning you'll still need a copy of QuickMotion anyway.  (Actually you don't really need a plug-in at all, a helper application like MainView/2 -- included in MainActor/2 -- works fine for viewing QuickTime movies in your browser; however, it doesn't allow for all the browser integration that a true plug-in does.)

If you have basic QuickMotion installed, then IBM's plug-in will play QuickTime movies in your browser fine.  So why would you want QuickFlick?  Well, QuickFlick has more features than IBM's plug-in, adding the ability to play streamed video (play a MOV as it's downloading, instead of waiting for the download to finish), support for QuickTime sound and music files, a better-looking interface and less bugs.

For more information on QuickFlick, check out Practice's (http://www.practice.xo.com/qffaq.html) QuickFlick FAQ.  QuickFlick is currently at v1.4, and it can even be used outside of Netscape if you dislike using the other video players that come with OS/2.

Conclusion

If all you want is the ability to _play_ animations like QuickTime and AVI Video, the QuickMotion/AnPoCODEC package can't be beaten for its price.  The addition of the QuickFlick plug-in component makes them an extremely useful set of software to have for anyone who wants to get the most out of the Worldwide Web.  If you're planning on doing any editing of video at all, you'd be better matched with a package like MainActor/2, but if playback and enhancement of your Web experience is what you're looking, for, these two pieces of software are a must.

* * *

AnPoCODEC VIby (http://www.student.informatik.th-darmstadt.de/~portele/english.html) Andreas Portele
download from (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/old/mmedia/apcodec6.zip) the OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 261k)
Registration: US$20.00

QuickMotion 1.3by (http://www.practice.xo.com/) Practice Corporation
download demo from (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/os2/apps/mmedia/video/players/qm13.zip) the OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 2M)
MSRP: US$25.00 (electronic); US$30.00-$35.00 (CD)

(dill@os2ezine.com) Ryan Dill is a student in Computer Science at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS and e-Zine!'s technical 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.

***********************************

First Looks and Nifty Gadgets

First Looks and Nifty Gadgets brings you reviews of the new and novel.  Each month we take a look at what's just hitting the streets and some tiny, but tried and true products that are still helping people be as productive as possible. 

This month we look at: PKZip for OS/2 v2.50 | ZipZap v1.25 | Stats v1.02 | CandyBarZ v1.10

PKZip for OS/2 v2.50

OS/2 users have long enjoyed the compression and decompression products of Info-ZIP (zip.exe and unzip.exe).  Because of those great products, we haven't really lamented the fact that the "real" thing, PKZIP for OS/2 from PKWare, was so embarrassingly out of date.  Now OS/2 users have the best of both worlds with the tried and true Info-ZIP products and the newly updated PKZIP v2.50 for OS/2.

PKZIP v2.50 for OS/2 is, fundamentally, just another version of the ubiquitous compression and decompression software by PKWare, available on practically every platform known to mankind.  This new OS/2 version however, is a 32-bit native application that addresses some of the failings of the older PKZIP for OS/2.  For example, it features the ability to span files to multiple diskettes, create self-extracting files (or create spanned self-extracting files), handle OS/2 EA's properly and more.

The biggest difference in terms of interface with the version from PKWare is that "zip" and "unzip" functionality has been combined into one executable file, PKZIP.EXE.  All operations are now controlled by "switches"; for example, to zip all files in a directory, you would enter:

PKZIP /add archivefilename.zip

And to unzip an existing archive, you would enter:

PKZIP /extract archivefilename.zip

This may be confusing to longtime users of PKZIP and PKUNZIP, but the switches are well thought out and comprehensive.

Naturally this new version of PKZIP is compatible with the PKZIP standard -- PKZIP for DOS v2.04g -- and will extract files compressed with that standard (whether they were created on OS/2 or some other platform, with a PKWare, Info-ZIP or some other product).  Customization of the utility is also supported for those who prefer settings differing from the defaults.

The registered version of PKZIP for OS/2 comes with a comprehensive printed manual and technical support via the Internet, CompuServe, FAX, FaxBack, and full-time technical support staff.  But at US$47 (plus shipping and handling), the question most people probably ask is, "Do I need this product?"  While Info-ZIP's free zip.exe and unzip.exe perform similar functions, if you need multi-disk spanning abilities in your compression program, or prefer the "real thing", PKZIP for OS/2 may be for you.

PKZip for OS/2 v2.50
by (http://www.pkware.com/) PKWare, Inc.
download from (ftp://ftp.pkware.com/pkos2250.exe) PKWare, Inc. (ZIP, 309k)
Registration: $47

* * *

ZipZap v1.25

If you like the Workplace Shell (and who doesn't?) and you routinely deal with ZIP files, you may want to check out ZipZap by (http://www.coax.net/people/grobin/) Gary L. Robinson.  ZipZap v1.25 is a WPS extension that allows you to manipulate ZIP files without manually opening a command session.  ZipZap adds entries to objects' pop-up menus to allow simple and efficient unzipping and zipping of files.  Highly customizable, ZipZap also allows mouse initiated viewing of ZIP file contents, either by pop-up menu selection or by double-click.

ZipZap lives up to its promise; simple but powerful, it allows you to quickly manipulate ZIP files without resorting to a command line.  It even provides a handy ZIP file template for drag and drop creation of ZIP files.  Dropping files onto an existing ZIP file automatically adds them to the archive.

Users of the older products NFNF (New File, New Folder) and Desktop Wizard will note that ZipZap shares some of their features since it is an offshoot of those products.  However, it has some new features too.  For example, ZipZap will let you add arguments to zip.exe and unzip.exe to customize your tasks "on the fly".

However, a neat feature that is sadly absent from this utility is a "checkbox dialog" for custom zip/unzip sessions so casual users wouldn't need to remember Zip switch syntax.  Another bonus which is missing is the ability to "open" ZIP files by double-clicking on their objects, a-la-Object Desktop.  This would allow reading of files within archives without unzipping the whole thing, and even unzipping individual files (by dragging just the ones required out of the archive).  The developer, (http://www.coax.net/people/grobin/) Gary L. Robinson, tells us that neither of these features has been ruled out at this point, but for now, they are sadly missing.

ZipZap is free to registered users of Desktop Wizard or NFNF, as long as one of them was purchased before September 10, 1997.  For others, it can be registered at (http://www.bmtmicro.com/) BMT Micro for US$25.  ZipZap requires the (http://quest.jpl.nasa.gov/Info-ZIP/) latest versions of Info-ZIP's zip.exe and unzip.exe.

ZipZap v1.25
by (http://www.coax.net/people/grobin/) Gary L. Robinson
download from (ftp://ftp.bmtmicro.com/bmtmicro/zz125.zip) BMT Micro (ZIP, 432k)
Registration: US$25

* * *

Stats v1.02

Also from (http://www.coax.net/people/grobin/) Gary L. Robinson this month, comes Stats v1.02.  This little utility allows users to get comprehensive info on folders or whole "trees" of folders, as well as manipulate object attribute flags, without opening a command line session.  Information provided by Stats includes number of files, number of folders, number of total objects (including shadows and program objects) and number of bytes used in a folder.

Information is displayed in a dialog window via a pop-up menu selection or can be set to always appear in the title bar of folders.  This isn't quite as visually appealing as adding a separate "status line" to the bottom of existing windows the way the Mac, Windows 95 or Object Desktop for OS/2 does, but it still gets the info across.

Possibly the nicest thing about Stats though, is its ability to display and modify the attributes of objects.  Forget about the command line, just right click on that file, select "File stats" from the pop-up menu and you'll see details of the object's size, creation date, etc. -- and its attributes (read only, hidden, archive and system).  These last are clickable buttons which toggle each attribute on or off allowing quick manipulation.  Very nice!

Like ZipZap, Stats is a subset of the older Desktop Wizard and NFNF, and is free to registered users of those programs who purchased one of them before September 10, 1997.  Otherwise, it is shareware and can be registered at (http://www.bmtmicro.com/) BMT Micro for US$15.

Stats v1.02
by (http://www.coax.net/people/grobin/) Gary L. Robinson
download from (ftp://ftp.bmtmicro.com/bmtmicro/stats102.zip) BMT Micro (ZIP, 95k)
Registration: US$15

* * *

CandyBarZ v1.10

OS/2 isn't best known for its looks, so when a programmer or artist makes any sort of eye-candy for it, OS/2 users get interested.  Past examples of eye-candy for OS/2 include PlusPak: Themes! and the AMPTR animated pointer add-on.  These have been joined by a new gizmo called CandyBarZ, now at v1.10.

CandyBarZ is a shareware program that gives your application titlebars 'gradients'.  In other words, it allows the bars to shade from one color into another, much like certain Microsoft applications on the Windows platform.  The newest version of CandyBarZ, v1.10, allows for shading both vertically and horizontally (the first version of the program only allowed vertical gradients).  It also allows users to determine whether they want titlebars to have a border or not.

CandyBarZ also allows you to customize titlebar colors based on the application that you're using.  Like a nice Green to White when using Netscape, but a Black to White when using something else?  Just enter the name of the program's executable, select the color, and CandyBarZ takes care of it.  And you can have as many custom program colors as you want.

This is one application that should not be missed.  CandyBarZ is not crippled in any way, but at only US$7.00, it's definitely worth the price for the appreciative looks your Desktop will draw from onlookers.  CandyBarZ can be registered either through (http://www.bmtmicro.com/) BMT Micro or directly from the author. (BMT registration adds $3 overhead cost, bringing the price to $10.)

CandyBarZ v1.10
by (erlkonig@alum.mit.edu) PsychoSemantic Software
download from (ftp://ftp.bmtmicro.com/bmtmicro/cbarz110.zip) BMT Micro (ZIP, 126k)
Registration: US$10

* * *

That's it for this month.  Tune in next time for more reviews of neat gadgets and first looks at new OS/2 tools.

***********************************

Galactic Civilizations II Expansion Pack	- by Colin L. Hildinger

If you've been using OS/2 for any length of time you probably know that Galactic Civilizations (see the (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n2/galciv.html) review in vol. 1, no. 2) and Galactic Civilizations II (see the (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n4/galciv2.html) review in vol. 1, no. 4) are probably the most popular OS/2 games of all time.  You might also be familiar with Shipyards (see the (http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n6/shipyard.html) review of Shipyards II for GalCiv II in vol. 1, no. 6), which allows you to design your own ships using the various technologies available in the game.  However, if you don't keep up with the comp.os.os2.games Usenet group, it's quite possible that you've never heard of the Galactic Civilizations II Expansion Pack.

I rank Galactic Civilizations II as the only "must have" game for OS/2.  There are other good games, but GalCiv II is quite simply one of my all time favorites on any platform, even though I can thoroughly humiliate the computer players on the hardest level of version 2.5.

"Version 2.5!?!" you say?  That's right, GalCiv has been a labour of love for Brad Wardell, the game's creator and founder of Stardock.  Unlike most computer games which only get bug fixes and maybe an update if the first version really sucks (Outpost from Sierra is an example of a game that wasn't worth playing until the update was released), GalCiv II has had major feature updates in its various service releases, with version 2.5 being the final free addition.  By the time version 2.5 was released, sales of GalCiv II were pretty stagnant and Brad decided that his time was better spent on other projects (like Entrepreneur).  After much pleading in comp.os.os2.games though, Brad was convinced to do another update and add some features, but only as a purchasable add on.

Why you might not have heard of it

Well, it seems to be almost hidden away on Stardock's web page.  Instead of having a nice link from the Galactic Civilizations II page, it's got a page of its own, the only link to which is at the bottom of Stardock's Entertainment Division web page under "Other Games."  Once you finally find (http://www.stardock.com/products/soft_fun/gcx.html) the web page it gives you a brief description of what's been added, as well as a link for further improvements to the Expansion Pack (there should be another Expansion Pack update out in the next week or two).

Installation

The Expansion Pack installs just like the previous updates; just unzip the file and run the setup program.  There are some important notes in the readme.1st file though.  For instance, if you have Shipyards II you need to install it before the Expansion Pack.  After that, it's just a matter of running GalCiv II from the existing program object.

What Was Changed?

There is an extensive list of things that have been changed.  The most notable, in my opinion, are the improvements to the computer AI's (as always, they were modeled after real human players), including the replacement of the Pirates with the "Ominorians", and a restructuring of the technologies.  The computer players are tougher, especially with the addition of the Ominorians, which can make the game almost impossible on some levels.  You will have to adjust all your strategies that were previously successful because of these changes.  The technology tree was expanded and altered so that you can no longer be a "Jack of all trades", at least not successfully.  You must choose your strategy early and stick with it to prevail.

I am Ominor.  Resistance is Futile.  You Will be Assimilated...

...your strategy is irrelevant.  Your starships are irrelevant.  Race is irrelevant.  You are irrelevant.

With original text and graphics for the Ominorians supplied by (http://www.mnsinc.com/dmccoy/) John Ominor himself, these fiends were then further modeled after the Borg from Star Trek.  Needless to say, the Ominorians are certainly the most interesting addition to the game.

In previous releases there were Pirate worlds scattered sparsely throughout the galaxy.  These worlds would be best described in the way Ford Prefect described the Earth: "Mostly Harmless."  They didn't develop or assimilate technology and after a short period they would be eliminated from the game, until someone started to approach financial ruin and their worlds would become pirate rebels.  Even then they weren't a threat because they couldn't make use of any technology.

The Ominorians, on the other hand, are a much larger threat.  They start the game with a vast base of high quality worlds scattered across the galaxy.  In a game where you might start with one single class 15 planet, the Ominorians start with 30 class 22 planets.  Unlike the pirates, the Ominorians will try to expand by assimilating your worlds and technology.  With their powerful resource base they are extremely dangerous -- so dangerous, in fact, that Brad created a patch which reduced their aggressiveness.  As an enemy culture goes into decline they can become even more dangerous, because the enemy's rebel worlds aren't pirates anymore, they're Ominorians.  You might go from defeating the Torians to having 2-3 of their worlds turn into Ominorians each turn.  Scary.

All New in the Expansion Pack

Some other very nice touches were also added in the Expansion Pack and people from Usenet actively participated in the feature creation.  Things like better graphics and better font selection were nice, though I did notice a few glitches.  In the Expansion pack each different quadrant of space will have a different background, so one quadrant may just have a starfield, while another has a nebula in the background.  Unfortunately, I noticed that the black backgrounds of graphics such as star systems created a black square on the backgrounds.  I suspect that this would be easily fixed, and hope it is in the upcoming update.  Little things like this make a game seem much more professional, and while GalCiv is now a bit dated, it's still one of my all time favorites and I'd like for it to look as good as possible when I've got friends over.

One of the nicest things that was added is the "Military Governors."  With these governors you can make all planets that are building one type of ship switch to a new type.  This is a wonderful feature when you're playing in a gigantic sized galaxy (the only way to play) and you get a new technology.  There's nothing like realizing that a planet wasted years building a ship that's now outclassed by your opponents and which will be destroyed if you try to take it into battle.

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down

By now you know that I'm a complete GalCiv addict.  If you own GalCiv and have enjoyed it, then this is a worthwhile addition.  At US$14.95 (if you purchase it on-line from Stardock's commerce server), the added hours of game play are worth every penny.

You may also consider Shipyards II.  While I think there could be better integration between the two packages, both add to the GalCiv experience.  If you haven't purchased GalCiv II and you even remotely like games, you can get the demo (at the 2.5 level of the game) from (http://www.stardock.com/) Stardock's site.  It's now available for (http://www.indelible-blue.com/ibapps/products.nsf/4eb8228e8f5650088525646f00538bee/e69a3e8cdb5a31358525648900452d40?OpenDocument) US$29.95 at Indelible Blue and as part of the Power Gamer '97 bundle from Stardock (see the gaming news column this month for more information).  You can also order the GalCiv II bundle (GalCiv II, Shipyards II, and GalCiv II Expansion Pack) for US$44.95. directly from (http://www.stardock.com/) Stardock.

Heck, for another $44.95 you could order the bundle and give a friend the copy of GalCiv II.  You might just create an OS/2 zealot, you never know.

* * *

Galactic Civilizations II Expansion Pack
by (http://www.stardock.com/products/soft_fun/gcx.html) Stardock Systems
MSRP: US$14.95

(http://www.ionet.net/~colin/) Colin Hildinger is an Aerospace Engineering senior at (http://www.okstate.edu/) Oklahoma State University and has been using OS/2 for the last 3 years.  In addition to being the Games Editor for OS/2 e-Zine!, he maintains (http://www.ionet.net/~colin/games.html) The Ultimate OS/2 Gaming Page and the (http://www.ionet.net/~colin/awe32.html) AWE32 and OS/2 Page in his "spare" time.

***********************************

SeaHaven Towers for OS/2 v2.30	- by Jeffrey Smick

We've all downloaded quite a bit of software over the years, and had varying experiences with installing the software, getting to know the program, and of course finding the glitches.  The program I'm about to introduce to you, SeaHaven Towers for OS/2 v2.30, has been a real joy on all those fronts.

Installation

To begin with, downloading the zip file was quick; it took all of 90 seconds.  The readme instructions for installation are informative and clear too.  Installing SeaHaven Towers into your directory of choice is simple.  Interestingly, even during installation you come into contact with one of the many nice touches that Mr. Kulp thoughtfully provides.  If you tell it to, SeaHaven Towers will take advantage of Warp's ability to have packed resources, thus creating a 300k smaller EXE file than would otherwise be possible (under OS/2 v2.X or earlier).  Backward compatibility plus forward enhancements.  Neat.

Removal

SeaHaven Towers does not mess with your config.sys, or your INI files.  Uninstallation is as simple as deleting the directory where the files are installed, and deleting the program object that is created on installation.

The Equipment

This game was tested on a Cyrix p-150+, 32 Meg RAM, with a Matrox Millennium.  Screen shot courtesy of PMView, text courtesy of DeScribe.

The Game

I've played standard solitaire games before, but I had no clue what SeaHaven Towers was all about.  So, I got to know the help facility right away.  It's excellent -- clear and precise, with virtually none of those irritating typos you often come across.  Soon I learned what the point of the game is, and how to play it.

Warning: this game can be VERY DIFFICULT!  (I had to laugh because the HELP file casually mentions that, given certain settings, the game can be impossible!)  I floundered at the default "Normal" difficulty level.  Using the on-line help though, I learned how simple it is to change this setting to "Easy".

But even more interesting is that I learned how the user can choose to set each of the four play parameters manually.  This allows the player lots of creative flexibility in how they set up the game.  You could adjust one parameter to a setting that would be considered "Hard" while setting another parameter to "Easy".  For the player, this blending may be preferable to the preassigned values set by the computer as Easy, Normal, and Hard.  I'm looking forward myself to playing with the parameters and maybe I'll graduate to the Normal level!

The above is just one example of the thoughtful features the author has provided.  Here are some more:

"New Game" and "Repeat Game" easy-access buttons right on the game window.

Two kinds of "Undo/Redo", also easily accessed using buttons in the lower corners of the game window.  One moves you backwards/forwards incrementally each time you click it.  The other pops up a slider for bigger leaps backwards/forwards.  (Believe me, you might find this useful!)

Scaling of cards.  This is to accommodate all video resolutions.  If your display doesn't look right try this feature to fix the problem.  You may run into display problems with a 640 x 480 resolution and the "Easy" setting.  With the resolution so low, and the game trying to fit so many cards onto the screen, it doesn't look so pretty.  Solution: improve your skills a bit so that you don't have to play at the "Easy" level!

Multi user.  A way to keep your scores and percentages separate and safe from anyone else's when they play the game on your PC.

Quick cards.  SeaHaven Towers can automatically draw cards up to the ace stacks, which is a big time-saver, as well as potentially saving you from yourself in case you happen to not notice a move.

The rules can be changed to those of Freecell, a game shipped by Microsoft with the Win32s libraries.  (Using these rules will make the game significantly easier...  Surprised?)

I also liked that there are no included WAV files.  After you've heard them once, they just get boring and take up space, don't you think?  The PC speaker can be disabled if preferred.

On the negative side, while the game window does accept drag-N-drop colors (sorry if you hate my color choice in the screen shot), there is no way to customize the images on the cards or towers.

When I first played a game and thought it very difficult, I also worried that I may get to a place where further play may be impossible without knowing it, and then waste a lot of time trying to find the next move when there wasn't one.  Not to worry, there is a message that will pop up telling you that there are no more possible moves.  You should be aware though, that as long as there are possible moves, even if they won't get you anywhere, you will not get the pop-up message.  In that case it's up to you to throw in the towel.
 
Performance

Physically, the game has no problems.  It takes about 10 seconds to load itself and plays smoothly after that.  The game has never crashed or hung on me.  There are no hiccups, bugs, or unpolished edges.  In this area I think that no news is good news, so I'm just going to say that SeaHaven Towers runs fine.

Improvements?

There is no right mouse button action, but it's not needed.  (Note: I have seen the new beta version which incorporates the ability to LMB a card, making its next higher card, wherever it is located, become momentarily highlighted so you can find it easily.  Similarly, the RMB will momentarily highlight its next lower card.  I think this is a very cool feature.)  Accessing HELP from the options notebook isn't obvious, but that old standby F1 did the trick, so no problem there.

Recommendations

All in all, I had lots of fun with the game.  I had to drag myself from it to write this review!  So, if you're into addictive card games, this is a definite choice for you.

* * *

SeaHaven Towers for OS/2 v2.30
by (jdkulp@ibm.net) J.  Daniel Kulp
download from (http://www.os2ss.com/archives/hobbes/os2/games/casino/seahav23.zip) the OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 226k)
Registration: US$15

(jsmick@ix.netcom.com) Jeffrey Smick, member TBOUG, is a professional violinist with The Florida Orchestra in Tampa, FL.  When he's not fiddling, he's busy learning C++, playing with his cat, and plotting the next piece of OS/2 software he'd love to write.

***********************************

August '97 Reader Survey Results

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, you know that Sun Microsystems has launched an attack on the seemingly unassailable Windows juggernaut.  And you also know that IBM has joined the crusade and, in doing so, has bet OS/2's very existence on the success of Java.

Many people have had heated reactions to this situation so last month we asked, "What do you think of Java?"

Answers to our survey were accepted from August 16th until September 13th.  We had a total of 1,461 replies to our questionnaire with 40 "spoiled" entries (replies were considered "spoiled" if they did not contain an e-mail address, if they were incomplete or if they were duplicates).  This left 1,421 valid replies.  The results were as follows:

Do you have Java or will you install it in the future?

One thing is obvious from our readers' replies this month: Java is popular.  A whopping 93.7% of those surveyed told us that they had either Java 1.02 or Java 1.1 installed or that they would install it in the future.

Surprisingly few (1.2%) of our readers reported that they had no intention of ever installing Java.  Could this be because Java is the wave of the future?  Or is it just because it's free?  Read on...

Do you use Java applications?

The numbers were slightly less enthusiastic when we asked our readers if they actually used Java, though.  However, there was still a clear majority (62.3%) that do use Java apps.  But then again, most of those (52.8% of our readers) only use Java apps occasionally.

Perhaps most telling about Java's current popularity is the fact that almost 1 in 4 of our readers has tried some Java apps, but deleted them.

Will Java be a major "platform" in the future?

As everyone probably knows by now, Microsoft is waging a small war against the "100% Pure Java" initiative started by Sun Microsystems and others.  Without commenting on Microsoft's motives for this action, we can report that our readers don't hold much hope for their version of Java.  Only 2.2% reported that they believed Microsoft's Java would become a major platform, while another 14.8% believed that both Microsoft's and Sun's versions would be.

Compare this with those who believe in the future of Sun's version of Java (46.4%) and it becomes clear that Microsoft has its work cut out for it in terms of market acceptance.

Will Java be beneficial to OS/2 _home_ users?

Finally last month, we asked the most important question.  What does all this mean to us?  While the majority of you (57.1%) were fairly confident that Java (the "100% Pure" variety) would help OS/2 home users, a fairly large group (22.0%) are still unsure.

Only time will tell, but if the general population turns out to be as enthusiastic as our readers are, "100% Pure Java" should be a significant force.

-----

In addition to asking our readers what they thought, our staff members also "had it out" on this topic this month.  Don't forget to check out the complete debate featured in this issue.

Also, don't forget to fill out this month's questionnaire and check back in October for complete results!

 
		Complete August '97 Survey Results


Do you have Java or will you install it in the future?
	
Category					Count	Percentage
Don't have it, don't want it		17	1.2%
I have v1.02 installed			754	53.1%
I have v1.1 installed			577	40.6%
I will install it within 3 months		15	1.1%
I will install it within 6 months		6	.4%
I will install it within 1 year		2	.1%
I will install it, but don't know when	33	2.3%
I don't have a clue			17	1.2%

TOTAL					1,421	100.1%

Note: the extra 0.1% in the above table is due to rounding errors.


Do you use Java applications?

Category				Count	Percentage
I told you, I don't have Java	50	3.5%
I tried some, but deleted them	346	24.3%
Yes, I use Java apps occasionally	750	52.8%
Yes, I use Java apps frequently	135	9.5%
I'm not sure			140	9.9%

TOTAL				1,421	100.0%


Will Java be a major "platform" in the future?

Category				Count	Percentage
Not a chance			86	6.1%
Microsoft's version of Java will be	31	2.2%
100 Percent Pure Java will be	659	46.4%
Both versions of Java will be	210	14.8%
I really couldn't say		435	30.6%

TOTAL				1,421	100.1%

Note: the extra 0.1% in the above table is due to rounding errors.


Will Java be beneficial to OS/2 _home_ users?

Category				Count	Percentage
No way				97	6.8%
Yes, 100 Percent Pure Java will be	811	57.1%
Yes, any Java will be		201	14.1%
Hey, if I knew that, I'd be rich	312	22.0%

TOTAL				1,421	100.0%

***********************************

Reader Survey

Have you ever wondered what your fellow OS/2 users are doing with their computers and how they're doing it?

Each month, OS/2 e-Zine! takes the pulse of the OS/2 community on a different topic and presents you with the results.  This month's topic: What do you think IBM should do with OS/2?

Just fill in the form at http://www.os2ezine.com/v2n9/survey2.htm and check back next month to find out how "normal" you really are!

-----

Do you have an idea that you think would make a (feedback@os2ezine.com) good survey question?

Don't forget to check out the complete results of last month's survey, in this issue!

***********************************

OS/2 Past, Present, Future	- by Bradley Wardell

Each month, OS/2 e-Zine! invites a prominent member of the OS/2 community to share his or her opinions, experiences and stories with our readers.  Last month, Brad Wardell of Stardock Systems continued a three part series of articles on OS/2, where it is going and where it has been.

Here is the final chapter: OS/2 Future.

-----

Part III: OS/2 Future

(Disclaimer: I work for an OS/2 software company called Stardock Systems, Inc.  We develop and publish 32-bit OS/2 software for both corporate OS/2 sites as well as individual OS/2 users.)

Our Story So Far...

In the Summer of 1991, IBM made the decision to bring the "Workplace Shell", that had been largely created for IBM's failed Office Vision project, to OS/2.  It was, and still is, marvelous technology that allows people to work the way they want to instead of the way the OS dictates.  But doing this meant a delay in the release of OS/2 from Fall 1991 to near third quarter 1992 general availability.  This gave Microsoft enough time to release Windows 3.1 -- making OS/2's Windows support outdated and giving Microsoft the time to build Windows 95/NT.

Even still, while that move may have ultimately prevented OS/2 from achieving overwhelming dominance, OS/2 was on the path to being a major niche (i.e.  20% of the PC market) platform when IBM PSP division (the one that makes OS/2) got caught up in its early success and decided to jump onto the PowerPC bandwagon with both feet.  After two years and millions of dollars, the PowerPC version didn't cut the mustard.  Workplace OS (OS/2 for the PowerPC) was a much tougher task to create than originally anticipated.  As a result, the entire thing got scrapped and OS/2 for Intel lost 2 years of development and lost the faith of the executive management of IBM.

In the midst of the "new reality", IBM created OS/2 Warp 4, a relatively modest upgrade that was supposed to be both a JAVA business client as well as an OS that you could literally talk to.  Without enough budget thrown at either target, it didn't succeed as either one and continued to be used as an industrial strength client for Fortune 200 companies while the SOHO and consumer market began to migrate to Windows 95 and NT 4.0, which unfortunately came out around the same time as OS/2 Warp 4.

Because of IBM's considerable overhead, they can't really actively push into a market unless they have overwhelming dominance.  OS/2 was the first time that IBM had really invested to get into a market that already had entrenched, mature competitors.

So what's OS/2's future?

As 1997 nears its end it seems like OS/2 is slowly being taken over by third parties to greater and greater extents.  Ultimately, the only thing IBM really needs to do is provide device driver support and keep its foot out of its mouth long enough for OS/2 to recover from IBM's missteps.

We've already seen the beginning of this: last winter, Esther Schindler, a respected PC journalist, organized an OS/2 Developer's trade show in Arizona.  This Fall, the Felix Cruz inspired (http://www.warpstock.org/) Warpstock trade show for end users will be held in Southern California where many leading OS/2 vendors will mingle with OS/2 consumers as well as corporate buyers.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to look hard at the reality of OS/2...

It's not dead but it's unconscious.

OS/2 users need to know where to set their demands and expectations.  I won't pretend to speak for other OS/2 ISVs but I feel one thing that is unique about the OS/2 market is that the ISVs get along very well.  The different software companies talk to each other on a regular basis.  So let me put it like this, right now, OS/2 ISVs (the companies that make OS/2 software) are in a crisis.  None but the smallest (i.e.  people who write OS/2 software part time) are going to survive long term as OS/2-only ISVs.  They must go cross-platform, go into consulting or die.  As it stands, there's just not enough revenue to be made making OS/2-only shrink wrapped products for a company of significant size to thrive.

Let that sink in for a minute.

So what you're going to see is a lot more cross platform products and some products that are not on OS/2 at all from traditionally OS/2-only companies.  It's not a matter of getting "greedy", it is a matter of survival.  If OS/2 ISVs stay OS/2-only without finding some other source of revenue they will go out of business -- period.  And in this time of transition, it will be particularly important that OS/2 users are supportive of OS/2 ISVs that release cross platform products (and I don't speak just of Stardock; as the months progress, you'll see most OS/2 ISVs coming out with cross-platform products).  So if you were planning to buy or register that OS/2 application or utility, now would be a good time.

The first problem that OS/2 ISVs face presently is the lack of channels to announce products in.  There is no print OS/2 publication in the United States, and in Europe there is only OS/2 Inside and little coverage elsewhere.  In July, Stardock released OS/2 Essentials Version 2.  This is a product that every OS/2 user should want to have.  Unfortunately, how does an OS/2 software company spread the word?  The Internet can only reach so far.

The second problem is that the OS/2 market isn't really growing anymore, so at some point you'll saturate the market.  As incredible as Object Desktop is, at some point we'll have sold it to everyone that is going to buy it.  How many people reading this don't already have Object Desktop?  This means that a clock is ticking to either expand your market or keep upgrading your product in the hopes that you get nearly a 100% upgrade rate which is still a diminishing return.

Many vocal OS/2 users on the Internet proudly proclaim that OS/2 software has to compete for their buying dollars with DOS and Windows programs since OS/2 can run them.  This is true, but it works both ways; OS/2 users have to compete for the development dollars of OS/2 ISVs with DOS/Windows and other platforms too.  So while OS/2 software companies have to make it worth the OS/2 user's while to buy their software, the OS/2 ISVs need something in return and right now (4th quarter 1997) it's not happening.

The biggest reason Stardock has remained relatively strong longer than other ISVs is because we have continued to release new products (Links for OS/2 in May, PMINews in June, OS/2 Essentials 2 in July, BUGS in August, Entrepreneur this October).  But obviously we won't be able to release new OS/2 products virtually every month, especially when there are not enough channels to spread the word on them.

So what is going to happen and what can be done?  Well, from years of talking to thousands of OS/2 users in my travels I've come to notice the different types of people that use OS/2 versus Windows versus Linux.

Windows users are largely end users that don't like to write software but will happily buy commercial software if it is from a leading brand.

Linux users are techies that like to write freeware but don't like to buy software.  There's always plenty of software for them because the user base is always writing little freeware programs.

OS/2 users are largely end users that don't like to write software but also don't like to buy software, preferring to look for freeware DOS, Windows, and sometimes OS/2 solutions to fill their needs.

Obviously these are generalizations and plenty of OS/2 users like to buy software or there would be no commercial or shareware OS/2 software vendors.  But the silent majority of OS/2 users I've met use mostly Windows 3.1 programs, maybe a copy of Word 2.0 for Windows that they got from a friend and a bunch of expired beta software / drivers they've pulled from BBSes and the Internet.

It's not that OS/2 users are cheap, it's that they don't (as a general rule) value their time to the point that they're willing to pay for a program that is ten times as good or efficient.  Any time I've seen a post complaining that Process Commander's $69.95 price tag is too high I know that the user doesn't value the time they spend having to reboot because of a system hang or having to stand by and wait for OS/2 to shutdown to reboot instead of letting it auto-reboot the machine for them.

(The same is true of Linux users as well, but to a more extreme extent.  They'll just go out and grab GNU C++ and program something that solves any problem they have!  There's not much commercial or shareware software for Linux as a result.)

This is one of the problems that OS/2 users have to face for OS/2 to have a viable future.  They'll need to either learn to develop their own tools like Linux users or buy (or register) OS/2 products.  Let me stress that many OS/2 users do buy (or develop) their computing solutions, it's just that the majority don't.  An entire market of end users can't realistically keep up to date if they entirely rely on freeware.

Many OS/2 users don't realize how much of a difference each user makes, especially right now.  Every sale won or lost in the OS/2 market makes a big difference to the software vendor.  To put it in perspective, if you sell 30 copies or more a month at Indelible Blue, you'll be on the Top 10 Best Sellers list.  So imagine selling only a few dozen products per month and having to pay employees, rent, insurance, phone, advertising, etc.  My fear is that unless something happens, all the OS/2 ISVs that are more than a couple of people will be essentially gone by the end of the year -- unless they're able to find some success on the Windows platform or migrate to consulting or there's some sort of increase in OS/2 user purchases.

One of my favorite users in the newsgroups has a tagline that says: "Why do I use OS/2?  Because I like the choice!"  This is a great motto and one that people who intend to stay with OS/2 should take to heart.  A world without OS/2 will be stifled from the PC OS point of view.  When Microsoft had no competition, DOS stagnated.  What do you think they'll do if their last major hurdle to monopoly is gone?

So the next time you're manipulating a bunch of graphics files, before you fool with a bunch of freeware programs, go buy PMView which will probably do the job twice as fast and much easier.  Or the next time you're fooling with a freeware INI editor that may or may not fry your OS/2 system, check out UniMaint.  And yes, next time you want an "OS/2 Equivalent" of Winzip (which is a $30 program on Windows), pick up Object Desktop which, among many things, integrates ZIP files into the OS like a folder.

My mantra on why I use OS/2 is this: "I use OS/2 because it makes me more productive!"  Time is money and if enough OS/2 users can come to value their time more, more OS/2 software will be sold.

Why should companies develop for OS/2?

Some companies when they don't see enough sales on OS/2 begin to get "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence" syndrome.  Their theory is that the Windows world is paved with gold and if they make a Windows program it'll make them millions of dollars.  And if you've read this far, you might get the mistaken impression that supporting OS/2 is a waste of time -- not true!

The Windows market is bigger -- much bigger -- but it has a lot more competition.  Describe didn't sell huge amounts of units for OS/2.  But it certainly sold a lot more than it would have if it had started out on Windows.  Many markets on Windows are closed at this point.  Mesa/2 is a fine spread sheet but it is unlikely in the Windows world that it would sell more than a 1000 units.  Again, that market is closed.

Imagine if Galactic Civilizations had been written for DOS instead of OS/2 back those years ago?  How could a tiny company (back then) like Stardock compete with the millions of dollars games get thrown at them in marketing?  Even today with a budget exceeding a million dollars, our next generation strategy game, Entrepreneur (for OS/2 and Windows), has had to fight and scrap to get preview coverage from the mainstream media.  But because we have an OS/2 version, we have an advantage both in terms of sales and in terms of word of mouth over a Windows-only game.  And word of mouth sells more copies of a product than anything else.  Users who get the Object Desktop for Windows (beta) in a few weeks probably will have heard of it because of the OS/2 version (which will also be enhanced in the future).

My point is that the Windows market is very crowded and Windows users like to buy the #1 product in a given market segment.  Being the second best widget on Windows puts you in a very poor sales category.  This is where OS/2 development comes into play.  I saw a Usenet post today that the demo version of Entrepreneur had already become one of the most popular downloads on the Internet Top 40 demos.  Anyone here doubt that the amazingly fast climb up the charts is because of OS/2 users?  By developing for OS/2 as well as Windows, companies get the support of an enthusiastic user base.

So to summarize to this point, OS/2 users need to value their time and be aware that every purchase they make counts to OS/2 software vendors -- especially at this critical time.  OS/2 software vendors need to be wary of the myth of "streets paved with gold" in the Windows world -- they're not.  Stay with OS/2, at least as a cross platform choice.

The Future We Can Build

This next part will talk about things that are possible to do with OS/2 from a third party standpoint.  Don't take these ideas as product announcements from any particular company.  They are just ideas of things that I know could realistically be done with OS/2.

The first thing that needs to be done is to rebuild the marketing channels for OS/2.  The newsgroup, os2.announce isn't sufficient as our primary "marketing" channel.  To reach OS/2 users we need to know where they are.

We also have to have a realistic idea of how many OS/2 users that can potentially buy products there are.  This means setting up a taskforce to eliminate the "14 million" OS/2 user myth.  Are there 300,000 active OS/2 users or 3,000,000?  The number is somewhere in between.  We also have to clearly define what an active OS/2 user is.  Someone using OS/2 to ring in sales at some warehouse which has no third party software it probably not really an active user since they just use the OS to type into a DB2 database all day.

The next step is to find out how active users hear about news.  Are they all on the Internet and, if so, how regularly?  How many of them read print magazines?

One thing we, as a community, can do is to make sure that Internet news is easy to come by.  Much easier than it has been.  Right now, once it scrolls from the newsgroups, it's gone.  And OS/2 e-Zine! isn't really designed to be a news center.

Recently, OS/2 e-Zine! has created a thing called "(http://www.os2ezine.com/warpcast/) WarpCast" which will send news to you.  This is a good start but not quite enough.  What we need is a free third party application that, when run, will go to a central server and let users read about all the latest OS/2 news -- or a web site.  A web browser link to a page controlled by a totally unbiased third party that lists OS/2 related news events as the occur and is set up in a searchable, easy to use resource.  Then, we need to get every single OS/2 freeware, shareware, and commercial vendor to link to the site and have their programs install with a link to it, so that every time you get an OS/2 product, you see that link.  Eventually, everyone that is even remotely active in the OS/2 world would have access to the latest news and events.

Of course, that only covers the on-line portion of the OS/2 market.  How do we reach the non-connected OS/2 user as well as the corporate types, which is where the "big" money is?  Traditionally, Stardock has gone the route of having an active sales force that calls known OS/2 customers.  Unfortunately, this is no longer an even remotely cost effective route to take.

What we need are print magazines that cover OS/2.  Stardock Magazine goes out to about 32,000 OS/2 readers every quarter but hopefully that's only a tiny fraction of the active OS/2 user population (you can subscribe by e-mailing (sdsmag@stardock.com) sdsmag@stardock.com).

The solution?  Get OS/2 usergroups more involved.  Right now they are relatively isolated.  What we need is a worldwide OS/2 user group organization that keeps track of all the active OS/2 user groups and their stats.  Each OS/2 user group would try to find out what companies or people in their areas use OS/2 and invite them to join their user group.  These user groups could also pool resources to try to be at various trade shows to make sure OS/2 has some sort of presence there outside whatever whacky strategy IBM has cooked up for that week.  People would then learn the relative strengths of OS/2.

Between these two mechanisms, the OS/2 community would have a way to educate users about OS/2 and keep existing OS/2 users informed on the latest happenings.

It's the software, stupid!

OS/2 is going to need Windows 95 support.  OS/2 will never get a native CorelDraw calibre application nor will it ever get a top notch desktop publishing package.  And while many OS/2 users would stick their head in the ground and say "Product <Insert nice but immature OS/2 app here> is way better than <insert top of its class Windows product here>!", there are certain types of apps that people need and OS/2 will never get them.

Someone needs to provide these.  I don't know who and I don't really care but somehow, OS/2 must be able to run Win32 programs.  Linux can do it, why can't OS/2?

By the time you read this, Stardock will have probably announced that Object Desktop NT (For Windows 95/NT) is pretty far along (if you're interested in being in the early experience program, visit (http://www.stardock.com/) http://www.stardock.com/ for more details).  I mention this because there are things coming up in NT and Win98 that are pretty neat and that can be done on OS/2.

For example, the Windows 98 desktop can actually be made up of web pages.  That is, instead of having a wall paper you could have a web site or a bunch of web sites positioned on different parts of your desktop to make your system more productive (or much less, depending on what you put on there).  I envision an Object Desktop future where we can embed applications and web sites directly into the OS/2 Desktop.  Running an IRC program?  Make it part of the Desktop.  How about an Active JAVA WarpCast where the latest OS/2 news is part of your Desktop?

Another thing that would be nice to do would be to make Windows programs look like OS/2 programs.  It shouldn't be super hard to do.  Stardock has not jumped onto this because of potential support issues but any serious Windows programmer should be able to figure out how to change the controls to look like OS/2 ones.

It should also be possible (though not easy) to hook into the file save dialog and intercept saved files to allow long file names on FAT where the long file name is kept in the EA.  Then, if someone could whip up a CLI replacement that read the WPS EA names instead of the regular DOS file names, you would be able to read and write long file names on FAT.

OS/2 also needs NTFS support.  Someone has already posted that they could write such a product but that they need to be given support.  That doesn't mean in the traditional OS/2 user fashion: flood them with promises to buy and then refuse to when it comes out because it doesn't have some arbitrary unasked-for feature.  Tell them you would pay $50 (or whatever) for such a product and let them put you on a list.  And when it's done, buy it!

I can even see the day where there is a non-IBM upgrade to OS/2 created by third parties and put into one shrink wrapped package that works as a true upgrade path for traditional OS/2 users, should IBM go the route of stripping down OS/2 and making it some sort of weird JAVA client that will run Presentation manager Programs, Win 3.1 programs, as well as JAVA programs.

What I'm leading up to here folks is that we need to have an OS/2 Developer's Network where end users and OS/2 software vendors combine forces to come up with things that OS/2 needs to be an even greater OS.  And then users would need to pledge to support -- beforehand -- the vendors that do the developing.  There could be a web page run by an objective third party that is connected to the WarpCast idea I mentioned earlier, that allows people to discuss these things and then pledge to purchase these products if they make them.  If something got more than 1,000 pledges then it would be listed and OS/2 vendors (shareware, commercial, or even freeware) could go and make such a thing.

Summaries

OS/2 is going through a very critical time right now (4th quarter 1997).  The market is presently not able to support an OS/2-only ISV that has more than a few employees and thus they must become cross platform to survive.  OS/2 users need to accept this and support this since if they go down, there won't be any more shrink wrapped or large shareware software for OS/2.

OS/2 users also need to be aware that time is money and not always look for the freeware solution unless it is the best one available.  Every sale of an OS/2 product counts and OS/2 products are amongst the highest in quality in any market.

IBM's path for OS/2 is one of leveraging their position in Fortune 200 companies.  They want to turn OS/2 into the niche OS that runs "a bunch of stuff" in your workplace but mainly as a JAVA client.  This is pretty incompatible with the majority of active OS/2 users' needs.

Therefore, OS/2 users and vendors need to work together to control their own future with OS/2.  IBM's direction will ensure that they keep up with driver support which is the only thing third parties cannot do.

A web page controlled by a non-interested third party that is linked to by every OS/2 ISV and has a link created with the installation of every OS/2 program would help everyone.  An international OS/2 user group organization that works closely with OS/2 ISVs would help bring OS/2 to new people as well as keeping those who aren't on the 'net regularly up to date with the comings and goings of OS/2.

And finally, an organization that comes up with features and enhancements OS/2 needs to stay state of the art is essential.  This organization would then work with the OS/2 ISVs to create these components after enough OS/2 users pledged to support these endeavors.  Eventually, if enough new features were created, a third party upgrade to OS/2 could be made (like Power OS version 5 or something) if IBM totally dropped the ball.

OS/2 will never be the dominant OS.  Windows 98 will be and eventually Windows NT will be after that.  But I could see a strong OS/2 market again if ISVs can survive the transition and if users get organized.  Strong enough to keep Microsoft on their toes and keep OS/2 the OS for the rest of us.

I think by getting organized, OS/2 can remain a viable OS and be in better shape than it is today.  I also think that if OS/2 users, as a whole, can become more aware of how they affect their own OS/2 computing future, native OS/2 software will continue to flow.

OS/2 has had a truly epic history and with any luck, its adventures are just beginning.

* * *

(bwardell@stardock.com) Brad Wardell is the founder and President of Stardock Systems, Inc., a leading OS/2 business and entertainment software developer.  He has been using OS/2 since its early days.

Copyright notice

This article is protected under international copyright.  If you wish to reprint this article in part or in full, please contact (bwardell@stardock.com) bwardell@stardock.com for permission.  You may also visit (http://www.stardock.com/) http://www.stardock.com/ to see this article and related articles.

***********************************

The OS/2 Debate	- by Christopher B. Wright and Dr. Dirk Terrell

If you have spent any time listening to IBM and many other large companies in the past year, you have probably heard that Java is "the wave of the future".  IBM is certainly betting on it -- using OS/2 as collateral.  Despite slow adoption of Java on any significant scale and sluggish performance of early versions, IBM, Sun and a whole slew of big businesses are undaunted.  Even Microsoft hasn't been able to ignore the temptation of tinkering with Java.

But where does the home and small business user of OS/2 fit in the Java scheme of things?  Will we benefit from this "next great thing" or is this strictly a boon for big business?

This month, Dr. Dirk Terrell and Christopher B. Wright debate the question: "Will Java Have a Positive Impact for OS/2 Home Users?"

-----

Dirk:  I believe that Java is the last real hope for OS/2.  With IBM all but abandoning the individual user, we are not going to be seeing much in the way of software development targeted towards non-corporate customers.  That is simply a reality of the market.  Java solves the problem of platform-specific software, and will allow people to choose their operating system based on its own merits and not on the software available for it.

Chris:  I disagree.  Java will be an important part of business intranet applications, but it's unsuited for the high-powered programs that tend to define an operating system platform.

Java is unsuited for Graphics applications, especially 3-D rendering applications, because of the amount of processor power and code optimization required to make them run quickly.  The "100% Pure Java" initiative seems to frown on compiling code for specific operating systems, so there is no way Java will ever be able to compete with OS-compiled applications.

Java will be important in the role of application development and networking, but it simply does not have the power to compete on the high end of the spectrum.

Dirk:  That's exceedingly short-sighted.  The speed of Java is only going to increase as the JVMs are optimized better.  And don't be surprised when you start seeing Java native compilers for various platforms.  It will happen.  You'll be able to write Java application source code and compile it to native code for a particular operating system.  That will give you the speed of native apps with the portability of Java.

Sure, there will be applications that Java will be inappropriate for, such as system utilities specific to an operating system, but general-use applications written in Java will finally eliminate the dearth of support from ISVs.  They will write applications in Java and they won't even have to know that they will automatically run under OS/2.

And Java, properly written, really isn't that slow now. I've seen a Doom-type action game written entirely in Java that plays as smoothly as any native game.

Chris:  On the contrary, it's not short-sighted, it's realistic.  The current trends of the 100% pure Java movement (which IBM has committed to) are moving Java development AWAY from Java native compilers, simply to protect themselves from Microsoft's latest marketing tactics.  While I agree Java native compilers are a great idea, I don't see Sun blessing them any time soon, and I don't see IBM participating in their development.

I do see JVMs getting faster, but I don't see how they can compete.  The best example I can give you is Microsoft Office for Windows and Microsoft Office for the Power Mac.  The Power Mac version is not written for the Power Mac, it's written for an Intel Machine and translated as it runs.  And it's painfully slow (I know -- I have to use it at work).

I simply don't see how a JVM can compete with OS-optimized code when it has to perform an extra action for every command it gets.  Java will be a useful tool in many ways, but it simply will not be the preferred language for large-scale applications -- at least not for a few years.

Dirk:  I don't see Java compilers as being any problem for the 100% Java initiative.  I think that is targeted more at the language itself (i.e., no extensions to the language itself that are platform specific).  And your example of Office for the PowerMac is a perfect counterexample of what I mean by, "well-written Java code."  Trying to shoehorn old code into new environments inevitably leads to slow, bloated code.

Java code written from the ground up with a good understanding of Java can be quite fast.  And if it is really necessary to squeeze the most performance out of a machine, you can always write native methods.  Usually the most compute-intensive parts of a program are a very tiny fraction of the code.  Writing most of the application in Java, and having small (and therefore easily ported) portions of the code done as a native method means that an ISV can target multiple platforms with a much smaller effort than is required today.

Chris:  Leaving Java compilers aside (I guess we'll have to disagree -- until Sun proves me wrong, I feel that they will oppose Java compilers), let's talk about another aspect of the Java phenomenon that truly bothers me.

Let's assume that Java Virtual Machines develop to the point where they run close to the speeds of native compiled applications.  Will all the unique object-oriented advantages of the WPS be suddenly rendered useless?  I don't want the boon of being able to run universal apps if it means I have to trade in the features of OS/2 that made me so enthusiastic about it in the first place.  I notice when IBM talks about Workplace On Demand, Java is mentioned quite a lot and the Workplace Shell, a great leap forward in computing if I ever saw one, is never mentioned at all.

In other words, if Java becomes the dominant application engine, what are we giving up?  Is it worth embracing Java if it means abandoning the things about OS/2 that make it unique?

Dirk:  Well, as for the use of OS-specific features like our beloved WPS, there is absolutely nothing stopping a developer from creating native methods to make use of them.  That is why I am so optimistic about Java -- you can do a large fraction of an application with the Java API, and use native methods when you need high performance or OS-specific features.  Again, this makes it more attractive for ISVs to support OS/2 because if there is OS-specific code, it will be a much smaller task to do an OS/2 port than it would be to port the entire program.

We all know how little success has been achieved in getting ports of popular programs to OS/2.  Java simply makes it easier for an ISV create software that runs on multiple operating systems.  Given the vastly smaller market of OS/2 customers, anything that makes cross-platform development easier will result in more software being available for us.

Chris:  Well, let's look at using Java itself then.  In its current state, it is far too arcane to run a Java app on OS/2 for it to be considered a "simple task".  Java should work seamlessly; you should double click a "start" file and off it should go.  This is not the case!  I'm told you can activate Java programs by double-clicking the right file, but I've never been able to get it to work -- it's just not a default setting.

How can something be "seamlessly integrated" into your environment when it doesn't start the way programs are "supposed to"?

Dirk:  I'll grant you that Java isn't quite "seamlessly" integrated into OS/2.  You can't associate a class file with java.exe and have it work.  What I do though, is either run it from the command line or create a program object for java.exe and put the Java class name in the parameters field and the directory of the Java program as the default directory.

However, your argument got me thinking about a Rexx program to launch Java applications when double-clicked from the WPS.  Just put the utility below, somewhere in your path, edit the association to point to Java Class files, and then you can run a Java application by double-clicking on it if you set runjava.cmd as the default action.

That's not as easy as it should be, but it's not difficult either.  Let's not throw out this beautiful Java baby with the bath water.  Java will improve and it can only mean positive things for OS/2 end users.

  /* runjava.cmd
     Associate this with .class files to run 
     Java applications directly from the WPS
  */
   
  /* Register REXXLIB functions */
  call rxfuncadd 'SysLoadFuncs','RexxUtil','SysLoadFuncs'
  call sysloadfuncs

  Parse Arg FileName
  N=LastPos("\",FileName)
  Path=SubStr(FileName,1,N)
  ClassName=SubStr(FileName,N+1)
  Parse Var ClassName ClassName "." Extension
  rc=Directory(Path)
  "java" ClassName
  Exit


Chris:  I'm willing to concede that there is a lot of potential for Java on the OS/2 platform, but we must not become so enamored with its potential that we ignore the realities of Java as it exists now.  Native applications for OS/2 are, and will continue to be, very important for the platform's development.  Ignoring them for a technology that still needs development to iron out some major omissions will be very, very detrimental to OS/2's growth.

-----

Want to join in our debate?  Why not (feedback@os2ezine.com) send us your opinions on Java, and stay tuned to future issues of OS/2 e-Zine! for more debates on issues close to OS/2 users hearts.

* * *

(cwbrenn@ibm.net) Christopher B. Wright is a technical writer in the Northern Virginia/D.C. area, and has been using OS/2 Warp since January 95.  He is also a member of Team OS/2.

(http://www.gnv.com/HTMLWizard/) Dr.  Dirk Terrell is an astronomer at the University of Florida specializing in interacting binary stars.  His hobbies include cave diving, martial arts, painting and writing OS/2 software such as HTML Wizard.

***********************************

August's Top Selling Apps from Indelible Blue

Note: This list represents only the monthly sales figures of Indelible Blue, Inc.  Please read our disclaimer for more information.


This	Last	Product			Developer
Month	Month
1	--	VisualAge Java Pro	IBM
2	3	BackAgain/2 Pro		Computer Data Strategies
3	1	BackMaster		MSR Development
4	5	FaxWorks Pro v3		Keller Group Inc.
5	13	GammaTech Utilities	SofTouch Systems
6	9	Partition Magic		PowerQuest
7 (tie)	3	Hobbes CD-ROM		Walnut Creek
7 (tie)	6	Performance Plus		Clear & Simple
8	9	OS/2 Essentials		Stardock Systems
9	6	IBM AntiVirus		IBM
10 (tie)	10	UniMaint			SofTouch Systems
10 (tie)	--	MD+F  WebAK		Modular Dreams
11 (tie)	2	Avarice Preview		Stardock Systems
11 (tie)	11	Deskman/2		DevTech
11 (tie)	--	After Dark Module		Bocasoft
12	7	QuickMotion		Practice Corp.
13 (tie)	--	Process Commander		Stardock Systems
13 (tie)	8	Photo>Graphics		TrueSpectra
14 (tie)	12	ColorWorks V2		SPG
14 (tie)	4	Sytos Premium		Seagate
14 (tie)	--	Embellish		Dadaware
14 (tie)	--	Unite CD Maker		Cirrus
15 (tie)	--	System Commander		V Communications
15 (tie)	--	Escape GL		Snowstorm Software

* * *

Compiled by (http://www.indelible-blue.com/) Indelible Blue, Inc. - Your Single Source for OS/2 Solutions.

***********************************

August's Top Selling Apps from J3

Note: This list represents only the monthly sales figures of J3 Computer Technologies.  Please read our disclaimer for more information.


This	Last	Product				Developer
Month	Month
1	--	VisualAge for Java Professional	IBM
2	--	VisualAge for Java Academic	IBM
3	1	Book: Getting to Know OS/2 Warp 4
4	--	IBM Antivirus Desktop Edition	IBM
5	3	Word Pro & Freelance Graphics	Lotus
6	--	OS/2 Warp 4 Upgrade		IBM
7	--	Book: Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days
8	7	FaxWorks Pro v3 UG		Keller Group Inc.
9	6	MD+F WebAK			Modular Dreams, Inc.
10	10	Hobbes CD			Walnut Creek

* * *

Compiled by (http://www.os2store.com/) J3 Computer Technologies - Serving the Global OS/2 Community, large and small!

***********************************
August's Top Selling Apps from BMT Micro

Note: This list represents only the monthly registration figures of BMT Micro, Inc.  Please read our disclaimer for more information.


This	Last	Product		Developer
Month	Month
1	2	PMMail		SouthSide Software
2	1	InJoy		F/X Communications
3	3	PMView		Peter Nielsen
4	9	SIO		The Software Division
5	--	OpenChat/2	Max Mikhanosha
6	--	FTP Browser	Jason Rushton
7	--	FM/2		BareBones Software
8	--	ZOC		EmTec Innovative Software
9	4	X File		CodeSmith Software
10	6	iLink/2		BMT Micro

* * *

This list is compiled by (http://www.bmtmicro.com/) BMT Micro -- Your Source for Over 100 Quality Shareware Applications.

***********************************

Top Sellers Lists Disclaimer

-----

Our "top sellers lists" represent sales figures compiled for OS/2 e-Zine! by BMT Micro, Inc., Indelible Blue, Inc. and J3 Computer Technologies.  Falcon Networking does not verify these lists and makes no guarantee of their authenticity.  All inquiries regarding products appearing or not appearing on these lists should be directed to the relevant retailer.

The publication of these lists is not meant to indicate an endorsement by Falcon Networking of any of these companies or of the products featured on the lists.

Readers should note that the rankings indicated in each of these lists represent only the sales of each individual retailer.  They do not, necessarily, represent sales across the entire OS/2 industry.

There are many different sales channels in the OS/2 industry and different software vendors rely heavily on some while other vendors rely more heavily on others.  Also, not all retailers carry all existing OS/2 products.  Readers should take these facts into consideration when interpreting the "top sellers lists".

The BMT Micro "top sellers list" represents only the top selling OS/2 shareware applications available through BMT Micro, Inc.  The BMT Micro CD is excluded from the figures to avoid distorting the results.

The Indelible Blue "top sellers list" represents only the top selling OS/2 applications sold by Indelible Blue, Inc.  OS/2 Warp and OS/2 Warp Connect are not included in these rankings.

The J3 Computer Technologies "top sellers list" represents only the top selling OS/2 applications sold by J3 Computer Technologies.

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Corporate Sponsors of OS/2 e-Zine!

(http://www.bmtmicro.com/) BMT Micro
Your complete source for over 175 of the best OS/2 shareware applications available.  Drop by today and check out our WWW catalog or download the .INF version.

(http://www.ChipChat.com/os2ezine) ChipChat Technology Group
ChipChat produces excellent 32-bit OS/2 software for wireless text paging and state-of-the-art multimedia Sound Cards for Micro Channel PS/2 computers.

(http://www.fx.dk/) F/X Communications
Home of the top selling (http://www.fx.dk/injoy/) InJoy dialer, ranked #1 in worldwide OS/2 shareware sales (Jan-97).

(http://www.indelible-blue.com/) Indelible Blue
Indelible Blue, a mail order company, provides OS/2 software and hardware solutions to customers worldwide.

(http://www.kellergroup.com/) Keller Group Inc.
Developers of FaxWorks for OS/2 and PMfax, the fax and voice solution for OS/2, with versions for stand-alone, LAN and Internet Faxing.

(http://www.mensys.nl/indexuk.html) Mensys
The one place to go in Europe for all OS/2 Warp software.

(http://www.OberonSoftware.com/) Oberon Software, Inc.
Home of TE/2, TE/2 Pro and other fine OS/2 programs.  Specializing in telecommunications, Java apps and the Internet.

(http://www.pcs-soft.com/) Perez Computing Services
Defend against desktop freezes with Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander and create online documents/help with the IPF Editor.

(http://www.prioritymaster.com/) ScheduPerformance, Inc.
Dramatically improve performance on your OS/2 system now with the patented priority scanning logic and visual priority identification of Priority Master II.

(http://www.softouch.com/) SofTouch Systems, Inc.
Home of the bestselling set of disk and desktop maintenance products for 
OS/2: GammaTech Utilities, UniMaint, and FileStar/2!  ---- Your System's Safe and Sound with SofTouch Around

(http://www.stardock.com/) Stardock Systems
Providing quality software for the home and office.

(http://www.sundialsystems.com/) Sundial Systems Corporation
Productivity applications:  Relish - time management; Mesa 2 - spreadsheet; Clearlook - word processor; DBExpert - database.

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Copyright 1997   -   Falcon Networking
ISSN 1203-5696