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[6/25] Stellar Frontier 0.96 for OS/2 and Windows has been released. Grab the update here. http://www.stardock.com/update/update_sf.html.

What is Stellar Frontier? If you don't know, but are interested in OS/2 games checkout http://www.stardock.com/products/sf/sf.html

"The beauty of Stellar Frontier is not just its excellent graphics or even its terrific internet performance. It also comes from the fact that the unit AI, the computer controlled ships, are extremely intelligent. You donÿt have to tell them what to do, they do it on their own and they do it extremely well. This leaves the player the freedom to fly his ship and take out enemies. The game feels a lot like a combination of Star Control 2 and Ultima On-Line because it has the game feel of Star Control but the much of the character development and community found in Ultima On-Line."

The beta version is a free download.

--

From the Desk of: Mark Dodel,

             editor, VOICE Newsletter
                   editor@os2voice.org
    http://www.os2voice.org/newsletters.html

  For a choice in the future JOIN VOICE NOW
    check out http://www.os2voice.org/index.html

Warp Expo West Update
June 26, 1999

In this issue:
Event specifics
Presentation schedule & topics
Volunteers

Event Specifics

Hopefully everyone saw SCOUG President Terry Warren's announcement about the specific details of Warp Expo West. But just in case, here they are. Warp Expo West will be held at the Chapman Conference Facilities in the city of Orange on September 18. The event will be free to everyone - attendees, presenters, and exhibitors. Additional details including the exact start and end times will be available in the near future.

Presentation schedule & topics

The Warp Expo West planning committee is currently working on the presentation schedule and presentation topics. If you have ideas or requests for presentations, please let us know by sending an email to rollin@scoug.com

If you have a presentation of your own that you'd like to propose (or know someone else who'd like to provide a presentation), please contact the email address above as well. We're always looking for input from the OS/2 community.

Volunteers

Warp Expo West is the result of many, many hours of volunteer time from members of the Southern California OS/2 User Group. In the last week we've had several people from outside the group ask if they can help. The answer is "OF COURSE!" If you're interested in helping out - big or small - drop a note to rollin@scoug.com and mention what kind of time you're interested in donating. Much of the work involved in Warp Expo West can be done from the comfort of your computer.

If you have any questions or comments about Warp Expo West, please do not hesitate to send them to rollin@scoug.com.

Gratefully,

The Warp Expo West Planning Committee

Just a follow up on the note that AceCad has a pen tablet with OS/2 drivers.

AceCad still lists OS/2 drivers right alongside the WinXX drivers, it's not hidden! I purchased a refurbished unit direct from AceCad for $59. The install was very easy and I can say that the OS/2 drivers are at least equivalent to the Win95 drivers. The drivers are very good and you can program any of the 3 buttons to perform click, double-click, right, left click, whatever.

I use the tablet alongside my scroll mouse with no problems whatsoever.

http://www.acecad.com

PC/2 - Program Commander/2 Version 2.10 for IBM OS/2 2.x, OS/2 WARP, WARP Srv. SMP Presentation Manager Copyright (C) by Roman Stangl July, 1999

Version 2.10 Draft
*********************

I'm pleased to announce the public availability of PC/2 V2.10, the latest and greatest version of this utility that started development about 7 years ago!

Comments/suggestions/bug reports are welcome!

Where to Download:

Primarily, you can get the complete package - including the complete source code - (and some other useful stuff) via my homepage:

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/7885/ by following the PC/2 links.

I also try to make it available on the following major anonymous-ftp OS/2 archives (uploads to other sites are of course welcome):

*) Hobbes (USA):

Uploaded to:
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/
with a final destination of:
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/util/wps/
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-browse?sh=1&dir=//pub/os2/util/wps

*) Walnut-Creek (USA):

Uploaded to:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/os2/incoming/
with a final destination of:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/os2/wpsutil/

*) Leo (Germany):

Uploaded to:
ftp://ftp.leo.org/incoming/os2/
with a final destination of:
ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/comp/os/os2/leo/pmtools/
http://www.leo.org/pub/comp/os/os2/leo/pmtools/

What will you get:

PC/2 is a WPS enhancement or replacement, that features a program launcher, Virtual Desktops, Hotkey support, Sliding focus, Advanced Marking, Dynamic Menu Selection, Environment Spaces, WIN95 key support, QuickSwitch and SessionBar window, Hardware Panning support, TitleBar Smarticons, Lockup and Password protection support, Scheduler, WPS extraction and a Spooler Control Window (which enables spooling even when running PC/2 as a WPS replacement).

Running PC/2 as the WPS replacement can save about 4 MB precious RAM, even on well equipped machines you can notice decreased swapper size and activity giving you a performance boost compared to running the WPS (due to the much smaller memory requirements compared with the WPS).

For those of you who want to know the "tricks" used in PC/2, the full source (requires long filename support) is included, however it can be decrypted only on the 32-bit OS/2 platform to avoid using it on the Windows platforms.

For more detailed information, please take a look at my site at:

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/7885/

or E-mail me at Roman_Stangl@at.ibm.com

The July edition of "The Warped Perspective" has been posted at OS/2 Headquarters (http://www.os2hq.com/). This month's edition puts to rest once and for all the false idea that Microsoft has reduced PC prices, and presents OS/2 Warp as a low-cost alternative to Windows 2000.

Hi I have released the source code of Memory Watcher on http://www.powerutilities.no

I rec'd an email this morning about a pen tablet that comes with OS/2 drivers: the Acecat III 5"x 5" graphics tablet for PC.

Details at:

http://www.acecad.com/aiiipcprod.html

Dear Friend of Warpstock,

The Warpstock Board of Directors and Warpstock 99 Atlanta Committee request the pleasure of your company at the third annual Warpstock Conference and exhibition to be held Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 1999 at the Georgia International Convention Center minutes away from Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta Georgia.

Casual dress is recommended. But you will be asked to mingle with hundreds of OS/2(R) supporters like yourself, and have the time of your life.

R.S.V.P to www.warpstock.org.

Thank you for your past support of Warpstock. This year Warpstock will be bigger and better than ever. But it won't be the same without you! We look forward to hearing from you. And we can't wait to see you in Atlanta.

Sincerely,

Gordon Rolande
Event Chair, Warpstock 99 Atlanta

This week's edition of Focus on OS/2 is now online.

Topic: This week's topic continues the feature on InJoy - The Modern Way to the Internet. This week we concentrate on setting up the parameters to construct the Default Host.

The feature can be accessed at:

http://os2.about.com/library/weekly/aa062399.htm

Be sure to check out all the recently posted news items that show we're weren't paranoid after all: Microsoft really was out to get us. You can find these at http://os2.about.com/library/blnews.htm.

Walter Metcalf
os2.guide@about.come

Deja.com is running a survey about operating systems allowing you to rate various aspects (Features, Ease of Use, etc). Visit deja and rate experience with OS/2 and other operating systems.

http://www.deja.com/rate/list_items.xp?CID=12029&PCID=11878

The OS/2 Observer is not another "software testing" magazine.

It is dedicated to "observe" the scene, look behind the facades and to wake up the community.

See the first article with the heading: "There is a lot of Microsofting in the OS/2 community"

http://www.os2-oss.de/observer/

http://www2.support.lotus.com/ftp/pub/desktop/Organizer/os2/updates/

File Name: org32b.zip
Date: Jun 14 1999
File Size: 532K

Description: A new org32b.dll for Organizer for OS/2 Warp 4 1.1 that fixed Y2K filter issue.

Most major programs at the Warped Code Cellar have been updated recently and newly added are a collection of ducuments dealing with home automation devices and network setup for HOUSE/2, the home automation program for OS/2.

Updated programs are:

HOUSE/2 v1.8

HOUSE/2 is an OS/2 application designed to program and control the inexpensive X-10 ActiveHome computer interface. This program is designed to interactively control the X-10 modules from your desktop, or you can pre-program the controller and run timed events completely stand-alone.

New are network support, one requested feature and some bug fixes.

UPS Monitor for OS/2 v1.1

UPS Monitor supports most APC brand Uninterruptible Power Sources and safely shuts down your operating system during power failures.

New are full support for all UPS parameter setting and parameter logging for the Back-UPS Pro and Smart-UPS models.

You can also find a document describing some of the X-10 home automation devices, listing features and what their pros and cons are.

For OS/2 users wondering how to setup their home peer-to-peer network to use HOUSE/2 or any other application that uses a serial port, you can read an illustrated article about how to redirect a serial port in Warp 4.0.

Visit the Warped Code Cellar for all these goodies at:

http://home.att.net/~ASchw

Product Update: TimeKeeper/2
Product Category: Utility

Download: ftp://ftp.bmtmicro.com/bmtmicro/timekeep12.zip
Web Page: http://www.bmtmicro.com/catalog/timekeeper2.html

New in this release:
06/99 NEW: 'adjust' command line parameter
06/99 FIX: 1 hour difference when using a short timezone notation
06/99 FIX: "Auto Adjust Local Time" checkbox does not remain checked

Description:
TimeKeeper/2 is a program that retrieves Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) from a time server using time protocol RFC868 and compares the results to your system time and optionally updates your system time if necessary.

TimeKeeper/2 can even be configured to adjust for Daylight Saving Time if you provide your time zone information in the program settings.

TimeKeeper/2 has a set of predefined NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) servers which are synchronized with an atomic clock. When TimeKeeper/2 is installed, a server is automatically selected for you and may be changed at any time if you wish to use a different predefined server. If you have a preferred time server that is not in the preconfigured list there is an option to add servers.

TimeKeeper/2 is ideal for keeping your system time and date as accurate as possible and makes a nice addition to your Startup folder.

A new section has been added to OS2.org: the Hardware Compatibility List, HCL. Here all OS/2 users can add their preferred hardware they use, give it a rating and write comments to it. Right now only the groups are defined, so we are waiting for your input!

URL: http://en.OS2.org/projects/hcl/

Hello,

My name is David Forsyth I am a technical recruiter for TEKsystems in Toronto. I have an opportunity for a team leader in Toronto. This person will be in charge of 15 technicians implementing 300 OS/2 and Netfinity servers.

This individual must have experience within a major bank.

There will also be as many of ten openings for the technicians installing the servers! This is a two and half month project. The hours are 6pm to 10 pm, Mon-Thu. If anyone is interested please contact me at (905) 501-2866 or dforsyth@teksystems or 1-800-254-0778 x2866.

As some may have noticed the MIDI Station Sequencer homepage has been down for almost two weeks now. But have no fear it dosen't mean that the most advanced MIDI/Digital Audio sequencer for OS/2 is going away!!! While I find a new home for the site the old geocities site has been resurrected.

The URL is:

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Horizon/6780

Look for some major updates to the site in the next day or so and also the release of the final beta version before the program becomes GA!

Thanks,
Christopher Hodges
Author of MIDI Station Sequencer

JULY 99 "OS/2 CONNECT" NEWSLETTER RELEASED

PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA (June 21, 1999) - M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) today announced the release of the July issue of OS/2 CONNECT, a freeware newsletter distributed through the various computer networks and bulletin boards. OS/2 CONNECT is THE authoritative source for contact information in the universe of IBM's OS/2 32-bit operating system.

The newsletter is implemented as a web page at: http://www.os2ss.com/connect/. Its HTML files are also available for downloading and viewing locally. The file is named CON0799.ZIP and can also be obtained at:

Hobbes - ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/
(ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/info/newsltr/connect/con0799.zip) or (ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/con0799.zip),

Walnut Creek - ftp://ftp-os2.cdrom.com/
(ftp://ftp-os2.cdrom.com/pub/os2/newsltr/con 0799.zip) or (ftp://ftp-os2.cdrom.com/pub/os2/incoming/con0799.zip),

America Online and various Bulletin Boards.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:

Tim Bryce
Editor, OS/2 CONNECT
M. Bryce & Associates (MBA)
a division of M&JB Investment Company
3310 U.S. Alt. 19
P.O. Box 1637
Palm Harbor, FL 34682-1637
United States
Tel: 727/786-4567
Fax: 727/786-4765
E-Mail: timb001@ibm.net
WWW: http://www.os2ss.com/connect/
MBA: Developers of the "PRIDE" Information Factory & Batch Manager
Since 1971: "Software for the finest computer - the Mind"

A substantial update has been made to the open-source PGPro Scripts by Don Eitner. The original script (3DShadow) has undergone a major rewrite and has been joined by a completely new script (GreetingCard) which makes creating simple foldable greeting cards under OS/2 easy! The package has been released as PGPro Scripts v2.0. There are no new features or scripts currently planned, so v2.0 ought to stay up for a while. :)

New in v2.0

• Enhanced performance.
  
• Added a cancel button to the first input screen.
  
• Added 4 new shadow directions.
  
• Added shadow fading from one user-definable color to another.
  
• Handles original object and its shadows as a single group and can re-center that group on the original object's center. GreetingCard.cwx
  
• New script which lays out an 8x10 inch greeting card and prompts the user for text to place on the front and inside.
  

You can download PGPro Scripts v2.0 from The 13th Floor website at:

http://www.tstonramp.com/~freiheit/PGPro_Scripts_20.zip

These scripts require Photo>Graphics Pro for OS/2. Comments and suggestions are welcomed, as are gifts of money, OS/2 shareware registrations, and PC hardware. :-)

For Immediate Release

For More Information Contact:

Gordon Roland,
Event Chair, Warpstock 99 Atlanta
(212-213-5768)
(groland@ibm.net)

June 19, 1999

The Warpstock Board of Directors and Warpstock 99 Atlanta Committee are pleased to announce that registrations for both attendees and exhibitors are now being accepted at the Warpstock website, www.warpstock.org.

The third annual Warpstock event, which will be held October 16 and 17 at the Georgia International Convention Center promises to be the biggest and best OS/2(R) event ever. The event will feature six tracks of presentations, demos and seminars as well as the biggest exhibition space ever provided by Warpstock. Event organizers have worked hard this year to expand the event while continuing to hold registration cost to an absolute minimum. This year Warpstock fortuitously follows a major Linux exhibition taking place October 12 through 16 in Atlanta. So Warpstock attendees and exhibitors who also need to investigate Linux can combine the visits to minimize expenses.

The official hotel for the event, the Sheraton Gateway Atlanta, is immediately adjacent to the convention center and will provide a deluxe site for social events planned for Warpstock.

The Warpstock Board of Directors and Warpstock 99 Atlanta Committee look forward to welcoming the Warp community to Atlanta, October 16 and 17, for the greatest Warp experience ever.

OS/2(R) is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Inc.

Warpstock, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to produce an annual conference which provides education, information and social opportunities to the entire OS/2(R) community.

Contact: Rollin White (Rollin@scoug.com)

Saturday, June 19, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Southern California OS/2 User Group Makes It Official: Warp Expo West This September

Following is the statement made today by Terry Warren, President of the Southern California OS/2 User Group, at its General Meeting:
_____

Good morning.

The Southern California OS/2 User Group was formed six years ago as a center for knowledge and learning about the operating system known as OS/2.

During these six years we have shown our commitment to this objective. Our monthly meetings feature cutting edge OS/2 technologies and products. We have Special Interest Groups dedicated to high-interest areas. We have a renowned web site with a vast collection of OS/2 information. Our monthly publication OS/2 For You is six years old.

Our monthly speakers come from around the globe. Chris Graham, The Graham Utilities, Australia. Brad Wardell, Stardock Systems, Michigan. Randell Flint, Sundial Systems, Southern California.

And our commitment to bringing OS/2 users and vendors together in one place is already well established. SCOUG was instrumental in finding the facilities, services and manpower that culminated in the 1997 debut of the first Warpstock, here in Southern California. SCOUG was one of only three user groups to have presentation tables at Warpstock '98, where we also ran an Internet Relay Chat from the vendor floor. And, also in 1998, the SCOUG Five-Year Anniversary Party drew almost two hundred attendees for a day-long party with OS/2 lectures, games and a fifty-prize raffle. A similar SCOUG event took place the year before.

Today, I am pleased to announce that SCOUG, the Southern California OS/2 User Group, will continue and in fact expand its involvement in the OS/2 community. I am pleased to announce that this September, SCOUG will fully sponsor Warp Expo West - A Warpfest Of OS/2 Excitement here in Southern California.

Further, the Board Of Directors of the Southern California OS/2 User Group has decided that Warp Expo West shall be free. Attendees at Warp Expo West will pay no admission fee; vendors presenting their OS/2 wares will pay no exhibitor fee. Every person at Warp Expo West, be they guest, vendor or lecturer, will enjoy this Warpfest Of OS/2 Excitement without charge.

Warp Expo West will take place in one Vendor Hall, three Lecture Halls and a Special Interest Patio at Chapman Conference Facilities in Orange, California, just four miles from Disneyland, on Saturday September 18 1999. There will be over 20 OS/2 seminars and lectures; we expect the presence of dozens of OS/2 software vendors. Our choice of a very-intensive one day event means that more guests and vendors, especially those who cannot afford an entire weekend of their time, may attend.

The Warp Expo West web page is your link to information for our upcoming Warpfest Of OS/2 Excitement. To register for this free event, visit this page. To get to the Warp Expo West web page, just click the logo on SCOUG's home page, www.scoug.com [http://www.scoug.com/].

There is more excitement surrounding OS/2 right now than we've seen in some time. New disclosures show that competitor business practices hindered the growth of OS/2 far more than anyone knew, and the recent success of new OS/2 product releases shows there's a strong and surging need for this robust and powerful operating system. When we gather in September we shall bring with us the strength of knowing that our choice was the right choice, the technologically superior choice, the one choice with the strongest and most intuitive graphical user interface and the fastest and most flexible multiprocessing capabilities. We look forward to seeing each and every OS/2 user, from the world over, at our Warpfest Of OS/2 Excitement - Warp Expo West.

- Terry Warren, President
The Southern California OS/2 User Group

The Warp Expo West web pages begin at:

http://www.scoug.com/warpexpowest/index.html

The Y2K article on OS/2 Headquarters (http://www.os2hq.com/archives/arch13.htm) had to be updated. A total of 5 articles on 3 different source sites all moved the same day. It first looked like an act of censorship, but it may have just been coincidence. InfoWorld magazine (http://www.infoworld.com/) did a major site redesign, and the articles were moved to different locations. However, the other 2 sites moved their articles on the same day..... Hmmmm.

In the supportnewsgroups StarDivision announced a new build of the 5.1-version with some fixes and in the download-version for OS/2 there is no JRE + FeatureInstall inside, so the packet is much smaller!!!

For those who had already download the 5.1 there will be a hotfix-package available next time, so they won't have to download the full package again!

http://www.stardivision.com
http://www.stardivision.de

I'd like to announce the release of ServerConfig/2 version 1.3.

ServerConfig/2 is a PM configuration util for Apache webserver, the InetPowerServer/2 and the IBM TCP/IP Firewall!

It has an easy to use PM interface and allows you to do things by simple mouse clicks.

It also allows you to remote configure any OS/2 and unix/linux Apache. It includes a daemon that can be compiled under any gcc and thus allows ServerConfig/2 to receive and save configurations remotely, all from OS/2 :)

Full support for the InetPowerServer, for all the services, with full GUI support for user management.

Full support for the TCP/IP Firewall, GUI interface for all the rules, log file, error log and Tunneling (VPN) support!

homepage:

http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~dm898/sc/

btw, in case you are wondering where i found the firewall, its included in tcpip 4.1/4.2/4.21.

I have updated The Wall to version 0.98 - it should be fairly stable now, but I still know some quirks I have to get around. It's not hard, just that I'm lazy. :)

Oh and I put up a webpage for it, http://www.mo.himolde.no/~ltning/os2 - with download link and revision history (which has only one entry - v098 :), plus some info. I plan to extend this one more very soon. I've changed packager from RAR to ZIP, to avoid version problems with the RAR program.

It looks like our favorite ftp site, hobbes.nmsu.edu, is back and here to stay. A message posted today on the website reads:

Abandon your fear my friends, Hobbes is here to stay. As the new archiver, I would like to first thank Josh Shagam and Dave Rocks for their dedication and superior skills in keeping this archive alive and well.

Throughout this transition, all policies and archiving procedures will remain the same.

It is a pleasure to be given the chance to serve the OS/2 community. Comments, questions, and complaints are gladly accepted and should be mailed to archiver@hobbes.nmsu.edu.

The installer for the Java Adobe Acrobat Viewer did not work properly for me using OS/2 and Java 1.1.8 Preview from IBM. I emailed Adobe and got a reply confirming my suspicions that the installer they use is broken. Once the installer finishes, go to the directory where you installed the Acrobat Viewer and type:

jre -cp acrobat.jar -mx32M com.adobe.acrobat.Viewer

A new version of the text-editor Kon is available at:

http://www.bmtmicro.com/kon

The version is 1.15 rev. 1080.

Kon is now multi-lingual! Currently available languages are German (full translation), French (help not translated) and Swedish.

If you are interrested, you are very welcome to translate Kon to another language. Please contact me for more information.

There is also a mailing-list available set up by the french translator Francois Massonneau. This mailing list is open for all Kon users, not french-only! You can subscribe to this list by sending an e-mail to "steward@celtes.com" with the words "subscribe kon" in the BODY of the message.

Kon is shareware and the registration fee is US$20. To download and for more information, point your browser to:

http://www.bmtmicro.com/kon

This week's edition of Focus on OS/2 is now online.

Topic: The First of a three-part series on InJoy - The Modern Way to the Internet.

This week I focus on why InJoy's original design makes it fast, powerful, and clean.

You can read the feature at:

http://os2.about.com/library/weekly/aa061699.htm

The What's New page shows that we weren't paranoid after all: Microsoft really was out to get us. See these fascinating articles from the DOJ trial depositions.

http://os2.about.com/library/blnews.htm

I am very proud to announce the official commitment from Netlabs (Adrian Gschwend) to take part at Warpstock Europe 99.

Netlabs hosts several Opensource projects, detailed info's can be found at http://www.netlabs.org. We'll see some of the projects at Warpstock Europe and keep you informed at http://www.warpstock.de.