FixPak #1 for Warp 4 Released.
The long awaited FixPak 1 for Warp 4 has been released. Warp 4 users wishing to install and use Word Pro for OS/2 will need this FixPak installed on their systems.
The FixPak can be downloaded and installed by cheking the IBM Software Updates Page or FTP site.
Some users (including OS/2 e-Zine! staff) have reported that the default icon for the System Editor (e.exe) is changed by FixPak 1. However, this seems to cause no problems and if you prefer the original icon, users can simply back up e.exe before installing the FixPak.
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Escape GL Release 97d, w/VRML Coming Soon.
Escape GL will now have unlimited 3D model support utilizing the very popular 3D Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML). Support for VRML models includes all graphical primatives, directional, point and spot lighting, multiple lights, perspective cameras, smooth lighting and shading, multiple quality settings, full material coloring, and multiple axis animation. Now fully compliant VRML 1.0 models may be viewed and animated as a screen saver for Warp 4.0 systems. Hundreds of models are available on the World Wide Web in many areas of interest including, Star Wars, Star Trek, Mathematics, Chemistry, Architecture, Anatomy, Automobiles, Fantasy, and many more. In addition, with appropriate software or using a free web site, users may convert their existing 3D models such as those from AutoCAD or 3D Studio to VRML 1.0 models and utilize those as their own customized screen saver.
Keep watching the Snow Storm Software Web site for this release scheduled to commence shipping in March 1997.
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Netscape Navigator for OS/2 Mimicks Navigator v3.0.
Some sharp eyed individuals recently noticed that I was posting with a product that identified itself as Netscape Navigator 3.0 for OS/2.
The current Navigator for OS/2 product is actually a hybrid. It consists of the 3.0 backend with the 2.02 front end. For the most part it looks and feels like Navigator 2.02 and officially that is what it is. However because we have the 3.0 backend there is some additional HTML and JavaScript functionality included in the product. We included this extra functionality so that our OS/2 customers could have much of the same functionality as users with Netscape Navigator 3.0 for Windows. You all have this additional functionality now with the current release of Netscape Navigator 2.02 for OS/2.
When we released the product we made the decision to identify it as Navigator 2.02 and that is the user agent we report. So if any site such as browserwatch.com cares to check the user agent, we report Navigator 2.02 for OS/2. For our own internal use we implemented a command line switch, -3, to change the user agent to Navigator 3.0 for OS/2. The ONLY change this makes to the product is in the user agent, NO additional functionality is implemented, it is already active. The only real use of this flag is to access sites that check for Navigator 3.0.
As the cat is sort of out of the bag, we have decided after great soul
searching to announce with great fanfare the -3 command line option. So
if you want to be the first one on your block with Navigator 3.0 for
OS/2, add -3 to the parameters on the Netscape program icon. There are
no known problems with this but you should be aware it is unsupported.
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Stardock Releases PlusPak for OS/2 Warp!.
First in the series gives OS/2 users themes and rendered icons!
Stardock Systems, Inc., a leading software developer for IBM's OS/2 Warp operating system released PlusPak for OS/2 today. The PlusPak is the first product of Stardock's new component software strategy. PlusPak: Themes, allows OS/2 users to create, trade, and use desktop themes. The product uses OS/2's unique object oriented features (such as the Workplace Shell) to allow users to work with themes very easily.
Creating Themes on Windows95, for example, is a tedious and time consuming experience. Thanks to OS/2's object oriented infrastructure, creating themes and applying them is a matter of dragging and dropping. Accompanying the themes are a set of icons that Stardock has been working on for nearly a year. All of the icons in the nearly 20 themes have been individually rendered, support up to 24bit color, and every graphics resolution and size OS/2 can run at. There are thousands of icons in the PlusPak alone.
"We're very proud of how the PlusPak: Themes has turned out. The icons alone are just amazing to look at. Using a system that doesn't have the PlusPak on them would be like an OS/2 Warp 4 user having to go back to using OS/2 2.0," said Brad Wardell, President, Stardock Systems, Inc.
The Themes automatically detect whether you are running other Stardock software (such as Object Desktop or Process Commander) and replace those icons as well.
With the new component strategy, Stardock can now release each feature one at a time allowing users to pick and choose the features they want. This means that the price of each component remains very low and users don't feel they are paying for features they are not interested in. Depending on the success of PlusPak:Themes, Stardock hopes to deliver further OS/2 applets for the PlusPak that will have similarly low prices. For example, Stardock is exploring the possibility of bringing anti-aliasing font rendering to OS/2 as well as Internet enhancements.
"This works out great for OS/2 users because now they don't pay for features they don't want. In the future, if we had PlusPak: Themes, PlusPak: Anti-Aliasing Fonts, and PlusPak: Internet Toys, users could pick which features they want and just pay for those," said Wardell. Stardock will also begin releasing additional Themes for PlusPak customers free of charge beginning in March.
The PlusPak release also coincides with Stardock's new on-line commerce server. To keep prices low, and accessibility high, users can now go to Stardock's web page and order/download PlusPak immediately on the secure web server. PlusPak users will not only avoid having to pay shipping charges but pay less since there is no box or hard copy manual. Users without access to the Internet will be able to get the PlusPak from Stardock for $29.95 (it's $24.95 if ordered/downloaded on-line).
Stardock Systems can be reached at 313-453-0328 (1-800-672-2338) or via
email at sales@stardock.com. The PlusPak is located on Stardock's
website.
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Stardock's on-line commerce server is now up and running. On-line users can now go to Stardock's web page and order right off the web site via a secure server and then download the software right on line. The first two products available are the PlusPak for OS/2 and Shipyards II. Other products will come on-line shortly.
The On-line commerce server is part of Stardock's '97 OS/2 strategy to release new products in component form instead of as large shrink wrapped products. This means that users will be able to pick and choose the features they want and save money in paying only for the things they want to use.
Moreover, due to the vastly reduced overhead, Stardock is now in the position of being able to develop small scale software products that would sell for less than $15. Previously, the manufacturing overhead would have made such products impossible to do.
Stardock will also continue to deliver free enhancements to its products as well.
Users can get to Stardock's on-line commerce server through the PlusPak page
on Stardock's website.
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New Location for OS/2 Benchmark Center.
The location, as well as maintainer, of OS/2 Benchmark Center has changed. Eric Mintz has agreed that Jonipentti Jarvinen take over the OS/2 Benchmark www-pages. The new address is
http://toty.joensuu.fi/staff/jp/os2bench.html.
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IceTag/2 Available.
IceTag/2 is a random quote generator that you can use to attach random quotes to any e-mail you send using PMMail. In addition to that, it has the ability to replace or completely remove the X-Mailer line from the header of the mail you sent (so you can preserve your anonymity).
IceTag/2 v2.5 can be downloaded from the following locations:
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/network/tcpipicetag25.zip
or
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/os2/os2/network/icetag25.zip
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SofTouch Systems, distributor of some of the finest OS/2 Shareware products around, and Larry Martin, Author of Unimaint proudly announce a special event. Called Sound off with SofTouch, this event allows end users such as yourself a direct feed to the company whom you buy your OS/2 programs from. You get to tell them how much you like or dislike a particular product, as well as give them feedback as to what you would like to see in the next version of the featured product ( Unimaint ).
What is Unimaint? A brief summary might be "simply the best OS/2 System Maintenance Utilities Suite going". For a more detailed overview of what all Unimaint does, visit:
http://www.softouch.com/unimaint/
For latest breaking news on the event, visit:
http://galileo.ict-gmbh.de/tandie/
The event will be held on Friday, March 7, 1997 from 9PM to 11PM CST; on IRC
Undernet channel #OS/2. Make your plans to attend now. We look forward to
seeing you there!
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The Graham Utilities for OS/2 Now Available.
The Graham Utilities for OS/2, the largest and most comprehensive suite of OS/2 applications ever written has been shipped and is now available at various resellers world wide. These include, but are not limited to:
Richard Clement & SoftWorld in Germany, J3 and Indelible Blue in the US.
The opening special is still available directly from WarpSpeed Computers.
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Proposals for Warp Pharmacy Needed.
A rather sad anniversary of sorts is approaching - 1 year since the Warp Pharmacy was last updated (sob, sob, boo, hiss)! It is time, way past time, to find it a new home. For this reason, I am calling for expressions of interest from people or groups who would like to inherit the task of maintaining it.
If you have a proposal that you would like me to consider, please send me an e-mail. I'd like to know answers to some or all of the following questions. The questions are not intended to suggest particular answers.
o how much time you would be prepared to invest per week or month to maintain it? o what kind of bandwidth does your web server support ? o would you charge for the service or use it to earn advertising revenue ? o would you require use of the term "Warp Pharmacy" and the existing HTML source ? Would such use have to be exclusive? o would you support mirroring to other sites ? o would you be prepared to add an online editing, indexing and review interface (either CGI, Java or Domino based) ? o would you have any plans that make your proposal particularly "interesting" (technologically speaking)?To all the people who have contributed to the Warp Pharmacy in the past and to the many, many people who have found it useful - thanks for your support and sorry for not updating it in the last year.
Copyright © 1997 - Falcon Networking