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## News Page 3

March 15

MR/2 ICE v2.36

MR/2 ICE version 2.36 has been released.
The link for direct download is:
http://mr2ice.secant.com/nick/mr2i236.zip

New in this release:

There was an ugly bug with creating new user profiles ("accounts") under OS/2. You'd often get an empty .CFG file and the settings were actually stored in a CFW file (multiplatform). This caused double entries in the LOGIN-> menu. Fixed.

Some minor issues with SMTP Authentication when @ signs were part of the login name. Fixed in an "a" release, but that never made it beyond 1-2 people.

NEW PO BOX recorded in register.doc and upreg.doc.

March 14

Warpzilla 1.3 release

URL: http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/

"March 14, 2003 Mozilla 1.3 has been released. The OS/2 version is available as a Full Installer .exe and a Zipfile. Spellchecker is included."
With installer:
ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.3/mozilla-os2-1.3-installer.exe
Zip file:
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.3/mozilla-os2-1.3.zip

This is a milestone release. Previous 1.3 versions were alpha/beta releases.

Please report any issues at the Warpzilla newsgroup - ews://news.mozilla.org/netscape.public.mozilla.os2 and on Bugzilla - http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=UNCONFIRMED&bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&op_sys=OS%2F2&order=Bug+Number

March 14

Lotus Smart Suite 1.7.1 update available on Upgrade Protection.

For eComStation users with Upgrade Protection subscriptions, the Lotus Smart Suite 1.7.1 update is now available in the eCS UpgradeProtection area on the FTP server. It doesn't appear to be in the HTTP search page yet.

If you have eCS Upgrade Protection, you can access the FTP site by using the userid and password that is displayed when you select a file for download in the members area at the http://www.ecomstation.com. FTP download directions are on the page.

The files are in the /UpgradeProtection/SmartSuite/ directory.
English 1.7.1 update: C46WDIE.EXE 18,748,308 2003-03-12 15:03
German 1.7.1 update: C46WDDE.EXE 18,789,027 2003-03-12 14:42
Points to note:
1. This is an update only and requires Lotus Smart Suite 1.7 to be installed prior.
2. This executable archive is made with PKWare's PKSFX so to unzip it you have to add the -D -O switches to build the required directories or use an UNZIP utility to unarchive the files.
3. I generally only use Word Pro and have seen no problems with that after the update, but I haven't done much with it yet. I know of at least one person that could not get his Approach database to open after the update. So you might want to make sure you have backups of everything before applying this update. For me all the applications (1-2-3, LWP, Approach, FLG and Organizer) opened after applying this update without problem.

March 14

BT32.SYS/LXAPI32.SYS

[Note: The following was posted to comp.os.os2.multimedia on March 9, 2003.]

I've just uploaded a new version of BT32.SYS/LXAPI32.SYS http://www.nord-com.net/s.milcke/bttv_en.htm

LXAPI32.SYS supports now real kernel threads. Previous version was a dirty hack for kernel threads with much needs to rewrite all thread code. LXAPI32.SYS doesn't need a timer hook anymore. All timer related code was moved into an extra kernel thread.

BT32.SYS is a port of the linux bttv driver. It supports TV-Cards under OS/2 with BT8x8 chipset. Included in the package is a small application for viewing TV and TeleText and for Radio.

Eugene Gorbunoff is currently rewriting his CoolFM for support of BT32.SYS.

March 13

SNAP Graphics for OS/2 2.1.3
SciTech SNAP Graphics for OS/2 2.1.3 has been released:
ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/snap/os2/beta/
You can view the readme file here:
ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/snap/os2/beta/readme.txt
For a list of changes, see the changelog:
http://www.scitechsoft.com/snap2_changes.txt
If you encounter any problems, please open tickets on the SciTech HelpDesk, with your graphics.log and any pertinent screenshots attached:
http://www.scitechsoft.com/support/helpdesk/

The plan is to release this as a non-beta version if no major problems are discovered over the next couple days, so let us know if you find any!

March 12

HotScroll, WarpCenter HotKey and BackTalk

HotScroll 1.1, WarpCenter HotKey 1.1 and BackTalk 2.01 are now released with its Source Code.

Visit Samuel Audet page at:

http://www.step.polymtl.ca/%7Eguardia/programs.php

You can get the source code directly at:

http://www.step.polymtl.ca/%7Eguardia/archives/btalk201_src.zip

http://www.step.polymtl.ca/%7Eguardia/archives/hots11_src.zip

http://www.step.polymtl.ca/%7Eguardia/archives/wckey11_src.zip

Thanks to Samuel to turn this programs open source

March 12

UPATE New compilation of Lame MP3 encoder

This archive http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/lame-gcc321.zip contains a quick
>compile of the current alpha (as at 9th March 2003) release of the LAME MP3 encoder
>for OS/2. The GCC v3.2.1 compiler for OS/2 was used.
> >I'd be interested to hear results from Pentium III/IV users if the new Athlon XP
>optimisations in GCC v3.2.1 produce executables that work on Intel hardware. I have
>only AMD machines here so can't test.

In reference to the above bianries, one user has reported errors on a plain Athlon. I'm guessing that the Athlon XP optimisations in GCC 3.2.1 mean that the .exe only works on an Athlon XP and not on a plain Athlon or Pentium chip.

I've compiled two test binaries of Lame v3.93.1 that are available at the following locations:

http://smedley.info/lame-noopt.exe - GCC 3.2.1 - no CPU specific optimisations (12x encoding on my machine)
&
http://smedley.info/lame-athlon.exe - GCC 3.2.1 - Athlon (not XP) optimisations (14.1x encoding on my machine)

Once again, any feedback is appreciated.

Regards,

Paul.

March 12

The 3rd Annual OS2 World Awards Event

It's soon time to kick off the 3rd annual OS2 World award event, but before doing so we would like to figure out if there should be some updates regarding the Nomination Categories. Should we remove or change any of the current categories or even add a new one ?

Here is the list of categories from last event:
- Best Supporting OS/2 Company
- Best Commercial Software of the Year
- Best Individual Software of the Year
- Honor Award for Individuals
- Best OS/2 Site of the Year

Post your opinions so we can start the nominations for the 3rd event as soon as possible. The Award Section will also be updated with the latest news.

For more information visit: http://www.os2world.com/award/

March 11

Warpstock 2003 bid status

The board of directors of Warpstock, Inc, have received the one and only bid for the Warpstock 2003 event. It is for the San Francisco, California area. The BayWarp team, headed by Neil Waldhauer has put together an extensive bid package. The Warpstock board will be going over it for a few days. An exact facility has not as yet been chosen, but three are in the running. The date submitted is for the weekend of October 18-19. Warpstock, Inc and the event team will be announcing more details in the next few days.

March 10

Beta release 2 of Labela

Today I have released the second beta release of Labela.

You can download it form: http://www.os2world.com/labella.

--------

For those who don't know, Labela is a label and business card designer, closely related to my C-Side CD-label designer !

Kim Foder

March 10

DFSee 5.15 released; PTEdit enhancements

DFSee is the SWISS-ARMY-KNIFE for disk and filesystem problems. With FDISK-like displays, analysis and recovery, FIX commands, UNDELETE for HPFS/NTFS, imaging and cloning. More details at:

http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee.htm

Direct download links:
http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee/dfsee 515.zip
http://hobbes.nmsu .edu/pub/os2/util/disk/dfsee515.zip
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/ pub/incoming/dfsee515.zip

Most important functional changes:
- HELP Rearranged help texts on to be more helpfull
- FINDROOT Fixed for HPFS, had been broken since version 5.01
- DFSee Use 32-bit cylinder (CHS) values, upto 2Tb disk
- VOL Fixed reading/writing with DFSDOS (DFSIMGA.BAT)
- FAT Fixed DIR display at cluster 0 (allocation error)
- PTE/LVM Avoid direct recursion (F6 or F8 from the dialog)
- PTE Support scrolling text window while dialog is up
- PTE Fixed logical PgDn/PgUp hang on empty part-tables
- PTE Use decimal numbers by default; settings stick now
- screen Alt-F12, and "-C" switch invert text-window colors
- CREATE Fixed conflict with -t:type and -I:image options
- DFSWIN Fixed window update on large console (scroll-bars)
- status Display currently executing mode and command string
- PART Made 'active logical' a minor warning only

Check DFS*.TXT files for details, all changes listed in DFSHIST.TXT

Registering DFSee will give you the right to use all 5.xx versions and get support plus a reasonable amount of assistance by email. Existing 4.xx registrations can be upgraded to 5.xx as well.

But even more important, it enables further development of DFSee!

Regards, Jan van Wijk

March 09

GCC v3.2.1 for OS/2 released

There is a build of the GCC v3.2.1 compiler for OS/2 sitting on the OS/2 Netlabs FTP site in the incoming directory.

It's currently residing in ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/incoming/gcc-3.2.1-r2 but will probably be moved soon to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/gcc

Regards,

Paul.

March 09

New compilation of Lame MP3 encoder

This archive http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/lame-gcc321.zip contains a quick compile of the current alpha (as at 9th March 2003) release of the LAME MP3 encoder for OS/2. The GCC v3.2.1 compiler for OS/2 was used.
Two different versions of the .exe are included:
lame-3-93-1.exe - Latest STABLE version of Lame
lame-3-94a11.exe- Latest CVS Alpha version of Lame as at 7th March, 2003
I ran benchmarks with the following results:
Lame switches used: -b 192 -ms
Lame v3.93.1 Athlon optimisations, GCC 3.0.3: 11.5x
Lame v3.93.1 Athlon optimisations, GCC 3.2.1: 13.9x
Lame v3.94a11 No optimisations, GCC 3.0.3: 10.3x
Lame v3.94a11 No optimisations, GCC 3.2.1: 13.4x
Lame v3.94a11 Athlon optimisations, GCC 3.2.1: 15.7x

Clearly - the new GCC v3.2.1 compiler produces much faster code than GCC 3.0.3 - and faster again when Athlon switches are used.

I'd be interested to hear results from Pentium III/IV users if the new Athlon XP optimisations in GCC v3.2.1 produce executables that work on Intel hardware. I have only AMD machines here so can't test.

Any comments/feedback email me at paul@smedley.info with LAME in the subject.

Enjoy!

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