The Hitchhiker's Guide To OS/2 - Issue 10
The HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2
About the Guide
The Hitchhiker's Guide To OS/2
Issue #10
Published On 1/20/95
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:
Steve Dudas
sdudas@austin.onu.edu
Special Thanks go to Dr. V. Phaniraj for letting me know about wp2ipf/2.
Which is the program that makes this publication possible.
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 hobbes.nmsu.edu
look in /os2/incoming/hhgos2#.zip
every other Saturday for a new release or look in /os2/32bit/info/newsltr/hhgos2_#.zip For back issues.
The .zip file will contain both a .txt and the .inf version of the HHGOS2.
OS/2 In the NEWS
New Warp APAR List
IBM has published a new list of APARs (I.E. Known bugs in Warp) The document is in the form of a .inf file and can be ftp'd from software.watson.ibm.com. The filename is 30apr1.zip. If you click on the bug, a full summary of the problem and any known workarounds or patches will be listed.
On a similar note IBM is expected to release a patch for the Warp code at the same time the Warp fullpack is released. Watch for it on the IBM ftp site, software.watson.ibm.com.
OS/2 Warp Worldwide Shipments Reach One Million
SYDNEY, Australia, Jan. 18, 1995 . . . IBM announced that OS/2 Warp has shipped more than 1 million copies worldwide since its availability in November 1994, at a press conference here today.
"It's exciting to see the momentum," said Dan Lautenbach, vice president of IBM's Personal Software Products division. "OS/2 Warp has been a big seller in retail markets around the world, topping software sales charts during the holiday season in several countries. What's more, we're seeing return rates running at less than one tenth of a percent, which attests to the product's high quality."
Osborne begins exclusively pre-loading Warp and PC-DOS
IBM has announced that Australia's largest PC manufacturer, Osborne, will standardize on an IBM software platform for their entire PC line. Effective immediately, Osborne will ship IBM PC DOS and OS/2 Warp as the standard PC operating system platform, replacing Microsoft DOS and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Today's agreement follows recent announcements from German PC vendors Vobis, Escom and Comtech to preload OS/2 Warp on their PCs. Together these companies' sales account for more than 40 percent of the German PC market. OS/2 Warp is also preloaded on IBM PC Company's PC 300, 700, ThinkPad 360 and 755C as well as systems built by CompuAdd, Toshiba, and others.
Yet another Intel Chip problem
This its the Saturn motherboard chipset. The problems appear on 486 PCI/VESA/ISA motherboards with chips in the following series, 82378, 82423, and 82424. To this date Intel is NOT replacing these chips. They will however allow you to buy updated chips.
The problems involve flaky interrupt handling. If you only use DOS the problem won't affect you much. However in an OS such as OS/2 where interrupts are handling much differently the problems can be chronic and seriously affect system stability.
To avoid this problem insure that any motherboard you buy only uses the ARES chipset.
New #9GXE64 drivers
Number Nine Computer has released new GXE64 OS/2 drivers. The drivers are S3 2.2 864 and 964 drivers re-worked to perform better with the AT&T RAM DAC on the GXE64. The driver pack also included a PM refresh utility. Contact #9 for updated drivers or look on hobbes.nmsu.edu. They may be uploaded there.
OS/2 SoftWare Review
This Issue's Review Goes to: ZAP O' COM(ZOC) V 2.00
Zap O' Com is about the best terminal program available for OS/2. Upon installing Warp I started with the HA/Lite Terminal program, but I found that was unstable and slow on my system. At this time I decided to try ZOC. ZOC was excellent, it provided features that I had never even thought of. Such as automatic font sizing based on the size of the window.
One item I would have liked would be setup strings for different modem types. I was forced to build a init string from my modem manual, and considering the pamphlets that come with most modems this was no easy task.
Other than that the program is fantastic. Written by Markus Schmidt, its obvious that he has had much experience with communication programs. While some may not like the constant reminders to register I think the quality of the program warrants it.
To try it for yourself ftp zoc20#.zip from hobbes.nmsu.edu.
OS/2 NetSurfing!
This section is dedicated to bringing you information on the finest OS/2 internet resources and how to access them. A list of Web sites, ftp sites, newsgroups and other resources which have usefull OS/2 information are listed in the OS/2 Internet Resource List.
This Weeks Feature:
The OS/2 Warp Pharmacy
found at:
http://www.zeta.org.au/~jon/WarpPharmacy.html
The Warp Pharmacy provides a wealth of information regarding hardware and software incompatibilites with Warp. The pharmacy is an invaluable source that should be consulted before making any purchases. The pharmacy is updated regularly and contains very accuarate information. A definite must browse.
OS/2 Internet Resource List
Ftp sites:
Official IBM site. EWS (Employee Written Software) and latest patches are distributed here.
software.watson.ibm.com
Walnut Creek Hobbes OS/2 Archive
ftp-os2.cdrom.com /os2
MUENCHEN German OS/2 Archive
ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/coomp/os/os2
Multi-site address. If main German sites are busy a mirror is automatically used. Very current with regard to Unix and GNU ports.
ftp.leo.org /pub/comp/os/os2
NMSU OS/2 Area
ftp-os2.nmsu.edu /pub/os2
Trosm, Norway FTP Site
ftp.cs.uit.no /pub/os2
Sweden's University of Luleo OS/2 Archive
ftp:luth.se /pub/os2
Brazil's University of Campinas OS/2 repository
ftp.unicamp.br /pub/os2
WWW sites:
IBM's main home page is located at:
http://www.ibm.com/
IBM's Personal Software Products
http://www.ibm.com/pspinfo/
IBM's OS/2 Homepage
http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/os2.html
IBM Internet Connection
http://www01.ny.us.ibm.net/
Almaden Research Center
http://www-i/almaden.ibm.com/
IBM International Technical Support (Redbooks)
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/
IBM Networking
http://www.raleigh/ibm.com/nethome.html/
IBM PC Software Direct
http://www.ibmlink.ibm.com/pcdirect/
IBM Personal Computers
http://www.pcco.ibm.com/files.html
Walnut Creek Archive WWW Interface
http://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/os2
MIT OS/2 Web Page
http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/os2/os2world.html/
California Institute of Technology
http://www.ccsf.caltech.edu/~kasturi/os2.html
Northern NJ Team OS/2 Web Server
http://www.intac.com/nnjos2/nnjos2ug.html
University of Trosm, Norway
http://www.cs.uit.no/os2/index.html
UIUC OS/2 Home Page
http://www.cen.uiuc.edu/~rs9678/raj.html
The Internet Relay Chat #OS/2 Home Page
http://venus.ee.ndsu.nodak.edu/os2/index.html
OS/2 Warp Pharmacy
http://www.zeta.org.au/~jon/WarpPharmacy.html
OS/2 Software Library
http://www.state.ky.us/software/os2.html / IBM FTP Sites
OS/2 Interactive Chat sessions:
IRC Channel:
Join #OS/2 on the Internet Relay Chat system for lively OS/2 discussions.
Open Forum:
telnet to james.ccnet.com port 5555
This is a permanent OS2Chat server.
Read News:
bit.listserv.os2-l
comp.binaries.os2
comp.os.os2
comp.os.os2.advocacy
comp.os.os2.announce
comp.os.os2.apps
comp.os.os2.beta
comp.os.os2.bugs
comp.os.os2.games
comp.os.os2.misc
comp.os.os2.multimedia
comp.os.os2.networking
comp.os.os2.networking.misc
comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip
comp.os.os2.programmer
comp.os.os2.programmer.misc
comp.os.os2.programmer.oop
comp.os.os2.programmer.porting
comp.os.os2.programmer.tools
comp.os.os2.setup
comp.os.os2.ver1x
comp.lang.rexx
NOTE: This list may never be complete. If you have any updates or additions please e-mail me at sdudas@austin.onu.edu.
Portions of this list are based on the document: "IBM's Worldwide Electronic Resources" by: Vicci Conway, IBM/PSP Bulletin Board Programs Manager Internet: vicci@vnet.ibm.com - CompuServe: 76711,1123
OS/2 Tips and Hints
So you got Warped... but did you get DIVEd as well? DIVE is a video extension which allows for much faster PM animation. Thus making programs such as Doom/2 possible. The only pitfall is that not all OS/2 video drivers support DIVE. Before going out and buying DOOM/2 (once it is released) check to be sure your card and your drivers do. To do this ftp a program called divedemo.zip from hobbes.nmsu.edu. The program is under /os2/ 32bit/graphics I believe. If it runs correctly you are all set. If not think about upgrading your hardware to something that already supports DIVE.
Note: Even if you do not play games, most OS/2 PM programs that are video intensive such as PMMPEG are moving to DIVE, so it may be worth your while anyways.
Trivia Question
Last issues trivia question:
Linux is fast becoming a leading choice when building a low budget unix box.
Who started the Linux project and why?
The project was started by Linus Torvalds, it was started as an experiment in OS construction and ended up being a full blown Unix OS.
This weeks trivia question:
What very succesfull computer firm was started by Tedd Waitte in 1985 with $10,000 and run off an Iowa farm?
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