
IBM OS/2 FOR YOU?  by Mel Morganstein

If IBM's 32 bit multi-tasking, graphical-interface, "drag-and-drop"
operating system OS/2 2.1 doesn't sound pretty exciting to you, it
could be one of four reasons:
  You're not interested in personal computers at all....so why are
you reading this??
 You stick with that archaic operating system called "DOS" 
because you're simply reluctant to change. (Maybe you just don't
know what better things are out there and available for you.)
  You are afraid you don't have the right hardware. (Although
OS/2's requirements are probably not as "tough" as you think!)
  You DO keep up with the latest about personal computers, but the
software articles are, as appears far too often to be the case,
written by authors who just rehash the smoke-and-mirrors marketing
hype put out by IBM's competition. 

I really began to understand IBM OS/2, and the public's perception
of it, a few months ago when I attended a "shootout" demo sponsored
by Bohdan Associates between OS/2 version 2.1 and Microsoft's much
delayed "Windows NT." Both were full-blown 32 bit operating systems
(or OS) designed to exploit the capabilities of the 32 bit 386 (or
either 486 or "Pentium") processors.

NT was Microsoft's claimed answer to IBM's OS/2 and to the
shortcomings of their own Windows 3.1 "operating system." (Note:
Despite Microsoft's advertising hype after the release of OS/2 2.0
that their regular Windows was an "operating system," it was
definitely NOT one! It is only a multitasking, dynamic-data-
linking, graphics shell for the plain old 16 bit DOS operating
system originally designed for 8088 or 80286 chips. It thus cannot
take full advantage of contemporary PC processors.) OS/2 2.1 had
evolved from an original version (1.0) developed by Microsoft and
IBM, and crippled by IBM's insistence that it run with the obsolete
286 processor; along with an earlier 386 version 2.0 that was a
quantum leap forward, but still short on being compatible with a
lot of existing hardware.

At the time the demo, I had been using Quarterdeck's Desqview to
run several DOS programs simultaneously, and used Windows 3.1 only
when I had to run Windows apps. In both systems, multitasking could
be very slow since I was still running "on top" of archaic, 16 bit
DOS, and the software had to play awkward swapping "games" to do
so. I also had to play more games with memory manager software to
get applications to work well under this scheme. I was looking for
a real from-the-ground-up multi-tasking operating system to replace
these software amalgamations! I planned to first install my new OS
in my 386/40 MHz PC at home; and then on my PC at ARL as soon as
practicable, since it was plain shame to continue crippling either
with an obsolete OS. OS/2 2.1 and NT were the two possible replace-
ments.

Although the release of NT had been repeatedly delayed, MS was able
to maintain public interest in their unreleased product by keeping
it dangling before the computer public...much like a carrot before
a mule. Much of the interest was stirred by supposedly unbiased
writers for computer mags. During the many months when the release
of NT was "imminent," these authors, whom the public depends on for
information, had been issuing forth a stream of glowing "reviews"
of the product. I noticed they were often written in the current
tense as if the product were available to the public. The maga-
zines, who collected lots of bucks from advertising, seemed to me
to be suspiciously short on criticism and overly long on compli-
ments. (At the same time, many comparable reviews of already-
released OS/2 were often nitpicky, and just the opposite. More
importantly, many OS/2 "reviews" were VERY different from the VERY
positive findings coming from the actual OS/2 users I knew.)

Specifically, the compliments from NT reviewers were frequently on
what I felt were inconsequential features like "C2 Security." (Even
in our secure Army research lab, less than 5% of the PC's need this
level of security!) Reviewers often made much of NT's built-in net-
working capability and OS/2's lack of it, overlooking the fact that
this feature is unneeded by most users! Often "overlooked" were big
shortcomings in NT, even when they affected ALL users, such as the
old Windows user interface. If it was so satisfactory, why was
there such a big market created in extra-cost add-ons such as
Norton Desktop that improved the Windows interface, i.e., to a
point where it approached the highly user-acclaimed, standard out-
of-the-box OS/2 workplace shell or "Desktop." (In fact, if Windows
is so darn intuitive and easy to use, why are training companies
offering courses on using the program that are several days in
length and cost $495 or more??)

Back to the "Shootout" where I could see both first hand...In the
"information" packet passed out by a team of Microsoft reps at the
OS/2-Windows NT "duel" was an extensive report on OS/2 2.1 that
delineated detailed "facts" about all the various important things
that IBM's operating program supposedly couldn't do. This revela-
tion from Redmond also described the wonderful things their still
yet-to-be-released Windows NT ostensibly could do. From this docu-
ment, NT appeared to have it all out over OS/2.

However, during his time at bat, the IBM rep proceeded to demon-
strate that the Microsoft "fact" sheet was "in fact" filled with
numerous factual errors! The demonstrator took much pleasure at
blowing away the audience with capabilities that Microsoft claimed
IBM's OS/2 2.1 did not have. This included actively linking
different programs and files so that a change to the data in one
program, in a spreadsheet, was instantly reflected in a graph added
to a document created in a different program, i.e., a word-process-
er. This was the new world of Dynamic Data linking! Despite the
claim that OS/2 stumbled on Multimedia, the REAL OS/2 2.1 played
two separate sound-animation programs at one time.

When I questioned how a company like Microsoft could make
statements and comparative claims that were demonstratably untrue,
the IBM rep also took pains to point out to everyone that the last
page of Microsoft's "fact" pamphlet. On it was a VERY fine-print
disclaimer that insisted that MS was not responsible for the
accuracy of the claims that the company had printed in its very own
publication! (Lawyers CAN get creative, can't they?) The IBM rep
went on to also note that this document had gone several itera-
tions. Each time IBM would complain, he said, Microsoft went
through the motions of pulling it from circulation, only to be
reissued shortly thereafter with some changes. The answer by Micro-
soft's Windows NT demonstrator was to not respond to this.

When run, Windows NT looked like the Windows 3.1 that resided on my
PC at home; and, unfortunately, was about as slow for DOS and WIN
apps! It also hung up on the demonstrator a couple of times, right
before our eyes. (According to tests, Window's NT, when it was
finally released two weeks later, requires about 20 Megs of RAM,
about 70 Megs of hard-drive territory. As opposed to OS/2, NT runs
DOS and even MS's own Windows 3.1 programs about 20 to 30% slower.)
In contrast to Microsoft's very competent, top-notch application
programs like: Excel (spreadsheet), Access database, and Word,
their operating systems left me with a LOT to desire!

Another "shootout" sponsored by the Houston Area (Computer) League
also pitted NT against OS/2. This time, the demo was videotaped by
the League for the world to see, and I had the good fortune to also
see the unexpurgitated original. The contrast between the products
was so evident that afterwards, a poll of the audience  of 1,300
showed it overwhelmingly in favor of buying OS/2 (About 1/2 for
OS/2; 2-5 people for NT) As a result, Microsoft apparently demanded
that the Windows demo portion be removed. (I have heard both that
the firm disavowed the NT demonstrator and also insisted that the
slides he showed were copyrighted by them and could not be repro-
duced on videotape.) The response, I hear, was to redo the tape
with Microsoft's portion edited and replaced with a title which
read to the effect: "Deleted at the Request of Microsoft!" Needless
to say, it seems to me that this little ploy by the "Ministry of
Truth" can only backfire! According to messages on the OS2 bulletin
board (BBS), Microsoft dealt with another shootout between NT and
OS/2, scheduled by the Vancouver, B.C. User Group, by cancelling
out shortly before the event. IBM was forced to "go it alone!"

On the basis of the shootout, other demos, and many personal
recommendations from users, OS/2 2.1 now resides on my 386-40 MHz
desktop computer at home. Unused is my Desqview and Microsoft
Windows 3.1 that merely sit on top of aged, crippled DOS that we
know and often get frustrated with.  Gone are my old computer
memory problems, the clutzy program and file management, most of
the application hangups (particularly with WIN), and a system that
slowed to a crawl when I ran simple DOS programs. With 16 Megs of
RAM memory (IBM recommends a minimum of 8 and a 386SX), I have a
single operating system that runs both DOS and WIN programs better
than either! Even if I NEVER use native OS/2 programs, I am STILL
far ahead with intuitive OS/2 with its built-in memory control,
caching, and "tunable" print spooler that returns control back to
me soon after I start the printing operation. No more do I play
complicated games with QEMM, EMM or any other memory manager trying
to eke out little bits of additional "HI" memory to get my programs
to run properly. OS/2 takes care of ALL of that.... automatically!

To give you an example of what OS/2 can do: I keep the financial
records for our synagogue that includes member records in a
database and accounting records for the temple in Quicken; and I
run them simultaneously. The latter has a "Quickfill" feature that
actively searches both a built-in database and past records to
match and help fill in the payees as I type them in. Under DOS-
Desqview, the program slows to a crawl as Quicken searches
literally hundreds of records for matches. (At times, it might take
5 seconds or more before it will allow me to type in the next
letter of the name.) Under OS/2 2.1, all of that went away!!

Deferring discussion of the intuitive and powerful graphical inter-
face for now, let's look at OS/2's computing power. Despite the
name, OS/2 is not HALF of an operating system. It is basically the
first every-person's 32 bit desktop PC OS that can take full
advantage of the power of the 80386 processor chip. Unlike DOS (MS-
or PC-) which cannot address (i.e., directly work with) more than
one Meg of memory, OS/2 can handle at least 4 GIGABytes of total
physical memory. (If it doesn't find the RAM memory, it goes after
hard-drive storage memory and uses that. (The latter is called
"virtual" memory.) In a DOS session, OS/2 can access 730 KBytes of
conventional memory, 512 MB of DPMI memory, 32 MB of EMS 4.0
(ExPANDed Memory), and 16 MB of XMS 2.0 (ExTENDed memory). In an
OS/2 Session, it can access a total of 512 MB of memory.

OS/2 thus has the power to manage over FIVE HUNDRED (500) indivi-
dual program sessions or "Virtual DOS Machines" (VDM's) at one
time, depending on how much total memory is available. With OS/2,
you can run DOS, Windows, or fast, powerful 32 bit "native" pro-
grams written specifically for OS/2. (The latter will run up to 60%
faster, and, in contrast to untrue claims, there are MANY of these
available. Lotus just released a suite of application programs for
OS/2.) This OS can be set to continue using the FAT file system, or
its own "High Performance File System," HPFS, at your option.

Because of OS/2's solid control over RAM, sessions are independent
or "protected" from one another! Gone are the dreaded "General
Protection Faults," that popped up so regularly with MS Windows
because of its primitive memory-management. If a program
misbehaves, <Ctrl-Esc > brings up the Task List, just like with
Windows. OS/2 will sometimes fix the "problem" on its own if you
leave it alone to work for a bit. If not, RIGHT-click on the app,
select "Close," and OS/2 will shut down the troublemaker for you.
Some times, the offending app will remain unusable, but that
doesn't stop you from using your other programs. On the next
bootup, OS/2 will automatically load up that application, fully
running, so you can pick up where you left off, or exit normally at
your option.

With OS/2, multiple Windows programs can be run in the same session
just like you do now in Windows 3.1; and, if certain programs are
misbehavers, they can be run in their own individual protected ses-
sions. (You can also still run programs in common, in OS/2's
version of the WIN Program Manager, WIN-OS/2.) Further, to optimize
the WIN sessions, they can be individually set to run in either
"Enhanced" or in "Standard" mode. Even Microsoft's WIN 3.1 itself
can't do that! 

If that level of custom tailoring isn't enough, individual program
sessions can be set to run at a different screen resolutions--like
1024x768--for a graphic design program, load their own special DOS
device drivers for that session alone, effectively it's own virtual
CONFIG.SYS, or even run with a different version of DOS! These
include Ver. 3.3, 5.0 or 6.0 if that's what it takes to run an
older program properly.  You can even run a simulated Novelle DR-
DOS if you need to. Although you seldom need this feature, 55
different DOS setting areas are available IF you need it; along
with 20 Windows settings.) You can even load each session with its
own AUTOEXEC.BAT.

It is particularly delightful to take advantage of OS/2's "Pre-
emptive multi-tasking," a feature that not only lets you operate
several programs at once, it also means this OS is smart enough to
determine which computer resources need to be used where, and to
manage them. Thus, you can not only download files from a computer
bulletin board or format a floppy disk while STILL doing several
other jobs like word-processing, database, i.e., multi-tasking, you
can do so without slowing the computer down measurably! (Try that
with Windows 3.1 and you'll quickly learn what I am talking
about.!) 

If NOTHING else, the ability to keep several of your most-used
applications loaded all at once HAS to make you far more produc-
tive. At work, I could be writing a report in Wordperfect, and
access completely different database applications on my PC hard
drive, on my CD-ROM drive, and on the mainframe IBM 3090 in model
204 all at one time...while printing a spreadsheet! (With OS/2 2.1,
I can also send two different files from two different apps to two
different printers simultaneously!) 

OS/2 not only allows you to cut and paste blocks of information
from one app to another, you can set up automatic data-transfer
connections in Windows programs with dynamic-data-linking or DDE.
With these in place, a section in a report written in Wordperfect
for Windows document showing part of a spreadsheet and graph from
a Quattro Pro spreadsheet can be automatically updated when data in
the spreadsheet is changed. You can save a screen image as a .BMP
file and paste it into just about any file. If you choose to close
out OS/2 with some important applications still loaded, the OS will
reload them for you automatically the next time you boot up.

Your work can be made much easier with an "object-oriented" program
like IBM OS/2 where all programs, files, devices like printers,
etc. are just objects sitting where you want them, on a blank
screen called a "desktop," just like the things YOU work with can
sit on YOUR desk top! (For you MAC folks who might be out there
gloating, "Sorry!" The object-oriented user interface was NOT
invented by Apple; it was first thought up by two Swedes and
developed by Xerox at Palo Alto well before the MAC was born!) 

Previously, such an easy-to-use interface exacted a terrible burden
on computer power, and was not welcome to us IBM-type computer
folks used to fast, powerful performance. With the significant
increase in processor speeds, accelerated processor-speed graphics
cards, and the drop in the cost of memory (RAM memory is now about
$35 per Meg; hard-drive memory now about 80 cents per Meg), a
graphical connection to one's computer now becomes very workable. 

No description I can give is the same as seeing and working with
the OS/2 "drag-and-drop," user arrangable Desktop. Objects can be
out on the Desktop or placed into folders you create. You can also
create objects which are really "Shadow" clones of the "real"
objects that exist elsewhere. These objects can be executable
programs like your database, word-processor, etc, or data files
like documents, data tables or spreadsheets. They can also give you 
access to a powerful variety of Help, to a capable OS/2 text-
editor, or to accessories like a calculator, scheduler or alarm
clock, to your printers, to a file/directory "Shredder," or even to
a WIN-OS/2 object that lets you jump into a Windows-like Program
Manager if you wish.  

Your Windows programs can be run from inside the WIN "Program
Manager" session, or, along with your DOS programs, can remain like
files in their directories and run by double-clicking on them. You
can also copy them to the Desktop, left out in the "open" or placed
into folders, and run right from there if you wish. 

All of this "object-orientation" is wonderful, but does you NO good
when you cannot "muck around in the mud" like DOS folks are able to
do at a few taps of the keys. Unlike the MAC world where you are
largely S.O.L. when things go wrong, there is even an OS/2 Desktop
object that opens a DOS session in a moment, complete with the
good-old C> prompt. (Of course, you have to be capable of doing
more than just pointing at an "icon," clicking, and going "Ugh!" to
use this.) This is not a "Shell to DOS" as with Windows, it is an
integral part of OS/2.

For file management, the default "Drives" object is also an
integral part of the Desktop, unlike the Windows Files Manager that
hits me as being very separate from the Program Manager. Double-
click on Drives and it opens, revealing objects that represent all
your floppy or hard drives, CD-ROM, Bernoulli Drive, etc. These, or
ANY object, can also be copied or "shadowed" right out onto the
desktop or anywhere else convenient for you. Double-click on a
drive object, and you now see the contents of the drive. Objects
that represent files (program, data, configuration, etc.)  come in
a variety of shapes that represent the file type. Directories
appear as folder objects, which can, in turn, be opened to see more
objects in a hierarchal form as they are on real drives. Files and
directories can be viewed as arranged objects,  in a tree form, or
in word-list form like Windows, and arranged in several different
ways to suit YOU.

With this system, you move or copy files from one place to another,
i.e., from one drive to another, etc. by just dragging their
"icons" from one place and dropping onto another. Drag the object
representing a file over to a printer, "drop" it, and the file is
printed!  Drag a file or folder object to the "Shredder," and,
after the obligatory confirmation, the object is chewed to
oblivion. 

The objects can be laid out on your desktop, or stuffed into
folders you create and name. An individual folder can be named to
represent a specific project, like "M732" for example, and include
only DATA files, like the word processing docs, spreadsheets, and
databases associated with a particular project. (It's better to use
"Shadows" for data-file objects on the desktop.) Another folder can
contain those data-files for another project. Click on the folder
and you're into the project. Unlike old PC operations where you are
constrained to first loading the application, like Wordperfect, and
THEN finding and loading the document within Wordperfect, OS/2 lets
you work directly with the data-file. OS/2 allows you to tag a
data-file object like a document so that OS/2 "knows" under which
program it runs. Click on the data object, and OS/2 automatically
opens the application with the datafile file loaded!

In fact, via Settings a whole host of information and operations
can be attached to any object. Just click the RIGHT mouse button,
by convention to access the object's "properties," and up pops a
menu of choices specific for THAT object. Included with such
choices as Context Sensitive Help--which is also available by a
host of other ways, as well as Move, Copy, Create another, Delete, 
etc., there is also Open. Open allows you to either run the program
if it's a program object, or open the folder and view the contents
by your choice of method if it's a folder object.

In either case, "Open" gives you access to the OS/2 Settings
Notebook. Here in this amazing multi-page, tabbed book, you can 
enter your basic program settings such as file location, whether
it's full-screen or windowed, the settings I mentioned above, your
choice of object NAME unconstrained by the limited DOS 8+3 name,
and even the icon style you want to use. If you don't like the
default icon, open a folder of icon images you've collected, and
drag a copy from the folder and drop it on the old icon picture in
the notebook. Bingo, the icon is changed! You can even start an
icon editor if that is what it takes to give you what you want.

"Settings" can also be used to direct an application to work on
certain data files, the reverse of setting the datafiles. For
example, Open your C:\ZIP folder (Directory) and Right-Click on
PKUNZIP, open the Settings Book, and click on the ASSOCIATION tab
to jump to that page. In the "New Name" box, enter "*.ZIP" and then
click on the "Add" button. This tells PKUNZIP that when you double-
click on any file with a .ZIP extension, it should act on it, i.e.,
UNZIP it. You can also tell PKUNZIP where to put the unzipped files
by entering the name of that directory into the "Working Directory"
box on the "Program" page! If you haven't created this directory
yet, simply jump to the Desktop via the Tasklist or by <Alt-Esc>,
open the Templates folder, and drag a "Folder" object INTO the
C:\ZIP folder. Bingo, you've created a new directory! Name IT by
going into ITS Settings, and change the name from the default
"folder" to "ZIPTEMP" for example. Now, when you double-click on a
.ZIP file anywhere, even on a floppy, PKUNZIP unzips it and puts
the results in the C:\ZIP\ZIPTEMP directory. 

Help is always there for you. Along with an animated tutorial that
gives you an overview of OS/2, you have a "Start Here" that carries
you through the various basic tasks, context-sensitive help, a
glossary, a Master Help Index, and a command reference. Want to use
a command on the command line? Type it and a "?" and you are given
a graphical representation with full explanation of the command and
its "switches." Get an error message? Type the message number and
a "?,"  and like all of the help, you get a decent, easy-to-
understand explanation of what happened.

OS/2 2.1 can be purchased with its own, full-blown copy of Windows
3.1 included, or in a version called "OS/2 for Windows" at lower
cost that comes sans Microsoft Windows. In this version, which IBM
claims is now the largest selling software package in the U.S.,
(even more than Windows or DOS) OS/2 simply latches onto and works
with your existing installed MS Windows 3.1. You can purchase a
version that is all floppy diskettes, or one that uses a couple to
boot up and get the installation started, and a CD disk to provide
the rest. I strongly suggest the latter, since there are a LOT of
diskettes in the all floppy version. Minor program setup changes
are a snap with the CD; no diskettes to shuffle either. If you
don't have a CDROM, this might be the time to buy one and have it
installed. (You won't be disappointed once you begin to see the
incredible volume of fantastic referential and other material
available on CD-ROM!)

Installation is NOT as straightforward as Windows, and this is
perhaps the most bothersome part of the program. Often, it is only
because you are confronted with choices rather than having your
decisions made for you. I strongly suggest using the OS/2 "Boot
Manager" which permits you to boot up into a choice between OS/2
and your old DOS etc.. If you don't select one or the other, a 30
second timeout boots you into what you used previously. I must  say
that the procedure for setting up a special Boot Manager partition
had to be read several times before I comprehended what they were
talking about. Beyond that, a decent reading of the instructions is
MUCH recommended. You might also consider paying a dealer versed in
OS/2 to do this for you. (One of IBM's most short-sighted moves, I
feel, is to not provide at least their own brand PC's with OS/2
installed already!) 

One obviously biased reviewer really got into a big snit about the
fact that IBM presented you with a choice as to whether or not you
wanted to "Migrate" your existing programs to the desktop during
the installation, i.e., create Objects for them. He was bothered
because OS/2 searched all of the drives and listed all of the .COM,
.EXE. and .BAT files for him to deselect or not. The reviewer,
obviously tried to create a negative where there wasn't any, by
making a magilla of the fact that this was not done automatically
like in Windows. I could not help but question this man's candor
for only seeing the negative side. 

In fact, any unmigrated files can later be searched for and
migrated or not...at any time. (They can also be added by a Desktop
design feature called Templates, or even left alone and selected to
run by double-clicking on the object in the Drives folder.) The
point is, OS/2 gives YOU a host of choices. With a little bit of
homework on your part, they are not hard ones to make. While not as
effortless as the installations of either Windows, it seems OS/2
users are often way ahead when they are given the options. 

Because OS/2 is not yet fully supported by all hardware manufactur-
ers, there are some limits on the number of drivers, etc.,
available for the program. All this means is that you must exercise
some common sense in your selection of hardware. In most cases,
this usually means nothing more than staying away from odd-ball
hardware that happens to be cheap, but will also, eventually, make
you sorry you bought it! The problem is minimal with the 2.1
version of OS/2 since it comes with a much greater repertoire of
such software. Further, a lot of drivers are available directly
from the manufacturers, or from a rapidly growing library of free
and shareware on BBS's. (One of the best and greatest OS/2 BBS's is
right in suburban Virginia.) This caveat is, perhaps, the biggest
negative to OS/2 now. As for positives, there are too many to
overlook this marvelous operating system as YOUR operating system.

According to a recent article by John C. Dvorak, an internal
Microsoft marketing directive slipped to him by a "mole" in the
Redmond firm, made it very clear that Microsoft really has been
scared silly of OS/2 2.1, and is going to GREAT lengths to
discourage the public from even looking at the product since it
tends to sell itself when people have the opportunity see it. My
biggest regret therefore, is IBM's failure to push OEM installa-
tions of OS/2, even on it's own IBM and "Ambra" line PC's. (My
second biggest is its apparently less-than-necessary developer
support, particularly for Wordperfect and Borland products!)

A recent gushing review of Microsoft Windows NT in a national mag
actually demonstrated enough momentary forthrightness to suggest
that NT was not for readers who didn't need to network PC's. The
writer then proved he was incapable of honest reporting, for his
solution simply ignored the existence popular, reasonably-priced
OS/2 2.1! Rather than even mention IBM's existing product, this
evident shill told his readers to wait for Microsoft's promised
replacement for Windows 3.1, viz., "Windows 4" (Not only is the
release of this product apparently at least a year off, people who
have seen 4.0 have stated it looks just like the currently
available OS/2!) Here, with OS/2 2.1 "Up and Running" on the market
for over six months, with sales in 4th spot, with an upgraded
version 2.2 due by summer, and this character could only hype
unavailable vaporware!! (Am I being unreasonable in finding this
ludicrous, folks?) Maybe this secret salesman thinks the public
wants to chase carrots, but I don't think we do. Check out IBM's
OS/2. As Dr. Frankenstein said: "It alive!" 