The Hitchhiker's Guide To OS/2 - Issue 7
The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2
- About The Guide
- Read Me Please
- Here and Now
- SoftViews
- OS/2 Tips
- Trivia Question
- How to Submit
About The Guide
The Hitchhiker's Guide To OS/2
Issue #7
Published On 5/21/94
This guide is meant to give a concise report on current OS/2 events. Any and all contents are solely my opinion or the opinion of the noted author. Read on and I hope you enjoy another issue of the HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2.
Any Comments Regarding The Guide can be directed to:
Dr. V. Phaniraj phaniraj@badlands.nodak.edu
or
Steve Dudas sdudas@austin.onu.edu
Special Thanks go to Dr. V. Phaniraj for letting me know that wp2ipf/2 exists.
In you haven't guessed that is what this is done with.
Thanks to Kim Kruse Hansen for the great job he has done with this application.
Copies of the HHGOS2 will be available for anonymous ftp from ftp-os2.cdrom.com.
look in /pub/incoming/hhgos2_#.zip
every other Saturday for a new release or look in /pub/os2/2_x/info/newsltr/hhgos2_#.zip For back issues.
The .zip file will contain both a .txt and the .inf version of the HHGOS2.
Read Me Please
Due to circumstances beyond my control I will not be publishing the HHGOS2 over the summer. A good friend, and OS/2 zealot, Dr. V. Phaniraj, has agreed to take over the duties for the summer months. Any e-mail concerning the guide can be sent to him at phaniraj@badlands.nodak.edu. I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank RajV for taking over this duty. I will begin publishing again in 3 short months when I return to school.
Steve Dudas
sdudas@austin.onu.edu
Here and Now
It's been a very very busy week for all you OS/2ers out there!!
IBM has formally released the 2.11 CSD for OS/2 for Windows.
I use 2.1GA myself so I haven't tested an updated system, but I have not heard a single complaint about the CSD, so I assume it is another superior IBM product.
Blyth Software Inc. plans to ship its Omnis 7 client/server package for OS/2 sometime in the 3rd quarter.
IBM has decided to make the next OS/2 beta a WIDE one. Apparently the latest beta, OS/2 2.99 Beta 1, is available for download from the TalkLink OS2BBS. There have been a number of things revealed about this new version, here is a list of all that I know.
- IBM is apparently actually going to market this one right! They are calling it OS/2 3.0 once its released (You and I both know that 3.0 or 3.1 is a very magical number ). In IBM's case a new number is justified due to all the work. If they had gone from 2.11 to 6.0 I think I may start running AIX.
- They have revamped all the major sub-systems, from video to memory management. The net effect being that 2.99 runs "like a scalded dog" according to one IBMer. With these enhancements it also runs quite well in 4 megs of RAM.
- Win-32s support will be included in all new OS/2 versions. The OS/2 Personal, which will be the next major release, will come only without Windows Code. Hopefully there will be an upgrade path from 2.1GA.
- It has also been strongly hinted at that Stacker For OS/2 will come standard.
SoftViews
This weeks review goes to DCF/2. This is the only on the fly HPFS disk compression program that I am aware of. A beta copy of this program can be downloaded from ftp-os2.cdrom.com. The file name is dcf21b.zip. I installed it to a scratch drive that I have open for just such testing and have had no problems with it. Its a very smooth program and seems to be completely reliable.
One problem that has plagued DCF/2 since its introduction is performance. In the past, the program has been very slow and thus it was prohibitive to use it on anything but a very fast machine. This seems to have changed. To test it I installed Doom 1.1 to the compressed drive, figuring that this is one of the most disk intensive programs I have. While performance overall was down about 20% over running it uncompressed, it was very tolerable. For those deciding between new tires or a new Harddrive, get DCF/2 and a new set of GoodYears.
OS/2 Tips
This weeks tip is to use a little program called swvdisk.
This program produced by A:WARE Inc., of Mississauga Ontario, is a modified version of IBM's vdisk. This version allows OS/2 to create a dynamic RAMDrive. In effect, if a file is not using the space on the RAMDrive the system continues to use it as free RAM. This file named swvdisk2.zip can be found on ftp-os2.cdrom.com. I find it indispensable for temporary storage or when manipulating large chunks of data. Heck upgrade to 24 megs RAM and run DOOM off a RAMDrive!
Trivia Question
The weeks question is:
What small start-up firm is currently building / fabricating a P5 clone with a separate FPU? By the way it's not AMD, Cyrix, TI, or IBM. That's what make this tricky, although IBM may end up making chips for this firm.
And the answer to:
Why did Phillipe Kahn name his company Borland?
The company was named Borland after its location in Calif.
The company is located around a deep forest of giant Redwoods.
Borland is a celtic term for "land of deep forest".
How To Submit an Article
Please Include the following Information in all submissions.
- Your full name
- email-address
- Date article was completed on.
- A ONE sentence summary of the article.
- Articles must be in a zipped file. The text should be contained in a single ASCII text file. All graphics should be in the .bmp format and may be in 256 colors. About 300 x 300 is a good size.
- To make arrangements for any submissions contact phaniraj@badlands.nodak.edu
** I am unable to return any copies of articles sent to me **
