Virtual OS/2 International Consumer Education

October 1998

The News Page 1

The latest version of Win32-OS/2 is available for download on the Mensys Download site now.
http://www.mensys.nl/download/w32os204.zip

Stardock has released the Stellar Frontier 0.90 beta for paid testers:
http://www.stardock.com/update/update_sf.html

Announcement of new PSI version

Version 0.25 (test version) of the PSI utilities is now available.

A lot of improvements have been made. Some of the most important improvements:

• baudrates higher than 9600 supported (upto 115200)
  
• Psion Series 5 supported
  
• much better stability
  

Some of the OS/2 counterparts of the utilities support options. In this release most of those options have been implemented in the PSI clients.

Get your updated copy at:
http://www.oprit.rug.nl/hulsmann/PSI.html#download

The PSI utilities is a series of programs to connect OS/2 PCs and Psion PDAs. Commands are provided for file manipulation and transfers. Currently supported are:

Series 3/3a/3c, Siena, Series 5 and WorkAbout machines.

New in this version is that the Series 3a/3c, Siena and WorkAbout machines don't run the server in emulation mode anymore: there is a new server which runs in native mode on all of them.

Smart Windows V.0.81 patch #3 is available for download!

The archive smwp003.zip contains a new version of SMARTWIN.DLL (version 0.81c) and a patcher program you can use to install it over your current installation.

This patch will extend the trial time of further 45 days or 300 more boots, whichever comes first.

This program fixes the following:

• SYS 3175 in ProNews when closing a newsgroup window
  
• Dialog font options
  
• Windows minimized to desktop problems
  
• Fame drag of windows enclosed within other windows
  
• Shutdown cancellation
  
• Window rolling (fixes and some more features)
  
• Titlebar hiding
  
• Mouse pointer hiding
  
• Automatic focus
  
• Registration reminder dialog
  
• Program exceptions
  

More detailed informations are enclosed in the program archive.

*** HOW TO GET IT ***

My web pages have been updated!!!

The new URL is:
http://acsoft.ghostbbs.ml.org

From my homepage you can click on the "Applications" button to get more informations about the program or click on the "Download" button if you just want to download the file.

You can download the file from 3 different FTP servers:
ftp://ftp.ghostbbs.ml.org/pub/os2/os2team/alcant/smwp003.zip
ftp://volftp.tin.it/pub/pc/os2/os2_2x/progs/smwp003.zip
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/smwp003.zip

The latest Beta releases [of Dialog Enhancer] have now been made available for download. This is the final Beta set before they will go Gamma sometime in the next few weeks. Features added to the current list include:

• Significant memory improvements - Dialog Enhancer now _increases_ free RAM when active.
  
• Packfile changes - The packfile has been massively optimised and is now smaller in size.
  
• 3rd Party Additions - Creative SB Utils, PMMail, File Phoenix, ScreenSaver, Communicator/2 & ZOC.
  
• Bugfixes - Random registration problem & fixes to 32x32icon patch option.
  
• System support - Printer drivers and updates to the printer subsystem.
  

This release also contains enhancements to speed up the process required to apply a fixpack. Dialog Enhancer installation routines now save user selections and registration details to the system registry for future use. Expect international language Beta's once this pack file has gone Gamma.

Note: Due to changes in the pack file (5.0b), the new beta installer (1.70b) is required to apply it.

Download the relevant files from the Dialog Enhancer site:
http://www-student.lboro.ac.uk/~mcrsc/de/beta_dl.html

Several programs have been released which convert MS Word documents to other file formats.

word2html

Version Sep2-98

word2html (word-to-html) is a program that converts Microsoft Word 6+ (version 6 or later) documents (.DOC) to HTML.

It runs on OS/2 and MS-DOS/Windows. The OS/2 version requires the emx runtime emx.dll. The DOS version requires the emx runtime emx.exe or rsx.exe. word2html is Free software. Src incl.

The latest OS/2-DOS version is Sep2-98. It is functionally equivalent to version M1 which may be available at other servers (M1 includes the emx runtime DLL). It is the first version I did.

The official word2html for OS/2 and DOS homepage is:
http://www.d3.net/joerg/word2html.html

Get emx runtime from (emxrt) from http://www.leo.org (OS/2 sect.) Get rsx from ftp.uni-bielefeld.de/pub/systems/msdos/misc.

word2html for OS/S and DOS is based on the Unix software by Michael Ritzert.

------------------------------------------------------
word2x for OS/2

Version EX (replaces 0-A)

Word2x (Word-to-X) converts Microsoft Word 6+ documents (.DOC) to Plain-Text, HTML or LaTeX.

This version runs under OS/2 and MS-DOS/Windows (support files included).

Free software. Source code included.

NEW IN VERSION EX (since version 0-A)

• Brilliant user guide
  
• Install program
  
• Latex output works now
  
• New dates: de deHTML deL1 (german)
  
• Writes new HTML header
  
• Fixed bug where word2x tells user to use -dates option (-d or --dates is correct)
  
• Runs 20% faster (better compiler optimization used)
  
• Uncompressed binary is 25% smaller
  
• Runs on MS-DOS/Windows systems (support files included)
  
• -w 0 option added (only for text output)
  
• more
  

The official word2x for OS/2 and DOS homepage is:
http://www.d3.net/joerg/word2x.html

word2x for OS/S and DOS is based on the Unix software by Duncan Simpson.

Win32OS2 A0.04 has been released. This is software that allows an end user to run Win95/98/NT (a.k.a. Win32) programs on OS/2 Warp, as if they were 100% native OS/2 applications, without needing Windows or Win-OS/2. The reason for this release is that some of the files in A0.03 are actually from an older version.

You can download a copy from http://www.os2ss.com/win32-os2/.

IBM announced in a meeting with Newsbyte on Boston press tour that it will include client support for Windows 95 and Windows NT in the next version of WorkSpace on Demand, due sometime in 1999.

For complete story, see:
http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/118196.html

After the release A.0.03 of the Win32-OS/2 project, the OS/2 SuperSite Server seems to have trouble dealing with the high demands those millions of people put on it, trying to download this 1.2 MB large file...

Mensys is pleased to announce the availability of this file on it's high speed download server:
http://www.mensys.nl/download/

We hope that this mirror will help everyone to download this tool as quickly as possible!

I am not sure this is a widely known fact, but for your information, IBM has available the OS/2 version 1.11 of the IBM Internet Connection Phone (aka ICPHONE) via the following URL:
http://www.haifa.il.ibm.com/icphone.html

Installation is easy and the setup only requires your e-mail address and the IP address to the IBM server. The sound quality is excellent.

The IBM web page also mentions the fact that they are working on a Java version.

Why would you want this splendid little application? It will save you money on your long distance telephone calls.

PMStripper has been updated to v1.18.

http://www2.southwind.net/~dwhawk

This PM utility strips HTML codes from Web pages, leaving only the text and optionally the URLs. While the layout of tables and lists is lost during stripping, data is sorted to separate lines for legibility.

Install PMStripper as the HTML source viewer in WebX instead of the OS/2 system editor E, and you can use the Ctrl+V keystroke combination to load the web page source directectly into PMStripper. This will make it easier to cut and paste information or URLs from web pages. It can also be installed as the document source viewer in Netscape.

Registered users of PMStripper will have access to two additional executable files that were compiled with the 486 and 586 compiler options. These versions will offer some performance improvement for users with 468, Pentium, or equivalent CPUs.

Registration covers all 1.xx releases of PMStripper.

New in PMStripper 1.18

Added current background and foreground color to the information saved when the 'Save Settings' option is selected.

Added some additional translations for word processor codes to the 'Translate quotes' option.

Updated the PMStripper documentaion to include the 'Use idle time priority' and 'Reset to default colors' options.

A new edition of Focus on OS/2 is now online. You can access it at http://os2.miningco.com.

The feature article is a the first of two parts dealing with Boot Managers. This issue explores the operation of IBM's Boot Manager in detail. Boot Manager itself, FDisk, and the general theory of boot managers are discussed.

IBM announced TODAY that *both* Windows 95 and Windows NT clients will be supported in Aurora and the new version of WorkSpace on Demand due out in 1999!!

Besides that exciting news, the new issue contains 13 other announcements and over 10 additional links that have been added to the site.

Be sure to check out this exciting new issue.

Walter Metcalf
OS/2 Guide
The Mining Co.
os2.guide@miningco.com

Memory Game for OS/2 version 1.5 has just been released.

Memory Game is a card matching game with beautiful, 300dpi, 256 color images of dinosaurs, birds, wild animals, farm animals and fish. This game has been enhanced with multimedia sounds and now plays on most screen resolutions. Suitable for small children, but adults enjoy playing it too.

Memory Game can be found at:
http://home.att.net/~ASchw/homeapps.html

Status Update on Netscape Communicator 4.04 for OS/2

Thank you for your outstanding support of the Netscape Communicator 4.04 for OS/2 beta program. Development has reviewed all your input and used that input to enhance the product.

The beta code was due to time out on 09/30/98 and send warning messages starting 09/15/98. However, in some configurations the timeout mechanism has expired early. If the beta code has expired in your configuration, and you want to continue to use it, uninstall Communicator, reset the PC system date to an earlier date, and reinstall Communicator.

Please Note: no refresh of the beta is planned to resolve the timeout because we are in the development shutdown phase for Communicator.

If you choose, you may still download the beta code. However, we recommend you only install this browser in a test environment. You may choose to wait for the GA release, which should arrive soon. Thank you for your continued interest in Netscape 4.04 for OS/2!

IBM has released updated PrinterPaks for Warp 3 and Warp 4:

From Software Updates page:
http://ps.boulder.ibm.com/pbin-usa-ps/getobj.pl?/pdocs-usa/softupd.html

FTP, Warp 4 (Spooler 7):
ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/printerpak/english-us/xr_ms07/

FTP, Warp 3 (Spooler 37):
ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/printerpak/english-us/xr_ws37/

OS/2 users should note that according to the documentation accompanying these files they are subsets of Fixpaks 7 and Fixpaks 37 respectively.

Users should NOT apply these fixpaks if they have applied Fixpak 8, as doing so would actually DOWNGRADE their printer driver levels.

Stardock has updated Object Desktop 2.0 EE to Beta 3:
http://www.stardock.com/update/update_od20.html

Major fixes in Beta 3 revolve around handling of the layout code and implementation of the system-wide BookMark feature. Note: Object Package issues have not been addressed in this build.

The Win32OS2 Project has released Win32OS2 Alpha 03 to Hobbes.
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/w32os203.zip

On the Fly conversions in this release.

Read about it at:
http://www.os2ss.com/win32-os2/

While FaxWorks Solutions (formerly Global Village) has announced that they will exit the IBM OS/2 software market as of September 30th, this does NOT mean that the PMfax/FaxWorks products are being discontinued.

Keller Group is committed to developing, selling and supporting OS/2 fax/voice software, and we plan to continue to do so. While certain publishers of our products may decide to exit the OS/2 software market, you will still be able to get additional products and support from us. See the "Support Programs" section on our list of Upgrades and Products at our web site for details.
-- Mark Ahlstrom, President, Keller Group Inc. -- info@kellergroup.com, http://www.kellergroup.com

I found a press release today that could be beneficial for OS/2 developers out there interested in developing new CD-R or DVD-R drivers for OS/2.

These two paragraphs caught my attention:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 1998--Drexler Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:DRXR) today announced that it plans to offer licenses for certain CD-R (compact disk-recordable) and DVD-R (digital versatile disk-recordable) optical disk drive systems using "packet-writing" under a systems/software architecture patent that has been granted in six countries.

The patent covers methods of reading and writing data files on a nonerasable, laser-recordable optical disk and methods of transferring, inputting, and outputting data files within a computer system that utilizes both a computer memory and an optical disk, such as a CD-R or DVD-R disk. The system/software architecture used in the patented method facilitates "packet-writing" and is applicable to any personal computer operating system including Windows(R) 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, UNIX, Macintosh, OS-2, and DOS. The invention permits a number of separate laser recordings on a single track of an optical disk with minimum waste of data storage space for "overhead" functions.

The press release goes on to say that there is a small royalty on the license. The full text is available at:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/980915/drexler_te_1.html

I hope someone out there can make use of this information to release better OS/2-based CD-R software! September 15, 1998

From the Southern California OS/2 User Group:

The September "Dear Mr. Know-It-All" OS/2 column is now online at:
http://www.scoug.com/os24u/1998/scoug809.2.mrkia.html

Every monthly Dear Mr. Know-It-All column answers questions about OS/2 and other questions of interest to OS/2 users.

This month, Mr. Know-It-All discusses:

• Netscape 2.02 for OS/2 and the Internet MIME standard.
  
• the purpose of MIME, and its replacement of UUENCODE.
  
• what the Netscape 2.02 "Options" screens can show you about MIME, and how the displayed values relate to the MIME header.
  
• the relevant RFCs to look at for more MIME information.
  

Dear Mr. Know-It-All has been one of OS/2's most popular online monthly columns since 1996. Each month, Mr. Know-It-All covers topics selected from all aspects of OS/2. Read what other OS/2 users want to know, in "Dear Mr. Know-It-All".

Sponsored by the Southern California OS/2 User Group (http://www.scoug.com).

Stardock has released BUGS 1.1 (arcade style space shooter in the genre of Galaga):. http://www.stardock.com/products/bugs/warp.htm

If you haven't made plans to go to WarpStock, you don't know what you're missing. I am putting some finishing touches on a new program call WiseManager and I will be showing it at WarpStock in couple of the presentations I will be doing.

Come and see how you can set up a new computer and have OS/2, StarOffice, Netscape, PMMail, and a whole bunch of other applications installed "for" - not "in" - that machine with nothing more than just "a" - as in UNO - mouse drag and drop!

In fact, I might even be able to finish up with the group install option by then. Have all of that installed on a "bunch" of machines with just a mouse drag and drop.

Try to beat that, M$.

Kim Cheung, Marketing Director, kimwaic@deltanet.com
TouchVoice Corporation
http://touchvoice.base.org
(626)288-7774x211 (voice) (626)572-8567 (fax)

RSJ CD-Writer v2.70 has been released, it now includes IDE/ATAPI CDR compatibility. Check it out at:
http://www.rsj.de/stage/en/cd_os2.htm

Today Yuri Dario released the first non beta port of mSQL 2.0.4.1.

New features:

• added msqlUserConnect();
  
• added pipe support for Lite;
  
• added query for INST_DIR from INI file;
  
• new mmap() emulation;
  
• install script.
  
• dropped beta level
  

mSQL is a lightweight client/server relational database that earned a great popularity as a back-end for web sites.

You can find more informations at:
http://www.netlabs.org/projects/msql.html

Today, the OS/2 GIMP-Team finished the port of GIMP 1.0 for XFree86/2.

GIMP is a very powerful image manipulation program, it has a lot of powerful tools and filters available. GIMP is something like the Photoshop for Linux, and for OS/2 :-)

Check http://www.gimp.org for more information about the GIMP!

You can download it at:
ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/graphic/gimp_10/

The GIMP/2 page is available at http://www.netlabs.org/gimp/. The port is a part of the OS/2 Netlabs project.

The readme about the port is available at:
ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/graphic/gimp_10/00readme.txt

Note that you need a running XFree86 to start the GIMP for OS/2, maybe there will be a native PM port in the future, but don't expect this soon!

The UP and MP CPU Utility/2 V1.00, or CPU/2 for short, is a commandline equivalent of the OS/2 SMP utility MPCPUMON.

That is, for Warp Srv. SMP it allows you to display the processor status (including setting a processor to Offline or Online) and the CPU utilization (regarding idle, busy and interrupt time) per processor. The CPU utilization display is also available under Warp 4 (for the first CPU only though).

You are welcome to download it (and its source code) from:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/7885/

Of course, bug reports, suggestions, questions, translations to other languages than English or German, ... are welcome too!

SysBar/2 version 0.14 released today. You can download it from the hobbes incoming directory:
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/sbr2_014.zip

or from /pub/os2/util/wps/ a few days later.

SysBar/2 is a set of powerful utilities for OS/2 Presentation Manager which includes clock, CD player, task switcher and pipe monitor (all less than 200K).

The main idea of the project was to design a set of tools which will save your desktop space keeping the functionality you need. Its modules are small (both on screen and in EXE-size - not like those modern monster applications), easy to use and configure, and all this stuff is *FREE*. Documentation is in English, Russian and German.

All the modules have the same look, behaviour & controls. You can drag them anywhere with left mouse button and invoke a pop-up menu with right button. All the actions are simple and easy to understand. In addition I'll describe some task-specific features...

CLOCK
It does the only thing - it displays time, month and date and allows you to adjust these values. That's all.

CD PLAYER
It can play audio CDs. The commands are: play, stop, pause, eject, next track & previous track. There are four time display styles, and several play modes including the shuffle and continuous play. It doesn't require OS/2 multimedia support to work.

TASK SWITCHER
It displays a set of icons representing all the current jobs and windows. You can filter them (hide or show) and perform a number of actions, such as ability to close or minimize windows, to access their system menus, to remove tasks from the system task list, etc.

PIPE MONITOR
It can:

• display CPU load percentage;
  
• display available physical memory;
  
• display available drive space;
  
• monitor specified file size and count;
  
• display current power or battery usage status;
  
• display current time;
  
• display current date;
  
• display system uptime;
  
• display the number of currently running processes and threads;
  
• monitor POP3 mailox;
  
• display network interface traffic statistics;
  
• open a number of named pipes (in the server mode) and read data from these sources. Any text arrived through the pipe will be displayed in a separate (for every pipe) cell using its own colour. This is useful for displaying system information, for debugging purposes, messaging, etc.
  

One of the major features of this monitor is a dynamic binding to some important system libraries (for example, it will just disable some features if you have no TCP/IP or latest fixpack installed - but the rest of it will work well. Some popular system monitors will even be impossible to launch in the same situation).

The SysBar/2 support www site is here:
http://www.lab321.ru/~dip/sysbar2/

Unfortunately, this server may be very slow sometimes.

Abbottsbury's driver for the Hauppage WinCast PCI has been updated to version 1.020P:
http://www.wdi.co.uk/OS2TV/download.htm

Good news for users of McList, the OS/2 mailing list processor! I was asking Matthew Davis (the programs author) about the Beta version 3.00 of McList and I got this information regarding the future of McList.

"McList now only refers to the mailing list processor. If you want to refer to the entire mail system (POP3 and SMTP servers, the Mail Room, McMail, etc, etc, etc), then it's called the Mail Center. In other words, McList is just a component of a larger system."

I did not get a time frame on release, but it sounds like it is very far along.

If you would like to try out v2.02 of McList, it is available from BMT Micro at the following address:
http://www.bmtmicro.com/catalog/mclist.html

Infoworld compares various JVM's running on various server operating systems. One of the OS/JVM combinations was OS/2 Warp Server 4.05 running the Java 1.1.7 beta:
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayTC.pl?/980914analysis.htm

"What did cause at least a few minor tremors was OS/2, and here a direct comparison is quite valid. Except for the first data point, the OS/2 numbers are two to three times more than the NT numbers, and at least that for only the best Linux numbers. It seems that IBM has done some good work, although the JIT compiler in IBM JDK for OS/2 is still in beta testing and may not be the same when it is released."

Drilling Billy from Northwind Software has been updated to 1.30. This is a highly addictive little arcade game (reminiscent of Lode Runner) that plays as either a DOS game or a native OS/2 game. Get more information and the updated files from:
http://www.esperanto.dk/billy

The page also mentions that a native OS/2 CD version may be burned if there is sufficient interest (for now you have to purchase the DOS version and download the OS/2 upgrade from the web).

Maccasoft has released Internet Gate 1.42 for OS/2 (and that other OS from some company in Redmond). I've used it for about a week now and haven't uncovered any problems with it. Fetch a copy from http://www.maccasoft.com/.

Internet Gate allows two or more PC's to share a single TCP/IP connection to the Internet (either dial-up, cable modem or other) by acting as a Proxy Server.

I have just uploaded a new version of Tyra/2.

I have only corrected some bugs and improved the settings for Tyra/2.
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/tyra121e.zip

The proposed directory is:
ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/util/system/tyra121e.zip

And within the next days also available at:
http://www.bmtmicro.com/catalog/tyra2.html

NUT Record and analyze meals according to the USDA Nutrient Database.

The database contains 5,976 foods and their composition in terms of calories, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and cholesterol; vitamins A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, folate, B12, C, and E; minerals calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc; and the essential fatty acids linoleic and linolenic. The program is completely menu-driven and there are no commands to learn. You may add your own recipes to the database.

NUT is uploaded to Hobbes in:
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/nut-os2.zip

and will placed in:
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/unix/apps/nut-os2.zip

Requires EMX runtime 0.9c to run.

Nut port for OS/2 is FREE!

Hello there, I'm developing (trying :) ) a hardware monitoring program that uses LM78 and Winbond W83781D chip, and I have a little program that *should* be able to read the Vendor ID from your hardware monitor chip. I'd like my program supporting *ALL* the hardware monitor chip that is currently in use (no one-off/custom please... :) ). If your motherboard have such a chip, please E-Mail me personally for the Chip_ID.EXE which will read (yes, it won't write anything :) ) the Vendor_ID off the chip, and just display it on the screen.

And of course, let me know what chip is in there, so I can actually get to the web page and download the datasheet for chip-specific code that is required for optimun performance and features... :)

Thanks.

I have just updated TarGzipPm, front end to Tar and Gzip... this version can:

• Unarchive *.tar.gz, *.tgz files
  
• List files
  
• Enable Access to files via netscape, an Editor, GhostScript etc
  

Still a beta but a lot more stable... really.

Available from:
http://users.powernet.co.uk/vpub

Go to the projects setions, or local downlaod

Also available from hobbes, incoming.

CodeSmith Software has upgraded their X-File utility to version 1.4. X-File is "The Open File Dialog Fixer"--a desktop enhancer which adds major enhancements to the standard OS/2 microscopic "open/save as" file dialog. Nothing paranormal here - just real useful stuff.

X-File runs under OS/2 3.0 or later, is small and non-intrusive, and will save you from the merrily-we-scroll-along syndrome. Works with many apps such as DeScribe, System Editors (E/EPM), Netscape and SmallEd.

New in v1.4:

• Added file copy/move (background threads) to right mouse button popup menu.
  
• Added directory rename/delete to right mouse button popup menu. Select a dir first.
  
• Added error reporting to file and directory operations (rename, del, etc).
  
• Added default path to command line options. Eg. "xfile.exe c:\mydoc" would set the default path to "c:\mydoc" when an open file dialog is activated.
  
• Fix for X-File buttons (dir history, etc) not appearing under drive buttons.
  
• Fixed Drives drop down control for large drive lists with smaller dialog size (bug description: control was moved to wrong area of dialog).
  
• Fix for default file viewer and file manager not displaying on top of windows (z-order).
  
• Fix for default file viewer not loading correct association under Object Desktop.
  
• Fix for last window position not saved (occured on certain systems only).
  
• Fix for drive buttons too narrow at higher resolutions.
  
• Added SOFFICE.EXE (Star Office 4.0) and ORG32.EXE (Lotus Organizer 4.0) to exception list.
  

You can download X-File 1.4 from:
http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/catalog/xfile/

Are you interested in MIDI and OS/2? Have you had problems setting up your system to take advantage of the RTMIDI subsystem available in Warp?

If you can answer yes to at least one of these questions then take a look at the updated RTMIDI Setup page. It lists soundcards that are compatible with RTMIDI. It also talks about how to get your computer ready for MIDI At Warp Speed With OS/2!

Also you can read about MIDI Station Sequencer Version 1.1 and can download a copy.

MIDI Station Sequencer is a full-featured multi-track sequencer for OS/2 Warp 4 and uses the RTMIDI system along with the high-resoulution timer for a high degree of accuracy with MIDI playback and recording.

The webpage is: http://www.MIDIStation.cei.nu

Christopher Hodges
Author of MIDI Station Sequencer

New in hobbes /incoming:

Archive Name: QV2-200.ZIP
Program Description: Viewer for the Connectix Quickcam (VC, Colour and Greyscale) cameras.

QuickCam Viewer for OS/2
What is it? It's a shareware multi-function viewer for the Connectix Quickcam, supporting both Colour and Greyscale cameras.

The QuickCam Viewer's native 32-bit OS/2 support consists of a device-driver and a PM application.

Some features:

• Auto-detects parallel port and port-capabilities.
  
• Access to camera controls via sliders.
  
• B&W image enhancement with Gamma-corrected palette also on slider.
  
• Low-light filter for speck removal on colour cameras.
  
• Auto-exposure calibration to suit current lighting conditions.
  
• Any portion of the image can be selected for viewing.
  
• Image can optionally be stretched to fill entire picture window.
  
• Can save images as BMP or JPEG file, copied to the clipboard or printed.
  
• Supports Drag 'n Drop - picture can be dragged from the viewer.
  
• Allows putting custom text or just date and time stamps onto saved images.
  
• Configurable Settings, Image/Camera and Others saved to ini-file.
  
• Desktop Lockup support! Use a live picture for a screen-saver.
  
• On-line context-sensitive help.
  

Developers Edition
Available to developers, a support DLL which provides full camera control. Anything the QuickCam Viewer can do is available using the APIs provided.

Ordering and Technical Info
Available from the following two sites (UK and USA respectively):
http://www.cix.co.uk/~elad/qv2.htm
http://www.2d3d.com

For technical feedback and ordering information in Europe, contact Dale Whitfield at qv2@elad.cix.co.uk

For release dates, ordering information and the Developers Edition in USA, contact Senja Petrujkic at senja@2d3d.com

For more information on the Connectix QuickCam, visit Connectix at http://www.connectix.com

The Free Config.sys editor and analyzing Tool Configinfo has been newly updated in September to version 4.0d. The .dat File OS2cfg.dat is now ver.os2cfg15.dat. It can be downloaded at:
http://www.buntspecht.de/files/cfginfo6.zip

SchedulePerformance, Inc. is releaseing a "Lite" version of their Priority Master II software. This scaled-back version is identical to Priority Master II with the following exceptions:

• No "Set Foreground Priority" feature. This feature is really intended for a file/ application/ web server using PRIORITY=ABSOLUTE in the CONFIG.SYS. Client desktops can also use this feature, however, clients typically do not have number of tasks and stress level to fully realize the potential.
  
• Only 6 programs can be stored. The typical user can gain substantial benefits by just prioritizing a few of their commonly used programs. This includes launching up to 6 at once. The full version stores up to 128 programs all of which can be launched simultaneously.
  
• The 30-Day Money back guarantee does not apply. - At this price, the intent is attract an otherwise non interested OS/2 user. It is simply not cost effective to have the guarantee since the price is very low.
  
• Option settings are not transferable to the full version. - An special upgrade price will be given for the full version at a later date. However, the upgrade will install with all default options.
  
• educed priority on email support - Full version purchasing customers get priority over the Lite version. This is not a big deal. There is so much information on the web and in the Online Help that just about everything is already at your fingertips.
  

You can download Priority Master II Lite from:
http://www.prioritymaster.com/lite.htm

After 4 months here is the next release of Mp3pM. This is not a preview, that was available some time ago.

New features:

• Tag editor
  
• BladeEnc support
  
• NTEnc support
  
• ToMpg support
  
• UI changes
  
• OnLine Users Guide
  
• bugfixes (...)
  

It is available from my homepage:
http://www.kiss.uni-lj.si/~k4fe0470
(Go for Projects)

For those who do not know yet:
Mp3pM is PM shell for producing MP3 files. It uses outside encoders (and Cd-Grabbers for encoding CDs)

Perez software (http://www.pcs-soft.com) has released version 2.52 of Control-Alt-Delete Commander. The upgrade is free for owners of recent versions of the program.

The author of Jasmine, an ftp GUI front end, has updated the program again. Besides the recently released version 2.51, there is also a beta version of the next release that includes the option of multiple picks of files and then clicking the disable button only once.

Previously, you had to click on each file independently to disable transfer, then click the disable button for each as well.

A great program that can also remember logins and passwords, and which files had been altered since the last transfer, as well as other options.

The program can be found at:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~qw6k-knst/software/software.htm

Found new Danish fixpack 7 on:
ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/v4warp/danish/xrdm007/

Today I found a new Version of ISDN/PM on the fileserver. The Version is ISDNPM V2.9D:
ftp://ftp.uni-freiburg.de/pub/pc/os2/isdn/isdnpm29d.exe

Warning! This is an Update (only the EXE is distributed). You must have ISDNPM29.ZIP installed.

From the Southern California OS/2 User Group:

The September "Webfoot, The Duck" OS/2 column is now online at:
http://www.scoug.com/os24u/1998/scoug809.2.webfoot.html

This month, Webfoot covers:

• Setting up your _own_ Virtual Private Network over the Internet
  
• Java on OS/2, served from a Java-based server
  
• Memory Watcher, Task Buster, CandyBarZ and other freeware
  
• OS/2 DLL entry points
  
• XFree86 for OS/2
  
• and a lot more
  

Each monthly "Webfoot, The Duck" column includes:

• "On the web, content is king ...", a section which reviews ten relevant OS/2 sites
  
• "Duck Feather", an internet tip, and
  
• "Comparing The Hits", a monthly search engine test
  

Sponsored by the Southern California OS/2 User Group (http://www.scoug.com).

Visual Prolog is a full-featured programming environment with all the facilities necessary to write mission-critical, commercial-grade applications. A new and improved trial version of Visual Prolog can be downloaded free of charge from:
http://www.visual-prolog.com

We have e.g. included some new and illustrative demo programs:

Goal-oriented, non-procedural programming is the essence of the number-one Artificial Intelligence language, Prolog. In procedural languages like C or Pascal, you focus on how something is to be done (i.e., the algorithms for solving the problem). In a declarative language like Prolog, you describe the goals of the program, or what constitutes a solution to the problem. This new way of thinking about problems encourages the programmer to think more about modeling the relationships and constraints that should obtain in the solution than the detailed steps for getting there.

Easy Manipulation of Complex Data Structures Working with complex data structures like trees, lists or graphs often imply big, complex programs managing allocation and de-allocation of memory. Procedures operating on such data structures are almost impossible to keep up to date when the design of the data structure is changed. By contrast, Prolog has a simple and elegant notation for recursively defining and accessing such data structures, shielding the programmer from all the details of pointers and explicit storage management.

Meets today's need for intelligent applications AI-techniques combined with support for web, databases, communication, graphical user interfaces etc. opens a number of possibilities for developing intelligent applications. These include professional applications, e.g. planning, scheduling, logistics, information systems etc. as well as tools for academic or teaching purposes.

Safe and Fast
Visual Prolog also meets the professional's demands for speed, performance and safety. It produces compact, fast and highly optimized native machine code, comparable to that of a good C compiler.

Large set of Built-in Features
A portable language with a large set of built-in standard predicates, plus bindings to a range of specialized API's, together provide you with all the features you would expect from a professional programming language.

Well Suited for AI
Visual Prolog is very well suited for expert systems, planning systems and similar 'AI' applications. Frame or rule-based systems, forward or backward chaining, fuzzy logic, pattern-matching, intelligent agents, and constraint-resolution systems: all are natural and elegant expressions of Visual Prolog's underlying semantics.

The Engine in Intelligent Applications
But the strengths of Visual Prolog extend far beyond the boundaries of AI. The high level of abstraction and the ease and simplicity with which complex data-structures are represented promote reduced development times in any discipline or problem-solving strategy.

For further information please visit www.visual-prolog.com or contact:
Prolog Development Center
568 14th Street
Atlanta GA 303 18
Phone 800 762 2710
     404 873 1366
Fax 404 872 5243
Email sales@visual-prolog.com

There is a small problem with the install script for MIDI Station Sequencer. It gives an error in line 61. You can download an updated installation script at the MIDI Station Sequencer site at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Horizon/6780

Just click on the MIDI Station Sequencer option and look at the bottom of the page for the download.

MIDI Station Sequencer is a full-featured multi-track sequencer for OS/2.

I've created a club on Yahoo! for OS/2 users. If you don't want to join, make your own. Maybe we can pull OS/2 out of the 'other' category.

To become a member of this club, just go to the Web address below:
http://edit.clubs.yahoo.com/config/sjg?.i=warpedusers&.a=i&

You need to go to the address above to join the club, but you can take a look at the club by going to:
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/warpedusers

You can learn more about me by looking at the Yahoo! Public Profile:
http://profiles.yahoo.com/jpasnak

J.P. Pasnak