An editorial view from Mark Dodel, editor of the VOICE Newsletter editor@os2voice.org
OS/2 seems to have peaked some interest in the pc press this past month, with
several articles about the upcoming OS/2 Warp Server release and speculation on
whether IBM will release a new client as well. Check out Don Eitner's VIEW
from the End(User) columnwhere he opines on "You Mean OS/2 Isn't Dead
After All?!". I only wish that IBM showed some interest in this gem of an operating
system. Though I'm confident IBM will release a stripped down version of Aurora
as a client. As the title of this article states we are now in the final stretch
before the clock flips over to 2000. It may not be the official start of the next
millenium, but as far as information processing is concerned, it's the most critical
date we will see for a long time.
OS/2 is still widely used in a large number of places, though IBM is only focused
on the largest clients that run it. It is these folks who will drive IBM to release
a new , updated version of OS/2. So when we get it will be the folks at Deutche
Bank and other huge establishments we owe our thanks to. Declarations of it's impending
doom aside, OS/2 will be in use long after the start of the next new year, and these
institutions that have invested heavily in Warp want to know that they can install
it on their systems after the year 2000, without any major hassles. If IBM doesn't
make this happen, and these folks are forced to move to an inferior operating system,
they will take their business elsewhere. That would cost IBM a lot of it's prized
mega-clients. IBM will not let that happen.
According to an article in ZDNet UK - http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1999/1/ns-6567.html
states that the decision has been made to release the next version of OS/2 Warp,
and that it probably will be through a third party and not IBM. This is will happen
this year according to the article and will be based on the stripped down Aurora
base operating system. There has been no comment as yet from IBM or the alleged
third party - Stardock Systems, so this is just a rumour. Funny how OS/2 users are
always trying to read tea leaves to figure out what IBM is planning to do, yet every
time Bill Gates expels wind, the PC press spews forth with an endless analysis based
on vapor ware and promises, complete with graphic images of the latest dancing paper
clip and a time-line showing the evolution of the computer beginning with Bill Gates
discovering America.
While you are watching the clock tick away to the year 2000, be sure to check
out the updated VOICE Future events Calendar. In January
the first Speakup session with Ulli Ramp, author of the Papyrus word processor was
canceled do to system problems Ulli was having. We hope to reschedule at a later
date. New this month is a Saturday speakup event to be held January 30th at 1PM
EST (18:00 GMT). Our special guests that day will be Chip Davis, Dr. Dirk Terrell
and Mike Cowlishaw, the "Father of REXX". We are trying the new time slot
to accommodate OS/2 users outside of the North America. If you are in Europe, please
try to attend, since we will be trying to gauge interest in scheduling future speakup
events in this time slot.
In this first issue of 1999 of the VOICE Newsletter we have a review of Star
Office 5.0 from a different perspective then in our last issue, by Jocelyn
Doire and Morris Turpin. Also as hard as she tried to be all-encompassing in her
review of OS/2 FTP clients, you knew she had to miss some. Well Richard Steiner
was quick to point out that the one he used was missing and he graciously agreed
to write a review of NFTP. For those growing legions
of Os/2 users who now have a cable modem or other LAN connection to the internet,
there is now a NAT for OS/2 solution to provide internet access to an internal LAN
- InJoy Gateway 1.0. Also for internet users there
is a new TCP/IP monitor available as freeware IP Monitor
1.02 . For those of us who live in the United States it is time for our
annual Income Tax tally. We look at several programs that not only help with this
task, but run successfully under win-OS/2 or DOS in Tax
Software in Review. And in the VIEW from the End(User),
Don Eitner asks "You Mean OS/2 Isn't Dead After All?!".
It appears that the US DOJ has no real interest in tackling the microsoft monopoly.
Instead they continue to beat the dead horse formally known as Netscape. The cavalry
was way too late for the rescue, and Netscape has been swallowed up by AOL. Will
we every see another major software product from Netscape? It looks bleak. I believe
AOL bought Netscape for the soul purpose of having leverage over microsoft. The
same as Gateway bought Amiga and keeps promising to revive the Amiga Real Soon Now.
They just need to have something to get a decent deal with microsoft. I'll continue
to print the contact information for the US DOJ on the off-chance that someone out
there can help them to see the light.
Joel I. Klein
Assistant Attorney General
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
601 D Street, NW
Washington, DC 20530
The email address is antitrust@justice.usdoj.gov
If you would like to personally let IBM know that you want them to support OS/2
and ask them to release a new version of the OS/2 client send an email to:
John Stenson ssadm281@us.ibm.com
Network Computing Software
Finally if you want to let Lou Gerstner's office know how you feel you can do
so by pointing your favorite web browser to http://www.ibm.com/cgi-bin/email-lvg.pl
You'll probably then get a response from someone in John's office anyway, so I'm
not sure what difference it makes.
Mark Dodel
Editor, VOICE Newsletter
editor@os2voice.org