News from the OS/2 World - by Ryan Dill

reetings all, and welcome again to OS/2 e-Zine! 's monthly news update. This column is designed to go over certain topics that e-Zine! 's own News Folder might have missed, or only glossed over.

We still believe our News Folder can't be beat when it comes to up-to-the-minute, accurate information, but this column will include a bit more detail about things we think are of interest to OS/2 users everywhere. Grassroots support, off-the-record news and updates -- stuff that other sources may have missed -- you name it, we've got it!

To start with, InstallShield, makers of the well-known installation software for the Windows operating system, have released for evaluation a Java-based version of their InstallShield software which runs under OS/2's Java runtime just fine. Requiring JDK v1.02, users report it runs well under OS/2's JDK v1.1.1 as well. InstallShield is a piece of software for developers which automates the installation process of your application. Once your application is ready for the public, InstallShield makes sure your users can install and start using your application quickly and easily.

An evaluation version of InstallShield for Java was made public at the beginning of September and can be downloaded by any curious OS/2 developers who want to know how InstallShield can help them. The download and all other information about the Java version are available at the InstallShield Java web page.

Now for some browser info. Opera Software, makers of the popular Opera WWW browser for Windows, were thinking about making an OS/2 version of their browser, but due to various reasons they reconsidered. Well it seems they may have reconsidered again, for the better. They've started something called Project Magic, with which they hope to find out exactly how much interest there is for an Opera browser for OS/2 (and other platforms). If interest warrants, Opera will ask interested users to put their money where their mouths are and partially fund a version of Opera for their platform with advance purchases.

More specifically: Step one, users interested in seeing an OS/2 version of Opera should e-mail Opera Software and tell them of their interest. If Opera gets 3,000 or more interested people, then we go to step two. Step two, put your money where your mouth is. Opera will contact you and ask for a 'forward payment' of about US$35 to fund the development of an OS/2 version of Opera. If enough people are serious about their interest, they'll pay. These funds ONLY go toward development of the OS/2 version -- no other versions, and they create a guarantee that there'll be enough money to continue to develop it. When the OS/2 version is released, each of those who paid the 'forward price' get a free release version, while everyone else has to pay the regular price, which will be set at, "somewhat higher than the $35.00," you paid.

This way Opera generates an OS/2 (or Mac, or Linux) version of their browser without having to take funds away from their Windows developments. And OS/2 users get a new browser to choose from, one which is receiving rave reviews from a lot of Windows users. To add your support to the OS/2 version of Project Magic, send an e-mail to os2@operasoftware.com letting them know how many copies of the browser you'd buy if it were available.

J3 Computer Technologies is running quite a few specials nowadays and one that sticks out is their scanner raffle. To celebrate the coming of the first ever (and certainly not the last) Warpstock end-user conference, J3 is raffling off an Epson ES1000c flatbed scanner. The prize package includes the OS/2 scanning software Applause, Adobe PhotoDeluxe, Xerox TextBridge OCR, ScanTastic, a SCSI cable, and free shipping to wherever you call home. With all this in one tidy package, you're getting over US$400 worth of stuff!

So how much do you have to pay for $400 worth of stuff? Would you believe $10? That's right, J3 is selling tickets on this prize for ten bucks each. Tickets will be sold up until October 31st, with no limit on the number of tickets per person. On the 31st, one lucky winner will walk away very happy. Why shouldn't it be you? All proceeds from the draw will be used for OS/2-related activities like Warpstock. So swing by J3's web site at http://www.os2store.com/ to get more details and fill out a ballot or two. Be sure to check out their other specials while you're there.

There have been a lot of updates to OS/2 itself lately. In preparation for the release of their TCP/IP v4.1, IBM released a series of updates for the basic TCP/IP v4.0 that ships with Warp 4. As I write this, the latest version of TCP/IP v4.0 is currently 4.02e, so if you don't have this latest update (type "INETVER" at an OS/2 command prompt to check), you might consider updating.

"But why wouldn't I go straight to TCP/IP v4.1?" you might ask. Well, unfortunately, the just-released TCP/IP v4.1 is designed more for Warp Server than Warp 4, so IBM has included all sorts of server-oriented goodies (that aren't much good to most Warp 4 users) in it and charged for it too. This isn't to say you won't get a performance increase if you use it -- you will! TCP/IP v4.1 has a 32-bit network stack, while the older v4.0 shipped with Warp 4 is 16-bit, so your performance increase would probably be good, to say the least. However, all the server-oriented stuff would probably have to be installed as well, taking up unnecessary disk space.

Even if you could only install what you needed though, TCP/IP v4.1 is currently only available to us non-enterprise users through an IBM Software Choice subscription, which is expensive -- the cheapest I've seen it is US$198 from Indelible Blue. (On the other hand, the Software Choice subscription gives you access to more than just TCP/IP v4.1; if the full Netscape Communicator package is only available by Software Choice, as some rumors say, then you'd get that as well, plus other benefits. See the Software Choice web site.)

In addition to basic TCP/IP updates, many of the separate TCP/IP-oriented parts of Warp, such as FTP and telnet, have been updated. The best place to check to see if you have the latest fixes of any part of OS/2 is the Master OS/2 Warp Update list. There you'll also see that FixPaks for OS/2 have been updated -- the latest public FixPak for Warp 3 is now FP32, and for Warp 4 the latest is FP4. As with all updates, I prefer to follow the rule: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you're not having any problems, installing FixPaks always seems to create some. (grin)

That's it for this month. If you have a tip that you want followed up or a news item you think should be reported, don't hesitate to let us know!

Ryan Dill is a student in Computer Science at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS and OS/2 e-Zine! 's Technical Editor. He is reported to be relieved that, with the advent of Warp 4, talking to your computer is no longer considered a sign of mental instability.