105 things OS/2 has/can do that Win 3.1 doesn't have/can't do


 * Message-ID: <1992Jun22.211612.28349@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
 * Date
 * 6/22/1992 21:16:12 GMT Organization: The Ohio State University


 * 1) Preemptively multitask Windows applications.
 * 2) Protect Windows applications (and other applications) from overwriting or crashing one another (Windows shares its descriptor table, e.g.).
 * 3) Run Windows apps in real mode.
 * 4) Run Windows 2.0 apps (*reliably* and supported by the company).
 * 5) Run 16-bit OS/2 applications.
 * 6) Run 32-bit OS/2 applications.
 * 7) Run more than one copy of a Windows application that ordinarily refuses to run multiple copies of itself (with cut/paste), e.g. Pagemaker 4.0.
 * 8) Run Windows desktops using different screen drivers (in different resolutions); for example, CorelDraw could run in one at 256 colors while Word for Windows could run in another in 16 colors (thus doing away with the speed penalty for that session).
 * 9) Run without DOS.
 * 10) Boot a DOS image in a VDM.
 * 11) Boot from an extended partition.
 * 12) Allow the user to choose which operating system to boot at bootup time using a simple menu (Boot Manager does this in OS/2 2.0).
 * 13) Run Minix in a VDM, CP/M in a VDM, or any other real mode operating system (and even run Desqview in a vdm).
 * 14) Use different device drivers in different DOS sessions.
 * 15) Use different config.sys files, autoexec.bat files, command.com's, DOS executables, etc., in different DOS sessions.
 * 16) Get about 633k (647,000+ bytes) free memory for each DOS app in each VDM.
 * 17) Get well over 700k (736,000+ bytes) free memory for each DOS text (CGA/MONO) app in a VDM.
 * 18) Play boot-from-disk games.
 * 19) Use 16 MB XMS, 32 MB EMS, and 512 MB DPMI memory PER DOS APP.
 * 20) Have up to 240 DOS VDM's running.
 * 21) Configure DOS VDM memory, device drivers, files= statement, FCBS statement, and other config.sys settings without fussing with a config.sys file.
 * 22) Provide support for the 16550A UART in DOS sessions.
 * 23) Run on a 32-bit flat address space.
 * 24) Format a floppy and still be able to do serious multitasking.
 * 25) Format a floppy in one pass (natively).
 * 26) Reliably support background communications and printing.
 * 27) Print simultaneously from more than one DOS program without garbled output.
 * 28) Function well without 3rd party products (QEMM, Hyperdisk, 386Max, NDW, DV, etc.).
 * 29) Restrict I/O privileges from any or all apps to protect the OS,  or grant I/O privileges to specific processes.
 * 30) Set disk priority usage for foreground vs. background processes.
 * 31) Have complete control over priority and speed of running DOS, Windows, and OS/2 apps via parameters such as TIMESLICE, MAXWAIT, THREADS, PRIORITY, IDLE_SENSITIVITY, HW_TIMER, IDLE_SECONDS, VIDEO_FASTPACE, VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION, VIDEO_WINDOW_REFRESH, HW_ROM_TO_RAM, DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION, etc.
 * 32) Run without a GUI loaded, and use the command line as the controlling shell.
 * 33) Start programs in the background from the command line.
 * 34) Start multiple programs simultaneously from the command line, and even have conditional execution so that (if desired) the second program will not execute if the first fails.
 * 35) List running processes from the command line.
 * 36) Obtain complete and detailed on-line help from the command line.
 * 37) Start Windows apps from the command line.
 * 38) Automatically detect whether an app is a DOS, Windows, or OS/2 app when invoked from the command line.
 * 39) Allow the user to boot to a different operating system from the command line (either DOS-->OS/2 or OS/2-->DOS; Dual Boot does this in OS/2 2.0).
 * 40) Utilize a good command line recall (for OS/2 CLI's), without the use of a TSR that takes up valuable base ram (OS/2 also can use DOSKEY for its DOS sessions--or better yet, use DR DOS's superior command line recall by booting DR DOS in a VDM).
 * 41) Have over 100 lines for scroll back in CLI windows ('mode co80,102'), or provide huge fonts in full screen text mode sessions ('mode co40,12') for the visually impaired.
 * 42) Serve disabled users capably with built-in "sticky keys" (and the available Screen/PM).
 * 43) Use  the symbol '*' as a wildcard in the middle of a word, or at any other point in the word.
 * 44) Run detached processes.
 * 45) Preserve deleted files with a settable timeout option so that you can easily recover deleted files by undeleting them--even days or weeks later.
 * 46) Incorporate and use REXX.
 * 47) Make use of the watchdog timer in 32-bit bus motherboards.
 * 48) Use threads.
 * 49) Use named pipes.
 * 50) Use semaphores.
 * 51) Have built-in 387 emulation support.
 * 52) Utilize extensive  (built-in) system diagnostics for trouble shooting, with utilities such as trace (traces system events), tracebuf (sets size of trace buffer), tracefmt (displays formatted trace records in reverse time-stamp order), createdd (prepares diskette for OS/2 memory dump), LOG.SYS (activates the System Logging Service device driver), SYSLOG (view or print the formatted contents of the system error-log file), and LOGDAEM.EXE (controls start of the Logging Daemon process for system error-log files).
 * 53) Use anything other than the 8.3 DOS filename convention for naming files/directories--even on FAT drives (when using WPS).
 * 54) Move files and directories without copying them.
 * 55) Employ IFS's (installable file systems).
 * 56) Use extended attributes for files/programs/directories/etc.
 * 57) With HPFS, apply hot fixes on the fly when bad sectors are encountered.
 * 58) With HPFS, avoid the need for defragmenting.
 * 59) With HPFS, support hard disks up to 512 GB in size.
 * 60) With HPFS, save disk space (particularly with small files) since the initial cluster size is 1024 bytes and the incremental cluster size is 512 bytes.  (FAT normally has 2K clusters or larger.)
 * 61) Recover from a GUI crash (a crash of the *desktop* user interface).
 * 62) Resize and scale DOS graphics apps running in VDM windows.
 * 63) Use different bitmapped pictures in different windows.
 * 64) "Explode" and "implode" windows when opening and closing them, a la the Mac (if the user so wishes).
 * 65) Have different color schemes for each window, border, background, buttons, text bars, icon text, etc.
 * 66) Have different fonts in each pulldown menu, different fonts for icons in different folder, different fonts for each text bar, etc.
 * 67) Give access to use of icons that appear in a window before other icons have finished displaying in that window, and give access to other windows before a window has finished (re)drawing.
 * 68) Select multiple icons and start/open them simultaneously.
 * 69) Close more than one app at a time.
 * 70) Put icons directly on the desktop.
 * 71) Configure the GUI to resemble Windows, OS/2 1.3, or the WPS.
 * 72) Shadow objects.
 * 73) Change icon text directly (without use of menus).
 * 74) Put folders within folders.
 * 75) Designate folders as "work areas," so that when closed or minimized, all windows associated with that folder are automatically closed/minimized.  Or conversely, designate a folder as NOT being a work area, so that the windows and folders within it are not closed/minimized when it is closed/minimized.
 * 76) Automatically reopen folders/windows and restart apps that were running before the last boot, and restore the exact state of the desktop from when you last shutdown.
 * 77) Use extensive drag and drop, and manipulate the properties,priorities, associations, menus, windowing features, etc., of programs directly through their icons (without having to fuss with .pif files).
 * 78) Automatically preview the size of a window before changing fonts in that window to allow the user to see how big the new window size will be with the new font.
 * 79) Scroll the desktop.
 * 80) Support "pan and scan" video drivers to create a virtual desktop which is mouse scrollable (e.g. Trident's 800x600x256 virtual desktop driver).
 * 81) Run the desktop in 768x1024 portrait mode using a Trident adapter (Trident does not support this resolution for Windows).
 * 82) Set and save several color schemes, and then be able to "apply" them to a window or folder at any time with simple drag and drop.
 * 83) Add entries to pop-up menus on icons/objects to run any program on that icon from that pop-up menu.
 * 84) Automatically update icons (objects) to reflect new paths when files and directories are moved.
 * 85) Restore the original desktop configuration (icons, fonts, windows, colors, etc.) at bootup if so desired.
 * 86) Close windows by clicking anywhere within the window to bring up the options-->close menu.
 * 87) Give the mouse access to the desktop and to all windowed DOS sessions by allowing the user to simply move the mouse to the appropriate place/window on the desktop (without having to use the keyboard to switch out of the windowed VDM).
 * 88) Show the user which app is running and which folder has been opened by altering the look of its icon.
 * 89) Automatically change both the Window List (running apps list)  for a DOS app, and change the status bar of a windowed DOS app to reflect the particular DOS executable being run and its status (e.g. "Closing: WordPerfect").
 * 90) Start multiple programs simultaneously using the GUI.
 * 91) Vary the border width of individual windows.
 * 92) Create files and directories via drag and drop.
 * 93) Run more apps than any other OS in history.  (Except possible for SunOS.  This is being debated now.  Though with SunOS you need to buy an additional emulator.)
 * 94) Reliably start applications or batch files at scheduled times (using the built-in Alarms applet).
 * 95) Include custom header sheets with print jobs.
 * 96) Restrict or set times for printing.
 * 97) Use scalable, industry standard Type 1 typefaces in both  Windows and OS/2 applications without purchasing an additional utility.
 * 98) Support multiple networks simultaneously.
 * 99) Play chess over the network.
 * 100) Save the keyboard state (e.g. NumLock) for each individual application.
 * 101) Have the choice between two free, 32-bit, C compilers (one with a debugger, one with C++) to do both text and PM programming, and allow for much easier porting of Unix utilities overall.
 * 102) Come with a money-back *satisfaction guarantee*.
 * 103) Come with an extended compatibility money-back guarantee.
 * 104) Come with free upgrades (upgrades from 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 have all been free, and the CSD's are free).
 * 105) Come with toll-free tech support.