OS/2 Warp Monthly Newsletter. Volume 5 - October 1995

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THE OS/2 WARP MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 5: OCTOBER 1995

Available on the Web at http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/newsletters.html

Welcome to the OS/2 Warp Monthly Newsletter

Recently, I was faxing a fairly long document (with FaxWorks for OS/2, of course) to someone with a slow modem. Since it was late at night, I didn't feeling like taking advantage of OS/2's multitasking (sorry for the intermittent commercials but this stuff just rolls off my keyboard) so I sat there tiredly staring at the modem's blinking lights. As I sat there, I realized I liked seeing the blinking lights. The old time computers used to blink, why can't the new ones? It's so satisfying seeing them because you really feel like the system is working for you. The little disk drive light just isn't the same. First of all, it's hidden by my keyboard, especially when I slouch, and secondly, it doesn't blink. I think a hardware vendor could really use blinking lights as a competitive advantage. The lights don't have to mean anything, they just have to blink when the system is off doing something.

Then I started thinking that I enjoyed hearing the phone ring on the other end and the modem answer the phone. It was truly satisfying to me. (I may need to get a life.) I liked the aural stimulation. In fact, I liked it so much that I think it should be incorporated into a wide variety of applications. Now I realize that there are sound effects that you can use on your system. For example, some people get a musical "TA DA" when they open a file. That just isn't enough. I want a long sustained sound. Imagine, you drag a file over to the printer and while it is printing you hear the rumbling sounds of a printing press. (One of those big ones like they showed in the movie Citizen Kane.) The sound would continue as you went off to do other work and stopped when the job was complete. Better yet, when your spreadsheet is calculating, you hear the incessant clicking of 20 accountants using adding machines. My favorite one (and I'm pretty sure it's an operating system function, so maybe I could talk to someone here) would be to hear the sound of screeching tires and then crunching metal as an application crashes.

Well, getting down to business, which just happens to be the focus of this month's newsletter. In this issue, Collin Summers takes us to visit some "Businesses on the Net", Jerome Yuzyk explains how a business can turn its computer into a valuable office appliance, and finally Maxine Senn-Yuen compares how a small and large company use OS/2 Warp. And as a special treat, Larry Yee tells the story of a brave OS/2 entrepreneur. Larry recently opened Computer COSMOS/2, an all-OS/2 computer store in Phoenix, Arizona. This issue includes a number of technical articles. Richard Hawes writes about HPFS performance, Tony Dvorak describes OS/2 Warp as a Server and Maxine reviews GammaTech Utilities for OS/2.

Enjoy this issue and get some great information, too.

Jeri Dube

Shareware and Commercial Software

NPS WorkPlace Shell Enhancer

by Collin Summers

I stumbled across a great piece of freeware the other day while surfing the net (Okay, so I was wandering aimlessly). It's called NPS WPS Enhancer, and was created by members of Team OS/2 Japan. It provides some great tools to jazz up your OS/2 desktop.

This little utility adds many new WorkPlace Shell (WPS) functions and enhances many others. To install it you simply unzip it into the directory you want and run its install program. Once you reboot, it will automatically start up, or you can manually start it by double-clicking its icon without rebooting. To prevent it from automatically starting just remove its program object from the startup folder.

The easiest way to explain NPS WPS Enhancer is to just walk through its options. The program uses a notebook to store and organize its functions. This notebook metaphor allows you to browse through NPS WPS Enhancer's features and play around with them. The first page of the Settings notebook deals with select and sort functions of the WPS. From here you can add an option to sort files in a folder by their extensions. This is nice if you are trying to find a ZIP file or a SAM file without knowing the file name. Another great addition is "select by name". Instead of just "select all / de-select all" you can now select specific files based on their names. I used this feature to select all my Temp files for deletion. I've always wanted to disable Sort and Arrange. Now you can do so with the check of a box. You can also force the icons to arrange on a grid (which you specify by x and y coordinates) no matter where you place them. This is a great way to keep your desktop neat.

On the Drag page of NPS WPS Enhancer's notebook, you can enhance how you move objects around. Options on this page allow you to move folders by dragging any part of them with the second mouse button. You no longer need to go to the title bar to move an open folder or window. This also allows you to move the clock without using its title bar. You can also make dragging of windows look fancier by having them leave behind a trail. This feature looks neat but really slowed down my 486DX66.

Other Drag options are more useful than the trail feature. One option allows the mouse pointer to wrap at the edges of the screen, so if you move the pointer all the way to the right of the screen it will reappear on the left side of the screen. This is handy if you have poor mouse skills, or if you're a Southpaw using a mouse designed for right-handers. Another option automatically moves the pointer to every new window that opens up. Perhaps the handiest option makes active whatever window the mouse pointer is on, without clicking. It's never been easier to switch back and forth between open windows.

An option I never even thought of is drawing on my desktop. Why not? We all did it in school| NPS WPS Enhancer allows you to draw notes on your desktop in any of the primary palette colors. I'm not sure if this feature is useful, but it is fun. How about making the desktop more 3-dimensional?. The Window Shadows option can make your windows really look like they are floating on the WPS. You can also control how dark the shadows are as well as how they look.

Now to my favorite option: Animation. There are five animation effects: Spin, Vortex, Scatter/Gather, Pike and Fireworks. You can select one or any combination to use. You can also customize their speed and frames. If you turn on the animation feature, your windows will open and close with a spectacular effect. Be warned that the defaults settings for animation may be slow. I halved mine for my 486DX2 66 and quartered them from my ThinkPad 750m. You can also accompany your animation with sound effects. So if you choose some strange WAV sounds to announce windows closing and opening, you'll end up with a much jazzier and more interesting WorkPlace Shell.

For those of you still using the command windows, you can also enhance them with NPS WPS Enhancer. You can create a popup menu with functions to mark, copy and paste in your command windows. From the popup window you can also open a file dialog box which allows you to send files straight to the command line. This way you can find files and run them easily from a command window. There is also an extended marking feature. With this option on, you can invoke copy by holding down the mouse button while dragging the mouse. These features work for both DOS and OS/2 command line windows. You can automatically do markups with the mouse without any extra keystrokes. You can also paste from the clipboard by simply double- clicking the mouse button in the command window.

As if these features weren't enough, there's one more page of options which adds features like:

A single-click close button.

Extended file dialogs which allow you to drag files from list boxes.

An option that smoothes out folder scrolling.

This application adds some great functional and visual enhancements to OS/2. And best of all its very configurable so that you can just use the features you like. With all these handy features, it's amazing the English-language version of NPS WPS Enhancer takes up less than 100KB of hard disk space. So if you're looking for a new way to personalize the look and feel of your computer, then you should check out this program.

To download the latest version of NPS WPS Enhancer, go to ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/wpsutil/npswp173.zip

Review: GammaTech Utilities for OS/2

by Maxine Senn-Yuen

GammaTech Utilities for OS/2 is a comprehensive package of 32-bit utilities designed to perform various file and system maintenance functions on your computer. Whether you're a large enterprise planning to migrate to OS/2 Warp Connect or an individual OS/2 Warp enthusiast, you'll find many of these utilities quite useful. You won't need to use them every day, but they serve as an important insurance policy against the hardware failures and human errors that inevitably arise. GammaTech Utilities is often compared to its DOS-based counterpart, Norton Utilities. Both include a wide range of tools in one package.

Installing GammaTech is very simple. The installation program automatically edits your CONFIG.SYS file and creates a folder for the Presentation Manager utilities in the package. Approximately half the bundle's utilities are PM-based; the others are command line. The command line utilities allow you to recover data and correct conditions (such as bad sectors on your hard disk) that may prevent OS/2's Presentation Manager from loading.

Perhaps the most important function these tools provide is file and data recovery. GammaTech's Undelete function is very effective, and fully compatible with the Undelete feature included in OS/2 Warp. Users are given the choice of undeleting using the OS/2 Undelete function or GammaTech's Undelete procedure. Like all the other utilities in this package, Undelete supports HPFS volumes exceeding 2 gigabytes as well as OS/2 LAN Server 4.0's HPFS386.

Most computer users know that even after a file has been deleted and its space reclaimed as freespace, traces of the deleted file still remain on the hard drive. The WipeFree utility included with GammaTech Utilities version 3.0 wipes all traces of old data from the freespace on your hard disk. It can even perform a Secure Wipe which meets the stringent security specifications for the U.S. Department of Defense. I know of no better way to permanently erase your sensitive corporate data, short of reformatting your entire hard drive.

GammaTech Utilities also includes tools which:

  • Optimize (defragment) both HPFS and FAT hard drives for best performance.
  • Backup critical INI and desktop files automatically.
  • Find, select, delete, move, copy, browse and edit files. You can also alter their attributes and time stamps.
  • Protect critical files against accidental modification or deletion.
  • Display detailed system and hardware information.
  • Backup the boot sectors of all physical and logical drives. The boot sectors can then be restored should they become corrupted.
  • Identify and mark bad sectors on your hard drive.

GammaTech Utilities' printed documentation is clear and concise. The software also includes a complete online manual in INF format, so you don't have to worry about finding your manual in an emergency. The documentation is written in plain English. There is no computerese or technobabble in sight, which I found remarkable considering the sophisticated functions this software performs. In fact, you probably don't need an extensive technical background to use this package.

For more information on GammaTech Utilities for OS/2, contact SofTouch Systems at 405-947-8080.

FaxWorks PRO for OS/2

by Darryl Everett

The convergence of telecommunications and the computer is one of the great advances of the last decade. I'm continually amazed at how many people ignore their computer's communications capabilities. I'm constantly reminding my friends and colleagues that once you have a modem in your computer, you should leave the computer running everyday. I explain to them, with evangelistic fervor, that communication is a two-way street, and unless your computer is on and the fax program is running, receiving a fax will be impossible.

One of the benefits of OS/2 is its stability and robustness, so you can leave your computer on 24 hours a day, with applications running, and come home day after day knowing that you have received all your communications. And faxing is a great way to keep in touch. If your family and friends have a fax-modem on their computer, it's so easy to send a thank you note, Christmas card or letter.

These days, it's almost impossible to buy a computer without a modem and some basic fax software. In most cases, the fax software package you get is inadequate. OS/2 Warp is an exception. The BonusPak included with OS/2 Warp provides you with FaxWorks for OS/2, a real 32-bit fax software package that will allow you to send faxes from OS/2, DOS and Windows. FaxWorks is more than adequate for most people's needs. But if you have very heavy-duty faxing needs, then I recommend upgrading from FaxWorks to FaxWorks PRO. Here's a hint - call the company directly (404-984-8088) and you can get the upgrade for a price you can afford.

FaxWorks PRO gives you some additional features that will make your life a lot easier. Its most obvious benefit is its customizable button bar. This feature gives the user the ability to create and arrange a menu bar that fits the user's habits. If you can't remember what each icon does, a text bar displays its function.

You can set up FaxWorks PRO to start every time you boot up your system. It also has many other start-up options including keeping its status window in the background, invisible or minimized.

One of the most useful capabilities of the PRO upgrade is the ability to annotate a received fax. If you need to explain or edit something on a fax someone sent you, you can write directly on that fax. You can also use the clipboard to copy text or bitmap graphics between other OS/2 applications and your faxes.

Perhaps the most important feature of the FaxWorks PRO upgrade is optical character recognition (OCR). OCR has its limitations, but from a price-performance standpoint you get real value for your money with the FaxWorks upgrade. The OCR works best where the fax document is text intensive. From my own experience, legal and real estate faxes can be converted into text documents with a high degree of accuracy. It's as simple as "saving the fax via OCR" to the disk and directory of your choice. The OCR engine goes to work and in a minute or two, you have a text document ready for your word processor.

Installation is, in a word, easy. If you installed FaxWorks from the BonusPak you won't have any problems. My only complaint is that the printed documentation does not do justice to this fine application. The online help is very good: clear, concise, direct.

FaxWorks PRO for OS/2 is a very useful upgrade to FaxWorks.

Product Tips

Developing with VisualAge for OS/2

by Patrick Senti

VisualAge for OS/2 provides an all-in-one visual and object-oriented development environment to build all kinds of OS/2 applications, client/server or standalone. VisualAge comes in two flavors: one with Smalltalk as its host language and one that is based on C++. However, the two interfaces looks more or less the same and provide about the same functionality. For this report, I focus on VisualAge Smalltalk but most of the features I discuss are in the C++ version as well.

The main components of the product are three types of editors (Composition editor, Script editor and Public Interface editor) and a library of ready-to-use visual and non-visual object classes, called parts. Parts are the main ingredients of any application. Visual parts provide the functionality for windows, buttons, listboxes and other GUI elements while non-visual parts implement collections or functions to access external functions and databases. VisualAge provides a rich set of parts, grouped into categories (buttons, data entry, OS/2, database to name just a few). And you can easily add your own categories.

The Composition editor allows a developer to actually draw an application onto the screen without typing any lines of code. All the required parts can be dragged to the editor's window where they can then be connected to each other by simply pointing and clicking on the parts. Each part can react to several messages (events) and cause messages to be sent to other parts in the application to cause some kind of action. A button for example typically receives the clicked message whenever the user clicks on it. When selected, one button might cause an item to be added to a listbox while another might delete any items selected in the very same listbox.

In an object-oriented system, the listbox, not the button, adds and deletes items. Therefore, with VisualAge, a developer would connect the button's clicked event with the listbox to implement the required functionality (actually, a listbox cannot add items to itself but requires an ordered collection to do this).

VisualAge then shows the connection between the button and the listbox by the means of an arrow. This way you can always see which parts are connected to each other, so you don't have to remember all the details. If there are too many connections and the picture is too complex, you can hide the connections and show only those that are of interest at the moment. When all the parts are correctly connected, you might want to try out the new application. To do so, simply click on the Test button in the Composition editor's tool bar. In this mode, your application is fully functional so you can see the progress of your work right from the beginning - without typing a single line of code|

Any combination of parts that is put together in the Composition editor becomes a new part "in its own right." Therefore it can be re-used and extended in other applications just as if it was included in the standard library. This is one of the many advantages of a truly object-oriented development environment. This also means that you can split applications into several parts and then create one part that connects to all the others. With the Team version of VisualAge any part can be distributed among two or more developers.

If any of the parts provided in the standard VisualAge library does not fully meet the requirements, one can easily extend them by writing native Smalltalk code in the Script editor. One can either extend a part with a new method - which will then automatically become a selectable event in the Composition editor - or by adding code to an existing method. A method implements the functionality to fulfill a message (event); most of the times the terms method and message are used as synonyms when talking about object-oriented concepts.

To allow other parts to make use of the methods of a part, that part's public interface must be defined. This can be done with the Public Interface editor, which is seamlessly integrated into the VisualAge interface.

VisualAge also provides interfaces to both 3GL code and SOM classes. SOM (System Object Model) is IBM's language-neutral object model that allows classes written in one language (such as C++) to be used in another (such as Smalltalk). This means that with VisualAge you can re-use your existing 3GL code as well as a new set of object oriented classes as long as they are available as SOM classes. Currently, only 3GL code written in C or COBOL is supported through the External Functions category parts.

With its support for DB/2 and Oracle relational database products, VisualAge is ideally suited for developing client/server applications. The developer is shielded from the complexity of traditional database development such as using embedded SQL or the callable interface. This means she can concentrate on program logic and functionality rather than time-consuming technical details. SOM/DSOM support also makes it easier to distribute an application throughout a network without adding new levels of complexity.

For more information on VisualAge for OS/2, go to http://www.torolab.ibm.com/software/ad/vastub.html

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship 101 - Introduction to Computer COSMOS/2

by Larry Yee

Let's face it. Opening a new business was one of the riskiest things I've ever done. I was a quiet but restless COBOL mainframe programmer for AlliedSignal Aerospace (AS A), Marketing, Sales, and Service Division. The pay was steady though the hours were pretty hectic. Uncertainty was everywhere as they, like many corporations, were reorganizing. My task at hand was taking care of pricing and catalogs of parts. I had worked on various projects ranging from aircraft service work orders to warranties. The job had been satisfying when I first started with AS A, but over the years, I ventured into other opportunities. Sitting still wasn't in my blood.

In 1991, I had even bought into a restaurant. That was a lot of work| I, er, we (my wife and I) sold Chinese food (gee, I wonder why) and "fish-and-chips" (the reason for that is obvious. Not|). The food business was quite good, actually. My wife ran the operations, while I took care of most of the accounting work on my PC. At first the PC I used was a simple and slow (by today's standards) 286. Every task was a bear on that machine| Spreadsheets ran so slow|

Wanting to optimize my computer, I had the 286 upgraded to a 486 DX 33MHz and started playing with Windows 3.1. That was 1993. About that time, I had really started to hit the books and magazines about PC subjects and tried to tinker with the software and hardware. (I was still programming COBOL on the 3090's too, of course.) Being a mainframe programmer (oh, and a HP minicomputer programmer, too) I found my PC was still extremely limited in its performance and reliability. Plus, I felt that I could do more and more on the thing, given the right programs. It was the mainframe sort of thinking, I guess. I wanted more. More power to get the restaurant work done. More time with the family.

In early 1994, I heard about IBM's OS/2 For Windows. Hmmm. I bought it. But I also let it sit there for two months while I learned more about hard drive partitioning, file systems (FAT vs. HPFS), GUI vs. OOUI, the types of multitasking, and other hardware issues. Finally, I backed up everything. I popped in the Install Disk, then Disk 1. Repartition. Boot Manager and HPFS were included as my choices since I could 'feel' that those would be the better options. Disk after disk went in. I documented everything - every step, every keystroke - so I could re-install if had to.

Actually, my first installation wasn't too bad. I managed to get a fine system going, complete with DOS and Windows support, and all my programs running great| Learning the new OS/2 applets was interesting too. PM Terminal was my favorite. Figuring that out was like learning how to see the Magic Eye 3D pictures--impossible until you do something just right by luck, then it works every darn time| There's a saying that goes "There's nothing like the feeling of getting a tax refund. It's like the feeling of being shot at and missed. "Such was the feeling of getting OS/2 v2.1 running|

I felt even more enthusiastic when David Barnes came to Phoenix in April 1994. The event was sponsored by the Phoenix PC Users Group, OS/2 Special Interest Group. What an exhilarating show| That did it. I had to find out more| I joined that organization. Despite the fact that I have never won a door prize, I'm still a member. The OS/2 group split off from the PC Users Group under strange circumstances, and I joined the new Phoenix OS/2 Society. I occasionally tried to submit material for the group's newsletter, but kept getting turned down for publication. I haven't won a door prize from them either|

So this brings me to 1995. Looking for possible market opportunity outside of AS A, I start documenting ideas for Computer COSMOS/2 (CC2). I did some research, but it was limited by numerous factors, including the tight nature of the competitive software market and small business environment. I guess you could say then that I started CC2 on a hunch. The name of the business was obtained after much hashing and re-hashing of ideas. I toyed around with "Right Click Computer Software Store," "Computer Gallery," "OS/2 Gallery," and many others. Some names were just too corny. Finally, while playing with the kids in front of the TV, an advertisement comes on. I think it was a hair salon or other agency. It showed the word COSMOS on the screen. Perfect| I wanted a name that resembled "Incredible Universe" (by Tandy), and this was close| Plus, just add the '/2' and you have OS/2 as being a part of COSMOS. Anyway, the rest is history.

Ironically, the day of the Oklahoma City bombing is the day I turned in my resignation from AS A. Immediately, I searched for a place to rent that had the right lucky numbers in the address. In Chinese, 4's mean "death." 8's mean "fat" or "growth." I avoided places that had 4's in them. I finally found 7828 N. 19th Avenue, Suite 16. 2's also mean "easy," so this number meant something like "fat, easy fat." 16 is also in my wife's birthday, so that was good. Suite 16 also sounds funny to most people when I tell them "Suite 16." Or did I say, "Sweet 16?"

The store itself is near to a McDonald's, a big pizza place, and a great Vietnamese restaurant. The intersection of 19th and Northern Avenues is a very busy one, too. There's even a Dunkin' Donuts behind me. I like donuts. The only thing that ever bothers me is the occasional Ryder truck that parks in the big parking lot behind the store.

My store is dedicated to serving the needs of OS/2 users. Well, OS/2 being as versatile as it is, I do have a few Windows applications running on my demo PCs. I have become less and less reliant on Windows over the months. Oh, yes, I have tried Windows 95. It's pretty, with some nice looking features, but Stardock's Object Desktop for OS/2 surpasses that by a long shot, and you get the power of OS/2 with it. I took Windows 95 off my computers and now plan to install Windows NT along with OS/2 Warp Connect. OS/2 actually makes it quite easy to have either running on the same PC (though not both - but that's not OS/2's fault).

Back when Windows 95 came out August 24th, I held an OS/2 sale for OS/2 users on the night of August 23rd. That was my way of getting even| It was devilishly fun too.

Well, business so far has been up and down. It's typical of start-up businesses. The only complications now are riding out the debts, ragging on suppliers and distributors who give poor service, and resisting solicitors. Getting publicity and new customers (possibly Windows 95 converts) are more must-haves. More OS/2 users and IBMers than I've ever seen before are coming out of the woodwork every week| Former co-workers are always curious about how I am doing and I can only guess things haven't changed much for them. I often ask myself, "Is it worth it to OS/2 users to have a storefront for OS/2?" The answer is up to the recipient of the question. I have my own personal reasons; otherwise, I'd be programming COBOL or possibly C programs.

Entrepreneurs: The OS/2 Developers Open House

by Steve McNally

Mark Halegua, President of the New York OS/2 Users Group, put together The OS/2 Developers Open House in the IBM building at 590 Madison Avenue in New York City. IBM graciously let him use the entire 6th floor (as they should since Mark Halegua works his tail off to spread the good word about OS/2), and all the space was needed. Mark invited developers from all over the country to attend and he set them up with booths to show off their products. It was an excellent showing, too; like a smaller PC Expo.

Having the whole show catering to OS/2 users was great to see. It was a chance for the attendees to see what developers are doing to exploit the power of OS/2. In addition to the 30 or so independent developers, IBM and Lotus (http://www.lotus.com) were there showing off their development tools and applications.

This column is called Entrepreneurs, so let me start with the story of a real entrepreneur. This is an abbreviated version of the tale as told to me by Michael Robertson of PowerQuest: There was a guy named Eric Ruff who was a fairly knowledgeable computer guy. He had some friends at IBM and they convinced him to try their operating system: OS/2.

OK. So, in addition to requirements such as memory and CPU-type, Eric figured out what he'd need as far as hard drive space. He created a new partition with the amount of space he thought he needed and started installing OS/2. With 2 installation disks remaining, he ran out of space in the partition. He erased all this data, made a bigger partition, reformatted the partition, and reinstalled. He got through all the disks this time, and he booted up the system. It ran for about 2 minutes, and then crashed because he needed an even bigger partition. So he did the whole thing all over again.

Luckily, this experience didn't sour Eric on OS/2. It did, however, make him think that someone should find a way to move partitions around more easily.

He wrote the basis of a program which would be called Partition Magic, got some help and formed PowerQuest. PowerQuest began selling Partition Magic in March 1995. It quickly moved to the top of Indelible Blue's ( http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib) best selling list (behind only OS/2 Warp) and has stayed there for months.

When you visit PowerQuest's Web-site, http://www.powerquest.com, you'll be able to read feedback from customers and get a lot of good ideas about how Partition Magic could work for you. Here are a couple of scenarios that demonstrate why you might find it helpful to move partitions:

1. Here you are, an OS/2 user for a few months. Now you think you want to see what this High Performance File System is all about. You've heard about HPFS and also heard the stories about what a joke the FAT system supposedly is, but still, you don't want to go in all the way and get yourself lost; so you stick Partition Magic in and you move data away from a 10MB space, use FDISK to create the partition, and format it as HPFS.

Now, you experiment for a while and you realize HPFS saves you access time and buys you extra disk space. So you use Partition Magic to increase the partition size. No, you don't backup, don't reformat, don't restore; just use Partition Magic to change the partition to whatever size you'd like. If you're really bold and decide you want to turn an additional partition (or partitions) into HPFS, Partition Magic will do it, in moments.

2. One of my machines at home is a 16Mhz 386. I've been running DOS on it since it was a new machine. I'd like to set up OS/2 on it so I can share resources with my 486/66 320MB machine with the 28.8 Modem and QMS laser printer. But I want to dual boot on this 386 because I still want to be able to work in DOS-only mode.

I don't have the resources, time, or inclination to erase everything on the C partition of that machine. With Partition Magic (which runs in DOS and OS/2), I can move the data to clear enough space for Boot Manager, then create a new partition and install OS/2 with Boot Manager.

I do this all without fear of screwing up my existing data.

3. If for some inexplicable, masochistic desire you want make room to try out another OS, Partition Magic is for you. You'd like to make room on your hard drive without disrupting your life. Partition Magic will do it.

Instead of a half day or more, Partition Magic does jobs like these in minutes or less. And Partition Magic runs data-integrity checks before, during and after each operation.

You don't even need to install it: it runs right off one floppy disk|

And there's more ...

You want OS/2's swapper to have its own partition, but don't want to go through the hassle ... Partition Magic will help you do it faster.

You want to make your documents-only drive into HPFS... Partition Magic will do it on-the-fly in seconds.

You'd like the control of consolidating all your data into one area on your hard drive (to increase contiguous free space and decrease data-access time)... Partition Magic makes it click-and-drag easy.

PowerQuest is one company you will definitely be seeing more of in the future. I'll keep you up to date as I hear any news.

ELECTRONIC 'SCAPES

Businesses on the 'Net

by Collin Summers

Businesses on the 'Net are becoming very common. Businesses in every industry imaginable are putting up their own home pages, to take advantage of the advertising and public relations potential of the Internet. Some companies do a better job than others. Those that do the best job offer us consumers very special sites, sites which entertain, inform or amuse. And while we're browsing their site, they also try to convince us to buy their stuff.

Food and beverage companies are in an all out race to make the best home page. Check out The World of Coca-Cola at http://www.cocacola.com/. The comic book style they use is very attention-getting. Coca-Cola also keeps us coming back by changing the content very frequently. Rival Pepsi's home page, called The Fridge, (http://www.pepsi.co.uk/) is not about to be outdone. The competition between these two soft drink giants has now moved to the realm of Cyberspace. Snapple is not about to be left behind in Net advertising. Snapple's Welcome to the Land of Snapple (http://www.snapple.com) is full of child-like cartoons. The site also promotes unofficial Snapple sites.

While on the subject of food and beverage, McDonald's of America is not on the 'Net yet, but McDonald's in Austria (http://www.mcdonalds.co.at/mcdonalds/) has a home page. It's not very fancy, but was still interesting. And heck, the next time I'm in Austria, I'll know where they closest McDonald's is.

Some organizations such as The United States Post Office (http://www.usps.gov/looking) don't have the greatest looking pages, but prove how important a presence on the 'Net can be. Their site has lots of useful information, like a Zip Code lookup.

Others offer a halfway pretty page full of useful info that also promotes their products. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (http://.www.goodyear.com) is a good example of that. Ford Worldwide Connection Home Page (http://www.ford.com/) has some interesting (if you like cars) history about the company. It also contain everything you need to know about its cars and trucks. Chrysler has its Technology Center Tour online (http://www.chryslercorp.com/badge.cgi) to help you find out about what they have and what's coming.

Lucasfilm's THX Homepage (http://www.thx.com/thx/thx.html) is nicely laid out and encourages you to buy products from companies that use Lucasfilm technology for sound. Of course from there you can connect to LucasArts Entertainment Company (http://www.lucasarts.com/) to check out their latest games.

Now if practical jokes are your thing, Archie McPhee (http://www.halcyon.com/mcphee/) probably can show you a gag or two. This home page has all kinds of strange things on it.

Even that little computer company, IBM (http://www.ibm.com), has pages on the Web. So do most major computer companies. Finding companies on the Net is pretty easy. Try out Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com/yahoo/) or your favorite search tool. Chances are the company you are looking for is on the Internet, or will be soon.

User Power

MTC: OS/2 for Communications, Development, Production

by Steve Keller and Robert Davis

IBM's Manufacturing Technology Center (MTC), located in Boca Raton, Florida, has been designing, building, and servicing test and manufacturing equipment for the IBM Corporation for over 25 years. For the past two years, we've been servicing customers outside of IBM as well.

OS/2 plays a significant role in the daily routine within the MTC. The software developers rely on OS/2's robustness, ability to multitask, and support for DOS and Windows.

A typical software developer within the MTC fully exploits OS/2's multitasking ability. They maintain a host connection for access to e-mail and a TCP/IP connection for access to common software and tools and a newsreader service. In addition they run several applications.

An editor session for the program under development (most probably in a debugger),

  • CPU monitor,
  • session for compiling,

and a CD-ROM player for playing the favorite tune.

Many of our projects have embedded PCs running either DOS or OS/2 Warp. We use the DOS virtual machine support for developing DOS applications. The ability to use multiple windows for editing, compiling, and performing text searches while running the program being developed is priceless. OS/2 Warp's Crash Protection is a big time saver when a bug that would

crash the machine and cause the developer to waste time rebooting merely crashes the DOS session on OS/2 Warp. The developer just switches back to OS/2, kills the DOS session, and starts another in a matter of seconds. Of course, OS/2 Warp provides these same benefits when developing OS/2 specific applications.

OS/2 Warp also plays a major role as the operating system of choice for the more advanced equipment produced by the MTC. The Atomic Force Microscope (SXM), Optical Disk Analyzer (ODA), and High Speed Prober (HSP) electronic circuit card tester require OS/2 as their operating system. These tools are extremely complicated devices and require the robust environment provided by OS/2 Warp.

The SXM is a tool that performs surface imaging at magnifications well beyond the capabilities of the best optical microscopes. The software in the SXM uses OS/2 Presentation Manager (PM) to provide the operator with a simple-to-use windowed interface. The SXM has many complicated hardware subsystems ranging from a vision system that aligns wafers for inspection to a robot arm for loading wafers into the system. All these hardware subsystems must be coordinated by software. We exploit the multi-threading capabilities of OS/2 by utilizing separate threads of execution to interface with the different hardware subsystems. In addition, we use Windows sessions to run off-the-shelf analysis software.

The ODA tool optically inspects hard disk platters for defects at manufacturing time. This system uses OS/2 Warp to provide the operator interface but also makes use of an MTC developed software product called the Adaptable Tool Platform (ATP). The ATP provides network independent communications allowing the customer to select from different communications protocols (i.e. NETBIOS, TCP/IP, etc.) without affecting the application software. ATP also provides security and device management APIs for application developers.

The HSP electronic testers also utilize OS/2 PM to provide the operator interface. We use additional processes to support the various pieces of tester hardware including several motors that control the x and y movements of the test probes. We also need OS/2 when we set up a product test file. An off-the-shelf CAD conversion program executing in a DOS virtual machine creates a list of points contained on the product. We convert the output by running it through some MTC-developed, OS/2-based utilities, that generate a file of HSP tool tests. We use OS/2 PM as the basis for the profile system that maintains user interface data for each test generator session. Furthermore, we rely on the flat 32-bit memory model that makes processing our large data files a breeze.

We not only incorporate OS/2 into our products and tools but recently we started using OS/2 Warp's Web Explorer to look at the information available on the world wide web. As a result, we now have web pages of our own at http://www.clearlake.ibm.com/MFG/showcase/mtc/mtcindx.htm. These web pages show pictures and give descriptions of our products and services.

It is easy to see that OS/2 Warp is an important part of every work day for the MTC developers. The robustness and versatility of the OS/2 Warp operating system has become a standard requirement for our software development team.

If you would like to hear more, or have a need for some advanced manufacturing equipment the MTC can be reached at (800) 831-5009 or visit our WWW home page mentioned earlier: http://www.clearlake.ibm.com/MFG/showcase/mtc/mtcindx.htm


Bob Davis is a staff programmer in IBM's Manufacturing Technology Center. He is responsible for developing real time control applications for custom equipment based on OS/2 and DOS.

Steve Keller joined the IBM team over 11 years ago as a test technician. Three years ago Steve came to the MTC where he led the OS/2 based Adaptable Tool Platform software team. Most recently Steve designed OS/2 based Generic Parameter Subsystem, Software Event Subsystem, and SECS/GEM communications for the MTC Atomic Force Microscope, and the Test Generation software for the High Speed Probers. As a side project Steve put together the MTC web pages.

FEATURES

Turning Your Computer into an Office Appliance

by Jerome Yuzyk

Starting a new business or running an existing one requires a certain set of essential business tools and equipment. Computers are a relatively recent addition to the list of office accouterments that we need to succeed. They are much like typewriters were in their day. So, we've all dutifully gone out to buy computers, along with ubiquitous peripherals like printers, modems, networking hardware, designer mouse pads, and even fancy ergonomic desks and chairs.

Take Your Computer ...

It used to be that simply having a computer was enough to give someone a competitive business edge. Those who braved the financial and educational costs soon saw immediate benefit from changes such as being able to compose documents in the malleable world of bits and bytes rather than in the static world of paper. These computer pioneers enjoyed a distinct advantage over their competitors for a few years.

As the price of technology diminished, almost every business became computerized and suddenly everyone found themselves with roughly the same abilities. Your computer does your:

  • word-processing
  • number-crunching
  • and drawing.

For this we can thank the software vendors who realized what most people do and bundled these functions together in various fashions.

So in the 90s, just having a computer only guarantees you can do the same things as everyone else. To get the competitive edge with your computer, you need to run OS/2 Warp.

Add OS/2 Warp ...

You've probably heard phrases like "Crash Protection" and "multitasking" whenever OS/2 Warp is mentioned. Crash Protection simply means that whether you run Windows, DOS or OS/2 applications, if one application crashes, OS/2 won't crash too. Multitasking literally means performing more than one task. OS/2 is widely regarded as having the best multitasking capabilities of all 32-bit operating systems for the PC. This means that if you have OS/2 on your computer, you can print a document, format a diskette and download a file from the Internet, all at the same time.

An interesting thing happens when you realize your computer can do more than one thing at a time and run that way for months without any downtime. You begin to look for things the machine can do by itself while you are busy doing other things (like writing a letter or working on a budget). Once it becomes apparent that you can leave your PC to handle these chores by itself without re-booting or extra fiddling, your computer isn't just another computer anymore. You now have an essential business appliance.

You Now Have an Essential Office Appliance

Your system is not like most other appliances that just do one basic task. The essential appliance that is your OS/2 Warp system, can do a multitude of different tasks. For example, with a $100 fax-modem and the FaxWorks software in the BonusPak with OS/2 Warp turns your PC into a $500 fax machine. But its really better than a fax machine because you don't have to worry about paper. You fax your work right from your system. Without paper, the work you send out to the world looks a lot better too. Without missing a beat, your fax-modem transforms into a mini-print shop. You can fire off a batch of flyers, checks or invoices to your printer while you start doing the next thing on your to-do list.

You Also Have an Extra Employee

Without even entering a phone booth, (like Superman.) your PC can become a virtual employee when you set it up to do automatic tasks. OS/2 provides two fundamental tools for PC automation: a scheduler and an easy-to-use language called REXX. The scheduler tells the machine when to do things and you can use REXX to create that automatic tasks that you want your machine to do.

The scheduler is known as the Event Monitor and it's a part of the IBM Works package included in the BonusPak for OS/2 Warp. REXX is a very approachable language, even for relative novice computer users. With a few basic REXX instructions, some controls offered by the Event Monitor, and the ability to multitask, your PC becomes semi-intelligent, able to think on its own.

One time-consuming task that cries out for automation is backup. These days with so much of our business efforts stored on whirring magnetic platters that sometimes fail, it's easy to see that backup is just as relevant to PC users as it had been to "big systems" in the past. Our "small" PCs are now our "big systems." There are about a half-dozen backup utilities for OS/2 that let you leave a tape or disk in the machine overnight and will have the job completed when you return the next morning. (Hint: It's a good idea to test your backup automation before leaving it alone for the night.)

By running a small Bulletin Board Service (BBS) for your customers, your PC can help your business with customer and public relations. OS/2 Warp makes this feasible to do with its seamless multitasking and robustness. Your PC can easily handle many users on the same PC while you use it too. OS/2 has been a favorite among BBS operators for years. These operators have found that a single PC can manage several modems, large disks and the operator's own work demands all at the same time.

Your PC can also serve as your secretary. With a little REXX work, you can wake up every morning to your own "newspaper" of e-mail and news from various sources. The Internet Access Kit in the BonusPak allows you to easily tap into the Internet. Then using the automation tools, you can "teach" your PC to get and send your e-mail or download newsgroups. If you set the Event Monitor to take care of this after hours you can save money with cheaper telephone or network access rates.

From their beginnings, the whole point of computers was to save people time and effort. And they have, but often people use their PCs just to make old tasks faster and easier. With very little or no extra effort, OS/2 Warp can take you beyond this level. It can turn your PC into a versatile office appliance or even into a full-time, reliable, no-weekends or holidays, no-compromises office assistant. In this way, your PC running OS/2 Warp can give you the competitive edge and perhaps even more of the free time that computers have always promised us.

OS/2: Flexibility and Horsepower For Businesses Large and Small

by Maxine Senn-Yuen

"Business" is IBM's middle name. IBM has a long and distinguished history of finding the right solutions for their corporate customers. As a consequence of that business heritage, OS/2 was designed to serve the needs of businesses of every stripe. OS/2 products are at work every day, in companies of all sizes, helping millions of users achieve their business objectives. So whether you're just starting a new business, or running a multinational enterprise, there is an OS/2 solution that is right for you. To illustrate the operating system's versatility, let's examine the real-world performance of OS/2 in two very different business environments.

A&L Associates is a small transportation consulting firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their clients include various railroad companies and the Federal Government. Although the firm has only six employees, the projects they tackle are as complex and demanding as any. OS/2 has been enabling them to find solutions to their clients' problems since version 1.1. With OS/2 Warp Connect as their current operating system, company President Andreas Aeppli uses OS/2 applications for almost everything at his office - SAS for OS/2, WordPerfect 5.2 for OS/2, Lotus 1-2-3 for OS/2 and so on.

A&L Associates chose OS/2 for several reasons. "First of all, the true multitasking, of course, is a massive improvement over anything Windows has to offer. The second thing we do like a lot is the Workplace Shell. I think it's a lot more intuitive and a lot more powerful to work with than any other GUI out there available on a PC platform. Also its network integration is really very solid. It's as good as or better than anything else out there."

OS/2 Warp's true preemptive multitasking is important to their business because they run many programs at once. For instance, while staff members are performing lengthy statistical analyses, they can also create proposals on a word processor or develop budgets on a spreadsheet, all on the same workstation.

When a client recently asked them to suggest the kind of chemical tank cars to buy, for example, A&L Associates researched the problem by comparing fleet repair histories. The analysis required them to make extensive use of SAS, or Statistical Application System. SAS is the most common data analysis tool used by Fortune 500 companies. Running SAS on OS/2 Warp Connect allowed A&L Associates to complete the data analysis and present their recommendation to the client in a timely manner. "With no downtime, we're able to deliver answers to our client questions more quickly. This means better business for clients and better business for us," Aeppli says. "›OS/2 Warp! is out of sight, out of mind."

On the other end of the size spectrum is Alamo Rent A Car, a large car rental agency with more than 8,000 employees in the U.S., and branches all over the world. At Alamo headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale, they use OS/2 for office automation and in their day-to-day operations. The company uses a combination of OS/2 products, including OS/2 2.1 on their servers, OS/2 Warp and OS/2 LAN Server 4.0 Advanced. Communications Manager/2 serves most of their communication needs.

According to Ed Melton, Director of Computer Operations, they chose OS/2 for one reason: "DOS and Windows didn't have the horsepower we need. OS/2 does. When you compare the OS/2 and Communications Manager solution to the DOS and Windows solution we had, we now get more productivity at less cost."

OS/2 is hard at work supporting front-line employees at Certified, Alamo's sister company. The customer service representatives who take reservations need a powerful 32-bit system to look at multiple reservations systems simultaneously. They need information from Sabre, Delta and other systems at the same time in order to provide superior service and the best travel packages for customers. Today, they can do this because OS/2 is integrated in their reservation system. Before migrating to OS/2, each representative had multiple computer terminals. Now, each operator does all his or her work on one terminal. With OS/2, Certified employees are empowered by an operating system which provides them the support they need to excel. The company benefits because their OS/2 solution increases productivity and costs less than the alternatives.

A&L Associates and Alamo Rent A Car are just two brief examples of how OS/2 makes a positive difference in the way businesses conduct business. In fact, the two companies' experiences seem more bound by common threads than separated by differences in their size or industry. Both Alamo and A&L Associates rely on OS/2's stability and performance wherever their computers perform "mission critical" tasks. They both also benefit from the productivity gains that result from OS/2 Warp's multitasking capabilities. Their experiences show how OS/2 is making it easier for businesses to do more.

Cost of Ownership: How OS/2 Warp Connect Helps

Businesses spend far more on their computing needs than what they initially layout for software and hardware. The amount of money spent goes so far beyond the obvious costs that these additional costs have merited a buzz phrase: Total Cost of Ownership. Some people may refer to this concept as the Total Cost of Computing. In this article, we use the term total cost of ownership because it makes for a better acronym (TCO vs. TCC). ; ) In all seriousness though, no matter what it is called the "less obvious" costs of computing in a business can be significant. Operating systems such as OS/2 Warp Connect, with features that can reduce these costs, benefit a business greatly.

Total cost of ownership consists of three major elements.

  • Technical support system costs
  • Administrative costs
  • End-user operating costs

OS/2 Warp Connect has features that can lead to savings in all of these areas.

Technical Support System Savings

The key to leveraging technical support costs is including technology as a major piece of the technical support system. Effective technical support strategies include:

  • Automated software and data distribution
  • Automated configuration management
  • On-line documentation and help
  • Help-desk automation
  • Protocol independence.

OS/2 Warp Connect incorporates technology advancements that help reduce technical support costs. Networking technology has made automated software and data distribution as well as automated configuration management possible. These functions lower technical support costs by reducing the time it takes to install new software and controlling the configuration to avoid future problems. OS/2 Warp Connect's configuration management makes it possible to place a preconfigured machine on each user's desk. Therefore, a technical support person can better perform problem determination for a particular machine as well as manipulate files on the hard disk and fix problems remotely. Remote system control not only saves travel time for the support department but also reduces waiting time for the end-users.

OS/2 Warp Connect comes with excellent on-line documentation and help including a self-guided tutorial. The tutorial provides many features that lessen the educational burden on the technical support staff. The tutorial makes it easier for Windows 3.x users to make the migration. When a user is uncertain about a particular feature, just a click of a button shows the user an explanation of the comparable feature in Windows 3.x in terms that a Windows 3.1 user would understand. To get users more comfortable with a new function, the tutorial has a practice option. This Try It option takes the user out of the tutorial window and back onto his desktop. Once on the desktop, the user gets step-by-step directions to lead him through performing the task. As a user's skill level grows, the tutorial can be set to expert level to teach advanced functions that build on the skills the user already has. These are only some of the reasons that OS/2 received the highest scores for both On-line Help and Tutorials in a recent PC Magazine readers survey.

Help desk automation is enhanced by the expert system technology incorporated in OS/2 Warp Connect. AskPSP, an expert system, serves as an on-line personal help desk. With its natural conversational interface, AskPSP quickly provides the next logical set of questions based on previous responses. Therefore, discovering possible solutions is faster and easier than more traditional problem determination methods. Furthermore, AskPSP provides a success probability with each suggested solution, thus identifying which solutions to try first. End user utilization of this feature can reduce the number of calls to the attended Help Desk. Help Desk employees taking advantage of AskPSP can reduce the time it takes to solve problems and can reduce the number of calls for support. This exclusive feature can lead to savings in technical support and, as a by-product, enhance the work experience for the end-user.

Protocol independence represents support for the commonly used networking protocols based on open industry standards. Protocol independence lowers technical support costs by simplifying system configurations and limiting the number of interfaces that people have to learn and use. OS/2 Warp Connect allows users to connect to servers with different protocols from the same network card. This simplifies connectivity to heterogeneous networks within and outside your company. Furthermore, OS/2 Warp Connect provides a choice of server connections including: NetWare, Windows NT, OS/2 LAN Server, AS/400, AIX, UNIX, MVS and VM. This choice is unmatched in the industry.

OS/2 Warp is a robust and reliable system with an easy-to-use, intuitive interface that minimizes the need for advanced technical intervention. As demonstrated above, leveraging technology can augment technical support; and therefore, can significantly cut resource requirements and dollars spent in this area.

Administrative Savings

Tasks viewed as administrative tasks include:

asset management
security
policy and procedure enforcement
audits
purchasing
installation
moves and changes.

Administrative savings come from the OS/2 Network SignOn Coordinator feature. There are very few companies that have only one server. Often times a user needs to connect to a variety of servers such as NetWare or OS/2 LAN Server for PC connectivity, OS/400, AIX or VM servers for line-of-business applications. With the Network SignOn Coordinator, the end-user can sign on to any combination of servers in the enterprise with one logon. During this logon any login scripts for NetWare are still executed. Also, passwords for any combination of these servers can be changed in a single step.

In a peer network, OS/2 Warp Connect offers security via user-level access rights. The owner of sensitive information on a peer network has the option of giving users or groups of users one of eight authorization levels:

read
read/write
execute
create
delete
attributes
permission
none.

OS/2 Warp Connect can simplify policy and procedure management. The integration of the REXX programming language lets you customize users' desktops in such a way as to enforce certain policies. For example, it may be desirable to remove functionality from the desktop of some users to inhibit such users from altering settings, creating shadows or deleting items.

OS/2 Warp Connect contains built-in connectivity features that gives the user more flexibility. With the built-in networking, the user can install networking capabilities during installation or later. While the user has the flexibility to use many different servers, OS/2 Warp Connect gives the user graphical interfaces to access their choice of servers.

End-User Operation Savings

The most expensive cost category is end-user operations. These operations are all the tasks that end-users need to perform, maintain and effectively use their PC. These tasks are typically not a part of their work assignment. Tasks included in this category of costs are data management and learning.

Data management costs include the cost of re-creating data not backed up. A1992 study by 3M, reported that 24 million work days were lost in the United States alone by workers re-creating lost data.2 The end-user costs associated with using an unreliable PC client are high. The OS/2 architecture and memory management design provide the necessary reliability, integrity and robustness to protect users from losing data. One Microsoft document, 3 intimated that the Windows 95 design choices prioritized application compatibility over reliability and robustness.

As discussed in the Technical Support Savings section OS/2 Warp Connect has very sophisticated features that facilitate learning. These advanced features can lead to significant savings in end-user training.

Being More Productive with Connectivity

In addition to cost of ownership savings, the productivity gains achieved from OS/2 Warp Connect are quite significant. Connectivity is only one of several powerful OS/2 Warp Connect features that can lead a business to exceed their pre-OS/2 Warp Connect level of productivity. It provides a wide range of options that gives users connectivity anytime, anywhere. A business may use some of the connectivity options, all of the options, or even add more encompassing enterprise features.

Peer-to-Peer Connectivity

Peer-to-peer connectivity allows a PC to connect directly to another PC without using a third system as a server. With PCs directly connected, users can share resources such as printers, files and modems. For home users and small businesses, peer connectivity may provide all the connectivity needed for a complete solution. For companies that need to access a server as well as peers, OS/2 Warp Connect makes it possible to have a peer connection and attach to a server over the same network card simultaneously. This simultaneous connection is a breakthrough for companies that have had to choose between a peer or a server connection because each choice required its own connectivity mechanism.

Remote Connectivity

To enable the ever increasing number of mobile users to work when they are away from the office, OS/2 Warp Connect contains LAN Distance. With this built-in capability, a remote worker can dial into the office, and have access to the resources on his machine and to network resources. He can do anything from the road that he does while he's in the office.

Merging onto the information superhighway is the wave of the 90's. The information superhighway gives businesses a vast pool of information - information that can be used for market research, competitive analysis, process improvement, and much more. OS/2 Warp makes it easy to access the Internet using a LAN gateway or a direct phone line. Better yet, the user can use both options at the same time. With the complete set of tools included in the Internet Access Kit the user can visit Web sites, Gopher servers, FTP, and browse newsgroups. OS/2 Warp Connect also includes the ability to play any audio file from the Internet or display popular graphic file formats.

OS/2 Warp Connect further enhances productivity with two collaborative computing applications. The first is Person to Person (P2P), which lets people work together on the same document from remote PCs over standard telephone lines or from an office network. The second application, Lotus Notes Express, simplifies sharing information and other aspects of collaborative computing. In a study by International Data Corporation (IDC), 65 companies that used Lotus Notes in a variety of ways had an average return on investment of 179 percent. One company had 1666 percent return on their Notes investment. The potential savings that OS/2 Warp Connect offers by including Lotus Notes Express is quite substantial.

Businesses have known for a long time that OS/2 is proven and reliable at running mission-critical applications. Many companies currently rely on OS/2 Warp Connect to run their essential business applications. OS/2 Warp customer, Walter Leonard, CIO of Wachovia Bank, says, "OS/2 Warp is the most reliable and industrial-strength operating system. When you put 500 LANs out there with no technicians close by, stability is very important."

Businesses are also familiar with the productivity benefits gained through OS/2's multitasking, multithreading and specific features that enhance a user's ability to use his computer to do more. James Troxell, Vice President of Eddie Elias Enterprises says, "Because OS/2 Warp is integrated with my desktop, cutting and pasting and printing and faxing is really easy. I can actually grab something off the Internet and fax it immediately, without ever copying it. That kind of response is really appreciated by my clients."

What may have been less obvious to businesses is that OS/2 Warp Connect implements and integrates the necessary technology and features to reduce the total cost of computing ... I mean ownership. Well, independent of what we call the problem, the solution is OS/2 Warp Connect.

Get Breathtaking Server Performance With HPFS368

by Richard Hawes

In the September issue of this magazine, Jerome Yuzyk described the benefits of the OS/2 Warp's High Performance File System (http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/m4toc.htm). Here is further detail on how IBM's Advanced LAN Server can outperform other PC network operating systems such as Netware and Windows NT*. The answer lies in the powerful file handling capability of a server armed with the 32-bit, network-aware, High Performance File System known as HPFS386. HPFS386 was so named because it takes advantage of the capabilities of Intel 80386 and higher processors.

Time to Perform

The High Performance File System (HPFS) was first introduced in OS/2 to remove restrictions on file handling imposed by the DOS File Allocation Table (FAT) based file system. As a completely new design, HPFS was able to introduce several new features which improve performance. HPFS improves performance through the use of extended caching. Its new way of mapping the files on the disk, using a binary-tree sorting mechanism for the directory, makes file searches much quicker. File placement algorithms reduce fragmentation, meaning HPFS continues to perform extremely well as drives fill with large numbers of files. OS/2 extended attributes, which are important in the object-oriented WorkPlace Shell, are stored with the files on the disk instead of in a separate file as with FAT.

HPFS386 added further performance enhancements to HPFS, enabling high speed transfers of data between disk and LAN. Apart from some parts of interface compatibility code, HPFS386 is entirely 32-bit. It includes sufficient LAN code links to allow what amounts to direct communication between the file system and the network adapter drivers.

It's All a Question of Interpretation

In all server environments, any user requests must first be interpreted to determine exactly what is being requested. For example, IBM and Microsoft (among others) use the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol for this task. The server receives the request over a communications protocol (for example NetBIOS or TCP/IP). The server then translates the SMB into an action it must perform on behalf of the client. In contrast, older, slower servers coordinate this interpretation in the same way whether the request is for file resources, printing or logon handling.

HPFS386 includes a component, running at the same OS/2 privilege level as the OS/2 kernel itself, known on Intel platforms as ring 0. This component handles SMBs that relate to HPFS files resources. Without HPFS, the system would pass the SMB to the rest of the server code where OS/2's file management would deal with it.

Who Needs the Processor Anyway?

When a request for a particular file comes into an HPFS386 system, the HPFS386 file system interprets the request from LAN Server's SMB protocol. It verifies access rights if necessary and returns the requested data. If the LAN adapter and disk controller both support Direct Memory Access (DMA), moving the data from disk to the HPFS386 cache and through the LAN adapter becomes an extremely fast process. In addition, this reduces workload on the processor, leaving it free to perform other server or operating system functions.

The diagram shows how these components relate to each other, running in OS/2 at the ring 0 privilege level. Note that with very large caches, and typical cache hit rates of between 80 and 90 percent, most data being fed to the LAN adapter avoids direct disk reads.

  • Source: Independent tests performed by LANQuest labs,

comparing IBM LAN Server 4.0 with Netware 4.02 and Windows NT 3.5 running between 200 and 800 users.

For more information on the OS/2 Warp Server Beta program, visit http://www.europe.ibm.com/getdoc/psmemea/progserv/beta.

OS/2 as an Application Server

by Tony Dvorak

While all of the hoopla about Windows NT rages on, OS/2 has been quietly establishing itself as an outstanding platform for application servers. Just ask organizations like Ingram Micro, Cable and Wireless Communications, and Judicial Information Systems of Broward County, Florida, which have implemented innovative new distributed client/server applications using OS/2. In this article I'd like to show you how different systems such as OS/2, LAN Server, and SOM work together to provide an application server base. I'll also give you a glimpse of the future for servers.

According to estimates from International Data Corporation (IDC), IBM, and Lotus, OS/2 is a leader in application servers, with approximately 600,000 servers installed world-wide at the end of 1994. During the first half of 1995, OS/2 continued to ship more application servers than any other vendor according to IDC.

OS/2 sets the standard for application servers in distributed client/server environments. Customers choose OS/2 for its proven, marketplace tested reliability; its broad support of a variety of heterogeneous systems; its support of both de facto and industry standard APIs; and the scalability of server applications across a wide spectrum of platforms.

Application Servers Are a Growing New Class

To best understand the emergence and growth of application servers, you need to consider the evolution of client/server computing needs and capabilities over the last decade. First, what do we mean by file and print servers versus application servers?

File and print servers function primarily as resource sharing services. File servers function as logical extensions of the desktop hard drive for file storage and retrieval, and print servers allow groups of users to share common printing devices. Application servers support applications written specifically to split tasks between client and server for efficiency and functionality. Common uses for application servers include databases, communications, groupware, systems management, transaction management, and industry-specific applications. Application servers provide specific data management or communications services to network users and applications. These server applications are different from file and print services in that application servers are more sophisticated, more specialized, and the server application is written specifically to work with complementary client code.

The advent of relatively inexpensive hardware, operating systems, and connectivity devices paved the way to a file and print computing model that enabled networked users to share information and resources with unparalleled efficiency. Applications that took advantage of the client/server model soon emerged. Applications began partitioning to place the computation and display portion of the computing process on the "front-end" workstation, the client, while leaving the look-up and data manipulation portions to the "back-end" system, the server.

The present client/server model is expanding beyond a simple two-tier architecture where a client application directly accesses a server in order to satisfy a user request. In this model, functions such as presentation of the user interface and some application processing occurs at the client workstation, with most application processing and data access occurring at the server. Emerging three-tier architectures break applications into:

  1. Presentation
  2. Application logic and business rules, and
  3. Data.

As a preemptive multitasking environment with the same APIs on both client and server, OS/2 provides developers with an environment that can easily integrate clients with transaction processors, middleware services and application environments. The use of application servers will accelerate through the enterprise because client/server is moving beyond simple implementations to highly complex, distributed systems using sophisticated network services.

Networks are becoming more intelligent - gathering and using information about their users to streamline application development, operation and administration. The tide of changing computing needs is causing the industry to move beyond the file and print resource sharing model to a more scalable, more powerful, network model employing application servers such as OS/2.

Application servers allow the client/server model to take advantage of the true power of distributed computing. As file and print services become bundled in the operating systems, those functions will become commoditized. IDC research shows that the growth of the file and print server market is being eclipsed by the application server market. IDC predicts that by 1999 only 41% of the servers shipped will be file and print, while 59% will be application servers.

Requirements For An Application Server

Application servers today must meet the following requirements to truly deliver on the promise of distributed computing:

  • 32-bit multitasking and multithreading for optimal performance.
  • Consistent API set across clients and servers for ease of application development.
  • Network scalability to add users and servers to a network without experiencing performance plateaus or administration breakdowns, all the way up to enterprise-wide client/server.
  • Platform scalability to seamlessly move a client/server application to larger classes of server platforms, to handle corporate growth without changing operating systems or rewriting application code.
  • Application architecture scalability to move beyond a simple two-tier client/server model and into a true three-tier architecture to run high performance, large scale client/server applications.
  • Open and integrated architecture that allows applications to easily work together and access distributed network resources and data repositories.
  • High reliability and availability to ensure data integrity and to reduce down-time.
  • Ease of administration for fast installation and simple maintenance.
  • The ability to leverage investments in existing hardware, software, APIs, GUIs, networks, tools, and so on.

OS/2 - Meeting The Requirements For An Application Server

OS/2 is well positioned to provide the robust and consistent platform required for application servers. It supports a wide variety of connectivities, clients, and APIs with an open architecture while providing scalability, ease of administration, and investment protection.

OS/2 - 32-bit Multitasking And Multithreading

OS/2 is a proven, third generation operating environment in its seventh release, offering true preemptive multitasking and multithreading of native applications. OS/2 can smoothly run dozens of programs concurrently and manage multiple concurrent threads of the same program. OS/2 also provides a virtual memory model so that application developers do not have to perform complex memory management programming tasks.

OS/2 - Consistent API Set

Having the same API on both client and server allows developers to easily build distributed applications without coding to multiple sets of APIs. OS/2 offers consistent APIs that ensure backward compatibility across major versions. This means that developers can easily maintain applications throughout their lifecycles. They don't need to recode their applications when a new OS/2 version ships.

OS/2 - Scalability

The concept of an operating system's scalability is often misunderstood and misused in the industry. If more memory, more disk space , etc., can be added for use by an operating system, then the operating system is often falsely declared "scalable". These additions do increase system resources but do little to increase the computing power of the system or to increase the computing power of the network. Better defined, scalability is the ability to:

add users and application services such as security or transaction processing to a network, incrementally, and in turn increase the capacity of the network without creating performance plateaus and administrative burdens;

easily move an application to a larger server platform without having to change operating systems or recode the application; and distribute application logic across a three-tier client/server environment to optimize the running of enterprise-scale applications.

The domain concept used by OS/2 LAN Server allows easy addition of servers to a network because the servers are identified logically rather than physically to programs and users. On a symmetric multiprocessor system OS/2 can scale its performance by distributing application threads among the processors. Computation- intensive applications will benefit from OS/2's scalable performance, on or off a network. Products such as LAN Server, DB2/2, and CICS are also implemented on RS/6000, AS/400, and S/390 architectures, allowing scaling across these different hardware platforms.

OS/2 - Open And Integrated Architecture

IBM has worked with international standards committees, industry consortia, customers, and industry analysts to support widely accepted standards - all to assure that OS/2 and other products can interact to create heterogeneous problem-solving environments. OS/2 integrates with the industry's widest range of computing environments. OS/2 offers highly efficient mainframe connectivity, LAN and WAN interoperability, broad database access and an impressive list of interoperability and connectivity capabilities:

  • OS/2 supports IBM and other major industry server systems including LAN Server, NetWare, DB2/2 for OS/2, Sybase SQL Server, Oracle, Ingress, and Gupta.
  • OS/2 offers unprecedented levels of integration with database systems such as DB2/6000, DB2/400, and DB2 on MVS.
  • OS/2 LAN Server services are also provided on LAN Server for AIX, LAN Server/400, and LAN Server for MVS.
  • OS/2 provides communications support for interconnected workgroups and host gateways, supporting an impressive list of connectivity including AnyNet/2, TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, Named Pipes, APPC/APPN, remote access services, etc.
  • OS/2 has comprehensive client support that includes DOS, Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, and MVS systems.

OS/2 - High Reliability And Availability

As an industrial-strength operating system in its seventh release, OS/2 provides enterprises with strong reliability and data integrity so users and applications have uninterrupted availability of network services and data. OS/2 and LAN Server support for disk mirroring, disk duplexing, Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) and Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) ensures the protection and availability of business information. OS/2's protected multitasking provides robust partitioning of applications to ensure data integrity and uptime availability.

OS/2 - Ease Of Administration

OS/2 is one of the easiest operating systems to install, deploy and maintain within the enterprise. OS/2 with LAN Server provides customers with powerful yet easy to use tools for adding new users, setting up groups of users, and defining servers and resources such as printers, serial devices, directories and shared applications. OS/2's intuitive graphical interface gives administrators an easy method of performing tasks. Extensive documentation in the form of manuals and on-line documents reduces administrator workload.

OS/2 - Leveraging Investments

As businesses invest in hardware, networks, databases, development tools and customized applications, their number one requirement is backward compatibility. OS/2 offers backward compatibility to ensure that new versions work with previous applications, APIs, client software, data resources, tools, hardware, network operating systems and user interfaces. The future requirements for future advanced distributed computing systems include:

  • Security that enables a single system logon and provides both client and server authentication.
  • Enterprise Directory for creating common addressing and naming;
  • Time synchronization across applications and devices;
  • Transaction processing to ensure data integrity and enable rollback;
  • Object request brokers for coordinating communications between objects;

Object technology is key to the evolution of OS/2. Objects are expected to become more prevalent in applications and as system and network components. Basic object management services are being extended and expanded to satisfy both transitional, mixed environments and full, object-oriented implementations.

The new types of object technologies implemented in OS/2 deliver two key benefits for software development. First, the objects are inherently portable between environments, capable of communicating with each other through common, standard interfaces. Second, they allow the creation of modular products, providing code reuse and the ability to deliver new innovations without constructing an entire application, thereby shortening development time and easing application maintenance.

At the same time, the OS/2 environment provides the freedom to incorporate object technology when and where it is most appropriate. Since the OS/2 architecture allows for the coexistence of object-oriented programs and procedural programs, OS/2 provides end users with a gradual migration to object technology. This allows software developers to integrate new object-oriented applications into existing environments.

IBM is currently working on a broad range of initiatives to ensure that the OS/2 platform continues to meet customers' needs, while providing a future growth platform for integrating new technologies into distributed computing environments. Based upon the Open Blueprint architectures, these initiatives include:

  • Expanding support of three-tier client/server architectures;
  • Using distributed object technologies such as DSOM and OpenDoc for rapidly developing and deploying business applications;
  • Enhancing OS/2 development and debugging tools to speed development cycles;
  • Implementing a microkernel-based architecture for OS/2 on the PowerPC and Intel platforms to aid cross-platform application deployment.

Summary

Today, OS/2 is widely used as an application server providing enterprises with specialized data management and communications services. OS/2 commands a major market share and continues to grow because:

  • OS/2 is a proven third generation 32-bit operating system.
  • OS/2 provides a consistent set of APIs across the client and server to ensure fast application development.
  • OS/2 has the facilities for integration into other enterprise systems.
  • OS/2 conforms to open industry standards.
  • OS/2 is easy to administer.
  • OS/2 protects existing investments in hardware, software, APIs, GUIs, networks, tools, databases, etc.

With a track record of solving enterprise computing problems, OS/2 is positioned to help businesses take advantage of the latest in application server technologies.


Tony Dvorak is Manager of OS/2 Server Strategy, IBM Personal Software Products. Tony Dvorak develops strategies to position OS/2 as the leading application server platform base. This includes assuring that product development plans support OS/2 as a server, and that marketing programs support this effort. Dvorak joined IBM as a marketing representative in 1968 from a career in engineering management in the aerospace industry. He has held a variety of management positions in IBM, both in marketing and product development, focusing on personal computer communications and data management products. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

SUPPORT

The Latest Fixes and Drivers for OS/2

OS/2 Warp Family FixPak XR_W010 has been released. This FixPak can be installed on the following OS/2 Warp platforms:

OS/2 Warp
OS/2 Warp Connect
OS/2 Warp with WINOS2
OS/2 Warp Connect with WINOS2

OS/2 Warp Family FixPak XR_W010 replaces OS/2 Warp FixPak XR_W009. It improves the following:

File layout concerns with OS/2 Warp FixPak XR_W009.
Data corruption on PCI IDE systems with the PCtech RZ1000 chip.
Two files for BIDI support have been added: WPPRTMRI.DLL and WPHELP.HLP

OS/2 Warp Connect installation.

There are two kinds of FixPaks: public and controlled. OS/2 Warp Family FixPak XR_W010 is a controlled release. It is currently targeted to be the next OS/2 Warp public release FixPak. One way to determine if you need a FixPak is to search the Authorized Problem Analysis Reports (APAR) database at http://ps.boulder.ibm.com/pbin-usa-ps/pub_search.pl. You can search this database for information on your specific problem. If you decide that you need a controlled FixPak or driver to solve your problem, then you can download it from PCC BBS or IBM OS/2 BBS. Customers calling IBM Support can get information to logon to the BBS by APAR number.

Public FixPaks can be downloaded from these sites all over the world:

CompuServe

Subscribers can download FixPaks from the OS/2 Support Forum (GO OS2SUPPO).

IBM OS/2 BBS

Subscribers can down load FixPaks from the Software Download Library. U.S. customers who are not subscribers can call 1-800-547-1283 for information on how to subscribe.

Prodigy

Subscribers can down load FixPaks from the OS2CLUB in the Down Load Library, IBM Files, Fixes area. Files are updated weekly and are available on Friday.

PCC BBS

Customers can call the IBM Personal Computer Company BBS in Raleigh NC, and download FixPaks from the public area. You can access this BBS at 919-517-0001.

America Online

Subscribers can download FixPaks from the OS/2 Area.

Customers with access to Internet services can download Fixpaks using the following methods:

Anonymous FTP to "ftp.software.ibm.com" (IP Address 198.17.57.66)

FixPaks are located in the "/ps/products/os2/fixes" directory.

World Wide Web (WWW) access via:

IBM Software Manufacturing Solutions ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes

Warped etc.

Batch Manager Version 3.0 Now Available

M. Bryce & Associates have released version 3.0 of "BATCH MANAGER," a native OS/2 32-bit application for scheduling, executing, monitoring, and controlling jobs (OS/2 or DOS Command Files and Executable Programs).

This version implements the following features:

New multiple queue approach allowing both serial and concurrent execution of jobs.
New controls to hold and release job queues.
Full "drag and drop" support for job submission.
New on-line display of job log showing date/time of job execution, along with completion codes.

New job priority setting for program processing:

  1. Time-Critical - Highest
  2. Regular
  3. Idle-Time - Lowest

Converted job completion message from a Vio-Popup to a Presentation Manager dialog box.

Upgraded on-line help.

"BATCH MANAGER" requires OS/2 2.1 or higher. The product can be purchased either through the vendor, MBA, or through Indelible Blue: (800-776-8284) or go to http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib

Special upgrade prices for current users are available from MBA.

Demo versions of "BATCH MANAGER" are available through MBA's bulletin board at 813-786-4864 and will soon be made available through CompuServe, America Online, and the following "Anonymous" FTP sites:

Hobbes - hobbes.nmsu.edu
Walnut Creek - ftp-os2.cdrom.com

For additional information visit http://warp.eecs.berkeley.edu/os2/connect/batchmgr.html or contact"

M. Bryce & Associates, Inc.
777 Alderman Road 
Palm Harbor, Florida  34683
Tel:  813-786-4567 
Fax:  813/786-4765
BBS:  813-786-4864 
CompuServe:  76235,2364 

Getting Started with OS/2 Warp

The new OS/2 Warp makes it easier to do more with your computer and your time, while other operating systems still keep you waiting. With OS/2 Warp, there's no need to wait any longer.

Order OS/2 Warp and LAN systems products today by contacting your IBM Authorized Reseller or call IBM directly.

 Country              Telephone number

Argentina 319-6666 Australia 62-1-132426 Austria 43-1-21145-2500 Bangladesh 880-2-231-022 Belgium 02-225-3333 Brazil 0800-111426 Bulgaria 0035-92-731076 Canada 1-800-465-7999 Chile 800-203037 or 56-2-6332292 China 86-10-437-6677 Croatia 0038-51-624500 Czech Republic 00422/67106111 Denmark 45-45-93-45-45 Finland 358-0-4591 France 16-38-55-7055 Germany 49-1003-317131 Hong Kong 852-2825-7878 Hungary 00361/1654422 India 91-80-526-8344 Indonesia 62-21-523-8200 Italy 167-017001 Korea 822-781-6114 Malaysia 603-735-8828 Netherlands 030-383773 New Zealand 0800-801-809 Paraguay 595-21-444094 Philippines 63-2-892-3026 Poland 00482/6251010 Portugal 1-7915900 Singapore 65-320-1234 Slovakia 00427-786-403 Slovenia 0038-661-1252-154 South Africa 0800-126126 Spain 900-100-400 Sri Lanka 941-440-810 Sweden 08793-1000 Switzerland 01436-7478 Taiwan 886-2-776-7658 Thailand 66-2-273-4286 United Kingdom 01329-242728 United States 1-800-436-2255 Uruguay 598 2 923617

For Developers: The Developer Connection for OS/2 The Developer Connection Device Driver Kit (DDK) Order Numbers North and South America:

Brazil            	0800-111205
             		(The Developer Connection for OS/2)
                   (011) 866-3222
                   (fax - The Developer Connection for OS/2)
                    02-1-800-6120
                   (The Developer Connection DDK) 

Canada 1-800-561-5293

Mexico 91-800-00639

Mexico City 627-2444

United States 1-800-6DEVCON

                	     (633-8266) 
                  	1-303-330-7655 (fax)

In Asia Pacific: The Developer Connection can be ordered in Asia/Pacific countries. Please ensure that you dial the international access code applicable to your country before the listed phone number. Note that 61 is the country code for Australia.

  61-2-354-7684 (phone)      61-2-354-7766 (fax)

In Europe: The Developer Connection can be ordered direct from the IBM Software and Publications Center (SPC) in Denmark if you live outside the US, Canada, Asia/Pacific, Brazil, or Mexico. Please ensure that you dial the international access code applicable to your country before dialing the appropriate phone number. This applies to both telephone and fax orders. Operators speaking the following languages are available. Note that 45 is the country code for Denmark.

   Dutch 		45-4-810-1400
   Italian  	45-4-810-1600
   English 	45-4-810-1500
  Scandinavian 45-4-810-1300
   French 		45-4-810-1200
   Spanish  	45-4-810-1100
   German 		45-4-810-1000
               45-4-814-2207 (fax)

Electronic Support for Developers is provided through CompuServe, OS/2 BBS, and the Internet. Obtain technical support or use the forums to exchange messages, ideas, comments, or concerns with The Developer Connection for OS/2 team or other members.

The dedicated Developer Connection section on CompuServe is located in the IBM OS/2 Developer Forum 2. To obtain access to this section, please send a note with your subscription number to the Developer Connection Administrator at CompuServe user id 73423,2767. You will receive notification or access to the Developer Connection q section within 2 business days.

To access the forum, type GO OS2DF2 at the | prompt; then, select the Developer Connection section.

For CompuServe membership information, call one of the following numbers:

From Germany: 			     0130 37 32
From the United Kingdom: 	0800 289 378 
From other countries in Europe: (+44) (+272) (255 111)
From the U.S.: 			1-800-524-3388
From elsewhere: 			1-614-457-0802

Ask for Representative 239. You will receive a special introductory membership for IBM customers.

Staff Biographies

Vicci Conway is a Senior Marketing Communications Specialist with the Personal Software Products Division of IBM. In that capacity she is the Program Manager responsible for Worldwide OS/2 Electronic Information Strategy and Planning. Vicci has been with IBM for 14 years, has been on CompuServe for 8 years, enjoys reading, motorcycling and computers. She can be reached at Internet: vicci@vnet.ibm.com or at CompuServe: 76711,1123.

Jeri Dube has been working for IBM for 12 years now. She is currently working as a Senior Marketing Support Rep, putting together communication vehicles for OS/2 Warp and LAN Server. She swears this is the best job she has had in a long time. Outside of IBM, Jeri spends time with her family, scuba diving, and practicing Yoga. Her favorite quote is: "Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced not by being sober, cautious and responsible but by being playful, rebellious and immature."Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker. Contact Jeri at Internet:jdube@vnet.ibm.com.

Darryl Everett has been an OS/2 user for 3 years and is a proud member of the OS/2 Bay Area User Group. He is an Area Sales Manager for nCHIP, a supplier of multi-chip module technology.

Richard Hawes has worked in the PC industry for too long with a slight detour into IBM mid-range systems when he joined IBM nearly seven years ago. Richard is now working in Basingstoke, England as a LAN Technical Consultant in a European Project Office where he provides assistance to IBM support organisations. Richard's spare time mainly revolves around keeping his young daughter from wrecking the house. His other hobbies include swimming, cinema and juggling. Low ceilings in his house prevent him from juggling five balls; otherwise, he would have surely mastered it by now. He can be reached at juggler@vnet.ibm.com.

Steve McNally develops promotions with Marketing Reps as the Editor for the IBM US Promotions and Price Actions Board. He spends his free time with his wife Kim and seven-month-old daughter, Olivia Hope, and tries to put in as much time as possible writing fiction of all shapes and sizes. A quote that came to mind while composing his bio was "It's like a sauna in here." Cosmo Kramer, in the sauna at a health club. He can be reached at Internet: smcnally@vnet.ibm.com.

Maxine Senn-Yuen joined IBM's Worldwide Marketing Program as an Associate Program Administrator in 1995. Maxine is an incipient yuppie who enjoys golf and shopping at the Gap. She can be reached at msenn@vnet.ibm.com.

Patrick Senti joined IBM in 1989 as a commercial trainee. In 1991, he joined the OS/2 support group, where he made his first contact with OS/2. It quickly became his favourite opperating system. Right now Patrick is working as a Programmer for IBM internal application development on MVS systems. Patrick uses OS/2 at home and on small projects at work. Patrick can be reached at Internet: psen@vnet.ibm.com.

Collin Summers' company has been contracted by IBM to help in central Illinois with OS/2 LAN Server and all those other PC Software type stuff. Before IBM took up all his time, he did independent computer consulting in many areas, but focused on OS/2 work (Guess that's how he ended up working with IBM). Collin spends his free time, when there is some, tinkering around and looking for new and better ways to use computers. Of course, he only runs OS/2 and OS/2 LAN Server on his business' LAN. Collin is available at Internet: summers@vnet.ibm.com or 73422,3364@compuserve.com.

Jerome Yuzyk graduated from the U of Alberta in 1984 with a B.Sc. Psychology, specializing in Human and Machine Vision. In 1993 he set out on his own, forming BRIDGE Scientific Services. He consulted to various large and small business in the Edmonton area. Being an OS/2 user since 1992 in the midst of a sea of ignorance and misinformation Jerome started CAOS/2: Central Alberta OS/2 Users Group in August 1993. The group has grown to 100+ members since then. In October of 1994 he joined IBM Canada as a Retail Marketing Specialist, travelling the prairies talking to retailers, consultants and user groups about OS/2 Warp and OS/2 products in general. He also just started teaching OS/2 courses for IBM Education Services. When he's not doing any of that he's a hobby gardener and amateur landscape designer. And when not doing *that*, he takes apart various rooms in his house and (sometimes) puts them back together again.

Jerome can be reached at Internet: jerome@supernet.ab.ca.

SURVEY

We want to produce a quality newsletter that meets your needs. Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions and send your responses to: - FAX: 407-982-8888 - INTERNET ID: JDUBE @ VNET.IBM.COM - MAIL: Jeri Dube

                IBM Personal Software Products
                1000 51st Street  
                Boca Raton, Fl 334

- IBM VNET: BCRVM1(WARPWIRE)

1.   What other information would you like to see published in
this newsletter?
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________


2.   Is the length of the newsletter:_____ Too short _____ Too
long  _____ Just right

3.   Does this newsletter improve your product knowledge of
OS/2 Warp and LAN Systems products? 	_____ Yes   _____ No

4.  Do you currently have an OS/2 Warp or LAN systems product
installed?
		_____ Yes   _____ No

5.  Do you plan to have an OS/2 Warp or LAN systems product
installed?
		_____ Yes   _____ No

6.  Optional

Name: 	
Address: 	
City, State, ZIP: 	
E-Mail Address: 		

COMMENTS:  Please offer any ideas/suggestions to improve the
newsletter.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Thank you for answering this survey. We make improvements based on what you tell us|

OS/2 WARP AND LAN SERVER CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM

If you would like to share your experiences with OS/2 Warp or LAN Server, please fill out the following form and get it back to us. We are especially interested in entrepreneurs who use OS/2 Warp or LAN Server and people who use these products in unusual circumstances.

 -  FAX:  407-982-8888
 -  INTERNET ID:  JDUBE @ VNET.IBM.COM
 -  MAIL:  Jeri Dube 
                   IBM Personal Software Products 
                   1000 51st Street
                   Boca Raton, Fl 33434
GENERAL INFORMATION:

Name: 	
City: 	 
State/Province: 	
Country: 	
Fax: 	
Email Address: 
Street/P.O.Box:
City: 
State/Province: 
ZIP/Postal Code: 	

INDUSTRY: ____Communications ____Cross Industry ____Distribution
____Education ____Finance ____Government ____Health
____Insurance ____Manufacturing ____Petroleum ____Process
____Transportation ____Travel ____Utilities

SIZE:

Annual Revenue US$: ____< $5M ____$5 - 50M ____$51 - 100M
____$101 - 500M  ____$501 - 999M ____$1 - 10B ____> $10B

No. of Employees: ____Small <100 ____Medium 100-500 ____Large >
500

No. of Students if College/University: ____<5000 ____5000 -10000
____>10000


 BACKGROUND:  (Briefly describe the business or situation where 
you used the products.)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________


NEED:  (What problem/situation existed which caused you to seek 
a solution using OS/2 Warp and/or LAN Server?)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________


DESCRIPTION OF SOLUTION:  (Please provide a detailed
description.  Describe any mission critical applications. For a
networking solution,  include a description of the network.)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________


BENEFITS:  (Please describe business or personal benefits.)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________