The HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2



About the Guide


The Hitchhiker's Guide To OS/2

Issue #9 
Published On 1/06/95  

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:

Steve Dudas
sdudas@austin.onu.edu

       Special Thanks go to Dr. V. Phaniraj for letting me know
about wp2ipf/2.  
       Which is the program that makes this publication possible. 
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 hobbes.nmsu.edu  
look in /os2/incoming/hhgos2#.zip 
every other Saturday for a new release or look in
/os2/32bit/info/newsltr/hhgos2_#.zip  For back issues.
The .zip file will contain both a .txt and the .inf version of
the HHGOS2.

OS/2 In the NEWS

The HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2

     Warp Sales Figures!!

          Last Count IBM has shipped almost 800,000 copies of OS/2 WARP!!

          Warp has also risen to #2 on the software best selller list.
          #1 is a tax package not made by Microsoft.

Canon BubbleJet Drivers
          
               Canon has released a new revision of its bubblejet series
          drivers for OS/2.  The new drivers support the following printers:

          BJ-100,BJ-200,BJ-200e,BJ-230,BJC-600,BJC-600e,BJC-800,BJC-820,
          and the BJC-4000.
          
               These drivers apparently support 24-bit truecolor for the
          models which support color as well being full 32-bit drivers.  The
          only feedback I have had is positive so if your thinking about a new
          printer maybe it should be a Canon.

Warp APAR List

               IBM has published a list of APARs (I.E. Known bugs in Warp)
          I have included this list in the zipfile that this issue of the 
          HHGOS2 came in.  If you click on the bug, a full summary of the
          problem and any known workarounds or patches will be listed.


New Colorado Backup software
 
               HP has released a much improved version of its Colorado 
          backup software for OS/2.  The new version is fully 32-bit, 
          supports HPFS, FAT, long filenames, compressed drives, and a host of
          small improvements.  The list price is only $69.95.

Watcom C++ 10.0a
               
              Watcom is still running its special to get the full compiler
          with online documentation for $199.  If you are a student they will
          drop that price to $99. 
              Warning: When I installed Watcom onto Warp, Watcom tore up my
          config.sys pretty bad, in fact the desktop would not even appear 
          with the new config.sys.  Using Alt-F1 sequence I restored my
          config.sys and found that Watcom had put its path additions at
          the BEGINING of the path statement, which Warp did not like.  
          Once I cut and pasted the statements a bit everything worked
          great!

OS/2 SoftWare Review

The HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2

This Issue's Review Goes to:
IBM CAD / 3X


              IBM CAD / 3X is a very handy tool, although it is not just
          another CAD program.  CAD 3X comes with OS/2 PM, Text, and DOS,
          versions.  My testing used the PM version and I found CAD 3X to
          be a very powerfull tool.  CAD 3X's power however does not lie in
          4000 functions or a manual requiring a CD-ROM, rather its simplicity
          and ease of use is perhaps its most powerfull feature.
              In the past I mainly used AutoCAD 10. With AutoCAD I tend to
          forget commands I haven't used recently since I use it rarely.
          In the case of CAD / 3X the commands well organized, almost as
          though the interface was so well thought out that using it was
          second nature.  
              I am an EE by trade and thus I do not use CAD programs
          all that much. Perhaps if I needed more raw power and were willing
          to sacrifice the time to master a program such as AutoCAD, CAD / 3X
          wouldn't be quite so special.
               However CAD / 3X provides the best of both worlds.  Enough
          power to do what I need, with a small enough learning curve to give
          me time to do it.

OS/2 NetSurfing!

The HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2
          

               This section is dedicated to bringing you information on the
          finest OS/2 internet resources and how to access them.
          A list of Web sites, ftp sites, newsgroups and other resources
          which have usefull OS/2 information are listed in the
          OS/2 Internet Resource List.

WebExplorer 1.0

               IBM has released Ver. 1.0 of the OS/2 WebExplorer.  For those
          unfamilar, Web Exp. is a World Wide Web Explorer much like NetScape
          or Mosiac.  The Web Exp. though is much more powerfull given its
          multi-threaded construction and its SOM extensions, all possible
          only with OS/2.
               The Web explorer can be ftped from ftp.ibm.net.  The
          file is named web.zip.  The WebExplorer will work under either
          IAK (Internet Access Kit) provided in the Warp Bonus Pak or
          OS/2 TCPIP 2.0 w/ the latest CSDs applied.
OS/2 Internet Resource List

The HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2

Ftp sites:
          hobbes.nmsu.edu login: anonymous
             USA's main repository of OS/2 shareware and ftpable information.
          ftp-os2.cdrom.com login: anonymous
             Mirror of hobbes, not as current but is usually faster.
          ftp.ibm.net login: anonymous
             One of IBM's ftp sites.  Holds latest version of WebExplorer.
WWW sites:

          html://venus.ee.ndsu.nodak.edu/os2
             Highly current and reguarly updated source of OS/2 information.
             Compiled and updated by Dr. V. Phaniraj.
          html://www.ibm.net
             IBM's own WWW site.  Contains information ranging from IBM
             earnings reports to an online mall.

IRC Channel:

          Join #OS/2 on the Internet Relay Chat system for lively OS/2 
          discussions.           

Read News:

          comp.os.os2.*
             Contains newsgroups ranging from networking to OS/2
             announcements.  c.o.o.announce is perhaps the best source of OS/2
             news since only confirmed announcments and press releases are
             posted there.

      NOTE:  This is a quick stab at providing a basic list.  If you have
              things to add please e-mail me at sdudas@austin.onu.edu.
OS/2 Tips and Hints

The HitchHiker's Guide To OS/2


                   Here are a couple hints to making the most of Warp:
              
              1)  When booting the computer a the letters "OS/2" will appear
                  at the top of the screen right after your main bios screen.
                  Hit Alt-F1 here and you will get a menu of ways to recover
                  a damaged system.
              2)  Hitting Ctrl-Esc-Esc will usually clear a hung message
                  queue in Warp. 
              3)  Do Not delete the "Nowhere" subdirectories on your main
                  C drive.  Warp links things through them.
              Trivia Question

The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2

               Issue #8's trivia question asked who pioneered the Winchester
          drive technology that has made the hard drive as we know it
          possible.
          Answer: IBM 

          This issues trivia question:

               Linux is fast becoming a leading choice when building a low
          budget unix box.
               Who started the Linux project and why?
      
How To Submit Articles

The Hitchhikers Guide To OS/2


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