FRENCH REPORT


by Vincent Delaruelle
Paris, France
vdelarue@os2boutique.fr
100117.525@compuserve.com

July/August, traditional vacation months here in France. Everybody is gone or going. Why am I writing an OS/2 column? Maybe because I am not on vacation myself, maybe because OS/2 is as much a hobby as a job.

Late June and early July IBM traveled to several cities to present its Network Computing strategy and demonstrate Bluebird. Those shows were for corporate customers only and I did not attend but they seem to have been successful. They talked about Java but they had little specifics about VisualAge for Java in its OS/2 version. I hope they follow the USA for pricing (they usually do, so I don't worry too much), as it will be important for Java as a whole to have good tools that anybody can buy (individual programmer, hobbyist, student) even if IBM's market is now corporate only.

In those shows IBM allowed Mediasys to show its latest product, JVTel. It is a Minitel terminal emulation program, based on PMTel/3 which was part of the BonusPak for the French version of Warp. But this one is done in Java, so one code can be used on various OSes as well as on Network Computer. It communicates over TCP/IP with gateways, written in Java as well (so they can run on OS/390 as well as OS/2!), that provides access to France Telecom TCP/IP access point to Minitel services. With JVTel a company choosing to go network computing with Bluebird will not loose the ability to access the thousand of videotex services which are so specific of the French daily life. They might even get more control over the cost of using those services. Of course Mediasys got started on that project because Java was included with Warp 4, like they had seen the potential of OS/2 for servers as early as 1987.

When I read that continuous speech recognition was on its way to the desktop anytime soon I was very interested. So I tried to know more but all I heard was about Windows. It seems that all the major players have continuous speech products about ready to ship, including IBM with their sophisticated VoiceType technology. But the IBM VoiceType group is now dedicated to Windows products. The PSP division is assuming responsibility for the OS/2 version but their limited resources probably mean that we will not see an upgrade to continuous speech for Warp 4 in the near future. I think IBM is making a mistake here by not using the Warp 4 bundle as a leverage for more visibility, even in what can be seen as a limited market. They are courting Windows developer but those guys are more likely to be attracted by the better established players like Dragon or to get ready to jump in the Microsoft train as soon as voice recognition is included in the standard Win32 API. We all know that if the Microsoft product offers 70% of the performance of the IBM one, marketing savvy will compensate most of the difference: it may not be logical Mr. Spock but it is the way we computer users tend to react. Meanwhile existing VoiceType developer, who created some innovative products on OS/2, are being treated so badly by IBM that when they will look into Windows to expand their market they will think twice before going the IBM way again. I know that OS/2 is now for corporate use mostly but VoiceType in Warp 4 is not just a marketing gimmick. In many places in companies, in factories and workshops and also in some offices, a limited function network computer with a voice interface can be a very efficient tool. After all, the crew of the USS Enterprise did use voice commands for serious work long before they started using them for fun in the holodeck.

I think it would be so effective if IBM created good products for Win32 to gain market share in the big market while still actively using the advanced technologies in OS/2 to capture mindshare (and some good money as well) from smaller sophisticated markets.

You may now power off your computer and relax for a few weeks in the sun.

Please do not hesitate to send me any French specific news and information you would like mentioned in this column.

- Vincent Delaruelle


Vincent Delaruelle is a Technical Consultant at OS/2 boutique in Paris. He is also the editor of an OS/2 newsletter, la Lettre d'OS/2 Magazine.