The Blue Ninja Conference Chat Transcript

 THIS IS A TRANSCRIPT OF A CONFERENCE WHICH TOOK PLACE ON THE COMPUSERVE INFORMATION SERVICE THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 1991. WHILE WE HAVE FREE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS, THIS TRANSCRIPT REMAINS THE PROPERTY OF THE COMPUSERVE INFORMATION SERVICE. % The The Blue Ninja Conferenc conference is beginning Your moderator is Job 9 Brian (Brian) Welcome to the CompuServe Convention Center! I'm Brian... (Brian) Proffit, and I'll be your host/moderator this evening. (Brian) We have a very special speaker with us, but before we begin, ... (Brian) there are some administrative things I need to cover. (Brian) First, smoking is only allowed in the left side of the auditorium. (Brian) Hmmm, wrong notes. Sorry... (Brian) This will be a "moderated" conference, to avoid confusion and... (Brian) interruption. This means that anyone that would like to ask... (Brian) our guest a question must enter the /QUE command to be placed... (Brian) in the question queue. I will recognize people from the queue... (Brian) one at a time. As new people ask their questions, spots will... (Brian) open in the queue for more, so if you don't get into the queue... (Brian) when you first try, please keep trying. I will ask the IBM'ers... (Brian) in the audience to hold their questions and allow other guests... (Brian) to proceed first. (Brian) One you are in the queue, I urge you to go ahead and type... (Brian) your question in advance, if your software allows it. That way... (Brian) when I recognize you, you will just have to press ENTER to send... (Brian) your question. Also in the interest of speed, I encourage you not... (Brian) to worry about spelling. We at this end won't worry about spending... (Brian) time backspacing to correct errors, and I ask that you don't... (Brian) either. Besides, I can edit the spelling before the transcript... (Brian) becomes public anyway. (Brian) We will try to adhere to CIS protocol, using the ellipses ("...")... (Brian) to indicate there is more to say, and the go ahead ("ga") to... (Brian) indicate we are finished. (Brian) Well...enough of that. We're very privileged to have as our guest... (Brian) this evening IBM's Asst. General Manager of Programming for... (Brian) Personal Systems, The Blue Ninja, ... (Brian) Mr. Lee Reiswig. ga Lee (Brian) Oops moderator error... (Ninja) Hi everyone, sorry for the delay, this is my first conference and (Ninja) we had a small (Ninja) glitch. I'm really looking forward to our time tonight,.. (Ninja) and to having a frank and open Q & A session. Let's begin. % Moderator recognizes queue #1 Brad Struss <50> (Brian) Go ahead, Brad (Brad Struss) Can you be more specific about "better windows than Windows"? (Brad Struss) ga (Ninja) There are many ways that OS/2 can be a "better Windows than Windows"... (Ninja) The DOS capabilities of OS/2 are highly advanced from the 16 bit DOS... (Ninja) in DOS 5 and that will help windows users with better performance and (Ninja) better responsiveness. Also the protection that OS/2 MVDM offers will p rotect.. (Ninja) Windows apps from each other and will allow OS/2's preemptive multitaski ng to (Ninja) provide more consistent and responsive service to the user and lastly... (Ninja) the DDE capabilities of OS/2 will allow PM apps to interact with Windows .. (Ninja) appps and permit better integration and a wider app. selection for the e nd (Ninja) user... ga % Moderator recognizes queue #2 Shawn L. Morrissey <13> (Brian) Thanks for the question, Brad. Shawn? (Shawn L. Morrissey) How will the os/2 2.x family fit into the "Pink" platform i n... (Shawn L. MorrisSey) the future? (Shawn L. Morrissey) ga (Brian) Good question, Shawn. Let's clear this up. (Ninja) That is still a long way off with much to be done before the "Pink" syst em is... (Ninja) complete or available. Our objective will be to be able... (Ninja) to run All OS/2 applications and to bring the new object oriented applic ations (Ninja) enabled by "Pink" to the same desk top. ga (Brian) Thanks for the clarification, Lee. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #3 Christopher Pelley <14> (Christopher Pelley) ok (Christopher Pelley) Will OS/2 2.0 have built-in support for co-processors... (Christopher Pelley) and floating point emulation? (Christopher Pelley) ga (Brian) Yes, that's something we didn't see in 1.x... (Ninja) OS/2 will support floating point emulation. There is no 2.0 planned supp ort (Ninja) specifically for MP. Application specific MP support... (Ninja) will be available from a number of sources. ga (Brian) Okay, Chris? Next! % Moderator recognizes queue #4 scott gurvey <47> (scott gurvey) Welcome and welcome to the "new" IBM. Can you tell us how quickl y (scott gurvey) we will see 32-bit languages and if the rumors about PL/I (which is (scott gurvey) an SAA language) for OS/2 are true? ga (Brian) The New IBM lives, right? This conference proves it! (Ninja) Hi Scott, we have 32 bit C now in the 2.0 SDK. You will see 32bit C++ fr om.. (Ninja) Borland later this year and you'll see more .. (Ninja) languages from IBM and others later this... (Ninja) year and early next year. I'm not able.. (Ninja) to give a date for PL/I now. Watch this space.. (Brian) Not to mention that Micro Focus has committed a 32-bit version... (Brian) of their COBOL, and Zortech has committed a 32-bit version of their... (Brian) C++! (Brian) Thanks for the question. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #6 David Maritz <35> (David Maritz) You said "better Windows than Windows", but will you run Win apps ... (David Maritz) which require enhanced mode Windows, in OS/2 2.0 this year? GA (Ninja) David, I would think you MS guys would know the answer to that! (David Maritz) Just checking (Ninja) But for the record, we will run standard mode... (Ninja) windows since OS/2 provides the "enhanced" support that windows (Ninja) provides and more. ga (Brian) Thanks, David % Moderator recognizes queue #7 Marc Perkel <15> (Marc Perkel) Will IBM switch from MS DOS to DR DOS 6 and sell it as a (Marc Perkel) companion to OS/2? ga (Ninja) We have no plans to do that now. We do support DR DOS running on (Ninja) our PS/2 systems and we do support it running (Ninja) under OS/2 in a MVDM. % Moderator recognizes queue #8 Peter Waite <51> (Brian) Welcome, Peter. A question for The Ninja? (Peter Waite) Is IBM committed to, (unlike Mcrosoft seemed to) providing the too ls necessary... (Peter Waite) to write OS/2 applications to on the street programmers... (Peter Waite) like myself. ga. (Brian) Good question, Peter. And remember we lowered the price of OS/2... (Brian) itself! (Ninja) Peter, if you're referring to the price of the tools (Ninja) we are concerned about that and we're working to (Ninja) get it lower. We're also encouraging (Ninja) other tools vendors (like Borland) to (Ninja) provide their tools at attractive prices as well. ga (Brian) Okay, Peter? Next % Moderator recognizes queue #9 David Anderson (HSI <23> (David Anderson (HSI) How about some coordinated shirts or sweaters (the tees we re such a hit)... (David Anderson (HSI) to show solidarity(?) or at least to show where existing 1 .3 and 2.0... (David Anderson (HSI) apps can be found on the floor. ga. (Brian) good question, David. There've been a lot of requests! (Ninja) We're working with the vendor now and when we get it set up (Ninja) we'll announce it here on CompuServe, We'll also (Ninja) be getting signs for vendors to show in their (Ninja) booths when they're running OS/2. ga (Brian) Great news, Lee! % Moderator recognizes queue #10 Larry <12> (Larry) Can you address the controversy over the windows and PM APIs? ... (Larry) While I personally prefer the PM API, there's certainly quite a bit ... (Larry) of confusion in the developer community over which platform they ... (Larry) should use for development. Since OS/2 2.0 will run windows apps, ... (Larry) why should anyone bother developing for the PM API? ga (Ninja) Good question... (Brian) Good question, Larry. (Ninja) The 32bit PM API's offer much higher performance and function (Ninja) than the 16bit Windows API's. They're here now inthe SDK and they'll (Ninja) be available generally this fall. My last OS/2 Live demo at (Ninja) PC EXPO showed the value of 32bit PM vs 16 bit windows (Ninja) with the Describe application. We'll make copies of the (Ninja) video available for everyone to see what it can mean. ga (Brian) Realistically, market pressures will force developers to produce... (Brian) full function 32-bit applications, because people running 2.0 won't... (Brian) be satisfied with "emulations". (Brian) Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #11 WinMan <58> (Brian) WinMan, could you identify yourself for us, please? (WinMan) David L. (WinMan) I do not work for ms ... (WinMan) OK? (Brian) Fine, go ahead (Brian) (It's ok if you did, by the way...) (WinMan) IBM has a growing suite of Windows applications, will we see... (WinMan) new IBM Windows aplications in the future? ga (Ninja) I can't speculate on other development in IBM, but I... (Ninja) can say that when ther's a business opportunity... (Ninja) then IBM will pursue it. We think that there's room... (Ninja) for windows and OS/2 and that they'll both coexist... (Ninja) for some time, maybe even to the end of '92! GA (Brian) Okay, Larry? Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #13 Bruce Weise <30> (Bruce Weise) Reports of the last os2 2.0 beta are disappointing, and 2 more bet as are... (Bruce Weise) due before 2.0 is GA. At the rate that betas are coming out.... (Bruce Weise) can we expect that IBM will make 4Q91 GA of 2.0? ga (Ninja) I'm sorry to hear you're disappointed, but I assure (Ninja) you that you're in a minority from my point of view.,,, (Ninja) The reports here on CompuServe are certainly positive by (Ninja) a wide margin. Were on an aggressive plan for this fall.. (Ninja) and we're commited to make it. ga % Moderator recognizes queue #14 Doug Henrich <11> (Brian) Welcome, Doug. Question? (Doug Henrich) Better DOS than DOS took a long time for IBM and MS to.... (Doug Henrich) achieve, aren't you very concerned about first seeing.... (Doug Henrich) standard mode Windows support in the final beta of 2.0?..ga (Ninja) We have standard mode running now in the development lab.... (Ninja) but, its not ready for a beta. I am concerned that it be high.. (Ninja) quality when we release it for GA and for Beta. We think that.. (Ninja) it will be ready this fall. I'd sure like to know more about.. (Ninja) MS' plans for 3.1 so I'd better be able to stage that support... (Ninja) as well. ga (Brian) Any answers, Doug? (Doug Henrich) yes (Doug Henrich) Isn't MS plans for Win31 very public now? (Brian) Not from the questions I've seen on CompuServe!! (Ninja) I don't think that MS has said when 3.1 will ship. ga (Doug Henrich) Doesn't IBM have access to Win31 under the cross liscensing agree ments? ga (Ninja) Yes, we do. But I don't necessarily think we should ship it (Ninja) before MS does!! (Brian) Thanks, Lee! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #15 Warren Hairston <46> (Warren Hairston) We had major problems just locating someone who sold 1.3 here in West... (Warren Hairston) Virginia. Even the local IBM office wasn't much help. We want to help our... (Warren Hairston) customers avoid the same problems. How will 2.0 be marketed? ga (Brian) There have been some problems like that in the past. The good news... (Brian) is that we've begun marketing through new channels such as Egghead... (Brian) 800 Software, and ASAP Software Express. Even better, we announced... (Brian) today that you can order 1.3 directly from IBM. Just call... (Brian) 1-800-3IBM-OS2! We are working on all of these channels for 2.0. We... (Brian) will be very aggressive in getting 2.0 into the hands of customer. ga (Warren Hairston) Sounds great! looking forward to 2.0! ga (Ninja) Were committed to make 2.0 available to the "Masses" and we'll be... (Ninja) announcing those plans this fall. % Moderator recognizes queue #16 Peter Waite <51> (Brian) Question, Peter? (Peter Waite) As a Windows user I got very excited by the announcement of OS/2.. (Peter Waite) however, being a Canadian or in a remote area, I have not even see n.. (Peter Waite) 1.3 in operation, this boils down to poor marketing, which has bee n... (Peter Waite) addressed, is IBM doing a global ship date, or will I have to wait .. (Peter Waite) for reports to trickle across the border, also what direction.. (Peter Waite) does IBM want to take OS/2 towards over the next year... ga (Brian) Good point, Peter. (Ninja) Sorry to hear that you're having trouble finding OS/2. We'll work on tha t. We are working a worldwide... (Ninja) plan for 2.0 availability this fall with translated versions.... (Ninja) So I'm hopeful that you'll be able to get it by the end of the year... (Ninja) I think '92 will bring exploitation of more and more... (Ninja) 2.0 features. There are a lot of things on our list but... (Ninja) we've got our hands full this year to exceed all of your expectations... (Ninja) and ship the most exciting product for the PC in 10 years! (Ninja) ga (Brian) And for those of you outside the U.S., we'll work to... (Brian) announce an order line for OS/2 that isn't an 800 number. (Brian) For those of you watching the clock, CompuServe has graciously... (Brian) allowed us to continue for a while. % Moderator recognizes queue #17 Tom <87> (Brian) Question, Tom? (Tom) When can we expect to see a release of OS/2 that is secure... (Tom) (government certified at the C2 or better level), multi-processor... (Tom) enabled, and fully 32 bit? ga (Ninja) Well, we thought that MS was committed to that with 3.0, but ... (Ninja) now I'm not so sure anymore. We are pursuing these requirements... (Ninja) and we'll incrementally enhance 2.0 with them past the 2.0... (Ninja) ship. ga (Brian) Thanks for the question, Tom. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #18 Len Greenberg <91> (Len Greenberg) Will 32 PM Apps truly multitask or.. (Len Greenberg) will they "cooperatively" multitask as in 16bit PM.. (Len Greenberg) and in Windows? ga (Ninja) Beg to differ, PM is preemptive in both 16 and 32 bit... (Ninja) Windows is cooperative in 16 and who knows what 32 bit.. (Ninja) will be? ga (Brian) Hard to judge what you can't touch, right? Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #19 Kevin "Kevlar" Eaga <77> (Brian) Kevlar as in bulletproof? (Kevin "Kevlar" Eaga) Flexible AND bulletproof (Kevin "Kevlar" Eaga) When will OS/2 support "Pen Computing... (Kevin "Kevlar" Eaga) and MultiMedia features... (Kevin "Kevlar" Eaga) ala Windows today! (Kevin "Kevlar" Eaga) ga (Ninja) The Windows MME's and Pen/Windows are not available today. We've... (Ninja) said that we'll ship 32bit multimedia tools.. (Ninja) for 2.0 to developers this year. We havn't yet commited... (Ninja) Pen/PM. ga (Brian) Thanks for the update, Lee. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #20  Rich Todd <16> (Rich Todd) Are you concerned that people might delay upgrading to 2.0 until the ... (Rich Todd) 3.0 development question has been resolved.  Also, will 2.0 run on m y Zeos? (Rich Todd) ga (Ninja) No, I'm not... (Ninja) 2.0 brings dramatic value to our... (Ninja) customers NOW. I don't think they'll wait to get something.. (Ninja) that's so ill defined. ga (Brian) And several vendors have announced support for 2.0 on their hardware, ri ght? (Ninja) Yes, were committed to make 2.0 available on OEM's this year... (Ninja) broadly... There will be more to come on specifics later this fall. ga (Brian) Good news! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #21 Marc Perkel <15> (Marc Perkel) As a small software developer, I have resented MS stuffing Windows down my ... (Marc Perkel) throat. I hope IBM won't do the same. How an I to port my 20 megs of.. (Marc Perkel) Turbo Pascal Source code to the OS/2 environment? (Marc Perkel) ga (Brian) Jensen & Partners TopSpeed Pascal has a Turbo translator that will move. .. (Brian) approximately 95% of your code to their compiler. It is a Pascal... (Brian) compiler with object extensions, including multiple inheritance... (Brian) and interlanguage calls with their C, C++, and Modula-2. ga (Ninja) We all need to convince Phillipe that a 32bit Pascal would... (Ninja) really be a TURBO Pascal. ga (Marc Perkel) thanks (Brian) Thank you, Marc. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #22 Ashraful Huq <75> (Ashraful Huq) Why is there such a long wait between when the EEP's and the rest of... (Ashraful Huq) us developers get the Beta?... (Ashraful Huq) I am a member of the DAP and also went to... (Ashraful Huq) the Tech Seminar. Still am waiting for 6.149. Are the DAP'ers and Tech Seminar (Ashraful Huq) Attendies on the bottom of the list? (Ashraful Huq) ga (Brian) The copies of the last beta drop were all manufactured at the same... (Brian) place. The copies for EEP members were sent straight to the EEP folk... (Brian) while the DAP copies were sent to a separate fulfillment house... (Brian) Many/most of the DAP (Developer Assistance Program) members... (Brian) have received 6.149, and we've seen great reports from them... (Brian) in our IBMOS2 forum here on CompuServe. If you haven't received... (Brian) your copy by the end of the day tomorrow, let me know and I'll... (Brian) see to it personally. ga (Ashraful Huq) thanks. ga % Moderator recognizes queue #23 Bruce Weise <30> (Bruce Weise) Will the OS/2 2.0 Extended Services be GA at the same time as 2.0? ga (Ninja) We are working to make ES and Lan Server available in the same... (Ninja) "timeframe". That's IBMSpeak for close but not necessarily... (Ninja) on the same day. ga (Brian) Will that be a shorter gap than we've seen in past versions, Lee? (Ninja) What's this an IBM question????? (Ninja) We'll we're working to make them real close... (Ninja) but there is some regression testing required after all. ga (Brian) In the interests of my career, I'll let someone else ask the... (Brian) next question! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #24 Steve Benda <19> (Steve Benda) When MS comes out with Win3.1 and developers begin to write to wha t I ASSUME (Steve Benda) will be and enhanced API, are you committed to updating the WINDOW S box to run (Steve Benda) the 3.1 apps in a TIMELY manner (since you said you will have earl y access via... (Steve Benda) your cross licencing agreement with MS? GA (Ninja) Yes, we are fully aware of 3.1. We have the source and we have... (Ninja) it running now under 2.0. But as I said earlier, MS must ... (Ninja) complete it before we can make it available, ga (Brian) Good news, Lee!  Thanks!  Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #25  Bruce Gordon <14> (Bruce Gordon) Printing under 1.3 is problematic. Our users for our new applicat ion (Bruce Gordon) will perceive our application as being buggy.  When will this lon g (Bruce Gordon) running problem be finally fixed (we're on csd 5015). ga (Ninja) This is a long journey.... (Ninja) There are really no reliable specs for graphic printing... (Ninja) and thus we're stuck with exhaustive (and exhausting) testing... (Ninja) There are many more and improved drivers in 2.0. We need to... (Ninja) work with you through the DAP to be sure we know your problems... (Ninja) and get them fixed before this fall.. ga (Bruce Gordon) Well, I'm just exasperated. Nothing more. ga (Brian) For those who don't know, the Developer Assistance Program (DAP)... (Brian) is a program for developers making products for resale. There... (Brian) are a range of benefits for members. For more information... (Brian) download DAP.ZIP from IBMOS2 forum, lib 17. Sorry... (Brian) commercial over! (Brian) Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #27 Ed Gaito <94> (Ed Gaito) You mentioned earlier that OS/2 2.0 would be made available to the ma ssess... (Ed Gaito) can you describe any plans to support the masses, end users, small-sh op... (Ed Gaito) programmers etc...ga (Ninja) It's pretty hard here in this slow typing mode, but ... (Ninja) We are going to work on distribution channels to make... (Ninja) 2.0 available much more broadly than OS/2 has been... (Ninja) We are pricing it so that price won't be and issue... (Ninja) and were working with OEMs to have it broadly available... (Ninja) on their systems. We'll advertize more than we have.. (Ninja) we'll offer an number of promotions to make it ... (Ninja) even more attractive with applications, etc etc. ga (Brian) In other words, it's fair to say that this will be the most... (Brian) accessible version of OS/2, as well as the version... (Brian) that runs on the most platforms, right? (Ninja) Hmmmm another IBM question, eh Brian! (Ninja) Yes, this will be the most broadly supported PC... (Ninja) product that IBM has ever delivered. ga % Moderator recognizes queue #28 Tom <87> (Brian) Thanks. Next? (Tom) Cowabunga, dude! (Brian) I think the Ninja stuff got to Tom (Tom) IBM currently supports PenPoint (an incompatible OS)... (Tom) but doesn't support Windows for Pens (a compatible OS) ... (Tom) Why? ga (Ninja) I didn't say we wouldn't support PEN/Windows... (Ninja) I said that it was available yet. We decide what.. (Ninja) to ship as we understand what our customers want... (Ninja) and need. We haven't committed general... (Ninja) availablity of GO yet either. ga (Brian) Thanks, Lee. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #29 Ronald S. Woan <81> (Ronald S. Woan) We have all read the press reports that the current beta does n ot include (Ronald S. Woan) the ability to boot multiple DOS verions or the ability to run Windows 3.0 applications without Windows. Can you definitively say that IBM (Ronald S. Woan) will not ship a version of OS/2 2.0 without all of these featur es (Ronald S. Woan) that it has promised to meet it's 4Q time announce date? Also i n your (Ronald S. Woan) earlier reply regarding release date you used the word "committ ed" (Ronald S. Woan) is that IBM'ese for pretty much guaranteed? (Ninja) We plan to ship everything I have demonstrated and more. ga (Brian) That kinda says it all when you see Lee's demo tape! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #30 Roger Loeb <68> (Roger Loeb) Lee, please comment on your understanding of the relationship betwe en (Roger Loeb) OS/2 and the Apple/Metaphor/IBM "object-oriented" what-ever-it-is (Roger Loeb) "operating environment." ga (Ninja) OS/2 is NOW, the object world is coming. We started with ... (Ninja) M4 (Patriot Partners) last year. The Apple deal strengthens... (Ninja) that direction, but doesn't change it. We're committed... (Ninja) to protect the investments that our customers make in 2.0... (Ninja) and to take them gracefully into the object world of.. (Ninja) the late '90's. ga (Roger Loeb) Good answer, thanks. ga % Moderator recognizes queue #31 Dave Firth <76> (Dave Firth) My company programs software for industrial control and data ... (Dave Firth) acquisition markets. We're new to OS2 and chose it over ... (Dave Firth) UNIX, QNX, and Windows. Does IBM have plans to address ... (Dave Firth) the need for a leaner-meaner kernel OS2 to support real time ... (Dave Firth) performance? ga (Ninja) This is a tough tradeoff for us. ... (Ninja) We're really a general purpose OS. and I think our priority.. (Ninja) will be to keep the focus there. But, we'd be happy to.. (Ninja) understand the kind of things you'd like and see how they could.. (Ninja) fit into our plans... You should work through the DAP to make... (Ninja) sure we know what you want. ga (Dave Firth) Thanks, Lee. (Brian) That's a realtime answer! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #32 Scott Adams <54> (Scott Adams) Some OS/2 functionalities (color selector) could be (Scott Adams) improved upon from a human interface perspective... (Scott Adams) Is OS/2 still evolving in this regard?... (Scott Adams) Or need we wait for the next OS? (Ninja) If you saw the April demo, you saw me demonstrate a ... (Ninja) much improved Color Selector that ought to make you happy. ga (Brian) And there are many other enhancements in 2.0 along those lines! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #33 Don Babcock <86> (Don Babcock) Will VDM net bios support coexist with Lan Requester in order to a llow us ... (Don Babcock) to preserve our large investment in DOS PC3270 and DOS - LAN based ... (Don Babcock) EMAIL software when going to OS/2 ? GA (Ninja) Good news! It will!... (Don Babcock) Yeah! Thanks! GA (Ninja) You can have simultaneous access from multiple... (Ninja) VDMs and from OS/2 appls. ga (Don Babcock) Thank YOU! GA (Brian) Glad you asked, right? Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #34 Brian Jongekryg <83> (Brian Jongekryg) How will OS/2 defect and usage support be provided to the... (Brian Jongekryg) masses? Are there plans to expand the current support... (Brian Jongekryg) methods? ga (Ninja) Yes, were looking at electronic distribution and other means... (Ninja) but it's too soon for me to be more specific. ga (Brian) We're certainly working on it, Brian. Thanks. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #36 Sam Emrick <14> (Sam Emrick) What kind of customer feedback, if any, have you had regarding Comp userve... (Sam Emrick) IBMOS2 conference? Do you see this expanding in the future? (Sam Emrick) ga (Ninja) I think this is only the beginning of much more to come... (Ninja) It's a great way to communicate and get direct feedback... (Ninja) I'm personally committed to continue and I'll be back.... (Ninja) here and on other services in the future. ga (Brian) Thanks for the support, Lee. It's been a great communications... (Brian) vehicle for us! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #37 Shawn L. Morrissey <13> (Shawn L. Morrissey) Me again... Thanks for the candidness, Lee. Do you see a time... (Shawn L. Morrissey) when there will be a version of OS/2 that truly takes advan tage of the... (Shawn L. Morrissey) MicroChannel Architecture? If so, can you explain which su bsystems... (Shawn L. Morrissey) you're focusing on to exploit? ga (Ninja) The system (OS/2) today is designed to be able to be exploited... (Ninja) by the Industry's machines including MC. There is much.. (Ninja) exploitation in the IBM version today and there will... (Ninja) be more in 2.0 especiallly SCSI and the SCB architecture. ga (Shawn L. Morrissey) Can you be explicit about what is being exploited today? g a (Ninja) Overlapped I/O, data rates >5MB, XGA video drivers, 32bit SCSI, etc. ag (Shawn L. Morrissey) Thanks... Back to you, Brian. ga (Brian) Good answer. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #38 Ed Gaito <94> (Ed Gaito) Can you tell us what other langagages/countries will be supported by OS/2... (Ed Gaito) and when such support will begin to appear?ga (Ninja) We're working on 14 languages including double byte. All will... (Ninja) be available by 2Q92 with many this year. Can't be more specific... (Ninja) now. ga (Ed Gaito) With a good percentage of our market overseas, that sounds great! th anks! (Ed Gaito) ga (Brian) Thanks for the question, Ed. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #39 Brad Struss <50> (Brad Struss) In 2.0 will win apps and PM apps be able to communicate... (Brad Struss) through DDE and will the recently finalized OLE libraries... (Brad Struss) be available also to PM apps? (Brad Struss) ga (Ninja) We will support DDE and OLE between Windows and PM Apps. ga (Brad Struss) cool! (Brian) That pretty well says it all! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #41 Gary <28> (Gary) If this was covered while I was away a moment, I'm sorry. Are there any (Gary) plans on increasing the CM under ES to handle more host connectivity (Gary) sessions. (Gary) ga (Ninja) Sorry, I don't know if this is changing. How many do you need? ga (Gary) We have many Fortune 500's that would like to use our product line if we (Gary) could get at least 32 and maybe 48 host sessions from a single PC worksta tion (Gary) The current limit is 5 per board and only 2 boards at the same time (Gary) ga (Brian) Gary, send me mail and I'll connect you with people to carry this... (Brian) a little further. Be glad to help. % Moderator recognizes queue #42 Roger <48> (Roger) Sorry to be crass, sir... but.. (Roger) can you tell me how I am supposed to sell OS/2 to my management.... (Roger) when they see no applications, no trained programmers, a large... (Roger) retraining effort, and a fear that, if they make the expenditure to do.. . (Roger) all of that, that IBM may make the product proprietary and lock (Roger) out much of the PCs floating around the place... (Roger) ga (Ninja) Roger, have you just joined us???... (Roger) no (Ninja) We certainly are not making OS/2 proprietary, many of my earlier... (Ninja) comments tried to make that clear. We have 22 OEM's... (Ninja) committed to our Extended services and Lan server... (Ninja) products. (Roger) such questions as specific use of the MCA scare the %$#%# out of me! (Ninja) We will run the broadest set of applications in the industry... (Ninja) DOS apps, Windows apps, 16 bit PM apps and new 32 bit apps... (Ninja) More than 40 vendors are commited to provide new... (Ninja) 32bit apps. As for the rest, I think you need to... (Ninja) try OS/2 2.0 for yourself and see if you think its as... (Ninja) good as I do. ga (Roger) That's what I need to hear! Thanks! (Roger) (I have, and I do like it, a lot!) ga % Moderator recognizes queue #43 Becky <90> (Becky) How will Microsoft's comments on OS2 effect IBM's plans regarding OS2? (Ninja) We are not dependent on Microsoft to deliver our commitments for OS/2... . (Ninja) We remain committed to the OS/2 strategy that we put in... (Ninja) place in 1984 and were more convinced than ever before... (Ninja) that its right for our customers. ga (Brian) You can't stop the train now! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #44 Mike Komar <89> (Mike Komar) Does 2.0 offer stock TIGA 34010, 34020 support? (Mike Komar) I know that Windows 3.1 does. (Ninja) I don't think so, but I'd have to check to be sure. I'll pass it on to t he.. (Ninja) team. ga (Mike Komar) Hmmm, ok thanks! (Brian) If it's important, we can get more info on the IBMOS2 forum here. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #45 Don Babcock <86> (Don Babcock) As I understand it, purchase of 1.3 SE gets 2.0 upgrade free. Will those ... (Don Babcock) who have 1.3 EE / 1.3 LS get similar/same deals on ES / LS respect ively? ga (Ninja) Good news! They will! ga (Don Babcock) Alright! ga (done) (Brian) Says it all! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #46 Mike Selender <61> (Mike Selender) How does a person get into the OS/2 beta program..... (Mike Selender) I ask this for both individuals with and without IBM customer #s . GA (Brian) The Early Experience Program (EEP) is run by our marketing... (Brian) folk and has enrolled literally thousands of people to... (Brian) receive the beta code. Contacting your local branch office... (Brian) is the easiest way to get started there. If you are developing... (Brian) code for resale, our Developer Assistance Program is offering... (Brian) the beta code for $50 to members. Finally, all people who... (Brian) attend one of our OS/2 technical seminars are getting copies... (Brian) of the code. We're considering other ways, but I don't think... (Brian) we're ready to make announcements tonight. Of course, if... (Brian) the Ninja says it, it will happen! (Ninja) Not so fast Brian! We are looking and I think you'll see ... (Ninja) broader availability by the end of summer. ga (Mike Selender) Thanks. (Mike Selender) ga (Brian) You heard it here first, folks! Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #47 Doug Henrich <11> (Doug Henrich) You mentioned 40+ new OS/2 2.0 applications. Can you.... (Doug Henrich) tell us more about some of these, or put a list of them.... (Doug Henrich) up on CompuServe for us? How many of these applications.... (Doug Henrich) fully exploit OS/2's multi-threaded design? (Doug Henrich) ga (Brian) Doug, we will start a list on CompuServe of announced applications... (Brian) but the hard part is the fact that it will need to be updated... (Brian) so frequently because of the new commitments we're getting. ga Lee (Ninja) Great Brian, also, Doug, I meant to say there are 40+ VENDORS not... (Ninja) apps, should be more than 40 apps from them as well. Most of... (Ninja) these vendors will go 32bit plus some exploitation like threads. ga (Brian) Thanks, Lee. Next? % Moderator recognizes queue #48 Warren Hairston <46> (Warren Hairston) Will 2.0 CM support any other communication protocols (YMODEM Batch) ... (Warren Hairston) and/or any OS/2 specific communication software (intelligent c ards like ARTIC,etc)? (Warren Hairston) ga (Ninja) I don't think YMODEM is there, but Artic is supported. ga (Brian) We're looking at a lot of things for the future of CS, Warren. (Brian) Thanks, folks, it has been great having this opportunity. Lee... (Brian) any closing comments? (Ninja) Thanks to all of you for your questions. Its been helpful to me... (Ninja) and to the other IBM'ers who are monitoring to hear from... (Ninja) you and to be able to get some realtime answers back to you... (Ninja) I look forward to seeing all of you here in the future... (Ninja) and a special thanks to you Brian for a great job! ga (Brian) Thanks, Lee! And remember everyone. We're working hard on this... (Brian) but we all know that by far the most software in the world has... (Brian) been shipped by a company in Redmond, Washington. I mean, of course... (Brian) Nintendo! (Brian) Good night, everyone! % The conference has ended Thank you for attending 