OS/2 e-Zine!			December 31, 1995		Volume 1 Number 3
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Copyright 1995 - 1996   -   Haligonian Media  		ISSN 1203-5696


Welcome back to the Internet's premiere site for news, reviews and opinions on OS/2.  Please browse and enjoy our third issue.


CONTENTS:

Departments:				Opinions:

Editorial				The Rants. . .  Chris' | Trevor's 
Our Sponsors				the Rave
Heath's Helfpful Tips			Linfield's Line
The Beta File				Why Warp Will Succeed. . .
the REXX Files

Reviews:

* Feature Review: Word Processors
	A lot has changed in the OS/2 word processor market over the last 12 months.  We 	take a look at the market's current offerings to help you evaluate your options.

* FTP Clients:
	FTP client software has come a long way since the days of OS/2 2.0.  Reviewed this 	month are a slew of Presentation Manager based clients.

* Games:
	A look at two commercial game bundles from IBM (Family FunPak for OS/2 Warp) and 	MicroLearn Nordic (MicroLearn Game Pack Vol. II) and some real time killers--UChess, 	Dungeon Chess and Roids.

* Books: OS/2 Warp Unleashed - Dan Deckert
	A thorough look at a thorough book.  From cover to cover, a discussion of what you'll 	get--and not get--from SAMS Publishing's definitive reference.
	Interview:


Features:

* Interview: Dan Porter
	A casual conversation with Innoval Systems Solutions President, Dan Porter, on e-mail, 	the Internet, competition and, of course, the future of OS/2.

* What Do You Mean, Difficult? - Christopher B. Wright
	A rebuttal to all those who insist on disparaging Warp's installation routine.

* OS/2 + ISDN = Internet@Warp.Speed - Tash Hepting
	One user's journey toward rocket speed Internet access and tips on taking the ISDN 	plunge.

* The CompuServe Problem - Steven Atchue
	Some disturbing developments are happening over at CompuServe.  Our man on the scene 	fills us in on OS/2 neglect by the world's largest commercial on-line service.

* One WARPed User and a New Aptiva - Alan Levy
	What would you do if you decided to take the plunge and buy the biggest, baddest OS/2 	machine on the planet--and then couldn't find someone to sell it to you?


Odds & Ends:

* Back Issues, and How to Subscribe to OS/2 e-Zine!
* How YOU can Sponsor OS/2 e-Zine!
* Why we need your help
* Editorial Policy


**Coming up in the next issue:**
As usual, we go even further
with more news, reviews,
interviews, columns
and articles--
available
Jan. 31!
***

*****

Should Old OS's be Forgotten?	- editorial

Happy New Year!  Here we are, once again.  In three short months, OS/2 e-Zine! has grown to a size that it takes a significant effort from contributors all over the globe to bring it to you each month.  I hope we manage to do a little more and improve a little bit with each issue, but you'll be the judges of that.  If we do, it's largely due to our financial sponsors and many volunteers so please don't hesitate to contact them from the links provided and send them a personal thank you.

One thing you may notice if you do this, is that all our contributors are male.  I know there are female OS/2 enthusiasts out there--Janet Gobeille ("godmother" of Team OS/2) and Melissa Woo (maintainer of the Stupid OS/2 Tricks WWW page) to name a few, and there are many more that have subscribed to OS/2 e-Zine!.  So my question to the women is: "Why don't you want to contribute?"  Do you think it's a "guy" thing?  Is it something I said?  Something I did?  C'mon ladies, we want your input too!

And speaking of Janet Gobeille, our next issue will be featuring an interview with her.  Our interviewer, Matt Ion (soundy@nextlevel.com), will be taking questions to ask her when he meets her at this year's COMDEX PacRim.  So if you've been dying to find out something and you think she has the answer, send in your requests.

Aside from all that, there has been a lot of OS/2 news since our last issue.  IBM has made some aggressive moves forward in the Warp product family with the release of the Netcomber Internet suite and Warp Server II betas.  These releases, coupled with the development activity centered on Merlin and its avian cousins should be enough to quell the doubts about OS/2's future of even the most sceptical of industry observers.  Of course, many things should be. . .

If you want to do your part to reinforce the world's perception of end-user support for OS/2, Ziff Davis is currently (at the time of this writing) running a survey (http://www.zdnet.com/~zdi/win95/survey2.html) designed to elicit information about Windows 95 usage.  The survey asks, if you do not use Win95, what your primary OS is.  I urge every OS/2 user reading this editorial to jump over to Ziff Davis right now and make your voice heard!

And don't forget to come back and enjoy this issue.  We've put together our usual blend of information, entertainment and offbeat commentary on all things OS/2.  Remember, we value your comments and our lines never close!  E-mail us day or night (editor@mail.isisnet.com).

*****

Our Sponsors

CORPORATE SPONSORS:

BMT Micro (http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/) -

Your complete source for over 50 of the best OS/2 shareware applications available.  Drop by today and check out our WWW catalog or download the .INF version.

Whitestone -

Publisher of The REXX Cookbook - a unique tutorial designed to teach anyone, even non-programmers, to program in REXX.

SPG Inc. (http://www.spg-net.com/) -

Creators of ColorWorks for OS/2 - The Artist's Ultimate Power Program!  ColorWorks has earned both the 1995 OS/2 Magazine Editor's Choice & the 1995 OS/2 Professional Magazine Best New Product Awards.

Clear & Simple (http://www.tiac.net/users/tonycs) -

Publishers of the Award winning Performance PLUS V3 Tuning and Utilities Kit for OS/2 Warp.  Make your OS/2 system run snappy!  MUST HAVE utility for all OS/2 Users.  Visit our website for our free demo.

PRIVATE SPONSORS:

The entire staff of OS/2 e-Zine! would like to extend special thanks to the following readers who made significant contributions.

Dr. Ronald E. Wyllys (http://fiat.gslis.utexas.edu/~wyllys)
David Busby
Stephen Boileau
Quentin Z. Whiplinger

*****

Heath's Tips: How to Make OS/2 and Windows 95 Coexist    - by Heath Phillipi

Well, its official.  Give Bill Gates a couple of billion to spend on advertising and he can even get "Windows 95 Compatible" stickers on surge suppressors.  What does that mean for you and me?  It means that if your job is computers, someone probably wants you to look at this, "new 32 bit OS," (when will they realize Windows 3.x and Win95 are GUI's, not OS's?!?).  If you're a home user it means any computer you buy will probably come loaded with Windows 95.  Not to fret, you can have your cake and eat it too.

There are many options available for installing Warp and Windows 95 on the same computer.  This month we will look at some of them.

The transition to a system with Warp and Windows 95 has been greatly eased by IBM's Just Add OS/2 Warp utility (http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/drkyah2.html -or- http://www.software.hosting.ibm.com/sw-sell/addwater.html).  This program has step by step instructions and useful tips for getting your system up and running.

There are a few general rules.

The first hinges on the copy of OS/2 you own (or plan to own).  If you have Windows 95 only on a machine, and don't have a set of old Windows 3.x disks around, you will have to use the blue spine (Full-Pack) edition of Warp if you plan to run Windows 3.1 apps through OS/2 (Win-OS/2).  This stems from the fact that Warp uses Windows code to handle win32s (up to version 1.15) applications.  It can't currently handle Windows 95 (win32s v1.2+) programs.  (Common errors from trying to run a Win95 application include: "Unexpected DOS Error: 23" and "You need a new version of Win-OS/2").

Another red flag this situation raises concerns your \WINDOWS directory.  If you are currently running a Warp/Windows 3.x setup with red spine Warp, don't install Windows 95 into the \WINDOWS directory!  If you do, you will have to re-install Windows 3.x (to another directory if you choose, leaving Win95 in the \WINDOWS directory) from disk and then use Selective Install to point Win-OS/2 to the new directory.  A messy affair at best.  Let it be noted that if you own red spine Warp you will have to have two Windows directories, one for 3.x and one for 95.

If you have a drive larger than 520 meg (cylinders greater than 1024) that your system BIOS 
doesn't support, and you are using some type of utility program to use all of your hard drive 
(such as On Track or EZ Drive) make sure the version you are using supports OS/2.  To find out ask the HD manufacturer or go to their web page and see if they have a current version of the utility for your hard drive.  Most makers have the utilities easily downloadable and most of the current versions support OS/2.  Do this before the install; it will save you headaches.

Getting Down to It

Door #1. . .

There are two basic options for getting Warp and Win95 on the same machine.  The first is a Dual Boot setup, which involves very little pain, but doesn't get you the best performance or 
features from Warp.  Dual Boot is the default during installation, mostly because it is so 
simple.  The only special considerations for switching back and forth between Warp and Win95 are that you have to shut Win95 down to Single Mode DOS to run the BOOT.COM program that swaps the two systems, and watching out for Win95's long filenames (there are utilities for both with Just Add OS/2 Warp).  That's really all there is to it (be sure to note the above warning about your \WINDOWS directory if you are using Warp for Windows).

There are two major downfalls to installing OS/2 and Win95 this way.  The first is the inherent weakness of the DOS FAT file system that Win95 still uses.  On that new 1 gig+ drive each file takes up at least 16k or 16384 bytes even if the file itself is much smaller than that.  This wasted space is commonly called "slack space", and you could lose up to 1/3 of your hard drives space because of it.  On the other hand, OS/2's file system (HPFS) uses a set sector size of 512 bytes, regardless of the size of the hard drive.  Add in the other benefits of HPFS such as built in caching, Hot Swap error correction, continuous storage of Extended Attributes, virus resistance, etc. and you begin to see why it makes such a difference.  (For a detailed comparison see last month's column.)

The second downfall is that the two systems can more easily "step on each other's toes".  To understand what I mean by this let's take a quick look at how Dual Boot works.  In the most basic of terms, what it is doing is swapping the boot sectors between OS/2 specific start files and Win95 specific start files.  Problems can occur when you last booted into OS/2 (leaving the CONFIG.SYS and other important files active), and you insert a DOS upgrade floppy disk or some other Windows specific upgrade that boots off a floppy.  While not life threatening it can be a headache.

Door #2. . .

The other install option on a new machine involves playing with multiple partitions.  The simplest Boot Manager install to handle both OS/2 and Windows 95 involves 3 partitions.  One for Win95, one for OS/2 Warp, and a 1 meg Boot Manager Partition.

If your system is brand new, and you have all the programs included with the system on CD-ROM, the process can be fairly painless.  Just choose the Custom Install selection from the Warp setup, partition your drive, and install everything (this process is very clearly explained in your OS/2 User's Guide).  Let's look at it more closely on an example 1 gig HD.

If you have a way to back up the two OS/2 installation floppy disks (assuming you have the CD version), by all means do it!  You never know when you are going to run into a snag with original distribution disks.  It doesn't happen often but when it does it can be a major pain.  Next, start the OS/2 install.  When you get to the screen that asks what drive you want to install OS/2 on don't accept the C: drive; this will invoke OS/2's version of FDISK.  General guidelines for a 1 gig disk are:

1. OS/2 needs at least a 100 meg partition, Windows 95 about the same.  Boot Manager is always 1 meg.
2. If both systems need to get to certain data, plan ahead and make the FAT (Windows) partition a little bigger or create an extra data partition (be sure to format it FAT!!).
3. Windows 95 must be on the C: drive (first primary partition), Warp can be on any type.
4. The easiest way to split a 1 gig disk is (in the order you should create them): 500 meg 
Primary for Windows, 1 meg for Boot Manager, remainder for OS/2.  Just remember, the OS/2 drive will not be able to be accessed from Windows (unless you use one of a few utilities floating around the net).

If you already have data on your system, the process gets a little trickier.  If you have a tape drive, backing up the data first can be pretty easy.  If you don't, you may want to look at one.  You can get the tape drives themselves pretty cheap (about $200) and the software is easily ordered from places such as IBM Direct or Indelible Blue.  Or, you may want to look at Partition Magic.  It allows you to resize partitions without destroying the data already on the drive (plus it lets you convert FAT drives to HPFS without losing data).

After installing OS/2 you can now install Windows 95.  You will get a few error messages 
when the Windows 95 install starts; don't worry, just click OK and continue.  Windows 95 will disable your Boot Manager Partition (so it can run through the install correctly).  To 
reactivate it when finished just go into FDISK from a DOS prompt under Windows 95 and set the Boot Manager partition to ACTIVE.  You will now see the Boot Manager menu the next time you reboot.

Well, that's all there is to making Windows 95 and OS/2 coexist!  OK, maybe that's not all there is, but with the above information you should be able to run both OS's without any problem.  Of course, Windows 95 isn't smart enough to see both partitions, but OS/2 is.  And when you fall in love with OS/2 you can always delete Windows 95 and get back all that wasted space.

See you next time.

**note to all readers:  Next month we are planning to start a readers tips section.  e-mail me 
any tips and tell me if you want me to credit you and publish your names.  You can e-mail me directly (heathp@athenet.net) or contact the editor (editor@mail.isisnet.com).

-----

Heath Phillippi (http://www.athenet.net/~heathp/) is currently a Customer Engineer for AmeriData, Inc. in Appleton Wisconsin.  He is the OS/2 Warp Champion for the OS/2 BESTeam, as well as a proud member of Team OS/2.

*****

the Beta File		- by Steven Atchue

Welcome back to the Beta File.

A lot of development activity this month shows how popular Warp is getting around the world.  Some very exciting new programs are in beta, and not just from the big guys.  So many tips came in that the list below represents only a fraction of new OS/2 applications currently in development.  If we missed you let us know.

Anyway, let's jump right in.

-----

Does anyone find IBM's "Dial Other Providers" insufficient?  Craig Pommer (cpommer@georgian.net) obviously does.  He currently has a replacement dialer, iLink/2, under development.  Slated for wide beta release by the time you read this, iLink/2 (http://www.georgian.net/~cpommer/os2projects.html) allows SLIP/PPP connection to the Internet.  From the ground up, Craig has built in redialing, a cps meter, program autostarts, enhanced configurability and multiple number support.  No definite ship date has been set but negotiations are ongoing for iLink/2 to possibly be included in a yet unnamed commercial product.

Initially, beta testing was limited to Pommer and a few friends who have been helping test key features.  Final release of the product will be shareware with a registration fee of $25 (planned).  I suspect that a lot of people will be very interested in this especially since the registration fee is so modest.  The final release date depends how much work is needed after initial beta tester reports.  The last thing Pommer wants to do, "is pull a Microsoft," and announce its release before it is ready.
 
I know I will be looking for it!

-----

Development Technologies, Inc. (DevTech) is currently (since September) running a beta on its DeskMan/2 product.  DeskMan/2 is a Desktop Manager for the OS/2 Workplace Shell and holds the title as the world's first commercial SOM application.  It provides a myriad of features to manage the WPS, including selective backup and restore, all with a Drag & Drop interface.  Early beta's of version 2.0 have looked even easier to use; you can remove items from pop-up menus, (ie: delete, shutdown) make icons non-deletable, backup the desktop, etc.  IS people will love the new features.

Devtech has come to recognize the valuable suggestions that have been received in each  beta test cycle.  All of DeskMan/2's users, as well as those who are considering using DeskMan/2, are invited to volunteer for participation in the program.  If you are interested in participating, you must have a CompuServe account and be able to provide feedback in a timely manner--check the OS/2 vendor A forum under the Devtech section.  Beta Testers who actively participate will receive a free copy of the release version of DeskMan/2.  They will also be eligible for testing future versions of DeskMan/2.

DevTech is going to try to accept as many participants as possible, but they may have
to limit the number of participants.  E-mail Evan Bergman (71333,3362@compuserve.com) or call them at (803) 790-9230.

-----

IBM has a couple offerings in the beta pipeline that are worth mentioning.  The first: Netcomber.  Netcomber is a suite of Internet applications including web, news, mail, FTP, gopher and telnet clients.  The beta is public so it is undergoing vigorous testing.  First unveiled at the Internet and E-mail world in Boston, MA and later at Comdex, it has gone through a couple of changes and is now at version 0.9.7.6.  Netcomber is designed with ease of use in mind, and also has a high degree of integration among its client applications.

Netcomber runs on OS/2 Warp and has been designed specifically for home and small business users.  Anyone who wants to use the Internet without becoming a technical expert will probably like this product.  Requirements for Netcomber are a 486/33 with a hefty 16 meg--it will run on 8 meg but you better be patient!  If you would like an in depth explanation of what Netcomber is you may find a hint somewhere here (http://www.raleigh.ibm.com/ncr/ncrabout.htm).

You can get Netcomber from the Netcomber Homepage (http://www.raleigh.ibm.com/ncr/ncrprod.htm) or get info or help for Netcomber by e-mail (netcombr@watson.ibm.com).

-----

The Warp Server beta (http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/betaws.html) from IBM has just entered it's second cycle.  The first release shipped around 12 or 13 thousand copies but was not public.  The second release is.

Warp Server is a serious product that directly competes with Windows NT Advanced Server.  From what I have seen in beta one, there is no competition.  The requirements for Warp Server are hefty--about the same as NT A/S--but Warp Server is much snappier and more feature robust than Microsoft's current offering.  If you are in the market, it is definitely worth a look.

The beta program is available to commercial customers, developers, and resellers.  A cost of $15.95 is charged to cover shipping and handling.  You can order by calling 1-800-393-8922 in the U.S. or 1-800-IBM-CALL (426-2255) Extension 1292 in Canada.

-----

Post Road Mailer v1.05 by InnoVal (http://www.aescon.com/innoval) entered beta this month, rousing quite a stir.  InnoVal fixed many problems with v1.03a, most notably the way it hangs the WPS when going in to retrieve mail if the network is slow.  Also the 48K size limit in the compose and reply window has been eliminated.  Post Road v1.05 also adds many new features to an already robust e-mail package.  Most exciting, is the addition of a full blown newsreader.  Initially it will be released as part of the mailer but as it matures it will be moulded into a standalone product.

Numerous other features have been added: MIME support has been enhanced along with support for encoding and decoding UUencoded files; a "news as mail" feature has been added to monitor low traffic newsgroups (the articles get treated as if they were e-mail); swipe-marking FTP or HTTP references in mail and retrieving it without opening another program is definitely cool.  Really there are just too many features to list.  I recommend that if you do a lot of e-mailing, you participate in this beta.

Customers that purchased PRM in 1995 will receive a free copy of the Gold version, which includes the newsreader, when it is released.  Currently, to participate in the beta program you must be a registered user of Post Road Mailer.  Availability is planned for late January 1996 and pricing for the Green (non-newsreader) and Gold editions of Post Road is expected to be $59.00 and $79.00 respectively.
 
-----

Entrepreneur, developed by Stardock Systems, has also entered beta testing.  Entrepreneur is a modern wargame, the object: conquer the world via your corporation.  When the game begins, you have just graduated from college (or dropped out) and decide to start your own company.  From there it is up to you to dominate the market you choose.  The game will come bundled with a couple markets such as automobiles and computers, with additional ones available later.

Stardock Systems (http://www.oeonline.com/~stardock/), a developer concentrating exclusively on OS/2 software, is planning to add Entrepreneur to its pool of products in the first half of '96.  They recommend a minimum hardware configuration of a 486DX, 8 meg of ram, SVGA graphics, and a 2x CD ROM.  However, they go on to suggest that a better system would be a Pentium, 16 meg and a quad speed CD ROM.  List price will be $59.95

Brad Wardell (wardell@ibm.net), CEO of Stardock, has plenty to say about the features and success of Entrepreneur.  In an interview last month with OS/2 e-Zine!, he stated that of all the new games SDS has planned for the coming months, Entrepreneur is, "the one I'm really excited for."

Sounds good!

-----

Steven Atchue (satchue@ultranet.com) has been in the computer industry since the birth of the AT.  Currently, he is doing product reviews, freelance writing and for fun he is building his own house.  Steve can also be reached on CompuServe (75250.3726@CompuServe.com).

*****

the REXX Files  - by Paul Monaghan

This is the hardest part of any column: day 1.  This is where I have to explain what I am going to be writing about and what you can expect to see here--and sell you on it so you keep coming back.  So I figure I should just jump in with both feet and tell you straight out. 
REXX!  What I hope to do is let you follow me on my trek to learn REXX.  Even though this column is intended for the beginning REXX programmer, I'm hoping that experienced REXX programmers will be interested too.  First I believe I need some introducing, and then we'll dive right in.

I've been using OS/2 since version 2.1 and haven't looked back since, I'm a member of Team OS/2, I have always wanted to teach myself REXX, and now I'm doing it.  I have limited programming experience, most of it on my Dad's old Commodore 64 when I was back in high school (ahh, BASIC, now that's a language!).  I also believe that any operating system that doesn't have a command line is a waste of time; I must have my C:\ prompt.

I have several reasons for wanting to learn REXX.  Primarily, I run a BBS, and knowing REXX would really help.  The second reason is associated with the first; I want to make a 'one-liners' program for the BBS that will output an ANSI file and can be run every night as an event.  I'm hoping to make it "Why OS/2 is better than Windows" one-liners, as there are several files like this flying through the 'net every day so the database for the program wouldn't be too hard to find.  The third reason is my curiosity; to me learning anything like this is a blast!

For those of you who are using WARP, there is nothing that has to be done to install REXX support, it's installed automatically (unless you specifically choose not to).  As for you 2.1 and 2.11 users, aside from the obvious question of why you haven't upgraded to WARP yet, it's an option during the installation, so make sure that it's installed!

In my REXX adventure, I first decided to consult the OS/2 WARP on-line help to see if there was enough info there to teach me anything, and quickly found out there wasn't.  So off to the book store I went on a Saturday morning dragging my girlfriend behind me.  First it was off to Coles, they have computer books on just about everything--everything except REXX.  Sure, they have OS/2 manuals, but the REXX info in them is very limited and I needed a REAL tutorial.  Next stop, Crazy Irving's Computer Store, another place with books galore.  After searching the store for about 15 minutes, I decided to ask a sales clerk if they had a REXX book in stock, and to my dismay I was told, "Well, we used to have one, but we're sold out and we're not going to be restocking."  Hmm, this little venture to get a simple book, was getting harder and harder.  So I went to the last store on my list, Camelot.  This is THE computer book store in my area; they were guaranteed to have something.  I was right, they had something--one old book that was more a history of REXX than a tutorial, and seemed to have been written about 10 years ago.  So much for getting a REXX book in the local book stores.

After returning home I decided to search the WWW to see if I could find anything.  I found two books, one titled _The REXX Cookbook_ by Merrill Callaway, and the other by Sams publishing called _Teach Yourself REXX in 21 days_.  My searching on the 'net wasn't as fast as I'm making it sound; there are several WWW REXX pages, and it took a little surfing to find one that even mentioned a book.  I finally got my hands on _The REXX Cookbook_ and settled down to learning.

One of the first things that I learned was what REXX is.  REXX stands for REstructured eXtened eXecutor, and it is an interpreted language as opposed to a compiled language like C, or Pascal.  An interpreted language is one that relies on an external DLL or program for its functioning.  A REXX program is never *compiled* to an .EXE, or .COM file, its extension is always .CMD.  REXX is like Perl in some respects, and has a cult following in much the same way.  It was developed by Michael F. Cowlishaw at the IBM UK Labs in 1979, and was used on mostly mainframes and workstations to help perform repetitive tasks.  For OS/2, there are two different flavors of REXX, one being the standard text based one, and the other being visual.  Visual REXX is much like Visual Basic, in that it's compiled, and requires the use of a DLL to function, so I'm going to leave it to a much later column.

One thing that surprised me, was that REXX isn't just for OS/2; there are versions for DOS, UNIX, and even the Amiga.  In fact Amiga REXX, in some respects, has more of a following than OS/2 REXX.  A program done in REXX on OS/2 may be run on a UNIX system without many changes.  If you don't use operating system specific calls, or extensions, the program need not change at all.

So far I'm on chapter 3 of _The REXX Cookbook_ and it doesn't seem too bad.  I must admit that I'm getting a little lost, as the book, even though it claims not to, seems as if it's written for someone who already knows other languages.  Callaway, at one point, is explaining
arrays (we'll discuss those later too) without telling the layperson what an array is.  I also find that the chapters have to be read two or three times before they are fully understood.  The book does have some great examples, though, and even comes with an optional diskette containing all the programs used in its chapters.  I'll tell you more on what I think of the 'Cookbook' as this column progresses.  As for the OS/2 on-line docs, well, they're great as a reference to REXX functions, and have a few examples, but you wouldn't want to use them to learn REXX.  Using both the 'Cookbook' and the on-line reference is perhaps the best way to go.

Okay, now that you know who I am and where I hope to be taking this I hope you'll stick around.  Any and all comments are welcome, so you experienced REXX coders send in your tips, tricks and suggestions.  As for what to expect in upcoming columns, it all depends on what I've learned that month.  Keep this in mind though, REXX is somewhat easier to learn than other languages like C, so for the next column I may just have that "one-liners" program done.  Don't fret though, I have lots of other ideas.

-----

The REXX Cookbook
Whitestone (505) 268-0678
Author: Merrill Callaway (callaway@indirect.com)
SRP:  US$ 27.95 (book and disk US$ 42.90)
ISBN: 0-9632773-4-0

-----

Paul Monaghan (paulm@ulix.net) is a system operator for ULIX (http://www.ulix.net) specializing in OS/2.  He also maintains a web page on How to make a BBS Telnetable (http://www.geopages.com/siliconvalley/1820) and runs a BBS called Freedom of Speech (http://www.geopages.com/siliconvalley/1820/freedom.html).

*****

Chris' Rant		- by Chris Wenham

Netscape Entranced

Here I go again.

While trying to think of something to rant about for this issue I turned on my browser and went surfing.  As I hopped from site to site I noticed that on just about every other page there was a "Netscape Enhanced" message of some kind.  Just about every one also had a link to Netscape's site where I could conveniently pick up their browser, just in case I didn't already have it installed.

What ticked me off is that the vast majority also said that I needed Netscape to "View this page properly".  No, I don't need Netscape to view your page, and I hope I never will.

For your information, and in vain attempt to clear the web of this ignorance, Netscape is not the only browser that supports the so-called "Netscape enhancements".  If you think your page is "Netscape Enhanced" because it uses tables, background images and transparent GIFs, you're sorely mistaken.  I can see those tables, background images and transparent GIFs quite nicely with IBM's WebExplorer 1.03.  And the last time I checked, the latest version of NCSA Mosaic supported them too.

"Come on," you say, "what's so bad about Netscape enhancements?"  They make the pages look better after all.

Yes, they do.  And I don't mind making pages look better, I'm all for it.  But what's happening is that Netscape is running away with the HTML standard, and in the process turning the Web into a proprietary, platform dependant medium.  This is NOT what CERN intended to happen.

The whole point of the World Wide Web, and the HTML standard is for documents to be published free, electronically, and platform independent. The CERN engineers imagined people browsing the web with everything from a workstation powerhouse on a T3 to a 10-year-old rustbucket with a 300 baud modem.  It's not supposed to matter what operating system or what kind of browser you're using either.

The benefit of this paradigm is that your audience is as wide as possible, and when it comes to publishing ideas and information this is the most important consideration of all.  It's more important than how good your information looks on the screen.

Still, the HTML standard has ways of letting you create pages that are both platform independent and still look good with the use of graphics and formatting.  For example, in-line images have an 'ALT' parameter which lets you substitute text in place of the graphics if they are unavailable or the browser can't load them.  With some simple consideration you can create a page that has graphics, but isn't littered with [IMAGE]s all over the place when viewed with Lynx (a text only WWW browser).

When creating a web page, the author should adhere as close to the standard as possible.  When viewing a web page, the browser should be as flexible as possible as it interprets the code.  Follow that rule and everything will be just peachy.  Tags not recognized by the  
browser are simply ignored, and any syntax errors are dealt with as efficiently as possible without crashing the viewer or halting with an error message.  After all, it is possible that code can be corrupted during transmission.

What happens when you break the Paradigm?

Now say rules are broken, and an author decides to stray wildly from the established standard and write whatever he wants.  What happens?

Well, browsers not specifically optimized for that page will simply ignore the tags and do the best job they can of displaying the text there is.  But the more nonstandard the page's code is, the worse the page will look when viewed with an 'unenhanced' browser.  'Mozilla droppings' make a page look ugly.

When you look at a page that is ugly thanks to these Mozilla droppings you may do one of two things:

1. You'll get a new browser.
2. You won't bother with that page anymore.

It's easier to take option 2 than option 1, so bet on that being the one most often chosen.  It could also be impossible for the reader to choose option 1, because their hardware just cannot run that "new" browser.

Option 1 is, in the long run, the most dangerous of the two.  When you give any one company control over a standard it puts them in the position to manipulate it any way that's convenient for them, and not necessarily for the benefit of anyone else.  Netscape didn't
create HTML, why should we treat them as if they did?

Worst Case Scenario

In the absolute worst case, this is what will happen:

The vast majority of the web's content will become inhospitable to any browser other than the Netscape Navigator.  The enhancements in use today don't quite make web pages totally unviewable with anything but Netscape, but in a worst case situation they could.  Then, even if you did put up a non-enchanced page, the only people who would look at it would be those with Netscape anyway.  Why?  Because everyone else would have given up and abandoned the Web in favor of something else, like good old, unenhanceable Gopher.

Netscape would be in control of the web, and like I said, would be able to do whatever they want with it.  If you control the receiver, you can control the broadcaster.  This never happened with the Television and Radio industries because any electronics company can  
make a box that's compatible with the standard.  But if the standard is changing every couple of months. . .

But back on track; if Netscape controls the browser, they can control the server.  So if Netscape controls all that, how do other companies compete?

On the surface the features added by Netscape seem great, but in the long run they're going to give one company control of the web.  I'm against that because it's the medium I'm talking to you through right now and I don't cherish the idea of it being controlled by a commercial entity.  Let's consider these as proposed additions to the HTML spec and not as if they already were part of the spec.  Make them standard, give Netscape their due credit, but give everyone else a chance to implement them before running off with even more glitzy tags.

And don't give Netscape any more free advertising.  I think they can get by without a graphic and a link from your page.  One Mozilla graphic is worth another page of text y'know.

End of rant.

-----

Chris Wenham (http://www.spectra.net/~fox) is a Team OS/2er in Binghamton, NY with a catchy-titled company--Wenham's Web Works.  He has been writing all sorts of strange things from comedy to sci-fi to this.

*****

Trevor's Rant  	 - by Trevor Smith

I love WebExplorer for OS/2.  It works quite well for the casual user's needs.  It formats pages nicely, handles tables, transparent images, background images and all the other neat stuff that makes OS/2 e-Zine! tick.  In fact, compared with what we all took for granted a year ago, it's beautiful.  And that would be enough to keep me happy.

If not for Netscape.

The inconveniences of HTML I can deal with.  Playing catch up I can not.  I'm not going to rant about Netscape though; that's Chris' job this month.  As much as I take exception to some of their practices, there is nothing wrong with innovation so I won't fault them for that.  Instead, I would like to see the WebExplorer team take advantage of some of Netscape's "modern" features before they become last year's news.

Sure they're not HTML compliant--and I *do* maintain that we need standards--but that is no reason not to see what amazing things we can do with WebEx.  Why not implement them now and when (or if) the community finalizes standards make the needed modifications?  It's not rocket science guys and girls.

You know, since Netscape has grabbed dominance of the browser market, it seems someone has finally shown Microsoft that they can't take any pie they want.  Wouldn't it be nice if *WebExplorer* was so cool and had such *amazing* features that it had the same kind of sway?  Imagine people reading reviews about how great it was and saying, "Gee, I'd better check out this OS/2 thing."  In case you haven't noticed, there isn't any competition in the OS/2 market!  Now is the time to innovate, not after someone comes in and blows WebEx out of the water.

So this is what I want.  I want WebExplorer's "forms" handling fixed; they just don't work properly in some cases.

I want the "mail" handling fixed so it doesn't crash occasionally (or for some people, constantly) when sending mail.

I want a real hot list manager.  Sure there are add-ons available now that address this flaw, but this seems like the most trivial of all the problems with WebExplorer.  Surely it doesn't take the entire OS/2 development team to add a small hierarchical menuing system.  DeScribe and FileBar manage to allow very configurable menus that can be moved around, changed and generally manipulated in every way.  Why can't WebEx?

This one little feature would make my job as editor infinitely easier.  Even users who don't *have* to routinely check a lot of different web sites, probably do.  Given the vastness of the WWW, a well organized hot list is essential.  If the WebEx team can't figure out how to do it, just stick 5 items on the menu bar and call them "Hot List A", "Hot List B". . .  Anything would be an improvement.

And I want frames.  I know they're not an HTML standard.  I don't care.  I'm not about to start using Netscape under OS/2 or creating these pages to suit Netscape (unless they remove their heads from wherever they are and make a native OS/2 browser), but I just can't wait.  I feel like a poor kid standing outside a toy store window.  These things are *that great*!

So c'mon WebEx team, put your heads together with Netscape, license the code, or do whatever you have to.  Include frames and then pressure CERN to adopt them.  Just do it now!

By the way, if you haven't seen frames yet, I won't do free advertising for Netscape.  Suffice it to say they allow a *much* more useful layout of WWW sites (for example, an on-line magazine).

I'm not even going to mention Java and VRML.  At least those are being addressed--how promptly remains to be seen.

Anyway, enough ranting.  Let's get these abilities into WebExplorer *now* and then start thinking about what the *next* innovations will be, instead of waiting for someone else to do it and then taking 6 months to catch up.  If IBM's application developers don't take these aggressive steps, OS/2 will continue to be the perpetual also-ran to whatever flavour OS Microsoft happens to be selling this year.

-----

Trevor Smith (editor@mail.isisnet.com) is the editor of OS/2 e-Zine!.

*****

the Rave	- by Trevor Smith

I received something really amazing in the mail this month--MicroLearn Game Pack Volume II.  For those of you who have never seen this--even if you don't like games--you don't know what you are missing!

MLGP2 is the slickest application I have ever seen.  From the graphics to the interface, this is one of the best put together packages, game or business application, on *any* platform.  Some people with low end machines or buggy video drivers may have problems that limit their enjoyment of it, but if you have a machine up to the task (any respectable OS/2 machine will do) you will be amazed.  I won't go into too much detail, since we already have a full review of the game pack in this issue, but I just had to rave about how smooth this little beauty is.

Some people think more realistic graphics, a-la-Wing Commander III, are more impressive, but I say, "Pshaw!"  Those are just digitizations.  Every piece of MLGP2 is beautifully and painstakingly drawn *by hand*.  They are a perfect example of how arcade graphics should look.

From the moment you run the installation program, you will appreciate the attention to detail put into MLGP2.  The interface, sound effects, musical scores and documentation are all top notch.  I can't stress enough how pleasant a relief this is from some of the thrown-together OS/2 software I have seen.

And the price!  For a reasonable price, you get eight different games--from arcade action to memory testing--all fun.  You can't go wrong.  I'm just amazed that no-one told me before, how just plain great this program is.  Check it out.

-----

MicroLearn Game Pack Volume II
MicroLearn Nordic (http://www.microlearn.se)
In North America: MSR Development Corporation
Phone: (409) 564-1862
SRP: US$ 64.95

-----

Trevor Smith (editor@mail.isisnet.com) is the editor of OS/2 e-Zine!.

*****

Linfield's Line		- by Kevin Linfield

RTFM

OS/2 Warp comes with a 400 page manual, and OS/2 Warp Connect comes with an additional 50 page "Easy Start" guide and a 92 page "Up and Running" guide.  So why do so many people ask so many questions that are easily answered in their manual?  I'd like to suggest that people "Read the (Fine) Manual!" before posting or asking their question.

Like many other Internet users, I spend way too much time on the Internet.  While I (fortunately!) don't use IRC, I do spend a lot of time scouring the Usenet newsgroups for information and ideas for my articles.  Time and time again, someone will post what I feel is an obvious question.  What should I do?  If I responded to every question to which I knew the answer, I would be on the 'net, typing 24 hours a day.  First off, I do feel that Usenet groups are a valuable resource to OS/2 users (and in essence, to everybody).  But there is a hierarchy of help that you should go through.

Sources of Help

First and foremost, use your resources.  OS/2 has one of the most extensive online help files I've ever seen.  Users of OS/2 2.0 will recall that IBM decided to ship that version with no manual; they felt that the online help was so good, a printed copy was overkill.  (Hindsight being what it is, I feel that although they were probably correct in their assessment, you have to give the customer what they want and the customers demanded printed manuals.  Since OS/2 2.1, IBM has included a fairly complete printed manual.)

Read the (Fine) Manual.

This should be your second recourse.  Use the index, and check out sections which may be relevant to your question or problem.  One friend complained to me when he changed his video card from a Trident to an ATI Graphics Ultra.  He then moaned about how slow OS/2 was and how unhappy he was with OS/2.  I asked if he had burned his EEPROM, and when I got a blank stare in response I knew what his problem was.  For ATI Mach 8 and Mach 32 video cards, you must use ATI's installation program to set the refresh rate to match your monitor.  This is explained in both the ATI manual, and in OS/2's manual (page 186).  Once I explained this to him, he burned his EEPROM and was instantly rewarded with a significantly faster OS/2 machine.

IBM is Available

Third, call IBM.  I admit that I've stumped them more than once, and I've even received incorrect advice (why do they almost always tell you to reinstall?).  But limited time support is included with most copies of OS/2 and you should not be afraid to use it.  (Note that the new Warp CD Paks sold in Canada for $49.95 do NOT come with free technical support.)

If you have Internet access (or even a modem to access a local OS/2 BBS), you should get a copy of the OS/2 Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) list.  This file contains tips, tricks, and useful suggestions that every OS/2 user will find helpful.

After you do all the above, ask your friends.  Odds are, someone else got you interested in OS/2 (and may have even installed it for you!) and may know the answer to your question.  I have installed OS/2 on dozens of machines and I serve as free technical support on many of them.  Many a weekend I've been on the phone or answering e-mail from a friend whose machine, it appears, I know better than they do.

Finally, as a last resort, post on the 'net.  In your posting, explain that you have read the manual and that you have exhausted your other avenues.  Describe clearly what you want to know, and if you are having hardware or installation problems, explain fully what setup you have, what you have tried, and what the results are.  Remember to make sure you post to the appropriate group.  Readers of comp.os.os2.setup.video do not want to read about your Zip drive problems.

Concluding Remarks

I don't want to sound like some ranting, raving lunatic (although sometimes it is hard not to), but I have worked at numerous computer shows (including COMDEX and ComputerFest) and have been reading newsgroups for years and I'm getting a bit tired of what I consider inappropriate questions.  I don't want to think that people asking these questions did not buy OS/2, but I do wonder sometimes when I read about botched installations and incorrect setups.

Remember, make sure your brain is engaged before putting mouth (or keyboard) into gear.

-----

Kevin Linfield (ag883@torfree.net) is a columnist for Canada Computes! and vice-president of the Toronto OS/2 User's Group (http://www.io.org/~to2).

*****

OS/2's Time Has Come    - by Bernard B. Yoo

In my last article, I wrote that OS/2 is not ready for the "average computer user" because of installation problems, inadequate hardware, lack of mainstream applications, and lack of publicity.  Despite these major obstacles, OS/2 sales have been increasing steadily for the last few months and this trend will continue.  Here's why. . . 

Once you get past the installation and configuration and reach deep down into OS/2, you will find that it is a technically remarkable and highly capable operating system.  Improving the installation routine is a trivial task compared to what the OS/2 programmers have already accomplished in writing the system code itself.  IBM's recent release of "Just Add OS/2 Warp" is just a hint of the improvements that will come in the next full release of OS/2.  Furthermore, OS/2 preloads are on the rise and soon many new computer buyers will not have to load OS/2 on their own.

Another major stumbling block for OS/2 has been that it is a very powerful operating system designed to take full advantage of very powerful hardware.  It was ahead of its time.  Now, the typical computer is so fast that any lesser operating system will leave the CPU idle most of the time.  The standard amount of RAM installed on computer systems is rapidly approaching 16 megabytes, more than enough to take full-advantage of OS/2's multitasking.

Another weakness of OS/2, lack of mainstream applications, has actually become one of its strengths.  Seeing this void, many innovative companies have started developing (or are continuing to develop) new software for OS/2.  Stardock Systems developed Object Desktop, a user interface that has no equal anywhere.  Athena Design produced Mesa, a spreadsheet with a level of object-orientedness that cannot be matched without the object technology inherent in OS/2.  SPG produced ColorWorks, an image processing/editing and paint program that allows users to edit images while they are compressed, resize images as they are being processed, and apply new effects while others are still in the process of being applied--all made possible by OS/2's multithreading capability.  With the advantages offered by OS/2's object technology and multithreading/multitasking capability, it won't be long before OS/2 applications become mainstream.

The lack of publicity for OS/2 is seen by many as a weakness in IBM's marketing strategy, but considering that OS/2 is becoming more popular in spite of this, with even a moderately aggressive marketing campaign OS/2 should become wildly popular.  The question is, "Will IBM engage in even a modest marketing campaign?"

As I was walking toward my terminal in the airport on the way home for the holidays, I saw a picture on the wall of a nice little cafe with a single man sitting at one of the tables outside.  Upon closer inspection, I found that in front of this man were a cup of coffee and a notebook computer.  I then read the small writing at the bottom which said that this man was sending a fax, printing a report on the printer in his boss's office, surfing the Internet, and doing several other things, all at once.  Then, right next to the IBM logo and the picture of an OS/2 Warp Connect box was the slogan, "Can your software do this?"  I was overwhelmed at this rare
sighting of an OS/2 Warp ad.  Could this be true?

Once I recovered, I went over to the magazine stand and purchased a copy of Newsweek magazine.  As I was looking through it, I noticed a page that talked about how reliable banks' computer systems are.  Again, near the bottom right was the IBM logo and a picture of the OS/2 Warp Connect box.  Two OS/2 Warp ads in a day.  Was this coincidence?

By the time I got home, I had finished reading the Newsweek magazine and started reading U.S. News and World Report, and again, there was an OS/2 Warp Connect ad, this time mentioning how insurance companies depend on OS/2.  This is no coincidence.  IBM's OS/2 marketing campaign is going into high gear.

The presentation is excellent and the timing superb.  The ads subtly but powerfully present OS/2 in all its glory: multitasking, networking, and reliability.  Right now, no other major desktop operating system offers these qualities at a level that comes even close to what OS/2 Warp offers, while at the some time being compatible with thousands of commercial applications.

For those who don't have enough RAM to take full advantage of OS/2 Warp, RAM prices have come down to the lowest point in months, making a RAM upgrade an attractive option.  One may criticize the ads for targeting businesses instead of the home user, but what home user wouldn't benefit from the same OS/2 features that benefit businesses?  In any case, I fully expect that when a few ease-of-use issues are resolved in the next release of OS/2, IBM will target the home user more directly.

As it is now, there are many people who are switching from other operating systems to OS/2 while few people are dropping OS/2 in favor of another operating system.  This trend, combined with the continued improvements in OS/2's installation, increases in the number of preloads, maturity of today's hardware, emergence of innovative software developers, increasing advertising by IBM, and the increasing number of computer users migrating to OS/2, prove that OS/2's time has come.
         
-----

Bernard B. Yoo (bernie@owlnet.rice.edu) is a student of mechanical engineering and  political science at Rice University.  After using Windows 3.1 for four years he finally started using OS/2 in October '95.

*****

FEATURE REVIEW: Word Processors

A lot has changed in the OS/2 word processor market over the last 12 months.  The introduction of Warp, with its reduced requirements and more user friendly interface and installation, caused home users to jump on the OS/2 bandwagon in significant numbers.  This has allowed smaller companies like Clearlook and DeScribe to grab up market share by adapting quickly and offering small and useful applications that home users demand.

At the same time, corporate sales of OS/2 are as strong as ever and Lotus, and now StarDivision, are honing their OS/2 office suites to satisfy today's business demands.

For those who really don't have the need for the raw power of a full-featured commercial word processor, there are alternatives: Escriba (see below) is a shareware example of what can be accomplished by a lone individual with determination and the solid foundation of OS/2. 

Reviewed in this issue:
-------------------

Ami Pro v3.0b - Chris Wenham

Clearlook v1.5 - Jon Cochran

DeScribe v5.0 - John Spencer Yantiss

StarWriter v3.0 - Stefan Sarzio

*****

Escriba Version 0.94    - by Chris Williams

If what you're looking for in a word processor is something plain and simple with no frills, the shareware Escriba may just fit the bill.  Although it takes advantage of the Workplace Shell, this program is not intended to compete on a feature-for-feature basis with any of the more well known entries available on the market.  It's small, relatively fast, and provides enough function to meet the everyday needs of someone who creates and maintains basic documents.  Ironically, this fits a larger segment of people than some might think.

When was the last time you wrote something with a word processor that needed complex formatting, lots of images, multiple columns, etc.?  If you're like me, you pick a favorite font (I like Helvetica or Arial), perhaps play with the point size a bit, and start typing.  I can't
remember the last time I had text going in circles or up and down the sides of the page, or pasted a multitude of images around which I wanted captions and specially formatted text.  Heck, most of the time I don't even bother to indent my paragraphs (that's called Full Block style according to one of my college business writing classes--who said a college education was worthless?).

Escriba's installation is about as straightforward as it gets.  Put the .ZIP file in a temporary directory, unzip it, and run the installation program (english.cmd for the English version).  The install program asks where you want the program files to be placed, and then proceeds to copy
the appropriate files, create an Escriba folder on your desktop, a program object, and a shadow object for the readme file.  Double-clicking the Escriba program icon then starts the word processor in the traditional way.  Other alternatives, include double-clicking a document created by Escriba, or dragging a document icon onto the Escriba icon.  Classic WPS integration.

When navigating through the file menus, you'll notice right away that Escriba documents require no specific extension.  Escriba knows the documents it has created by setting extended attributes (EAs) in the files themselves.  On the surface, this is very convenient.  Unfortunately, if you copy these files to a file system that can't support EAs, or they get discarded somehow, Escriba won't recognize them anymore.

Escriba's pull-down menus will catch you by surprise the first time you try them.  Fonts and point sizes are displayed in the menu as you will see them in the document.  The plus side of this is you know exactly what you're getting when you make your selections.  The downside is that the 24 point font size takes up a LOT of screen space, and it can make the menu look visually unbalanced.  This is, of course, more a function of taste than anything else.  As a WYSIWYG word processor, it's pretty intuitive to use, and it is definitely among the faster of these systems I've gotten my hands on.

I had one serious problem with Escriba.  I was unable to shut it down normally.  I don't know if this is an old OS/2 bug cropping up or Escriba itself.  After testing it on a couple of different PCs, I was able to eliminate the possibility of this being an anomaly caused by Object Desktop (v1.02); I reproduced the problem on every system I tried.

One neat feature Escriba offers is the ability to create unique symbols and barcodes.  It supports both the standard UPC and Code 39 formats.  It's very simple to do--just pick Edit-Insert Function-Barcodes, and key in the numeric value of the barcode you want.  Then use the mouse to stretch the graphical box Escriba provides to the desired size you want for your symbol.  Voila!  I'm still not sure what I personally would use barcodes for, but it is fun to play with.

A feature everyday people might find a little more useful is the ability to paste graphical images into Escriba documents from either the clipboard, a graphical file (Bitmap, GIF, Metafile, PCC, and PCX are supported), or a desktop screen capture.

Printing is accomplished through any printer installed on the system.  All printer options are managed through the OS/2 printer dialogues we know and love.

Support for multiple languages is one of the most intriguing aspects of Escriba.  It has been successfully translated into a number of them, and is even capable of Double Byte Character Support (DBCS) for languages that have more than 255 characters (like Chinese).

Documentation however, is where Escriba tends to come up short, as is typical of many shareware programs.  This means bumping and grinding your way through most of the available options and hitting the help key in hopes of finding out what the program is or is not capable of doing.  A full set of documentation including a good user's guide would be an immense help in learning to use the finer points of Escriba.

Overall, Escriba presents a package that is best described as adequate for most people's needs.  It's small and fast, and has a nice amount of function for the system resources you must invest in to make good use of it.  As with many shareware packages, this one has its flaws, but for the monetary investment required, it does present an interesting and credible alternative to the big guys' offerings.

editor's note: Rick Papo writes, "Since the revision (0.94) that you reviewed, there has been a lot of work done.  The shutdown bug that you (and others) reported has been fixed.  The foreign document format import/export facility is nearly done, with the 
first module supporting the Plain Text format.

"Documentation: What I didn't send you was the INF file.  The HLP and INF files are generated from the same IPF source, but the INF is much easier to browse.  There is an introduction at the start, though it does not have the scope of a '... for Dummies' book.  It gives an overview of how to do things before you plunge into the menu and dialog details further on.  This introduction can be accessed via the General Help option on what you already have."


-----

Escriba v0.94
Author: Rick Papo (rpapo@msen.com)
Registration: US$ 30

-----

Chris Williams (http://privatei.com/~chrisw) has been actively involved with OS/2 systems for the past six years.  A former IBM employee, OS/2 Ambassador, and long time member of Team OS/2, he is currently a PC and network specialist for Perot Systems Corporation.

*****

Ami Pro 3.0 for OS/2    - by Chris Wenham

Lotus Development Corporation has probably done more than anyone to make OS/2 a serious contender for the desktop by releasing a native office suite for it.  The centerpiece of any office suite is usually the word processor; it's the place where we put down our ideas, shape them, and add some pretty clip-art for the 90's techno-hippies who won't look at a piece of paper with any less than 16 different colors on it.

Ami Pro is Lotus' offering in this category.  It's an aging product in need of update, but this is promised with Word Pro for OS/2 (the name change made, I guess, to get through to those who think a word processor needs to have 'Word' in its title somewhere).

Installation

Ami Pro's install program reflects what one would see in any other piece of modern software; a high degree of flexibility.  With laptops becoming popular and a vast range of people with either tiny hard drives or gargantuan gigabyte machines, it's important to have an install program that gives you the option of installing a little or a lot.  It's also important for the install to become a permanent utility, able to selectively install options that were ignored the first time through.

When installing, Ami Pro gives you four options: Complete, Laptop, Custom, and Options-Only.  It also has features for installing on a server.  Since I have a nice large hard drive in no need of Jenny Craig yet, I chose Complete. 

Quite pleasantly, the install completed flawlessly.  I was very impressed with it.

"The Look"
 
With unbelievably bad taste the first thing I judged Ami Pro on after starting it up was how good it looked.  Not surprisingly, it looks very much like the Windows version--SmartIcon bar at the top, status and control bar at the bottom--pretty much a straight port.  Gleefully I also noticed that the vast majority of screen real-estate was given over to the document part, a far cry from some word processors, in which a good third is taken up with buttons all  
over the place.

Usability

A word processor isn't much good if it's a pain to use, no matter how many features are tacked on.  The placement of controls and the use of shortcuts are, in my opinion, what gives a word processor strength.  Since creativity is helped by getting thoughts written down
quickly, I don't relish going through a myriad of dialog boxes and menus because by then the inspiration will have gone.  It's also helpful to have controls and shortcuts easily accessible for doing repetitive tasks.

At the bottom of Ami Pro's screen is a status/control bar with many timesaving features.  The first three spaces describe the formatting style, font and font size being used.  Clicking them pops up a list of available changes, such as from Body Text to a Bulleted List, or from Times Roman to Helvetica.  Very handy.

The SmartIcons too are a boon, especially because there are several different sets, each dedicated to a specific task.  The default set gives you all you need for basic editing and formatting tasks, and there are sets for graphics, tables, long documents, 'macro goodies', 'working together', proofing and more.

Frame Based

When discussing the usability of Ami Pro one must certainly mention its frame-based layout scheme.  Inserting graphics, tables or blocks of text is dead easy--so easy it has created scores of Ami Pro loyalists who love it for this one reason.  Frames can be moved anywhere and text will be automatically flowed around them (unless you tell it not to), plus they can be customized with a right-click.  Frames can be made sticky to appear on every page (for example, a logo), made transparent, given shadows, layered on top of each other, have their corners rounded, etc.  Without a doubt It is the coolest part of Ami Pro.

Features

Ami Pro comes with the standard fare of editing helpers--Spell Check, Thesaurus, and Grammar Checker.  Each is well implemented and has an extensive stock of words, synonyms and rules respectively.  Tables are very good in Ami Pro (something you'd expect from a  
company that cut its teeth on spreadsheets) with a whole SmartIcon set dedicated to the task. 

Graphics are a disappointment.  I was expecting to see the great graphics and charting tools that were in the Windows version, but alas they do not appear in the OS/2 version.  The Equation Editor is still there though, and there are some limited image processing tools, although they work only with greyscale TIFF files.  Ami Pro is still capable of importing many bitmap formats as well as several vector graphics formats.  It includes a library of stock color clip art too.

For editing a document you have three different choices: Layout, which is true WYSIWYG editing; Outline, where paragraphs and titles are arranged in a hierarchical order and can be promoted, demoted, moved up and down as you please; and Draft, where pictures and page formatting are temporarily discarded so you can get down to the job of composing and editing.

Several more features are littered through the program, including something called Power Fields which can embed dynamically changing data into the document, used for creating things like indexes and tables of contents.  The features of Ami Pro are good, even with some of the best ones from its Windows counterpart missing. 

Configurability

With Ami Pro you can flip through several different sets of SmartIcons, either cycling through them in series or by jumping to one by name.  Not only can you create and customize your SmartIcon sets but you can also draw your own icons with the built in editor (for assigning to your own macros).  Thoughtfully, Lotus also included two sizes of icons, one for regular VGA monitors up to 800x600 resolution, and a larger set for 1024x768 resolutions and  
higher (or for those who just don't like tiny icons).  Customizing a SmartIcon set is a click-and-drag operation, possible not only in the SmartIcons editor but on the actual palette itself for last-second finicky changes.

As for the rest of the program, configurability is 'comfortable' although not outstanding. Ami Pro can run a macro of your choosing at startup and shutdown, giving you the power to really customize if you wish (such as having it open the last file edited when first started). This power probably won't excite most casual users who don't want to learn another macro language.

Performance

The OS/2 version of Ami Pro has been criticized heavily for poor performance, but I was wary of joining in on that spree.  To be sure, I gave Ami Pro a good workout to see what it could do under stress.

The review system used was an AMD 486 DX2/80, 8 megabytes of RAM, SuperVGA at 800x600x64k colors, and FileBar as a replacement shell (therefore no overhead from the Workplace Shell loaded).

First I loaded in a large document, the Project Gutenburg edition of Alice in Wonderland.  It formatted to about 86 pages in Ami Pro.  The time between selecting the document for loading and being able to get down to editing was something like 3 or 4 seconds; although the first pages were editable, the rest were still being formatted and the scroll-bar was readjusting for a few minutes.  I started up at the top and scrolled my way through the  
pages until I reached the last page.  This took 1 minute 42 seconds--just over a second per page in Layout mode.  In Draft mode it was 1 minute 26 seconds to scroll all the way through.

I noticed a definite delay when jumping from Layout mode to Outline mode on the first pass.  I waited for about four or five minutes for the process to get done (not much swapping, just processor drain).

Another bottleneck proved to be printing, which took an unusual amount of swapping.  There is an option in Tools->User-Setup for changing printing to either a background or a foreground job.  Setting it to print in the foreground made printing much faster.  Other than printing, screen-updates weren't that snappy and occasionally Ami Pro would talk to the swap file for half a minute and refuse to respond to any of my commands.

In short, I've given Ami Pro's performance a good run-through, even to the point of loading up Roget's Thesaurus (Project Gutenberg edition again) which formatted to about 620 pages.  Scrolling through this document was still fast and only prompted a little 'clicking' to the hard disk.  I consider Ami Pro to be usable and quite tolerable on this 8 meg machine.  Nonetheless, performance isn't stellar.

On-line Help

Ami Pro's help files and tutorials are very comprehensive.  There's a 'How do I?' section to help you with common tasks that have less than obvious solutions, a tutorial that guides you through the basics, and detailed help for each menu and command.  There aren't any 'Wizards' or other automated systems for creating common documents though, other than following the Help file's instructions.

Conclusions

Ami Pro works well on a limited machine like mine.  I expected it to perform a lot more slowly based on what I've heard from others, but I could not confirm this.  I'd like to see more use of OS/2's power in it though; with two documents loaded WatchCat reported that it was
only using 2 threads, while DeScribe, for example, uses 3 before any documents are even loaded.

Nonetheless, I can't wait to see Ami Pro's successor, Word Pro, when it comes out in early '96.  Lotus is offering it for a, "$19.95 shipping and handling charge," to those who buy Lotus Ami Pro between April 24,1995 and the ship date of Word Pro.

editor's note: Lotus offers Ami Pro v3.1 with the latest version of SmartSuite for OS/2.  While no editorial copy was available at the time of this writing, they claim this version is, "designed from the ground up for the graphical 32-bit OS/2 2.0 environment," whereas v3.0 seems to be a port of 16-bit code.

-----

Lotus Ami Pro for OS/2 v3.0b
Lotus Development Corporation (http://www.lotus.com)
SRP: US$ 439 (SmartSuite v2.0 incl. Ami Pro v3.0b--upgrade pricing available)

-----

Chris Wenham (http://www.spectra.net/~fox) is a Team OS/2er in Binghamton, NY with a catchy-titled company--Wenham's Web Works.  He has been writing all sorts of strange things from comedy to sci-fi to this.

*****

Clearlook v1.5  - by Jon Cochran

Clearlook is a relative newcomer to the OS/2 word processing scene.  Some of you may remember their solicitations for beta testers in OS/2 Magazine about a year ago.  At the time, $20 to test the new word processor seemed to be a good deal, so I bought into the program.  When the package arrived and I installed it, I was very impressed.  Its overall speed was just fantastic, even under OS/2 2.1.  Most of the features that make any word processor usable weren't yet included, but they were promised to be on the way.  And, as far as I remember, it was the first word processor to check each word for spelling as you typed.

Finally, Clearlook was released and I was a bit disappointed.  Most of the features needed to make a basic word processor still weren't there, import and export filters most notably.  But, as with any product, there are good points and bad points, so let's get into them.

Installation

The installation is simple and quick.  It allows you to specify install directories, what parts of the program to install and displays its progress as it works.  Unfortunately, there is not any automatic uninstall feature.  The program takes less than 3 MB of disk space and it runs adequately on my 4 MB laptop (using MDesk).  Both the on-line documentation and the printed manual are good and thorough.

Performance

One thing Clearlook really has going for it is pure, raw speed.  It is absolutely blazingly fast.  Opening and closing files is very quick.  Some people have reported problems with screen redraws, but this seems to be related to video drivers, and has reportedly been cleared up with the latest release.  Spell check is almost instantaneous; click on the icon, and it's done.  As I mentioned before, it will check spelling on-the-fly, but this feature seems quite buggy and I don't recommend using it unless you insist on showing off your computer/word processor.  Printing is also fast, and takes place in a separate thread so the main program isn't locked up.

Features

Also, it's not called the 'Cellular Word Processor' without reason.  Its ability to format cells is almost unrivaled.  It far surpasses anything Ami Pro can do, and is also ahead of DeScribe in this ability.  Tables are well supported, about on par with DeScribe, which is to say they are excellent.  Footnotes and Endnotes are also supported, and they flow dynamically with text.  Spell checking and thesaurus--standard equipment on any modern word processor--are included with dictionaries available in English, French, German, Swiss, Italian and Spanish.

As nice as it is, Clearlook still lacks a few features to make it livable.  For example, there is no first line indent!  You have to hit tab to indent.  Isn't this why we don't use typewriters anymore?  There are really no import/export filters to speak of, except Word Perfect--a glaring omission.  Graphics support is limited.  Readability tools are nonexistent.  Obviously, the program needs a lot of work to catch up to today's standards.

As I type this, however, a new version of Clearlook (v1.6) is in beta testing.  Don't let the minor upgrade number fool you, this new beta includes a communications module and a database.  Hopefully it will address some of the above shortcomings as well.

Configuration

Clearlook is also reasonably customizable.  You can change colors and fonts, but you can't change the toolbar layout.  However, the toolbar is rather well laid out, and has some innovative features, like a sliding scale to change the point size of a font.  Still, greater ability to customize would probably suit many users.

Overall the user interface is rather well done if a little on the plain side.  It's no beauty, though, even compared to DeScribe, which isn't winning pageants either.  As someone once wrote of OS/2, "It looks like the programmers drew the icons."  Take my advice Clearlook, hire a graphic artist on a short-term contract.

The user interface outside the word processor is another matter entirely.  You may have heard of the dreaded Clearlook "Status Window."  The Status Window exists to let you have easy access to Clearlook templates and to open documents.  It's like a big, ugly version of the task list that only supports Clearlook.  One nice thing about having the Status Window is that you can open documents into separate instances of Clearlook; no need for a Multiple Document Interface here, folks.  But luckily, if you just can't deal with the Status Window, the latest version lets you bypass it.

Pricing and Tech Support

Demo copies of Clearlook can be found on the major FTP sites.  These are more or less fully functional and allow users to really get a feel for the product.

Balancing its drawbacks, Clearlook Corporation is marketing Clearlook very aggressively.  The standard price of US$ 159 only jumps to US$ 219 for v1.5 and delivery of v2.0 when it becomes available, plus free lifetime support.  Team OS/2ers and OS/2 user group members receive special deals and full-time students can take advantage of even deeper discounts.  Customers can also opt to purchase a license to fully activate the demo copies (but not receive a printed manual) at a discounted rate.

Voice, fax and BBS phone numbers (non toll free) for technical support are listed in the on-line help menu, but these may be changing soon (see below).

At the time of this writing, there was a major shake-up going on within Clearlook Corporation.  The former North American marketing person and part owner left the company, and future distribution channels are not clear.  This should be resolved in the near future.  There are also rumours of a name change from Clearlook Corporation to ClearSoft.  The original developer remains with the company, however, and continues to work on the next version.

Conclusions

Overall, Clearlook will satisfy those with very simple word processing needs.  Also, if you're short on memory, Clearlook will perform well where others can only churn enviously.  If your needs are more demanding, if you need to share files between multiple platforms or if you want the latest gee-whiz features and a slick interface, you should consider one of its heftier competitors.

-----

Clearlook v1.5
Clearlook Corporation
Orders: 1-800-818-LOOK
Office: 703-425-1163
SRP: US$ 169

-----

Jon Cochran (cochran@genius.rider.edu) is a full time student at Rider University majoring in History/Secondary Education.  He hopes (or at least his parents do) to graduate soon..

*****

DeScribe 5.0 And Voyager CD     - by John Spencer Yantiss

DeScribe 4.0 was a surprisingly powerful 32 bit word processor.  Until I purchased it, I had used, variously, Multimate Advantage II, WordPerfect 5.1, and Word for Windows, so I was familiar with both DOS and Windows-based word processors, but I didn't expect the richness of functionality I found in DeScribe.  In spite of belittling and derisive remarks I had read in some publications, I called DeScribe and requested information about their product, and what I read convinced me to try it.  I was not sorry.

When DeScribe 5.0 was first released, I was not in a financial position to upgrade, but a fellow OS/2er in the area was and did, and I spent some time at her apartment playing, discovering and wishing I was able to get it myself.  With the coming of spring, DeScribe, Inc. released the Voyager CD.  I saw a SMALL advertisement in OS/2 Magazine, and immediately called DeScribe to get details.  The Voyager CD is quite a package.  It comes with four different flavours--one for OS/2 (naturally), and one each for Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows NT--and retails for US$ 49.

There is no free live technical assistance for Voyager, and for the price, that's not surprising.  But you do get a world of documentation: A 586 page manual in hard copy published by Que, and seemingly endless on-line Help.  The Que manual is a vast improvement over the thing that came with 4.0, and thank Heavens for that; personally, I do not have a photographic memory, and can not remember several lines of instructions from on-line Help once I've closed it.  With the Que manual and on-line Help, only the most tyronic of users should need to call the technical support line or fax a question or problem report, though if necessary, the response is usually prompt and effective (a toll call however--never a plus).

One thing you don't need documentation for--unless it's your first time touching a computer and you're afraid of getting zapped--is installation or, for that matter, deinstallation, which is also possible.  Both install and uninstall are easy to access from a command prompt or WPS folder.  The manual states that DeScribe can run on the minimum RAM required by OS/2, but that for best performance 2 to 4MB above that is suggested.  Of course, how you calculate that depends on your version of OS/2.  If you install only the program files, all you'll need is 7MB of hard disk space.  That bounces to 22MB if you want a full-feature install, although the manual misleadingly reports different figures.  I've loaded both from diskettes and CD.  Of course the CD is snappier, taking about 150 seconds on my system--a DX4-100 with 20MB RAM--but the diskettes (5) won't have you snoring either, accounting for something between 7 and 8 minutes.  Blessedly (I had to use it once, when having multiple hardware and hardware-caused software problems) the "Delete DeScribe" operation does exactly what it is supposed to do, no less no more.  Provision is also made for a "Phantom Install" which leaves the bulk of the word processor on the CD, but this, of course, hinders overall performance.

When you double click on the big "D" icon it takes maybe a full second for the window to open, and another 3 to 4 seconds for a base document screen to fully open, and you're on your way to creating anything from a short note or fax to your mother; to a complex brochure with any number of text and graphic frames; to a scholarly book with table of contents, footnotes or endnotes, glossary, index, and whatever else you feel like including.

If configuring and customization constitute the butter on your bread, you won't suffer from dry toast with DeScribe.  First of all you can view documents in draft, outline, or WYSIWYG, and Zoom to any conceivably usable magnification.  The real fun begins, however, when you decide to make the tools and commands work for you, instead of you working for them.  If you don't like the arrangement of the menus, the Menu Manager allows you to Create, Change, Delete, or Move menu options--and more.

My favorite customizable feature is the toolbar.  Talk about a toolbar!  There are six preset toolbars:  Default, Drawing, Editing, Layout, Macros, and Tables.  If one of these does not fill your needs you can customize your own one to five line toolbar from a stock set of icons with as many or few as you want.  There is virtually nothing you cannot do via the tool bar, and each tool is "Bubble Help" active--click the right mouse button and the function of the tool is displayed in a text "bubble".  Also you can create your own tool graphics by importing a graphic with the .BMP (bitmap) extension to the \DESCRIBE\TOOLS\ICONS directory.  Once again, there are explanations of these features in both the hardcopy and on-line documentation.

Other features that users have come to expect are present too, in many cases with far more flexibility than similar features in other word processors, such as multiple, movable, sizable frames.  Most full-featured word processors utilize frames, whatever they may call them, but in DeScribe you can create documents with as many frames as you want, for text or graphics of any kind, anywhere on the page you want them, and they stretch automatically to fit whatever you may decide to add later.  Also, if you want to make sure a frame stays with a portion of text in another frame that you are going to have to periodically modify, you can "attach" the one to the other.

Though new to DeScribe in version 5.0, the footnoting component looks and acts like a third or fourth generation feature.  Footnotes are added much as they would be if they were created by hand or on a typewriter, albeit with a little silicon help.  DeScribe automatically creates a superscript reference number at the cursor location, while at the same time creating a footnote frame at the bottom of the page or text frame.

Another new component is the Revision Marking option.  This feature allows you, or those in your workgroup--DeScribe 5.0, but not Voyager, is network ready--to edit a document with the revisions being marked, so that you know where changes are, in case you decide to retain some but not others.

One nifty feature with a subset of its own featurettes is the Glossaries option.  Among other things, it includes a configurable Auto lookup... for words you often misspell, and "Smart Quotes" that automatically change ASCII straight quotation marks to the appropriately curved marks.  Auto lookup can also be set to change abbreviations to their full form on the fly for super easy macros.

Two other features, though astoundingly simple and basic, are also worth mentioning: The Copy to... and the Shred functions found in the File menu.  These are operations that should be baseline components of every application, from word processors to industrial strength databases.  If you want to copy a file to a floppy or another directory, Copy to... does so without renaming or modifying the original on your hard drive.  Shred allows you to delete a file, without having to go to a command-line, and optionally un-shred it if you have mistakenly deleted it.

Tables, macros, spell checker, dictionary, thesaurus, readability checking, mail merge, style templates, tables of contents, indexes, and more are all available, easy to use and powerful.  Instructions in the Que manual are almost grade-school easy to follow, and for immediate assistance on a process, the on-line Help is thorough and plainspoken.

At this point, if you think I've received a marketing fee from DeScribe, don't worry, I haven't.  There are three peeves in my docket.  Two are related to my professional writing, but I shall dispense with the third first.

DeScribe has an e-mail component.  Great.  But it only works if you have cc:Mail (I'm speaking here only of the OS/2 flavour, the Windows portings have a somewhat wider choice range).  Booooooo!  A lot of us don't have cc:Mail, for various reasons, some of which are good.  I would like to see DeScribe port the e-mail component to Hilgraeve's HyperACCESS, or to Post Road Mailer--or SOMETHING else.

The other two peeves are these: 1) DeScribe's version of WYSIWYG could stand some refinement to make the spacing and positioning of characters more uniform and consistent, and 2) DeScribe's process for creating a soft key to insert special characters is cumbersome.  Other well-known word processors offer much simpler processes.

In closing, I address a complaint that I have heard from more than one source--that Describe is not intuitive, or, put another way, that the menus don't reflect what appear to have become standard arrangement in other popular word processors.  There is a simple way to correct this conflict of perception; make extensive use of the Menu Manager.  This will probably result in DeScribe being even more intuitive than its competitors.  Once you've begun customizing, you will find that the possibilities are virtually endless, making DeScribe almost as much fun to play with as it is to use.

This one, for me, is a two-thumbs-up.  Happy DeScribing!

-----

DeScribe 5.0
DeScribe, Inc. (71333.154@compuserve.com)
Tel: 813-732-5500
Fax: 813-732-5414
SRP: Voyager - $49, DeScribe 5.0 CX - $159
ISBN (Voyager): 1-56529-885-3

-----

John Spencer Yantiss (yantissj@xx.acs.appstate.edu) is a student and staff person at Appalachian State University, studying History and minoring in English.  He does some graphics and consulting work on the side to make ends come as close as possible to meeting.

*****

StarWriter v3.0 	- by Stefan Sarzio

When OS/2 e-Zine! asked for volunteers to write word processor reviews, I offered to do a review of StarDivision's StarWriter 3.0.  Living in Germany, I received the German version of StarOffice some time ago, so I have a head start on North American users who will not see the English version for some time.  Because of this unavailability in North America, this will be more of an overview than a complete review, but you can expect a full review of StarOffice in a future issue.  StarWriter is, of course, the word processor in the StarOffice suite.

To review StarWriter and to write this review I used a 486DX2-66 PC with 16 MB RAM, IDE hard drives, a single speed CD-ROM and an 1 MB video card.

Installation

Concerning the installation, I can only say that I did not encounter any problems on my computer.  You can install any combination of applications and add-ons.  A complete StarOffice installation eats up about 45 MB of hard disk space, which includes 20 MB of demo and tutorial files.  A deinstallation routine is included as well as an upgrade installation which installs bugfixes or additional import filters.  Starting StarWriter for the first time after installation requires a system shutdown since the installation adds the StarOffice paths to the PATH and LIBPATH statements in config.sys.

Hardware requirements

StarWriter needs about 6-8 MB of RAM on top of what OS/2 needs, but most of this is swappable.  As always, the more RAM you have, the less likely you are to have excessive swapping.  The start-up time for StarWriter can be reduced by loading the StarOffice Manager at boot-time.  This gives you a kind of Launchpad and also loads some of the DLLs for the applications, thus some of your memory is, of course, used before starting any of the 'real' applications.  I recommend removing the StarOffice Manager from the start-up folder unless you really can spare the memory.  StarWriter is very responsive with 16 MB RAM while having 2 or 3 other programs running.  Up to 16 MB more RAM would surely help.  I would not recommend using it with less than 16 MB.

Documentation

Those of you already using StarWriter 2.0 or even Microsoft's WinWord will be pleased to hear that StarWriter's look-and-feel is very similar to those two programs.  This proves to be very useful since the printed manuals as well as the on-line documentation have been kept very short.  This is very annoying; even more so because the StarWriter 2.0 manuals were very good.  This really needs to be fixed.

In addition to these manuals the suite includes a second CD containing some videos which explain its functions.  Unfortunately these videos were made using the pre-final version.  Thus only about 90% of the material in them applies to the final version.

Configuration

If you know how to use it, StarWriter can be very productive.  The interface contains a lot of features which are very intuitive to use.  Out of the box, it supplies menus, toolbars and an object-bar that make sense for the task you're currently working on.  Those who don't like the selection or order can completely re-customize the menus or bars.  This is not only useful for the power-user but also for administrators who don't want their users to get confused by a lot of options.

Import/Export Filters

StarWriter 3.0 doesn't have too many filters, but you can import from HTML 2.0, Lotus 1-2-3 1.0 (DOS & Win), MS Excel, MS WinWord 6.0, Rich Text Format, Text and older version of StarWriter.  You can also export to most of the same formats.  StarDivision decided to write all these filters themselves which explains why there are not too many of them.  While they are not perfect, they are quite good.  As far as I know there will be additional filters available in the future.

Document-Manager

This is the most annoying part of StarOffice.  It is incredibly slow when scanning your hard disk for files.  Additionally, you are not confronted with one document-manager, but with one for each application plus one which can be started only from the Manager (i.e. StarOffice Launchpad).  The good thing is, every document-manager can see and start each type of document from the StarOffice suite.  The bad thing is, every document-manager has its own configuration.

Features

As noted above, StarWriter has a similar look and feel to WinWord.  As far as standard features go--spell check, thesaurus, footnotes/endnotes, tables, columns, etc.--it behaves much the same as well.  Everything seems to be there and work adequately.

OS/2 Specific Features

With StarWriter you can embed other documents into your text.  You can have a spreadsheet to prove what you've written, you can have an additional graph that visualizes the data, or you can have a photograph of something you're writing about.  Since OpenDoc is still on the way, StarDivision ported Microsoft's OLE in order to have the same functionality on every platform.  However, OLE is inside their StarView Class Library, which is the foundation of the whole StarOffice, so they should be able to replace OLE with OpenDoc quite easily.

StarOffice doesn't make use of multithreading (see below), but differently from StarWriter 2.0 you can now drag documents from the WPS onto a printer without having started the complete package.  Although this takes quite a while you can then do other things because it doesn't lock your message queue as printing from within StarWriter does.

When saving documents you can make full use of long names.  Upon installation StarWriter puts a template in your template folder.  This template and all documents you save in StarWriter have a type association so that you don't have to use file extensions in order for StarWriter to identify your documents.

Support

The support provided by StarDivision is quite good--there is no charge for this--and they normally respond very quickly.  You can submit your problems via snail-mail, telephone, fax, CompuServe or their WWW site.  Unfortunately I didn't get answers in time to print in this review to my questions concerning new filters, multithreading and other stuff.

Conclusion

StarWriter is a very good piece of software.  Together with the other applications of StarOffice it is THE complete solution for private and business users.  There are, of course, some problems--but for the most part minor ones.  I recommend everyone, when they're able, to check it out.

-----

StarWriter v3.0
Star Division (http://www.stardiv.de)
CompuServe:  GO STARDIV
Voice: 040 - 040-23 646 700 (outside Germany 49-40-23 646 700)
Fax: 040-23 646 750  (outside Germany 49-40-23 646 750)
Price: ~US$ 360 (upgrade and bundled pricing available in Germany)
-----

Stefan Sarzio (salze@ibm.net) is a 23 year old computer science student in good old Germany.  To earn extra money he works as a programmer and network administrator (Netware and LAN Server).

*****

Reviews: FTP Clients

FTP client software has come a long way since the days of OS/2 2.0.  Reviewed this month are a slew of Presentation Manager based clients that make FTP-PM (for more about FTP-PM see below) look like a fossil.  These four applications show that the pace of OS/2 Internet software development isn't slowing.  Our reviewers talk about whether relentless development alone is enough to make a good application.

Reviewed in this issue:
-------------------

FTP-It! v2.11 - John Reason

Lynn's Workplace FTP v1.1 - Chris Woods

Neologic FTP v2.1 - Dirk Terrell

VxFTP v1.0 - Arne Haaje

*****

FTP-PM

What's that?  You think you need a fancy new FTP client?  Don't give up yet on old faithful FTP-PM.  Aside from the fact that it comes free with OS/2, it is also handy, small and reliable.

Tackling that list of pros in reverse order, it should be noted, that in the course of an average day of 'net surfing, most people will never have a problem with FTP-PM.  Partly because of its simplicity, it is a reliable little work horse.

Did I say, "little"?  If you're used to the snappy (read: instantaneous) loading times of Windows 3.x Internet shareware, you'll feel right at home with FTP-PM's loading and connecting times.  It is one of the few FTP clients available for OS/2 that dispenses with a lot of overhead, gets right to connecting and lets you get on with your work.  This is especially true for use on low memory computers.

Lastly, it's handy.  It doesn't have a 'browse' feature for popping up remote files without transferring them, a 'console' to display messages sent to the client from the FTP server or a relogin ability, but it still does its job.  The menus are fairly thorough, offering all the standard transfer and receive options.  Limited drag and drop is also supported.  You can highlight multiple files from either the local or remote window and drag them to the other for quick transfer.  If you have 'confirmations' set to off, FTP-PM will chug through the list without bothering you and you can safely minimize it.  There is also a convenient window for jumping directly to remote directories so you don't have to double-click your way through a directory tree.

There are no fancy bells and whistles with FTP-PM--the transfer window only displays total bytes transferred--but it does its job and does it well.  Overall, it is a strong performer for basic FTP needs.  And, of course, you can't go wrong with the price.

*****

FTP-It! v2.11   	- by Jonathan Reason

I will freely admit to anyone who is listening that the prospect of reviewing this product scared me.  Having briefly toyed with the FTP-PM software from the BonusPak and being less than impressed with it, I was unsure of the need for this type of program.  Surely there was nothing new here?  Surely I could navigate the 'net from WebExplorer--a GUI interface that is warm and comforting and well known to me?  I suspected a lot of people felt the same--especially when venturing out into the vast expanse of the 'net.

So, the question arises, if this system works without alienating the user why do we need separate software?  Why is there a glut of new applications trying to fill this niche?  To find out, I downloaded FTP-It! v2.11 from Hobbes (via WebExplorer) and started to play with it.

The install was reassuringly easy.  The utility forces you to read the install.txt file before commencing.  A simple menu click then installs the program.  The process creates a new folder on your desktop which contains the program objects.

Here is where I ran into to the first problem that would probably have deterred me from experimenting further, had I not had an editorial deadline to meet.  There seemed nowhere to go.  A 'quick list' function is provided, but it was empty.  It would be nice, especially for the absolute beginner to FTP, if a few of the common sites were already in there, or at the very least, if some mention of their addresses was made in the documentation.  For a list as small as OS/2 FTP sites, this seems a reasonable request.

The on-line help is sufficient but not exhaustive.  It provides ample information to get started, yet I feel it could be clearer in its explanation.  The authors have, I feel, assumed a greater degree of knowledge of FTP than I imagine is common.  An additional, hand holding, 'Getting Started' section and glossary of FTP terms would make a welcome addition.

The program offers settings notebooks for both local and remote hosts but none of the options offer much in the way of customisation, and once set can be forgotten.

Connecting

With a little digging I managed to find the correct syntax for the Hobbes FTP archive and was duly connected on the second attempt.  With FTP-It!, remote hosts open in a separate window which appears on top of the local host window, completely obscuring it from view.  This can be confusing if you don't realize the original window is still open beneath the new one.  All that is required is moving the new window aside, but you should not have to do this.

And so I started my first transfer.  There are two ways to transfer files: you can either double click on the file name you wish to transfer or drag and drop.  Being a BIG fan of drag and drop, I tried this first; it didn't work!  So I tried again, and then realised why it hadn't worked.  To receive a file you must drag and drop it into the local host window.  I wanted to drop it directly onto the desktop.  This seemed far more logical and intuitive but it was not to be.  FTPing by double click brings up an optional confirmation screen that is not available when FTPing by drag and drop.

During the transfer a status window appears which shows a clear and informative display of file name and size, target directory, bytes received, elapsed time and estimated transfer time. This last feature seemed highly erratic in its accuracy, though.

To view a text file on the remote host it is necessary to transfer the file to your hard disk.  With the 'Browse' option checked before transfer, text files are immediately displayed in a window for viewing.  Luckily, most text files on FTP sites are very small so there is no real storage problem.  Still, why not simply incorporate a facility to view these files without transferring them? 

One very neat feature of this package is the ability to open multiple remote connections simultaneously.  Once I was familiar with the way FTP-It! worked, I managed to open two connections to Hobbes and one to CD-ROM and download three files at the same time, without any apparent performance hit.  While they were downloading, I collected some waiting e-mail and had a quick look around some WWW sites with WebExplorer.  I kept an eye on the transfer rates and they did not seem to slow at all, no matter what else I did at the same time.  This really is the sort of thing to show off at OS/2 parties!

However with multiple concurrent FTP's running the screen can tend to get a bit confusing.  Each connection opens in its own window and is overlaid with its file transfer status window.  These can be moved separately from their parents so that the correspondence is not always obvious.  A minor point, but one worth watching out for in case you close a connection and then realise that it was the one that had not finished its transfer (as I did).  Reconnecting and re-downloading the file does not start from where you left off, but goes right back to the beginning and transfers the whole file again.

The program is a VX-REXX program and therefore needs the vrobj.dll file.  I've heard performance can be sluggish on 8 meg machines, especially with a full WPS setup.  With 16 megs it performed well and without any serious glitches.

FTP-It! is basically a very elegant package with a few rough edges.  If you are a power FTPer then check this one out.  By the time you read this v2.12 should be available, which I understand will address some of my criticisms.

-----

FTP-It! v2.11 (ftp.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/ftpit211.zip)
Vantage Technical Resources, Inc. (vtr@airmail.net)
Registration: US$ 24.95 (limited time offer)

-----

Jonathan Reason (jreason@ibm.net) is a full time professional actor and as such has plenty of time to play with his computer.  Casting Directors feel free to e-mail!

*****

Lynn's Workplace FTP v1.1       - by Chris Woods

FTP will never have the flash nor appeal of the HTML'ized World Wide Web Protocol.  Several FTP applications only go to emphasize this lack of pizzazz by coming up with grueling new ways to do a simple transfer.  Clumsy address books, a user interface with all the ease of a VMS shell account, and a total disregard for the Workplace Shell are all features of such software.

Lynn's Workplace FTP v1.1, Homeside Software's offering to the ever growing field of OS/2 Internet applications, is a welcome change from this status quo.  The basic structure of Lynn's WPFTP, is to represent remote sites on your desktop as folders, with archives (.zip files) represented as zip icons in the folders, much the same way as the OS/2 drives utility does.  This saves the end user the traumatic experience of learning a new program.

Installation is done via a simple GUI utility which handles both installation and uninstallation.  The install utility offers two choices: install to the C:\OS2 directory, or install to a different directory and manually update the CONFIG.SYS.  I found this utility to be the only facet where Lynn's WPFTP smacks of second rate.  I bit the bullet and slapped the whole thing into the C:\OS2 directory to save myself another reboot.

The uninstall did not run so smoothly.  This is not uncommon to my Hell-born system, upon which many an uninstall has choked the life out of my INI diseased desktop.  Lynn's WPFTP, was no exception, and I was gifted with a Trap E (pronounced AIEEEEEEEEE), a CHKDSK and more .INI corruption.  YIPEEE!

After a successful install, I ran into a little hassle configuring a destination, but was pleased to find on-line .INF documentation explaining the whole procedure.  After performing the hateful rite of reading the manual I was off to plunder some sites.

Since Lynn's WPFTP uses the WPS technology of folders and icons, you are saved the dreaded address book problems (you know, erased entries, mistyped entries, forgetting to enter that wonder site you just found, etc.).  Site addresses, login names, passwords and other information is entered in a familiar settings notebook.  Opening a folder automatically connects you to the site it represents, and navigating through the site is done via opening up the various folders within, which represent the remote subdirectories.  Creating a new folder is done the same way you create regular folders on the desktop, by dragging a template or selecting the option from a pop-up menu.

Transferring files is done by right-clicking on the icon and selecting transfer from the pop-up menu.  Simple, and easy.  When transferring a file, a small status box is displayed, which gives you normal transfer information--file name, percentage complete bar, seconds remaining, bytes received and total bytes.  The compactness of this display affords you the chance to do something else on the desktop without minimizing the transfer window.

Tech support is only available via e-mail.  The nice touch is that you will be dealing with Lynn Defenbaugh himself, and not someone unfamiliar with the inner workings of the package.  Defenbaugh was not only polite, but prompt.  His courteous replies to my e-mail always came before I checked my account again after sending.  The phrase, "Read the DOCS you dolt!" was strangely absent from his intelligent answers.

A small note for shareware abusers: the shareware evaluation copy of Lynn's WPFTP will only remain connected to a site for 10 idle seconds, before requiring a re-login.  Not a pleasant task, especially trying to log in as anonymous to Hobbes.  Can you say 35 relogins?  Don't let this scare you away from this software, though; it is well worth the price of $20.

All this functionality doesn't come without a price.  On an 8 meg system, especially an unoptimised one, trying to connect to FTP sites while doing anything else can thrash your computer right off the desk.  And, of course, users who have opted to replace the WPS will not be able to use Lynn's WPFTP without starting the WPS.

Overall, Lynn's WPFTP is easy to use, easy to learn, and easy to like.  Time and attention was devoted to helping the end user be as productive as possible, and not waste on-line time trying to figure out the kinks of some backwards software.  Of course, this is the case with any application which the author wrote intending to use himself.  At $20 dollars this is a steal, and a must for any connected user.

-----

Lynn's Workplace FTP v1.1 (ftp.cdrom.com/.4/os2/network/tcpip/lwpftp11.zip)
Homeside Software, Inc.
Author: Lynn W. Defenbaugh (lwpftp@homeside.com)
Registration: US$ 20

-----

Chris Woods (cwoods@nsc.com) works for National Semiconductor Corporation.

*****

Neologic FTP v2.1       - by Dr. Dirk Terrell

Neologic FTP v2.1 is a quite capable replacement for the woefully inadequate FTP-PM that comes with Warp.  When I first installed TCP/IP on OS/2 2.1, it wasn't long before I was writing my own FTP application.  Having done so, I perhaps have a deeper appreciation than most people for the amount of work it takes to write an application as nice as Neologic FTP.

Neologic FTP is available in a fully functional shareware version on the usual FTP sites.  Actually, the FTP program is just one part of a suite of TCP/IP products from Neologic which includes a very nice newsreader, gopher client, and an FTP daemon, which enables users to log into your computer and transfer files.  All of these programs are in the shareware zip file and can be tested for 30 days.

The current release, version 2.1, was released in July.  I have run the program under Warp as well as OS/2 2.1 with TCP/IP 2.0.  The on-line documentation claims that it also runs on FTP Software's PC/TCP for OS/2.

Installation of the program is straightforward and allows you to install some or all of the suite.  There is no uninstall program, but Neologic keeps all the files in the directory you specify, so uninstalling would amount to dragging the Neologic folder to the Shredder.

The program is very easy to use.  Upon starting, the Control Panel opens as well as the server list.  Double-clicking on a particular server opens a connection.  Adding new servers is also relatively painless.  Pressing the 'Add' button brings up a window in which information such as server name and address, local and remote default directories, and username and password can be entered.  For the user with more advanced needs, you can also enter the FTP port number for the remote site as well as the type of server (Unix, VMS, etc.).  A nice addition to the program would be the ability to place folders in the server list with sites contained within (i.e. like the Tree view for the WPS Drives objects), but for now the list is one-dimensional like the WebExplorer Quicklist.

Once you have requested a connection to a remote site, a window is opened for that site.  If all goes well, you will see a listing of files in the local directory on the left and a similar list for the remote site on the right.  Displayed at the bottom of the window is a console showing exactly what is going on between the program and the remote FTP daemon, which is invaluable when you are having trouble connecting to a site.  The console window can be turned on and off in the program's settings notebook.  If the site refuses the connection because it is too busy, the program displays a message window and you can have it try to log in until it is successful or abandon the operation.  Because of the program's multi-threaded design, you can open windows to multiple sites (even multiple windows to one site) simultaneously.

OK, so you have gotten connected.  Now what?  To download a file (or 'get' it in FTP lingo) you drag the file from the remote files container to the local files container.  You can, of course, select and drag multiple files using the usual Ctrl-right-mouse-click action to select and drag.  Or, if you prefer, you can initiate the download by choosing 'Get' from the 'Remote' menu under 'File' in the main menu.  The program toolbar also has a 'Get' button for even faster access.  Uploading a file ('put') is done in the same manner.  As a file transfer progresses, a percent-done indicator is updated and the total number of bytes transferred is also shown.  The instantaneous transfer rate is displayed in kb/sec.

Aborting a file transfer amounts to clicking on the bright-red 'Stop' button in the toolbar.  The file containers default to the more useful Details view, but can be changed via the expected right-click to Icon view.

If you have to transfer files in several directories, Neologic FTP provides a handy way of doing so via its Download List.  You simply add files to the Download List from each of the directories by right-clicking on the file and selecting 'Add to Download List' from the popup menu.  You can edit the download list at any time, and then when you are ready to transfer the files, select 'Download from List' in the Remote window menu.

You can also create and delete directories (assuming you have permission to do so on the remote machine) as well as move around the directory structure.  Most of the time you would do this by clicking on the various directories but Neologic FTP also gives command-line junkies like myself the ability to type in a path specification and jump straight to that directory.  If your path traverses several directories, this is much faster than having to cycle through each directory using the mouse.  This feature gives you the convenience of a GUI application with the speed of a command line program.  Another very handy feature is the ability to sort directories by name or date.

Neologic FTP is a good citizen in the OS/2 environment, multitasking very smoothly.  As I type this, I have a file downloading at 1.6 kb/sec over a SLIP connection.  You can select a number of files to transfer, set the program in motion, and click it off into the background while it does its job.  I have run the program on a machine with 8 megabytes of RAM without any swapping, and it loads very quickly (within a couple of seconds).

In conclusion, the Neologic FTP client is a good choice.  Its interface is intuitive and easy to use and the program is rock solid.  In over a year of daily use, I have never had the program crash or hang.  Should you find yourself not knowing how to do something, good on-line help is just a mouse click away.  And if you need further assistance, you can contact Neologic by post, e-mail, or FAX. The registration fee for Neologic FTP is $30 US.

-----

Neologic FTP (ftp.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/nns21b.zip)
Author: Steve Gutz (gutz@hookup.net)
Registration: US$30

-----

Dr. Dirk Terrell (terrell@fdt.net) 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.

*****

VxFTP v1.0      - by Arne Haaje

For a few months now I have been testing a program called VxFTP v1.0.  It can be found on all the popular FTP sites, and is also included on Gary Hammer's 'OS/2 Must Have Utilities' Web page. 

Compared to the FTP-program that comes with OS/2 Warp, VxFTP is a great improvement.  First of all, it is rock solid.  To date, after approximately four months of use, it has never crashed on me and I often have a lot of programs running simultaneously, including a DOS faxserver, and one or two Microsoft Windows applications.  My setup is a 486DX2 with 24 MB of RAM.  This program is a true PM application and it can be run from both the command line or the Workplace Shell.

Installation is a breeze.  After unzipping the archive file into a temporary directory, you simply run the PM install program.  It asks you where you want the program files and VROBJ.DLL to be installed (if you have a newer version of this file installed you can opt not to install it) and it goes on to create WPS objects so you can get started right away.

One of these objects is the one you double-click when you need help.  It is an URL object that takes you right to the author's Web page (via WebExplorer).  The same page is also launched if you ask for help inside the program.  This may sound a bit awkward, but actually it provides for a help file that is a lot more up to date than one that could come with the program.  It will also let you download the source code if you want to modify the program.  Being connected from Norway and the URL being in the U.S.A., I was a bit sceptical about the speed of this.  The truth is, it was all very fast.

The author, Howard T. Hyten, has written this program with the aid of Watcom's VX-REXX.  As noted above, this means that the program has to load the file VROBJ.DLL before it starts (the DLL file is included in the archive).  On my setup this takes about 12 seconds.  On more memory constrained systems (such as 8 meg machines), performance can be significantly worse, due to the high overhead of VROBJ.DLL (~900k).

Hyten has created a program that uses the power of OS/2 to a great extent.  It uses threads heavily, which means when you are downloading a file from an FTP site you can still view a README file locally, or unzip an archive, or even execute another program.  At first glance, the program may look simple but don't be deceived!  It has a lot of power.  It is the sort of program that you wonder how you ever managed without.

There are no help--or documentation--files included in the archive, but you don't really need them since the program is very straightforward to use.  Also, you always get hints when the mouse pointer is above a button or a filebox.

If you are one those people that like to tinker with what other people have created, then you can have some fun with this program.  You can specify a default download directory, if you want to use InfoZIP's unzip.exe (or good old PKunzip.exe) to unpack your downloaded files, or if you want it to redial if the FTP server is busy.  This can be nice if you use a busy anonymous server like Hobbes.  If you use a server regularly you can add it to the address-book along with your preferred path and a handy 'alias'.  If you check the button for 'anonymous' it will also automatically provide your e-mail address when logging on.  All pretty standard options, but nice nonetheless.

During a download a progress indicator is displayed at the bottom of the main window telling you how far along the transfer has come.  One thing to note is that this only works if you are downloading to a HPFS formatted drive.  This is because VxFTP uses the REXX STREAM function to determine the amount of bytes downloaded.  The FAT file system does not support this.  Being an OS/2 advocate I urge you all to use HPFS anyway!

A nice plus is the ability to view remote text files without saving a copy to your local drive.  Just right-click on the file in the file list and select 'View' and a small text window opens containing the file.  However, there are no menu options in this window if you decide you do want to save the file locally after all.

My conclusion after having used this program for some months is that it is a very solid program.  Annoyingly it uses the VROBJ.DLL, and therefore has to load it before executing--but this is just a minor gripe.  The program is absolutely rock solid, and it works.  It may not look beautiful but it works well.  I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to get ahold of a good FTP program.

-----

VxFTP v1.0 (ftp.cdrom.com/.4/os2/network/tcpip/vxftp100.zip)
Author: Howard T. Hyten
Registration: Freeware (author requests users send a postcard)

-----

Arne K. Haaje (arne.haaje@teleservice.no) is a 24 year old system-manager working for a Norwegian company.

*****

Reviews: Games

As usual, there's plenty to talk about on the OS/2 game front.  This month, we take a look at a couple commercial game bundles from Big Blue themselves and the innovative European company, MicroLearn Nordic.  And for good measure we looked at a couple freeware chess programs and the shareware, arcade classic "Roids".  Among these various packages, there are over 25 games to fill your day, so everyone should be able to find something to their liking.  Enjoy!

Reviewed in this issue:
-------------------

IBM Family FunPak for OS/2 Warp - Bruce Byfield

MicroLearn Game Pack Volume II - Mikael Engdahl

UChess v1.17GA and Dungeon Chess v2.0 - John Reason

Roids v2.3 - Matt Ion

*****

IBM Family FunPak for OS/2 Warp	- by Bruce Byfield

The IBM Family FunPak is a 53 megabyte collection of games and home software.  It's a package which would have been uneconomical to produce a couple of years ago, when software came on floppies.
 
However, like satellite dishes, the capacity of CDs has nothing to do with quality.  Or, to put things another way, the FunPak can be thought of as the home user's equivalent of Warp's BonusPak.  Like the BonusPak, it comes with minimal manuals and support.  Its programs range from the unusable to the useful, and, like the BonusPak, what you think of the offerings will depend on your needs and existing software and hardware.
 
Here are my reactions to the individual programs in the FunPak, in ascending order from worst to best.

Let me confess right away that I never even tried Magic Canvas, the children's paint program.  It's a Windows program, and I don't have Windows code on the test machine.  While the program was probably included to show Warp's ability to run older operating environments, for
me it was on the unusable end of the FunPak spectrum.

Slightly higher on the scale I found OS/2 Poker, OS/2 Black Jack, and Havoc.  The first two games are extremely basic, with graphics that might have been acceptable around 1987.  Havoc is even more dated; it's an asteroids-style game with the sort of line graphics last seen about 1980; the best thing that can be said about it is that it's simple enough to run with a bare minimum of RAM.  None of these programs lasted ten minutes on the hard drive.  However, they did allow me to try the FunPak's uninstall feature: the uninstaller removes all customization of colours and fonts on the FunPak folder, and returns it to the desktop if it was moved, but all traces of deleted programs are removed from the system (including inside the OS2.INI file).  
 
In the mid-range of acceptability are the serious applications: apparently, IBM's idea of fun for adults.  Personally, I have little use for such on-line references in general, and the FunPak's do nothing to make me change my mind.  Despite graphics and search functions, on-line references run a distant second to paperbacks in convenience, detail and price.  
 
On these grounds, I discarded the Child Development Guide almost as quickly as Havoc and the card games.  A combination of parenting guide and baby album, it is far too general to justify the 22 megabytes of hard drive space it requires.  
 
Similarly, the American Heritage Dictionary is too limited to be useful either.  A quarter of the size of the full-length version from Dux Software and lacking the thesaurus function, the FunPak version is simply too limited to be of much use.  Nor can it be left on the CD, the way the full version can.  And, most important of all, it seems to lack a target audience.  Those who should use this dictionary are unlikely to, since it's unconnected to a word processor, while those who would use it will probably find it too limited to be useful.  
 
The third home application, In Charge At Home, is probably the most useful of the serious programs.  Although I firmly believe that anyone who can't handle their financial affairs with a calculator and a scrap of paper won't be motivated by a computer program to get organized, if
you are used to recording your personal records on the computer, this program should suit 
your needs.  However, if you want to run a business, get the full version.
 
So much for two-thirds of the FunPak.  Having discarded all these programs, I was starting to feel twinges of pain around my wallet.  Fortunately, the third which was left redeemed the FunPak for me.  This third was exactly what the name "FunPak" originally suggested to me:
games.
 
The first of these is the MicroLearn Game Pack Vol I, a collection of a half-dozen games.  Some of these, including Go-Moku, Four Fun and MindSweeper, have been available as shareware on most platforms for years.  Others, like The Wall and Soko-PM are new to me, and offer the best value, especially because they include editors for building new levels.  Both have the combination of simplicity and strategy which I look for in a game.  In Soko-PM, for example, a warehouse worker has to push crates into designated positions while moving around different obstacles, not least of which can be the crates themselves.  Similarly, in The Wall, identically marked bricks have to be placed together to make them explode; the trick lies in getting the bricks side by side and in exploding three or more bricks at the same time.  Probably few adults will care to play any of these games for long, but all of them will help to pass the time while waiting for a fax or a modem connection.
 
TD Gammon falls into a similar category.  Its main boast is a dedicated artificial intelligence, but, unfortunately, at advanced levels, the AI is frustratingly slow, even on top end machines.  There has also been a debate on the Internet about whether the AI cheats at the advanced
levels.  Still, on the Novice and Beginner levels, TD-Gammon plays a competent brand of backgammon, and, at all levels, the presence of the doubling cube adds an element of bluff. Admittedly, the default interface should be changed immediately, and the program loads slowly for such a simple game.  Still, despite such misgivings, TD-Gammon is probably the most challenging backgammon game available for OS/2.

Rapid Assault is a DOS game--another demonstration of OS/2's ability to run fossil drivers.  However, with over 70 megabytes of it remaining on the CD, it's a DOS game which could hardly have been possible a couple of years ago.   Basically it's an armoured car version of Doom.  Players choose which of several different vehicles to drive, and then manoeuvre their choice through a maze of cityscapes, blasting anything that moves and picking up points.  As someone with minimal interest in such games, I appreciate the fact that Rapid Assault
is divided into levels playable in about fifteen minutes--which is not much longer than my interest holds.  The graphics are (to borrow an adjective from "Doonesbury") Pre-Mystian, but good enough for a quick rush of adrenaline.
 
For me, there's more playability in SimCity for OS/2.  This game was widely panned when it was released a year ago, and its bugs justified every bit of criticism.  The FunPak version is much improved.  The speed is still on the slow side--16 megabytes of RAM is the minimum I'd recommend, and, even on a Pentium 100, it's still less than a third of the speed of the DOS version--but the bugs seem to be gone.  The result is a showcase of what a windowed, multi-tasking operating system can do for a game.  I've returned again and again to the DOS version of SimCity over the years, but the convenience of the OS/2 version makes me tolerate the lack of speed.  Although the FunPak version lacks a few of the scenarios and other extras found in the full version, for me it is one of the two major attractions in the FunPak.  

The other major attraction is Star Emperor.  Essentially, it's a minor variant on Stardock's popular Galactic Civilization, with the same graphics and layout, but stripped down to a war game.  The main difference is that, instead of developing technologies to expand your empire, you expand your empire to gain the special technologies each planet possesses.  Getting the right to these technologies, denying them to other civilizations and keeping them all add interest when the inevitable battles start.  At the same time, few games will last more than two hours, so that Star Emperor can be over while a game of Galactic Civilization is still in its early stages.  The game suffers from many of Galactic Civilization's programming faults, swapping madly on systems with less than 12 megabytes of RAM, crashing unexpectedly and requiring constant refreshing of the star map.  Also, the FunPak version will not run in VGA (640x480).  Still, it remains highly playable.  In fact, although a full version is available, its price is the same as the entire FunPak's so I'm satisfied to stay with this version.

As a showcase of OS/2 games, the FunPak only emphasizes that OS/2 gaming is still in its infancy.  It doesn't seem like much of an advertisement for most of the programs in it either.  Still, from a consumer's point of view, it seems worthwhile, even if most of its programs are
discarded.  In the end, I figure that, by buying the FunPak, I spent an average of $12 Canadian ($9 US) on five programs that I'll keep on the hard drive for a while.  This price seems about right for the MicroLearn Game Pack and TD-Gammon, and a bargain for Rapid Assault, SimCity and Star Emperor.  
 
Nobody is going to be converted to OS/2 by the Family FunPak.  On the other hand, if you are already a user, it offers acceptable, if not outstanding value. 

-----

IBM Family FunPak for OS/2 Warp
IBM Corp. (http://www.ibm.com)
SRP: US$ 49

-----

Bruce Byfield (byfield@beaufort.sfu.ca) is a freelance editor and technical writer, and an occasional instructor of English.

*****

MicroLearn Game Pack Volume II  - by Mikael Engdahl

Perhaps mostly written for a target group consisting of smaller children, MicroLearn Game Pack 2 also entertains the older, more demanding game player.  Containing a variety of board, arcade and puzzle games, MLGP2 most likely includes something for everyone.

Installation

Installation is easy thanks to the excellent installation program.  It is fast, neat and it works well.  The installation directory is selectable (if you're not happy with the default C:\MLGP2), and the installation is a one button action.  It couldn't be easier.  The whole procedure is over in a couple of minutes, it doesn't make any changes to your system files (config.sys, os2.ini, os2sys.ini) and a list of helpful tips on various topics is displayed as you install.

MLGP2 claims to have very modest system requirements: a 386, 8 mb of ram, OS/2 2.1 or later, VGA, a mouse and a CD-ROM player.  Recommended is MMPM/2, a sound card and SVGA.  However, beware: these games are HUGE compared to the original MicroLearn Game Pack Vol I and are anything but snappy on an 8 meg 486.  I have also heard that some people have had trouble with the games (regular crashes and lockups).  Nothing of this sort has happened to me though.

The games were reviewed primarily on a 486 DX2 66 MHz with 16 Mb RAM.  With that configuration, I didn't experience any performance problems even when running more than one game simultaneously (the games in MLGP2 are multithreaded native OS/2 apps), and running other apps in the background.  OK, it's faster when just running one game at a time, but nevertheless, it is still fun trying to get more than one to run at once.  Loading more than one can take a little time but when the games are up and running they are nice and smooth.  Long loading times, especially on slower machines, are due to the fact that a lot of graphics are being prepared to make the actual game as fast as possible.

Documentation

The only hardcopy documentation that came with my version was an 8 page manual found inside the cover of the CD.  I understand the the packaging varies somewhat from the European version to the North American one due to different distributors.  This manual explains how to install the games and contains a short description of each game.  The lack of a manual disappointed me somewhat (just like it did when I received GalCiv), but the softcopy docs (.inf format--what else?) and the help files definitely make up for this.  You are guided through them by Thor, a character who surfaces everywhere in MLGP2, explaining things in a very pedagogical and easy to understand way.

Gameplay

MLGP2 consists of eight different games, of which most are really fun, and some are a little less entertaining (depending on your age and interest).  The following games are included:

Blox - Help Thor remove boxes from a stockroom.  By shoving two boxes side-by-side, they explode and disappear.  When all the boxes are gone, you have finished the level.  Requires a little thinking at times; some levels are quite hard.  The "take back move" feature is used frequently.  Entertaining.

Combo II - Connect the pipes and manage to roll the balls to their respective homes.  By turning the pipes you can steer the balls, making them go the way you want.  Perhaps not the best game in the pack.

LongLegs - Anybody remember Q-bert?  This is the SVGA version!  Help Mr. LongLeg to paint all the boxes in the playing field purple.  This is accomplished by jumping on them.  But beware, there are a lot of bad guys prowling around doing all they can to make life miserable for you.  My personal favourite.

MirrorMan - Help the Barkto twins home.  This isn't as easy as it sounds as they do everything differently (when one goes up, the other goes down) and you can only control one at a time.  Can get slightly boring after a while since there is no save or jump to level feature.

ML Memory - Remember where the cards are lying, and match them in pairs.  If you find the game too easy, try selecting the "shuffle cards" feature.  When enabled, the cards are moved around now and then, to make things harder.  With all the settings available even a game as simple as Memory is fun.

Morris - A classic board game.  Play either against another player or the computer.  A good game, but unfortunately the computer AI is nothing to brag about.  It is fairly easily beaten at even the hardest level.

Rockbot - Dig through level after level, avoiding the monsters, and gathering money.  You need the money to buy keys that get you through locked doors (that lead to new levels).  Rockbot is a large game with a lot of levels that can take some time to complete.

Sauron's Eye - A modern version of Break-Out.  You're job is to break through a wall of bricks by bouncing a ball against it.  When the ball hits a brick, it disappears.  The most advanced and entertaining game included.  Addictive!

With eight games in the pack, you get quite a lot for your money, and most games contain a large number of levels, which can keep you playing for some time.  One option that I really miss in most of the games, however, is some kind of possibility to save your game, or a password after each level (well, perhaps not after each level, but at least once in a while).  It can get rather boring to have to play the first couple of levels every time you start a new game.  The possibility to save your game is included in Morris and Blox, why not in the rest of the games?  In a separate folder (located in the MLGP2 folder) a couple of objects for extra levels can be found, if you happen to complete all the regular levels.

MLGP2 contains a fair amount of music and sound effects.  Both can be set up as you want them (or turned off completely).  The sound effects (wav) are handled similarly to how system sounds are in OS/2; different sounds can be associated to different events (level success, high score, game over, etc.).  As for background music you can choose between 27 different songs (midi), of which most are well worth listening to.  For each game you can choose which  background songs you want, and how many.

Create Your Own Players

Most of the games can be played by two players.  Instead of adding a player to a specific game in MLGP2, you create a WPS object and store it in the players folder (located in the MLGP2 folder).  By default there are already five players defined, but it's much more fun creating your own!  This is done by dragging a player template object (found in the templates folder) to the players folder, modifying its settings and, if you want, drawing a bitmap for the character.  These players can then be used in any game by dragging their icons to the "players status field".
 
Settings

One thing I liked considerably was all the settings available.  In each game there are a couple of notebook dialogs.  Some are unique for each game, others are shared between all the games.  In most games there are four settings notebooks; Game (difficulty, number of players),
Look-and-Feel (background bitmap, animations), Interface and Sound.  Overall, there is an incredible amount of settings you can change, and you can even change how you want the settings notebooks to look!

MLGP2 Toolkit

Apart from the eight games, a toolkit comes with the package.  The toolkit is a small utility that helps you with maintenance of the games.  It handles functions like graphics diagnostics, setting up sound and music drivers and creating WPS objects if you happen to delete them. 
You probably won't need to use the toolkit very often, and it isn't as exciting as the games.  It's functions could have been put directly in the games, since you already change so many settings from the menus of the games anyway.

Conclusions

MicroLearn Game Pack won't make you stay home from work just to get a chance to play, but it will keep you satisfied for a while.  One function I miss is some kind of autopause when you activate another app or game.  For instance if you are in the middle of a game and want to check the help files or change any settings the game keeps running in the background (which you don't notice until you die), which can be slightly frustrating at times. 

**editor's note: There actually is a 'Pause when losing focus' checkbox in the 'Interface settings->Window settings' page and it works exactly as it is supposed to.

MLGP2 is not for the regular DOOM addict, it doesn't contain much violence or action, but for the rest of us I can recommend it.  With its great graphics, sound effects and music, it's a good game, but as always, it could be polished further.  And, as mentioned above, you should think seriously about holding off until you have at least 16 meg of RAM.

-----

Microlearn Game Pack Volume II
MicroLearn Nordic (http://www.microlearn.se)
In North America: MSR Development Corporation
(409) 564-1862
SRP: US$ 64.95

-----

Mikael Engdahl (engdahl@algonet.se) has been an OS/2 enthusiast since v2.0.  In his spare time, when not studying, he likes playing (OS/2) games.

*****

UChess v1.17GA and Dungeon Chess v2.0   - by Jonathon Reason

First of all, let me say that I am NOT a great chess player, but I do remember a time when playing chess was one of the reasons many people bought computers.  In fact there were, and still are I believe, computers available that do nothing else but play chess.  Remember BattleChess, the 3D chess game where the little figures did real battle before your very eyes?  I have a copy somewhere and remember the best bit was deliberately losing to watch the animation as the Bishop smote you down with his staff or the Queen waggled her hips as sexily as a digital sprite.

I thought it might be a nice idea to have a look at two freeware chess programs this month in order to see the state of the OS/2 market.  So here goes:

UChess v1.17GA

According to the very complete help file, UChess P5 v1.17GA is a Pentium optimised OS/2 32 bit chess program based on gnuchess 4PL74 (whatever that is!) and certainly it had no problem running on my Pentium 100 with 16 Meg of RAM, but then again I would not have expected any.

All I can say about this little beauty is, "WOW!"  Just check out the graphics!  This one is a real winner; the board and pieces are absolutely beautiful.  It would be an insult to compare UChess with the apology for a chess program that ships with Warp.  In fact, I surprised myself by actually enjoying a game of chess far more than I ever had before.  My congratulations to Roger Uzun--he has taken an old classic and made it an absolute joy to play.  Take my advice and download this one immediately.

Although it only gives you the option of Very easy, Easy or Normal skill levels, I couldn't beat it.  Also, I like the way when playing in Human versus Computer mode it refers to you as "puny human".

On the down side, although you can select whether you play black or white pieces, and you can have the computer play against itself or play in 2 human mode, there is no provision for network or modem games.  Perhaps a future revision will include this.  Also, windows do not seem to be sized properly when playing in 640x480 resolution--the main window's title bar is off the screen when maximized and text in pop-up windows is sometimes cut off.

For the more serious player it allows the use of time controls to force you to adhere to the strict rules of the game.  From the Options->Time Controls menu it is also possible to set the level of thinking that the computer carries out.  This includes a 'deep thinking' mode wherein the computer studies its options while you are still playing your move, and an 'opening book' selection to force the computer into playing one of a number of standard openings (but not to specify which standard opening).  Less experienced players can ask the computer to suggest a hint for their next move--something you should only do with extreme caution in a non-computerised game of chess!  Selecting the 'Special' menu allows access to hints and also to the edit board function.  This enables you to set up the board with pieces placed wherever you want them.  I'm sure it was meant to allow practice, but I couldn't resist reinforcing my little White Army with a couple extra Queens.  If at first you don't succeed. . . cheat!

In summary, this one is a winner.

-----

Dungeon Chess v2.0

This one is a complete contrast to UChess; it's not that it's bad, it's just that it is almost unrecognisable as chess.  The main difference is that you can't see where your opponent's pieces are!  If you turn the radar feature on you are allowed to peek into the squares (Dungeons) that you are threatening, but not others!  When you can see them, they bear little resemblance to regular pieces, they all have different names (eg. Bishops are called 'Trigs' and Queens are called 'Stars'), and some move in the slightly unfamiliar ways.  This really is most disconcerting and as far as I could tell makes it more of a game of chance than skill.  And if you think that is difficult, try selecting the 'Grand Master' setting--it plunges you into utter darkness.  It's like playing chess with your eyes shut!

However, it is quite addictive and I still found myself sitting up till the early hours of the morning trying (unsuccessfully) to clutch victory from the jaws of defeat.  It's a nice variation on traditional chess.

The graphics are a little on the plain side, being very 2D, but I understand that if enough interest is shown the author, Craig Seavey (ccv@shadow.net), will consider developing a 3D version.  I can't wait to get annihilated in three dimensions!  Also, the game could benefit from an undo option.

The help file is quite easy to understand and extensive enough to get you up and running, but the only real way to play is in a hands on situation.

In summary, worth a look.

-----

UChess v.1.17GA (hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/games/uchess17.zip)
Author: Roger Uzun (uzun@crash.cts.com)
Freeware 


Dungeon Chess v2.0 (hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/games/dchess.zip)
Author: Craig Seavey (ccv@shadow.net)
Freeware

-----

Jonathan Reason (jreason@ibm.net) is a full time professional actor and as such has plenty of time to play with his computer.  Casting Directors feel free to e-mail.

*****

Roids v2.3      	- by Matt Ion

In The Beginning...

Back in the Neogamix Era of home computing (around 1982), my brother bought one of the hottest new things in home entertainment: the Atari 2600 Video Computer System.  In what was to become a computing tradition, it came with some bundled software to get the neophyte user started. . . including what may be one of the greatest video games ever coded: Asteroids.

The years since have begat many variations of this popular purveyor of mindless violence (what's so violent about blowing up a buncha rocks, anyway?) including this offering from Leonard Guy and Hungry Man Productions.

A New Twist On An Old Favorite

Roids v2.3 for OS/2 adds a few new twists to the classic shoot-em-up, not the least of which is the use of OS/2's multimedia extensions for sound effects (try piping your sound card into a subwoofer, then ramming your ship into a Roid!) that leave the old Atari whimpering in your little TV speaker.  Explosions are far more spectacular, especially when your ship is smashed into so many bits of debris.

The movement of the game is also different.  Rather than fly your ship around a static screen, the ship stays centered while space itself whizzes by.  This adds the challenge of never knowing exactly what's coming along your flight path.  Well, almost never--there is a useful little radar scope, showing the "universe" and its inhabitants. . . and your place in it.

Better Computers = Better Bad Guys

In addition to the namesake obstacles, there are now Tetra, triangular yellow space-mine-like entities that float merrily around, growing until they split, amoeba-like, into four baby Tetra.  Eventually, they'll multiply to the point where, as the author puts it, they, "slow your screaming Pentium system to a crawl!"  They don't attack and on their own are fairly harmless, but as we all know, running into a solid object of any kind in outer space tends to have disastrous effects on one's vessel.

As the levels of play increase, new bad guys join the fray.  First come the Bulbs, little blue octagons that will intelligently track and envelope one's ship, rendering engines and shields inoperable.  While that may not seem so bad, keep in mind that this leaves the ship virtually indefensible against speeding Roids and meandering Tetra. To quote again from the online help, "The only way to dislodge a Bulb is by A) dying or B) blasting your way out
with your cannon.  I recommend the latter."

Finally are the Snipes, insidious, hard-to-kill little fiends that will fire large bursts of projectiles without provocation (although provocation does little to help matters).  To plagiarize one more bit from the online help: "Snipes are extremely trigger-happy and have been known to shoot at each other, setting up a crossfire usually seen only in L. A."  It's times like this you really start to appreciate the guy who thought of shields for spaceships.

All This, And Control Too!

Fortunately, this is one variation that has a sense of fair play: your ship's shields never seem to wear out.  If you really wanted, you could just activate them and bounce (and boy, does this puppy bounce!) around the universe, destroying everything you bump into. . . but then you'd miss the cool cannon sounds.  The ship, like everything else, obeys the laws of physics: once you're moving, you keep moving until you either run into something, or hit the cheat key that stops the ship cold (get out those G-suits, boys and girls, we're talking major deceleration!).

All the controls, the use of sound, the detail of the display, the level of play, and the overall speed of the game are fully user-customizable.  There doesn't appear to be joystick support in this version, but again, it can be configured to use whatever keys are comfortable (I prefer the regular cursor keys for movement, the spacebar for a fire button).

Remember, There Ain't No 10s

Obviously, nobody's perfect.  So what's the downside here?

My biggest gripe is probably the jerkiness of the sound, but that's more the fault of MMPM and lame sound-card drivers than of the game itself.

As for a wishlist (unlikely, as the author has informed me that 2.3 will be the final release for 'Roids, other than bugfix updates), some sort of rockin' Buck Rogers background music would be neat, but not necessary.  Joystick support seems to be the only thing missing, although since I don't have a joystick, I can't say for sure.

It's been suggested to me that some form of 3-D graphics would be cool, but personally, I think it would add too much baggage and get a little too far away from the original.  As it is, the game can be run fullscreen, or in a resizeable PM window.

Okay, How Much Machine Does It Take?

Any system that runs OS/2 should do it.  My current setup is a 486sx33 with 16MB RAM, ATi Mach8 (8514/a) video, and 8-bit mono SoundBlaster 2.0, but I've played it on a 386sx25 with 8MB RAM and a non-accelerated Trident TVGA8900 video card (it's hurtin' with sound enabled, but if you can stand blasting things in silence, it's quite comfortable).

Roids is "nagware"--a "Register me!" reminder pops up every time you start the program, but no features are disabled.  Registration, which entitles you to all future updates, is US$10.

I'm told a registered version is also included with IBM's Family FunPak as well as Stardock's OS/2 Essentials, under the name Havoc, but as I don't have either myself, I'll have to take it on faith that it is indeed there.

Gentlemen, The Envelope Please. . .

Overall, since there ain't no tens, I'd have to give Roids a 9.5.  Hey, what can I say, Asteroids has always been one of my favorites, and this is probably the best remake I've ever played.  Okay, it's a bit biased, but don't take my word for it.  Click the link below and try it out for yourself!

-----

Roids v2.3 (ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/games/roids23.zip)
Author: Leonard Guy (73544.1154@compuserve.com)
Registration: US$ 10

-----

Matt Ion (soundy@nextlevel.com) is a Vancouver, BC-based freelance OS/2 consultant, sysop of Canada's largest all-music BBS, wannabe writer, full-time Mr. Mom, and general all-around modem geek.

*****

OS/2 Warp Unleashed     - by Dan Deckert

If you were headed off to that proverbial "desert island", had a laptop with OS/2 Warp installed, some solar panels to keep the battery charged, and a choice of one book to take with you--I'd try to negotiate a new deal.  No one book could cover the power and all of the options of the Warp package.  OS/2 Warp Unleashed comes awfully close, though.

I've had to call IBM product support a couple times looking for guidance as I tried to troubleshoot an obscure problem.  In addition to the direct support I received, the helpful folks on the telephone directed me to two books, NRP's Inside OS/2 Warp and Sams Publishing's OS/2 Warp Unleashed.  It proved to be good advice.

One caveat before I begin the review.  This is a 1200+ page book.  I haven't read every word on every page.  I haven't looked at every file or run every demo on the included CD-ROM.  That isn't the intent of a reference book, so I don't feel bad about the holes in this review.  My goal is to describe the flavor of this recipe, so that you can decide whether you want to taste it yourself.

This is a multi-author book, and it shows perhaps a bit more than the editors would have liked.  Styles vary from friendly, first-person chatty to somewhat dry tutorial prose.  It is written assuming that the reader has at least a casual familiarity with PCs and their operating systems.  There are plenty of appropriate illustrations and screen shots and the whole package is spiced up with "highlight boxes" which call attention to notes, tips, cautions, and other information that the authors felt deserved special attention.  A lot of the most interesting stuff in the book appears within these boxes.  A big "WARP" in the margin further highlights the information which is pertinent specifically to OS/2 3.0.  All in all, the book is very clear and readable.  But is it worth reading?  On to the contents!

OS/2 Unleashed opens, logically enough, with a chapter on installing Warp.  This chapter alone is almost worth the price of the book.  It leads the reader, step by careful step, through the entire installation process, with plenty of explanations about options.  I wish that I'd had this sort of information at my fingertips the first time that I installed Warp.  Still, there are some pieces missing here.  Most of them find coverage in the book's last chapter, "Portable Computing with OS/2."  Taken together, these two chapters will go a long way towards making a Warp installation about as painless as can be.

A hard act to follow?  Chapters two and three do an admirable job.  Chapter two covers system configuration, setup, and tuning.  It starts with a "tuning philosophy" that stresses the all-important truth that there is no one optimal setup, and that the reader will have to experiment and monitor the results in order to successfully tune a Warped PC.  That said, the text provides some basic training in multitasking and threads, followed by an in-depth CONFIG.SYS tutorial.  The latter is unique in my experience, as it breaks CONFIG.SYS into functional chunks (as opposed to the more common line-by-line command description).  Despite three years experience fiddling with OS/2 configurations, I learned a lot going through this section of the chapter.

Chapter 3 is another of those "unique in my experience" revelations.  It's titled "Reconfiguration".  Wow!  Every OS/2 reference book I own covers configuration and tuning to one extent or another, but I've never seen such an up-front acknowledgement of the fact that nothing ever really gets done right the first time.  This chapter tells you how to spread the pieces of OS/2 Warp around or remove them altogether.

Chapters 4 through 6 explore the Workplace Shell (WPS).  They start off with the basics of context menus and move quickly into how to access Warp's on-line help files, manuals, and tutorials and from there into object manipulation, using mouse or keyboard.  There's a rather terse (but adequate) tutorial on the LaunchPad followed by one of the better descriptions of the Find utility that I've seen.  From there the reader is led through a whole series of topics regarding the presentation of information on the Desktop and how to control it.

I had a real problem with Chapter 5, "Workplace Shell Objects", and it took me a bit of time to figure out why.  The rest of the book up to this point has been very user-oriented.  Chapter 5 opens with information about the inner workings of objects that is undoubtedly useful and interesting to programmers, but of little practical value to a user trying to get up to speed.  This was an annoying distraction to me.  Fortunately, after about 12 pages of object classes, hierarchy, dormancy, and identifiers, the emphasis shifts back to a more user-oriented viewpoint (though patches of REXX code keep popping up here and there).

Chapter 6 moves on to "Configuring the Workplace Shell."  Written by the same author who gave us Chapter 5, it comes as no surprise that the first few pages appear to assume that the reader is a programmer.  This isn't as jarring here, however, as the process being described is the influence of CONFIG.SYS on the WPS.  As CONFIG.SYS "programming" needs only a simple text editor, it's an appropriate skill for any OS/2 user.  OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI are a different story, and this chapter does a great job of explaining why.  It also gives appropriate stress to the need to protect and archive these critical files, as well as how to restore them if they do become damaged.

Chapter 7 could easily be used as a cure for sleeplessness.  It's about the "Command Line Interface," and it's dry reading.  Useful stuff abounds, however, so it's well worth the effort to actually sit down and read this chapter rather than just using it as a reference when something goes wrong.  You'd best be familiar with command line operations in general before jumping in, though.

Chapter 8 covers "REXX Programming."  This chapter is, unlike Chapter 7, highly tutorial.  It assumes that the reader already knows something about programming, but doesn't presuppose any specific knowledge of REXX.  The features of the language are laid out at the beginning of the chapter, so you gain a basic understanding of why a knowledge of REXX is (or possibly isn't) useful to you.  I'd say that a user with some experience in a structured language like Pascal or a newer BASIC will walk away from this chapter with the ability to write and use REXX programs.

The next two chapters cover "Virtual DOS Machines" and "Win-OS/2," respectively.  These aren't as in-depth as I've seen in other references, but they highlight most of the common problem areas quite well.

The next five chapters of OS/2 Warp Unleashed cover "nuts and bolts" topics.  You'll turn to them primarily when trying to solve specific problems with the areas that they cover: they don't make for an exciting straight-through read.  Of special note in these chapters are: selecting the best video adapter for Warp, network printing, File Systems and Multimedia.

Here's one of the "Great Mysteries" of OS/2 Warp Unleashed: Chapter 16 is devoted to the "Productivity Applets" of Warp but there's NO coverage devoted to the BonusPak applications which have been received by EVERY purchaser of Warp.  Why not?  They have little effective documentation of their own.

Chapter 17 covers "Networking," and does it pretty well, if you're operating in IBM's LAN Server network.  Starting from basic LAN terms and concepts, it jumps to plenty of real-world examples in the LAN Server environment.  You learn how to set up your requester, with the book giving step-by-step, detailed instructions and explanations.  It even gets to the point of telling you how to install and use the server software, which strikes me as being a bit off-subject for a book about OS/2 Warp.  Oh, there's a little less than a page devoted to peer-to-peer networking.  This is obviously pre-Warp Connect text (though LANtastic for OS/2 predates Warp by several months, and could have used a bit more than three sentences).

Most sane people hate having to troubleshoot problems with their operating systems.  When you do have to do it, you want as much clear information as you can get.  That's the purpose of Chapter 18.  It starts with a section on recovery from installation problems that's quite thorough, then moves on to problem prevention and preparation for the few problems which will ultimately occur.  Lot's of good stuff here, but I wouldn't throw away my ability to access on-line support for answers to the many questions which aren't covered here.

"OS/2 and the Internet" is the penultimate chapter of OS/2 Warp Unleashed.  Did I say that this book didn't cover the BonusPak?  This is the one major exception.  The chapter provides a pretty good look at all of the applications which make up the OS/2 Warp Internet Connection.  If you're reading this review, you already know about the Worldwide Web.  If you've been afraid to try those other strange-sounding parts of Internet access (Gopher, FTP, Telnet, newsgroups, e-mail), this chapter can lead you by the hand.

Finally, there is, "Portable Computing with OS/2".  It starts with good real-world guidelines for minimum and optimum notebook processor, speed, and memory capabilities.  If your notebook is up to Warp, you'll find extra installation instructions (many of which are also useful for desktop installations), information on power management functions and an extensive section on PCMCIA support.

The rest of the book is devoted to three appendices and a 70-page index which is one of the book's nicest features.  Many computer books have CD-ROMs these days; few are as well-described in the pages of those books as this one is.  While much of the material on the CD-ROM is available from many other sources, it's still a good collection of shareware, freeware, and demos.

Well, that's it.  And there sure is a lot of it, isn't there?  Over 1200 pages, most of which contain information which will be valuable to somebody.  I'm with IBM on this one, if you're going to have an intimate relationship with OS/2, then this is a book that you should buy.  It's not for beginners, though.  You need to bring some experience to this relationship.  Intermediate to Advanced users will get the most out of OS/2 Warp Unleashed.

-----

OS/2 Warp Unleashed, Deluxe Edition
SAMS Publishing
ISBN: 0-672-30545-3
SRP: US$ 39.99

-----

Dan Deckert (ddeckert@ufsmain.win.net) is a Program Manager in the Aerospace industry.  He does computer consulting on the side and has used OS/2 for 3 years.

*****

Interview with Dan Porter       - December 20, 1995

Dan Porter (innoval@ibm.net) is the President of InnoVal Systems Solutions (http://www.tiac.net/innoval/), makers one of the first Internet e-mail clients to be embraced by the OS/2 masses.  Like many other medium sized OS/2 ISVs InnoVal concentrates all development efforts on OS/2 products.  As a result they have been able to jump into the end user market almost overnight with the Post Road Mailer.

With the recent release of the latest version plus a few other interesting products in the works, we thought you might like to hear Dan Porter's take on the industry.

-----

e-Zine!:  How long has InnoVal been in business?

DP:  As a company, we've been in business now going on three years.

e-Zine!:  Have you been doing OS/2 stuff since the beginning, or. . .

DP:  Yeah, exactly.

e-Zine!:  So you were founded specifically to write OS/2 software?

DP:  That's correct.

e-Zine!:  What made you get into the OS/2 market?

DP:  I think we had a lot of confidence in the product.  We had some experience with it.  We felt it was a good niche to get into.  We felt that we had some pretty good ideas of applications that we wanted to undertake and we've been pleased ever since we got into it.

e-Zine!:  So three years ago.  Was version 2.1 [of OS/2] out by then?

DP:  [Version] 2.10 was out with a fixpack.

e-Zine!:  What was your first product?  Not Post Road Mailer.

DP:  No, actually what we did is a lot of custom programming for corporations with primary focus on DB2/2 running under OS/2.

e-Zine!:  When did you start to hit the end user market?

DP:  Well, what we did is kind of interesting.  We had some VM mainframe experience, and we saw a real hole in the VM PROFS arena in the e-mail on the host and we knew there was a need for a good OS/2 client, so we started developing that, feeling, at the time, that we were really going to go after corporate sales.

e-Zine!:  So what happened that made you choose to transform it into something that was also suitable for an end user?

DP:  Well, one of the things that we did is, we decided as we were designing this that we wanted to see what innovations and technology existed in the e-mail arena in the Internet and some other e-mail disciplines and when we started looking at what was available in OS/2 we discovered a glaring hole.  So we retooled our efforts very quickly to fill that hole.

e-Zine!:  Ok.  When did Post Road Mailer first come out--the Internet version?

DP:  It came out in May of this year.

e-Zine!:  So that was just shortly after PMMail from Robert Novitskey came out?

DP:  About 30 days, yeah.

e-Zine!:  Obviously then, you were in development of the Internet version of Post Road Mail when PMMail came out.  Did you take it seriously?  Did you discount it because it was coming from a student/shareware type of area or were you somewhat concerned when somebody released one about a month before you were about to?

DP:  Well, I would say we were disappointed to see it released a month before us, but we communicated with Bob Novitskey and we basically told him, "Look, this is a big market place and we've looked at your product, we like what we see but we want you to know that our product is coming out too," and as a matter of fact, we traded copies.  It was kind of interesting because he sent back a letter to me and said he was delighted to see there are nice people in this computer arena on the Internet.  So we maintained a good, healthy competition.

e-Zine!:  Now that Nick Knight's MR/2 ICE is out and Bob is scheduled to release an improved version of PMMail, do you think the competition is catching up with the features in Post Road Mailer?

DP:  I think that with the beta that we released last night [December 19th] we've taken a giant step forward.

e-Zine!:  So you think that you are going to maintain the lead that you seem to have had so far.

DP:  Well, we're certainly geared to maintain technical and functional leadership.  But that really isn't a competitive situation completely.  I mean we had a commitment to continually make this product better.  I want to make sure that when new products show up on the horizon, we're still way ahead.

e-Zine!:  OK, what about IBM's rumoured inclusion of cc:Mail in the next version of OS/2 to replace UltiMail [Lite]--does that affect your long term strategy at all, and do you think it will hurt the 3rd party mail client market?

DP:  There's no question that when you bundle something with an operating system you affect 3rd party products.  That happened to other ISV's as well when IBM enhanced OS/2.

I'm not faulting IBM for that.  It's good that they're, in a sense, listening to their constituents out there, but I don't really feel terribly concerned about it because we believe we'll continue to evolve this product.  With this new release, which has multiple MIME attachments, ISO Latin 1 and other features, and some of our future plans, I'm not really concerned.

e-Zine!:  You don't call it [Post Road Mailer] shareware.

DP:  No it is not shareware.

e-Zine!:  But you did have a demo version on the Internet and I'm assuming you're going to maintain that policy.

DP:  Yes.

e-Zine!:  So, why don't you call it shareware then?  Is there a functional difference or is it just a marketing term?

DP:  Well, I think that it's a marketing term.  I think it also carries certain connotations.  We sell this product as a commercial product through resellers.  Many resellers will not carry shareware, not because there is anything wrong with shareware or that they're against shareware, it's just that they have decided to market only ISV products.

I would say putting up a demo does not make it shareware.  There are a lot of demos out there these days on Hobbes and on CD ROM's.

e-Zine!:  Is the demo fully functional?

DP:  Completely functional.

e-Zine!:  Does it expire after a certain time?

DP:  Thirty days.

e-Zine!:  Alright.  Some of your critics say that combination products--when you start adding a lot of features that aren't necessary to the core of the product, like the news as mail and other things that you've released now in Post Road--are never as good as stand-alone units.  How do you respond to that?

DP:  Some people will always say that and just as large a constituency will say, "We need this feature, we need that feature."  What you try to do as you design products, is you try to hear everybody and strike a balance.  One of the things that we did was a very comprehensive customer survey and we looked at everything that everybody said.  Clearly people were asking for certain features.

e-Zine!:  So the directions you are going with Post Road Mailer, then, are largely, would you say, due to the input of the end users?

DP:  One hundred percent.  We have not added a feature that hasn't been extensively asked for.

e-Zine!:  Let me ask you this.  Do you see yourself going in the direction of an OS/2 equivalent of, say Microsoft Exchange, like a universal mailbox?  Is that where you see this product ending up?  Kind of a do-all communications program?

DP:  Not completely, no.  Again I emphasize that we listen to what our customers tell us they want and there are some things in so-called universal packages that very few people use.

e-Zine!:  So those types of things that there is very little demand for you just won't bother to pursue?

DP:  Not unless it's worthwhile to us *and* our customers.  One thing I will not do is create features just for technology's sake.

e-Zine!:  I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

DP:  Well, technology, in and of itself is great, as long as it provides usefulness.

e-Zine!:  True but there are a lot of products that don't start out being intended for what they end up being used for.

DP:  Oh, I understand that.

e-Zine!:  But you don't see InnoVal as a company that's responsibility is the pure innovation of technology?

DP:  We are innovative in the area of application.  If we see the usefulness of a technology and that it will benefit our customers' use of the product, we'll definitely embrace it.

e-Zine!:  So, is that what happened with Surf'n'Rexx?  You saw something that could benefit your customers and jumped into it?

DP:  Exactly.  A lot people came out of a unix world where there were a lot of utilities for the Internet.  Those utilities did not exist as plentifully in the OS/2 arena.  So what this was, was a way to spark some development of utilities.

And in that respect, it's been very successful.  We have quite a few federal government agencies that are using Surf'n'Rexx very effectively to confirm web site URLs and start integrating more and more federal web sites, and their using Surf'n'Rexx to do it.

e-Zine!:  But it's not your typical end user product.

DP:  It's not your typical end user product.

e-Zine!:  You say, "in that sense, it's done quite well."  How well have Surf'n'Rexx and the Post Road Mailer done?

DP:  Well first of all, I'll say that the Post Road Mailer sales have been phenomenal.

e-Zine!:  Would you care to quantify that?

DP:  No I won't.

e-Zine! (laughing):  OK.

DP:  Our volumes are confidential--we don't want to get into a numbers game.  My feeling right now is, and I can't substantiate it, that we are the market leader in sales.

Surf'n'Rexx is a much smaller market.  We tend to sell Surf'n'Rexx more into corporate IS shops.

e-Zine!:  Tell me what happened with the original name for Surf'n'Rexx's.

DP:  It was basically a legal problem.

e-Zine!:  Who was the other company that was claiming prior use of. . .

DP:  It was Fulcrum Technologies in Canada and I'll just say that there were concurrent claims and our product was not saturated enough in the market that we wanted to make an issue of it.

e-Zine!:  So you just decided to change the name because it was still so early in the game.

DP:  It was early in the game.  I think one of the things that I find very, very exciting, particularly in this OS/2 arena, is that there is a lot of ISV cooperation.  And besides, we decided we liked the name Surf'n'Rexx.  And so do our customers.

e-Zine!:  I'm assuming that it hasn't done anything noticeable to your sales.

DP:  Not at all.

e-Zine!:  What about the news reader.  It's going in to beta next week?

DP:  Well, it was going to go into beta next week but two things have happened.  One, we've been inundated with snow and some people have not been able to come to work and I've decided I do not want to mess up people's holiday week within our company.  So we're going to put it up in the first week of January.

e-Zine!:  What will it do to the news reader market?  I can only think of one other PM based news reader except the one that comes with OS/2.  What do you think it's going to mean, having another legitimate contender?

DP:  I think it will increase the awareness of this type of product.  I think that there is a very large market for news readers and it's a growing market, even though news has been around for quite a while on the Internet.

We've got some very, very innovative designs built into this thing.  Just to give you an example, people have been debating constantly how the subjects or the items, if you will, should be presented to the viewer--should they be organized by subject, should they be organized chronologically, should they be organized on a reference thread concept, should they be presented by the author or poster of an article?--and we listened to the debate for a while and decided we'll let you take any choice you want.

e-Zine!:  So it's going to be very configurable?

DP:  Very configurable to the point where if I'm looking at it chronologically and I want to switch it to threaded basis, I can do so and it takes approximately 2 seconds for it to reorganize all the articles for you.

e-Zine!:  And presumably it will have all the normal bells and whistles?  It will be multithreaded and. . .

DP:  Absolutely so.  32 bit, multithreaded. . .  And as a matter of fact, we get some significant performance out of doing just that.

e-Zine!:  Is there built-in uudecoding?

DP:  Yes.

e-Zine!:  Let me ask you this then: when I'm uudecoding a file, can I then go on to load other articles while I'm decoding?

DP:  You sure can but you will find that we decode most uuencoded files in one to two seconds so it's not a big issue.

I addition to uuencode we also support MIME attachments which are starting to occur more frequently in the news groups and we're also supporting ISO Latin 1 for the international character set.

e-Zine!:  What prompted the move into the news market?  Was it just because you saw the niche as somewhat empty or because it was a natural branching out for InnoVal based on the prior Internet experience?

DP:  Well, I think really it was our customers.  Because just as they were asking for enhancements in the Post Road Mailer, they kept saying, "Are you guys going to do a news reader?"  We heard enough people say that, that we decided they're not asking that for no reason at all.

e-Zine!:  Almost as good as a pre-order, right?

DP:  Right.

e-Zine!:  Where does the bulk of your volume come from?  Does it come from mail order, your own direct sales, retail stores, or. . .

DP:  No.  The bulk of it comes from corporate catalog sales.

e-Zine!:  Do you have a lot of product in retail stores on shelves?

DP:  No.  Which is pretty much typical of OS/2 today.

e-Zine!:  I've heard other ISV's complain that it is difficult to get products into retail stores.

DP:  There's been that problem in the OS/2 arena for a long time.  We were hoping for something to break with [Blue Orchard--an OS/2 ISV joint marketing venture that didn't succeed] but it didn't happen.

e-Zine!:  Do you think this will change?  Do you think OS/2 can make it in the retail or home market?

DP:  I really believe, personally, that OS/2 is very solid.  I really believe that OS/2 does have viability in the SOHO and the home market.

e-Zine!:  Where do you see InnoVal 5 years from now?

DP:  Well, it's hard to say.  We're not where we thought we'd be three years ago.

e-Zine!:  Are you ahead or behind where you thought you would be or just in a different place?

DP:  We're in a different place but I think we're also a little ahead.  We expected to be far more into the direct work-for-hire mode and we did not see ourselves in the product arena.

We have some exciting things on our plate.  We're doing some very, very innovative and far reaching products right now and I think we will be definitely be solidly entrenched in the Internet marketplace.

e-Zine!:  Ok.  Just off the top of your head, what do you think is going to happen to OS/2 in the next five years?  Do you think it's going to maintain or increase market share?

DP:  I think they'll increase market share but I don't think it will be dramatic.  I think their market share in large corporate markets will increase significantly.  I think that the home marketplace will be a drag-along from that, because I don't think IBM is marketing to the home market and I think that they're depending on the drag-along.

e-Zine!:  Do you think they should do it differently?  Does it matter to InnoVal if the home market grows?

DP:  I don't know if they should do it differently.  I wish they would.

e-Zine!:  Do you have any sway with them?  Do they listen to you as an ISV?

DP:  Actually, I've been very pleased lately with IBM in having talks with them.

e-Zine!:  Rumours are always abounding that IBM is cutting or has cut this or that budget.  Do you think that IBM is in any imminent danger of slashing development of OS/2?

DP:  No, I don't think so.  I really don't.  I think people take budget cuts and reorganizations too seriously sometimes, especially on the Internet.

e-Zine!:  I'm sure we all hope you're right on that one.

-----

note: Next month's interview will be with Team OS/2's ex-fairy godmother, Janet Gobeille.  Our man on the scene at COMDEX PacRim, Matt Ion, will be speaking to her at length so if you have questions you would like answered, send them to soundy@nextlevel.com (make sure to put "Janet Questions" in the subject line)!

*****

What Do You Mean, Hard? - by Christopher B. Wright

While OS/2 may be one of the most powerful and advanced operating systems available for the personal computer today, it hasn't exactly won the hearts and minds of the mainstream world.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that OS/2 is met with out-and-out hostility by a great many people, and for one very important reason:

It's difficult to install.

OS/2 has taken quite a beating lately, most notably in trade mags like Infoworld and PC Magazine, for being somewhat impossible to coax onto a machine.  Installing OS/2, they say, is like trying to put together one of those puzzles that doesn't have a picture on it.  It's
counter-intuitive, unwieldy, and just as liable to blow up in your face as it is to actually work.

Rubbish.

I consider myself an expert at installing OS/2--I've managed to destroy my system so many times that installation seems like second nature to me.  My parents and my fiancee are constantly assailed by stories of how I managed to accidentally delete this, or how I accidentally copied over that or, "what do you mean, I just reformatted my hard drive?"  I don't know the subtle ins and outs of file placement, but I do know how to use the installation program.  I've used FDISK to install Boot Manager, OS/2, Windows 95, then reinstall Boot Manager so I could run OS/2.  I've installed Red Warp, Blue Warp, and Blue Warp Connect.  I've helped other people install Warp, install FixPacks, and reinstall Warp and FixPacks.  And I'm here to testify before God and Country that installing OS/2 ain't that hard.

On the surface, the myth that OS/2 is the mother of all installation nightmares seems very credible.  I bought OS/2 Warp for Windows in January, I managed to have it running (without crashing) in March.  Three months is a long time to beat your head against a monitor cursing (both the monitor and I still have scars, and my roommates still haven't stopped twitching).

First OS/2 wouldn't install from my CD-ROM drive.  It was an old single-spin CD-ROM drive, from way back when multimedia meant watching TV and updating your resume at the same time.  The install process suggested I make disks from the CD, which took about two hours, and then it took another two hours to install.

The problem?  My CD-ROM drive used an obscure version of a Phillips device driver that wasn't included on the install diskettes because it was, well, obscure.

And then it wouldn't work.  Not right, anyway.  The screen kept blanking out on the third or fourth reboot.  I couldn't get it to display any more than 16 colors--which is a drag for OS/2, since OS/2 is by default "plain" in 16 million.

The problem was, and many of you will sympathise, my Diamond SpeedStar Pro 16 bit, 512k video card.  Until I figured out what the problem was, I was convinced OS/2 didn't "install well."  How could it?  It would lock up after two or three boots!  Obviously something was not being done correctly.

This is a problem many different people have had with many different products--be they video cards, EIDE cards (had that one, too), SCSI cards, CD-ROM drives, Ethernet cards, or even PCMCIA cards.  But I would submit before the court that the problem isn't OS/2's installation process.

The real problems, my friends, are device drivers.

Installing OS/2 is actually fairly straightforward.  You turn the computer off.  You put the install disk in drive a:.  You turn on the computer.  You do everything the computer tells you to do, switch disks when you are told to switch, hope the computer recognizes your CD-ROM drive if you're installing from CD-ROM, and hope you're disks aren't bad if you're installing from disk.  You're asked if you want the Easy or the Advanced install.  You're asked if you want to install on drive C.  You're asked if you want to install all or only some of the extras.  And by the end of the install process you're told to take the disk out of drive a: and reboot.

None of this is rocket science.  The installation process for OS/2, while admittedly boring, is simple and non-life-threatening.  Getting drivers provided by a third party to work under OS/2, on the other hand, is downright frightening.

Take my current CD-ROM drive, for example.  I actually have two: the single spin you've already heard about, and a TEAC Quad Speed.  I bought the TEAC at a computer show, and wouldn't you know it, the TEAC Drive didn't come with OS/2 drivers!  Installing the drivers for my CD-ROM drive required that I track them down on the Internet, download them from an FTP site, and look through a sparse readme file to figure out how to get OS/2 to say, "Look!  A TEAC!"

The first couple of steps are difficult enough, especially if you aren't comfortable with the Internet.  In fact, if you aren't comfortable with the Internet, you don't have many options when you run into a device driver problem.  But even if you manage to get that far, getting it recognized by your operating system is even harder.

Most drivers for OS/2 are sloppily written, especially compared to their Windows cousins.  There are a few companies who have automatic install programs for their drivers, but most companies require that you make alterations to that most dreaded of all OS/2 files, the CONFIG.SYS file.  The CONFIG.SYS file, a collection of path, basedev, and device statements strung haphazardly across known space, is NOT user-friendly and unless you know what you're doing you should stay as far away from it as possible.  I know.  I had to reinstall OS/2 because of it once.

OS/2 and hardware manufacturers aren't satisfied if you merely add a "device=crankydriver.add" statement to your config.sys file and reboot.  No, they usually require that you add lots of arcane parameters to your line, like "device=crankydriver.add /a:you'll /b:never /c:get /d:this /e:to /f:work" and "device=tryagain.add /a:give /b:up /c:now".

Let's not forget that these very same drivers have a tendency to work exactly opposite the way you expect--that is, not at all.  I have found that the drivers for a Diamond video or graphics card seem to have been engineered specifically NOT to work under OS/2.  At one point I had a Diamond Viper that would run in anything but VGA 16 color until I changed the name of two files, copied a backed up version of another file onto the current version, and installed the generic S3 drivers provided by IBM.

The fact of the matter is that hardware manufacturers do a lousy job supporting OS/2.  Barring a few major exceptions (ATI being a notable one, Miro being another), they do lazy, shoddy work when it comes to coding OS/2 drivers for their products.  If hardware doesn't work on
OS/2, it's probably not the fault of the operating system.  More than likely it's a company that just doesn't put the effort it should into its work.

What I'm trying to say is that half of what makes OS/2 frustrating to configure is that even when a company says they support OS/2, that doesn't guarantee they actually do it well.  An operating system can use hardware only as well as its drivers let it, and if those drivers
don't work, the OS won't either.

Bottom line: OS/2 doesn't have to be "impossible to install."  If a hardware manufacturer claims their product will run under OS/2, make it very clear that it had better, or there will be one unsatisfied customer moving on to a competing product.

-----

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

*****

OS/2 + ISDN = Internet@Warp.Speed       - by Tash Hepting

With the rapidly falling cost of technology and my rapidly rising impatience, I finally caved-in and decided to get an ISDN Internet connection.  After reviewing the various hardware and ISP (Internet Service Provider) options available, I went out and did it.  Luckily (OK, luck has
nothing to do with it), I use OS/2 Warp, which comes with all the connection software I needed built in.

ISDN (Integrated Digital Services Network) is a different kind of telephone line that uses digital instead of analog signalling.  This results in extremely higher data rates over existing wiring.  With conventional analog modems, you can expect to get 28.8Kbps (Kilo-bits per second) with the V.34 signalling standard.  With ISDN you can get up to 128Kbps over the exact same pair of wires.  ISDN divides your phone line into 3 distinct 'channels'.  There are two 'B' channels which carry either voice or 64Kbps data.  A third 'D' channel provides dialing information (caller id, signalling protocol information, etc.).  Depending on the phone company's
switch type and the ISDN device you have, you may be able to combine both B channels into a 128Kbps data stream, or you could talk on the phone and use the other B channel for 64Kbps data.  In order to actually use an ISDN line, you must have an NT-1 terminal adapter.  Most ISDN devices have a built-in NT-1 and even one or two POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) jacks for your old analog equipment.

ISDN costs a lot less than I expected.  Pacific Bell (a regional phone company primarily in California, U.S.A.) has set VERY aggressive pricing for home ISDN lines: $24.50 per month, with a usage surcharge (above normal long-distance or toll call fees) from  8:00AM - 5:00PM Monday-Friday.  Since most people are at work from 8-5, this means an ISDN line costs only slightly more than a normal phone line when used during "normal" leisure hours.

ISDN data devices come in three basic varieties: external devices, internal cards, and network routers.  The external devices look and act exactly like a regular modem, right down to the Hayes standard AT commands.  Internal cards are treated like LAN adapters, and I could not easily find any with OS/2 drivers.  The ISDN to Ethernet Router would have been the ideal option, except for being at least twice as expensive as either of the others.  After weighing the costs and compatibility issues, I decided to get an external ISDN device made by Motorola, the BitSurfR Pro because it was one of the most cost-effective solutions at only US$ 399.

Most places you buy equipment from will offer to do some of the setup for you.  I purchased my unit from Fry's Electronics (a large California electronics 'grocery store'), and they advertise that they will send your ISDN setup information to Pacific Bell and contact Internex (an ISP) to set up your Internet account.

I made my purchase on Friday the 13th, so things went less than smoothly.  Fry's never ended up sending the information (after wasting too much time arguing with them, I did it myself), and Internex couldn't get my account set up correctly for a couple of weeks.  (Anybody know a good ISP with a local POP for the Hayward, California area?)  Anyway, the moral of that story is to always keep all your receipts, and don't judge by price alone.  All SNAFU's aside, it took about 7 days from the time Pacific Bell received my order until my ISDN line was set up.  Setup time for Internex was around 7 days before I had something I could call into, and another 10 or so days before my e-mail accounts worked.  Normally, I would expect this to be only a couple of days total.

Out of the box, the first thing I noticed is that it looks very 'sexy'--sleek black plastic, rounded edges, lightweight, very small footprint.  It connects with a standard DB25 cable to the computer's serial port, has an RJ-45 ISDN jack, 2 RJ-11 POTS jacks, and comes with an RJ-45 to RJ-11 cable so you can use an existing wall jack.  Having been unable to locate the Windows based configuration software (it was hiding under some of the cardboard) I ended up configuring it by hand.  Using the information Pacific Bell left me when they set up the line, I easily configured it for NI-1 switch (National ISDN Type 1) and entered my directory numbers (telephone numbers) and SPIDs (ISDN identification numbers).  I then proceeded to configure my defaults (PPP protocol, no auto-answer, etc.) and save the configuration.  After plugging it into the wall, I attached the power cable (there is no power switch--it's meant to be left on all the time) and said a quick prayer to the network god.  After around a minute, the red LED switched to green, and I could dial out of either phone line!

To test your setup, Motorola has an ISDN BBS in Georgia.  I called there, sent an e-mail with my modem registration information, and downloaded the client software for their BBS.  The download ran at over 5000 cps using Zmodem!  Of course, I also noticed my CPU utilization sky-rocketing!  I had already figured on having to invest some more money in a speedy serial port, so I went out and purchased a Hayes ESP Serial Accelerator board.  This board is AMAZING!  Ray Gwinn's SIO drivers (available on ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/comm as SIO153.ZIP) support the card under OS/2, so I had no problem getting it to work.  Make sure you have the latest version of the IAK TCP/IP stack though, or it may not work with SIO installed.  Installation of the drivers was easy; there are plenty of good examples in the documentation.

Next was the 'hard' part: getting Warp's IAK to work properly with the "modem".  Figuring on walking before running, I decided to set it up for 64Kbps first.  I started the 'Dial Other Internet Provider' program, and clicked on the Add button.  The first mistake I made was giving the program too much information.  It only wants the required fields, filling in data in the other fields may cause it to not work.  For the response file field, I just entered 'NONE' since Internex uses PAP authentication.  All of the necessary information was provided by Internex in a fax they sent me (and was included with the Windows based TCP/IP software suite they sent): PAP username and password, TCP/IP address, protocol (which was PPP), Domain Name Server, News Server, e-mail server, e-mail POP accounts and passwords (I have an account for both my wife and I), and detailed setup instructions for some Windows based software setup.  After saving the configuration, all that was needed was a click on the Dial button and POOF instant Warp Speed!  For an objective observer, I called my wife into the room to show her how fast Web pages were.  She let out a gratifying, "WOW!" as the graphics sprang onto the screen.

Getting 128Kbps working proved more difficult.  The BitSurfR requires you to put an '&' in the dial string, which the IAK will not allow.  Eventually, after a frustrating amount of time fiddling, I ended up making a response file to do the dialing for me.  Putting the file in \tcpip\bin and putting the name in the response file section yielded good results.

Most Internet sites are still pretty slow, so speed increases aren't always dramatic but I suppose it would be radically different if I were surfing at 3:00 in the morning.  Since my current ISP charges by each '64Kbps hour' I am only using it at 64Kbps to conserve on-line time.

And the best part is, all of the bundled OS/2 IAK software works beautifully (with the exception of Ultimail/2 Lite--I bought Post Road Mailer a month ago and stopped using Ultimail because it was too slow), and is included free with OS/2!  This makes OS/2 the ideal one-stop Internet solution.  With the power of OS/2 and the speed of an ISDN line, I am now routinely getting the most out of my online time--simultaneous FTPing, Web Browsing, News Reading and e-mail checking--all at Warp Speed!

-----

Tash Hepting (tashh@pcgate.fpn.com).

*****

The CompuServe Problem	- by Steven Atchue

In the next issue of OS/2 e-Zine! we will be featuring on-line service providers.  The big three, America Online, Prodigy and CompuServe--along with a few others--will be reviewed.  While researching for these articles I discovered that to date the only on-line service that provides native OS/2 connection software for its users is CompuServe.  CompuServe Information Service is the largest commercial on-line services in the world and they acknowledge the significant number of OS/2 users with the OS/2 CompuServe Information Manager (OS2CIM).
  
Until now.
  
I recently unearthed some alarming news: according to many sources, including OS/2 forum Sysop, Irv Spalten, CompuServe is currently reevaluating its development and support strategy for OS2CIM.  Spalten states, "CIS, like other companies is resource constrained."  Resources
are always needed for many tasks, and sometimes reassigning or combining resources is necessary.  OS2CIM is one area under consideration for reassignment.  Spalten also stated, "OS2CIM has a better than equal chance of surviving.  Still, take nothing for granted.  If you feel CIS must support OS2CIM, please let them know." 

Take nothing for granted, indeed.  A short time later, Bob Massey, CompuServe CEO, through a spokesperson, Kathryn Runge from Customer Relations, stated, "At this time, CompuServe will not be developing or releasing new upgrades to our CIM for OS/2(tm) line of interface products."
  
CompuServe had been running a survey about its OS2CIM software.  The outcome of the survey seems to have decided the direction of CompuServe's future OS/2 development.  However, you may be able to still participate in this survey by typing GO OSSURV on CompuServe.  The issue at stake with this survey goes way beyond CompuServe!  CompuServe's development in the OS/2 arena not only reinforces the confidence of present OS/2 ISV's, it also proves that there is a stable and growing user base.  It helps guarantee recognition that OS/2 is a viable platform.

CIS has notably had many problems with its OS2CIM software; message threads in many forums attest to the fact OS2CIM needs to be overhauled.  These problems, and the fact that native OS/2 software is mandatory for OS/2 users, must be communicated to CompuServe and the way to do it is e-mail them or fill out surveys that are available.
  
The new WinCim 2.1 (Windows version) is superior in features to the OS2CIM in that it allows full Internet access without re-dialing to connect.  WinCim's new socketed feature also allows users to log onto CompuServe even if they are connected to a private ISP.

Another good example of poor OS2CIM support is the filing cabinet (FC) problem which has plagued users since OS2CIM was first released.  This causes many problems.  Firstly, you cannot file any messages so you must read them on-line (which racks up charges).  Secondly, you cannot read messages that you filed before the FC started acting up so you must search for them on-line (racking up yet more charges).  The problem of the filing cabinet is widely evident by the number of postings in the OS2CIM forums. Still the support staff treats them like they are first reports whenever inquiries come in.  If you are lucky enough to get an OS/2 guru they seem moderately knowledgeable, but their solution usually involves deleting your whole database and starting over.  This problem has been semi-fixed with an interim release (2.0.3), but not solved.
  
This problem, in addition to some other major functionality differences between WinCim and OS2CIM, shows a fundamental lack of support for OS/2 users, present and future, of CompuServe.  The OS/2 version of the CIM just doesn't have these types of features.  Let's stop this right here!  We, all of us OS/2 users, have to wake some people up!

If you use CompuServe you can support OS/2 in numerous ways.  Many vendors have forums and services that are available to OS/2 users including a free OS2CIM forum.  Various vendors (OS/2 and non) provide updates and support that are necessary for many people (professional and non).  IBM officially supports numerous OS/2 forums and messaging areas for its OS/2 user base, including one for Team OS/2.  Another way to show support and maybe help out some OS/2 vendors is to send comments to "Downloadable Notables".  Downloadable notes is a monthly review of interesting programs on CIS.

If you feel CIS must support OS2CIM, let them know!  Just send a message or call to show your support for an OS/2 version.  If we barrage them with mail, they can't ignore us.  Please remember to emphasize that native (OS/2) software and support is important to you and to be polite and direct.

Other than the problems I pointed out, there really is a great wealth of info and support available on CompuServe.  Lets hope they keep supporting OS/2.

-----

To contact CompuServe call 800-848-8990

CEO - Bob Massey: 70003,1371
Executive Vice President - Alexander B. Trevor: 70000,130
Vice President, Consumer Market - Scott Kauffman:   70003,6706
Vice President, Product Marketing - Kevin Knott: 70000,1110
Consumer Relations: 70006,101

CompuServe users can also use these services

71154,74 for 'Downloadable Notes'
GO FEEDBACK		for input on all subject
GO OSSURV		OS2 survey
GO MEMINFO		Member user Info survey
GO IBMOS2		OS2 forums
GO OS2VEN		OS2 vendors forum
GO CISCENTER		Let us know option
GO BETA1		Beta test CIS software
GO CANOPUS		Canopus research "Will Zachman"
GO STARDOCK		SDS's new forum

-----

Steven Atchue (satchue@ultranet.com) has been in the computer industry since the birth of the AT.  Currently, he is doing product reviews, freelance writing and for fun he is building his own house.  Steve can also be reached on CompuServe (75250,3726).

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One WARPed User and a New Aptiva        - by Alan Levy

My parents had procrastinated to the very end, but they finally had no other option.  They could no longer run the family business without the aid of a computer.  I, being the most computer literate of the bunch, was charged with the responsibility of investigating what was out there and making a report.  In typical Levy fashion we all sat down to finalize those important decisions: which one to buy, what options to get, and more importantly, how much it would cost.  I said that since I would be the one providing ongoing technical support for the new system, it would be only logical that I should pick the operating environment.  Being a Loyal OS/2 WARP user there really was no other option; I informed them that our new box would run OS/2 Warp Connect.  My parents who had watched me tinker with computers for years, said nothing.  The lone objection came from my brother.  His apprehensions were overcome by an evil stare from my mother, and a quick yes to the question that OS/2 would run 99% of the Windows applications on the market.  Next came the harder sell.  Advocating the purchase of an IBM Aptiva M70.

For the previous month or so I conducted daily research into what would be the best, most cost effective system to purchase.  My research consisted of rereading every computer magazine back issue I could get my hands on and of consulting everyone who would share their opinion.  And speaking with IBM employee and OS/2 guru, Timothy Sipples.  He suggested that I look at the IBM Aptiva M70.  I did what he said, and boy was I surprised what I found.  It comes pre-loaded with everything under the sun including an Mwave processor for sound and telephony, OS/2 Warp and Voice Dictation version 1.20.

For those of you who are not familiar with Voice Dictation, it is a true computer wonder program.  Before the latest release, it would take a separate card and an extra $499 to get the program to work.  But version 1.20 utilizes the Mwave chip built into the Aptiva.  No extra card is required.  The program is truly amazing, it allows people to simply talk at their computer and have it work for them, from navigating the desktop and creating and editing files, to true, discrete voice dictation.  No mouse clicking to figure out, no keyboard hot-keys to learn--just talk and work.  Because the program seamlessly integrates with the desktop, I thought it would be perfect for my computer illiterate parents.

I told everyone about the Aptiva: the specifications, what software it comes pre-loaded with and about the Voice Dictation system.  After they heard the price, they were impressed with everything they were getting.  Everyone agreed that no other computer could do what the Aptiva does, at the price.  We took a simple vote, and it was agreed that the Aptiva would be the first computer of their business.  All that was required was for me to place an order, and wait for it to be delivered.  This is where the problems began.

One would think that such a great computer loaded with so much would be readily available in the marketplace.  Such was not the case.  I was surprised to find out that IBM makes two versions of the same box one called the M70 (the one that I wanted), and one called the M71 (the one I didn't).  The two systems are almost identical; both have Pentium 133 processors, 16MB of memory, a 1.6 Gig hard drive, and of course the Mwave processor.  The M71 comes pre-loaded with Win 95, a less capable microphone, and no Voice Dictation software (only voice navigation of the program manager or whatever Microsoft calls it these days).  The M70 comes pre-loaded with DOS 7.0/Windows 3.1, OS/2 Warp and the Voice Dictation software mentioned above.

Now we come to the complicated part.  I called the IBM PC Company to place my order.  Before I spoke to a live person, an automated message informed me that the company has since stopped taking orders for the Aptiva.  The message said that I must purchase my new Aptiva locally.  The system then transferred me to a dealer locator service which gave me the name, but not phone numbers (come on IBM get with it!) of two local PC stores in my area.  Living in a major U.S. city (Chicago) I thought that my task would still be a simple one.  It turned out to be anything but!  I called the two stores that IBM referred me to, and neither had heard of an M70 Aptiva, but both were glad to sell me an M71.  Not easily discouraged, I decided to call two major mail order outlets based in and around Chicago.  Both said that the IBM Aptiva M70 had been replaced by the M71.  I was in shock and getting angrier by the moment!  How could IBM shoot itself in the foot, and abandon OS/2?  Over the next week I spent every free moment calling every PC store listed in my Yellow Pages, with no better results.

Frustrated I called the IBM PC Company again, and spoke to a sales representative.  He informed me that the Aptiva M70 was not discontinued.  I asked why I couldn't find any M70s in the stores and he said that the IBM PC Company (in its infinite wisdom) decided, that everyone would be jumping on the Windows 95 bandwagon, and leaving OS/2.  So they only produced a limited number of M70s and an over abundance of M71s.  Infuriated, I asked to be transferred to his supervisor.

The supervisor was a bit more informed.  He told me that IBM was still producing, and selling the Aptiva M70 (I breathed a sigh of relief) but that the IBM PC Company would be the only one selling that Model.  I asked why they were selling the M71 and not the M70 in the retail stores?  The supervisor said that Lou Gerstner, Chairman of IBM, had made a decision that OS/2 was to be a corporate ONLY operating system.  It would therefore not be pre-loaded on the Aptiva (home-line) except for the M70, which again he said they would sell, if they had any to sell.  I said that all the Aptiva commercials show OS/2 Warp, and not Windows 95.  He said that was nice, but that he didn't make the rules.  He did offer to put me on a pre-pre-order list for the M70, which I reluctantly agreed to.  Finally, he said it would be late December or early January before I could expect to get my hands on the computer.

As of the writing of this article I have not been contacted by any IBM PC Company employee regarding the purchase of a new OS/2 loaded Aptiva.  Further, in an effort to hedge my bet, I have also started looking for a suitable replacement for the M70.

IBM and its employees have for years said OS/2 is the best, most technically advanced operating system on the market.  As a true advocate of OS/2 I tend to agree with that statement, but episodes like this one make me question my resolve to stay with and promote OS/2.  IBM said months ago that they would offer OS/2 on all PCs, and suitably equipped laptops they sell.  It seems like this, as so many other strategies to promote OS/2, has been dropped or pushed to the side in favor of a newer, "better" strategy.  As an OS/2 user and advocate, it is increasingly difficult for me to advocate the use of OS/2 if IBM can't even preload it on their own PCs.  Don't take this the wrong way, I will still continue to
use and promote OS/2, but if IBM can't get itself organized, I will just have to shop elsewhere.

**editor's note:  There's a postscript to this story: one week ago, Alan placed an order with IBM Direct for an Aptiva M70.  It has yet to arrive, but they say it will come any day.  Hopefully by the time you read this, his family will be happily using their new system--and OS/2.

-----

Alan Levy (http://www.mcs.net/~levy/home.html) is a 28 year old attorney and Mid-West Director for a company that teaches recent law school graduates how to pass their BAR exam.  He is a member of Team OS/2, and has been for four years now.

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Coming up next time			- on the Web January 31, 1996


Reviews

* Commercial On-Line Services
	In-depth reviews of the major commercial on-line services and what they have to offer 	the OS/2 user.
* File Managers
	A complete look at old favourites and hot new contenders for all your file management 	needs.
* Games
	The Buzz on Avarice Preview and Galactic Civilizations v2!
* Books
	Our reviewer looks at OS/2 Warp Programming For Dummies to see if dummies can 	really learn to program.


Features

* The Fixpack Question
	Get your fixpack fix--what are they, where are they, who are they for and should you 	bother?

* The COMDEX PacRim Report
	A gut-buster COMDEX PacRim special, with news and action reports from one the the 	biggest, hotest hotbeds of OS/2 activity in North America.

* Voice Mail Software
	Rev up your small office/home office answering system to big-business levels with 	native OS/2 telephony software.


Interview

* Janet Gobeille
	A casual conversation at COMDEX PacRim with Team OS/2's ex-fairy godmother about 	life after Team OS/2, IBM, the OS Wars and, of course, the future of OS/2.


All the regular stuff

The Rants		the Beta File
The Rave		the REXX Column
Your Letters		Heath's Tips
	AND MUCH MORE!


What Else?:

What else would you like to see covered in the next issue?  It's not too late to let us know!

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Copyright 1995 - 1996   -   Haligonian Media  		ISSN 1203-5696
