From the Editor: Authors--Our Greatest Resource

By Betty Hawkins



Personal Systems magazine is only as good as its authors, and we think they're pretty darned good. As a matter of fact, good enough to win regional and national awards from the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE)!

Todd Watson, who you know mostly for his light-hearted fun-poking at anything and everything, showed his very serious and technically competent side in the May/June 1994 issue with his "Wrightsizing at USAir" article. This thoroughly researched and well written article won first place in the case study category in the regional ASBPE contest and then went on to win at their national competition. We congratulate Todd, who has agreed to continue to contribute his special talents to Personal Systems even as he moves on to a new opportunity within IBM.

At the risk of appearing to pat ourselves on the back even more (which is exactly what we're doing!), we are pleased to tell you that Personal Systems' contents pages also won awards for design in ASBPE's regional and national competitions. Our thanks goes to Terry Pinkston of Corporate Graphics in Arlington, Texas for his clear, functional design of the contents page.

Database Focus
Another of Personal Systems' long-time authors, Nancy Miller, put her special touch on this issue. Thanks to her coordination efforts, as well as her written contributions, the features and enhancements of IBM's DB2 for OS/2 product are thoroughly documented in this issue.

Nancy brought together technical experts from IBM support centers in Dallas, Texas and Toronto, Canada to share their expertise with you. You'll find in-depth discussions on DB/2 performance, tools, recovery, connectivity, object-oriented programming, and much more. Of special interest is the voting kiosk application described in the Focus section. Think of the possibilities!

Success in New Orleans
We got to meet a lot of Personal Systems readers at IBM's Technical Interchange in New Orleans last month as they participated in special Technical Coordinator Program recognition events. We hosted over 1,100 current and new technical coordinators at a reception and breakfast.

The conference was a huge success. If you missed it, make your plans now to attend next year as the Technical Interchange and special Technical Coordinator Program events move to Nashville in April for some country fun!

Free Stuff!
Since we introduced our "What's New for OS/2?" feature earlier this year, you've told us it's one of your favorite parts of Personal Systems. It's where you go to find out about new products--what you need to do your job. Because we have limited space to tell you about all the new products, we provide a method by which you can get more information about the products in which you are interested. Each product has a Reader Service Card number at the end of its review. The Reader Service Card is located between pages 56 and 57. Circle the numbers of the reviewed products as well as the numbers of the advertised products and mail the postage-paid card. It's all free!

Betty Hawkins, Editor