The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2


About The Guide  


Here and Now


SoftViews


TechnoWatch


OS/2 Tips 


Trivia Question 


How to Submit

About The Guide
The Hitchhiker's Guide To OS/2

     Issue #6 
       Published On 5/7/94  

         This guide is meant to give a concise report on current
OS/2 events.  Any and all contents are solely my opinion or the
opinion of the noted author.  Read on and I hope you enjoy
another issue of the 
HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2.

       Any Comments Regarding The Guide can be directed to:

sdudas@austin.onu.edu
Steve Dudas.

       Special Thanks go to Dr. V. Phaniraj for letting me know
that wp2ipf/2 exists.  
       In you haven't guessed that is what this is done with. 
Thanks to Kim Kruse Hansen for the great job he has done with
this application.

       Copies of the HHGOS2 will be available for anonymous ftp
from ftp-os2.cdrom.com.  
look in /pub/incoming/hhgos2_#.zip 
every other Saturday for a new release or look in
/pub/os2/2_x/info/newsltr/hhgos2_#.zip  For back issues.
The .zip file will contain both a .txt and the .inf version of
the HHGOS2.
 Here and Now

The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2

     Wang Vs. Microsoft

          It seems that Microsoft may have stolen from more
companies than just Stac.  Wang Labs, who just came out of
bankruptcy, has apparently filed a lawsuit against MicroSoft
claiming that MicroSoft stole code from Wang to build none other
than MicroSoft's own OLE.  I pity MS if Wang has enough evidence
to win this, OLE has been an integral part of everything since
the early days of MS Windows.  Hmm WangSoft, MicroWang....

     OS/2 2.2

         Well I think there are more rumors than copies sold of
OS/2.  I have heard everything from coming out next week, to
sometime around Christmas.  
         My current "best" word is sometime late this summer for
OS/2 2.2 lite, which is codenamed "warp".  One of the reasons for
all these dates, may be all the different versions that IBM has
planned for 2.2.  One version, OS/2 lite, will run in 4 megs of
RAM and comes without Windows code, much like OS/2 for Windows. 
However IBM has heard the cries of how hard OS/2 for Windows is
to install and apparently they have completely redone the install
program.
        Many people have also asked me how OS/2 will be able to
run in 4 megs of RAM.  From what I understand its not magic,
instead the OS/2 lite kernel has been restructured to check the
system less.  By that I mean it would not check on the load or
swapfile size as often.  While this will not have any real effect
on say a single user, those who run OS/2 servers may be well
advised to stick with the full version of OS/2, since their load
averages can change at a moments notice.  This version of OS/2 is
more geared to the user who only wants to run one or two apps,
but who also wants the stability OS/2 offers over Windows.  Which
is perfect for millions of Windows users around the world. 
Kudo's to IBM on this one.

       Commodore

       An sad end to a great little company.  Commodore
computers, makers of the famous Commodore 64 and the Amiga closed
its doors this past week.  All operations have been shut down
until further notice.

       Ultimotion 

       Ultimotion, IBM's motion video technology, is now
available free from IBM.  They are licensing the code to anyone
who wishes to further develop the software.


       IBM CAD/3X

       IBM has apparently developed a pretty good OS/2 CAD
package that they compare to AutoCAD LT. I am personally not a
CAD/CAM guru but IBM is offering the IBM CAD/3X CD for only $99.
Most corporations spend thousands every year on CAD so $99 seems
very reasonable.  For more information call  1-800-IBM-CAD1 Ext
63.
SoftViews
The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2

       This Weeks review goes to ScreenSaver version 1.2

       Written by Siegfried Hanisch, this program is a very
functional screensaver.  No it doesn't have any let you shoot at
Bill Gates or anything, but you can use Deskpic modules, and
there are a ton of those.  The Screensaver also has options to
ignore input from the mouse, very handy if your desk gets bumped
a lot, and also seem to take up very little RAM. 
       ScreenSaver also comes with instructions and sample files
on how to create your own ScreenSaver modules.  So if you have
always had an idea for a great screensaver heres your chance to
make it reality.  
       As with all software reviewed, this program can be found
at ftp-os2.cdrom.com in /pub/os2 on the Internet.
TechnoWatch

The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2

       This is a little technical but I think many readers may be
interested to know that a new type of transistor is arriving on
the scene.  This transistor has your basic, base, collector, and
emitter, but it is made of ALL METAL.  Kinda crazy but true, from
what I have read they can actually spin the electrons on each
plate in different directions using magnetic fields, thus giving
this device all the properties of the basic transistor.
       The upshot for non techy people is that this transistor is
1/100 the size of current silicon based devices and because it is
made of all metal it can dissipate much higher amounts of heat.
Mass production of these devices may be a few years off but they
could be as major a player in tomorrow's computer as fiber optics
is in todays. Now if only we could get a PowerPC built with
these.OS/2 Tips

The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2
     
 Adding Fonts to OS/2

       Many people complain that OS/2 looks "ugly" when you
install it, and you know what they are right.  IBM is doing its
part by adding 3-D icons and some nice new colors, but you can do
a lot of things to spruce up the desktop after you have installed
it.  Here is how to add some fonts to the system.  By the way,
these fonts can be used for the text below icons and really any
system text, not just in your word processor.

     1) Get the font files, many fonts can be found on the
internet at ftp-os2.cdrom.com in /pub/os2/all/fonts

     2) Open the Font palette in the System Setup folder

     3) Select Edit, and then add, now specify where the fonts
are on your hardrive.

     4) Select where the fonts should be stored and then select
add.
 Trivia Question

The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2

       The weeks question is:
     
       Why did Phillipe Kahn name his company Borland?
    
       The answer to last issues question was of course Brian 
Kernigan.
How To Submit an Article

The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2


       Please Include the following Information in all
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       2)    email-address

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