Built in continuous speech Navigation features that will allow you to say "Jump to CNN home page" and away you'll go.

You will also be able to "navigate" around the WPS and in any PM application. The navigation and menu control should actually work with "anything that has a menu"(this should include Win-OS/2 apps). This also covers such things as the tabs and internal screen divisions of controls like notebooks.

Merlin will also include a software implementation of IBM's VoiceType Dictation product. On a Pentium(required for dictation) or higher with any 16-bit MMPM/2 supported sound card, you should be able to dictate using discrete speech(requires ~.1 sec pause between words).

The navigation portion of Merlin will be speaker independent(and the dictation portion should be as well). The intial accuracy should be greater than 90%. However, accuracy and speed can be improved by taking the time to train the system by dictating a few specific(pre-defined) terms. The more you use the system, the greater the recognition rate. Believe it or not, you will actually find that the system starts to train you to speak in such a manner that you maximize accuracy!

In the initial release of Merlin, you will probably have to dictate into a "dictation window," rather than "directly" into your application. This dictation window just pops up right over the text fields in regular program. Once you say "Done," Merlin will automatically copy and paste the dictated text into your application. IBM will be releasing an enhanced set of API routines to allow software developers to integrate dictation directly into their applications(though the current API set has been available for some time, and a few apps already allow direct dictation).

A small microphone icon(which currently looks somewhat dull ;-)), will be added to the titlebar of all your applications. Clicking on this will allow you to start/stop dictation(and various other speech related functions) directly, without having to find the VTD icons. However, the speech technologies in OS/2 will also allow you to start and stop speech related functions directly from a microphone, simply by saying something like "Computer, wake up. Start dictation. This is a test of the emergency broadcast system. In voluntary cooperation with local, state, and federal officials, broadcasters in your area have agreed to participate in this program. Were this an actual emergency, you would now be free to panic."

IBM may also include a SpokenDoc OpenDoc component that would speech enable(for dictation) and OpenDoc application or part.

IBM's VTD technology also allows you to create macros to perform a set of functions. You can create a macro to input text, open menu items, jump to a web URL, etc. All you have to do is show the computer what function you want to perform(like jumping to a URL) and speak the "voice macro keyword" that you want to use to initiate this function. These navigation macros are speaker-independent.

The initial release of Merlin will include a 10,000 word dictionary. You should be able to expand this to 42,000 by adding your own directly(just say them once) or by purchasing an additional vocabulary set from IBM(e.g. medical or legal fields). Though the initial set of 10,000 words will likely be more than adequate for most users(especially with the capability to add your own terms), it has been suggested that IBM will offer a cheap upgrade of the additional 12,000 words that currently make up the base VTD vocabulary.

The intial version of Merlin should include speech support for the following languages: U.S. and U.K. English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. More may be added at a later point in time(such as Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Japanese).

However, all this cool stuff will come with a price. It is likely(but not certain at this time) that at P100 will be required for dictation(though a P90 may work as well). Users should expect to be able to use the navigation functions with a less powerful processor, but nothing has been made official yet. Expect a minimum of 16MB of RAM to be a requirement for using any of the speech-related stuff(this is pretty firm). Dictation may require additional 4-8MB of additional RAM over that 16MB base, but we will have to wait and see how well IBM can optimize their code. Please note that the figures given here(especially for the processor) should be not be taken as 100% final, as IBM has not officially announced the minimum requirements for speech under Merlin. I do not know if the VTD functions will be be supported by non-Intel 586 class CPUs. Because speech works best with a directional microphone, IBM is considering including one with the Merlin package(details have not been finalized).

Merlin should also take advantage of a Mwave 2780(or later) chip and the currently shipping VTD adapters to offload processing from the main CPU. This should enable 486DX users with adequate RAM to utilize the dictation functions, but this is not a done deal yet. I have seen this demonstrated with a beta version of the Mwave code, so this is certainly possible from a technical standpoint, though it is not yet implemented in the early Merlin code(which currently implements only the "software-DSP" approach).

HPFS improvements. Merlin will not include the 32-bit HPFS386 driver from LAN/Warp Server Advanced(due to licensing issues with Microsoft and it not really being suitable for workstation use anyway). Almost all of these items are not confirmed for Merlin. However, especially for the ones I have indicated, code has evidentally already been developed. I cannot stress this strongly enough: if customers ask for these features, the execs will go "Can we do this?" and Doug Azzarito(IBM's HPFS guru) will be able to say "Here's the code!" As customers, "we" need to "yell and holler at IBM for these features." Hit up any IBMers that you know, no matter how high or low they are on the food chain.

The HPFS driver in Merlin will be 16-bit.

Doug has already developed an enhanced, 16-bit, "semi-dynamic cache" HPFS driver. This driver allows you to alter the cache size from 64KB to 64MB(in 64KB increments). However, this driver does not adjust its size automatically. You must specify the cache size that you wish to use, though you can change this while the system is running(though there is a slight delay while the cache buffers are flushed and the cache itself is resized).

HPFS support for removable media(supposedly already done, but it might not be in Merlin unless customers ask for it!).

Case sensitivity(supposedly already done, but it might not be in Merlin unless customers ask for it!).

"Sticky" drive letters that would allow you to reserve a drive letter for use by a specific device(status unknown).

Optional elimination of drive letters(status unknown).

The file size limit should be raised to 64GB, but this still unconfirmed. I have not heard whether IBM has improved CHKDSK times or eliminated the rather annoying habit of "fixing" files by deleting them.

A 32-bit HPFS driver utilizing ADD32 and a 32-bit volume manager may happen in the release _after_ Merlin. Disk-spanning will not be in Merlin(buy EZRaid Pro because it already does this "just fine"). Do not expect JFS support until a future(post-Merlin) release. HPFS in Merlin will probably not be optimized for the 486 or Pentium, because of compiler issues that they cannot resolve in time and still ensure code stability.

Improved installation routines. Some sort of "Upgrade Advisor" along the lines of the one included in IBM's Windows 95 Recovery Kit will probably make an appearence.

Merlin is also slated to include a "Hardware Registry." This will allow you to setup and configure hardware devices in a GUI environment, rather than messing with your CONFIG.SYS file(which will still exist for compatibility reasons). I suspect, but do not have any confirmation, that this is a derivative of the IBM Registry included with the PPC version of OS/2. This registry may also allow you to control things like SET PM_DYNAMIC_DRAG. Please help encourage IBM to actually use those wonderful WPS settings notebooks that they invented.

Improved Plug and Play support. IBM has demonstrated a PM resource manager, so this could be implemented in much the same way as under Windows 95. However, it is unlikely that IBM will directly support PnP for legacy, non-PnP ISA adapters. Microsoft learned their lessons about trying to support all legacy adapters the hard way. All the IBM references I have seen about this have specifically mentioned something along the lines of "plug and play adapters." To me, this strongly implies PCI, PCMCIA/PCCard, or the newer ISA PnP adapters, not the dynamic loading and configuration of legacy adapters.

Merlin will include even more robust facilities for dealing with queue hangs. This is evidentally different than the "fix" introduced in FixPak 17, though my understanding is that it is not the implementation of the asynchronous queue from the PowerPC version of OS/2. However, the developers supposedly think that the "new" solution much improved over the "ripping focus away" kludge in FixPak 17. I would encourage everyone to beat on this as much as possible during the beta. Let's find out how good they are. ;-) Tune in next week. Same BatTime. Same BatChannel.

Security hooks in the OS. Merlin should incorporate C2 security extensions. However, at the moment, it strongly appears that these will only be the hooks to allow third-party developers to C2-enable the OS. The Security Enabling Services(SES) have already been shipped by IBM for OS/2 2.11 and are now available free of charge for OS/2 Warp. However, the SES services will be worthless to you unless you have an SES-enabled application. Some vendors with SES applications are Fisher International Systems Corp., Syntegration Inc., IBM Netherlands, and Pinnacle Technologies. If you currently have a SES application, you can grab the necessary security extensions from ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/warp.update.kit/warpses/. Please note that FixPak 17 or higher is required to use this code.

Win32s support will be enhanced to the 1.25 level. Do not expect Win32s 1.30 support in Merlin, though it may appear at some point down the road.

ObjectREXX. "Have you ever created your own OO GUI applications? You will . . ." BTW, ObjectREXX and a newer version of the EPM Editor[which should also be included in Merlin] are included in the OS/2 OpenDoc 1.0 distribution.

The BonusPak will be enhanced(with at least portions OpenDoc-enabled) and some new "surprises"(possibly PhotoWorks Lite--see below) will be added. FootPrint Works should be making an appearance in a new, enhanced version.

Merlin should include a "Briefcase"-like app for synchronizing files between laptops and desktop machines.

"PowerSOM" support(evidentally refers to the combination of SOM 3.0 and DSOM 2.0). Expect improved stability and much better performance. The authors of "The Essential Guide to Distributed Objects", mention that the goal for SOM 3.0 is to make it as fast as a C++ Virtual function. If you are feeling adventurous, you can download a beta version of SOM 3.0 from http://www.software.ibm.com/objects/somobjects.

Generally referred to as "TrapDoor." This feature is already present in some preloaded IBM machines. Basically, you unload OS/2, leaving only a stub in memory. Then, your DOS application(or possibly Windows 95) that refuses to work under OS/2 executes. When you are finished, OS/2 puts you where you left off. This feature appears to be dependent on all the drivers supporting the APM specification. At this point, it appears that you may need an APM compliant machine to make use of these features. For non-APM compliant machines, it is possible that IBM will find some way to emulate this, but I am no longer certain that this will appear for "everyone." Regardless, this could present a very viable alternative for anyone who must occasionally run a Win32 application that is not supported under OS/2.

Support for connecting to infra-red printers, notebooks, etc.

Merlin may also include a set of communications API functions along the lines of TAPI in Windows. With any luck, this will also mean IBM will define a common address book/contact manager as part of the OS.

The status of the mail client in Merlin is still up in the air. While it is possible that Lotus cc:Mail will replace UltiMedia Mail/2 Lite (which would be consistent with IBM's stated intentions after the Lotus acquisition last summer), IBM may choose to package the Notes 4 Mail client instead.

Expect to see a Notes 4 Client bundled with the base OS. It is a good bet that it will be at the minimum a full "Express" client with mail capabilities. However you will probably not be able to develop applications without a full license. I feel compelled to note that I do not think IBM has decided yet exactly which Notes client will be included. If you feel strongly about this, I would urge you to make your preferences known during the beta.

With the abandonment of plans for a specific "Taligent OS," IBM has stated that they will be integrating the Taligent technologies into their base operating systems over time. Expect to see some of these in Merlin, though I have no idea on specifics.

What might be in Merlin?

Software MPEG support(via DIVE). This may not be ready in time for Merlin. If it does make an appearence, this will only support viewing the video portion of .MPG files(unless you have a Mwave adapter in your system, in which case you will also be able to listen to any audio track that might be present). See the OM-1 MPEG beta on the DevCon 9 and 10 CD's for a preview.

IBM appears to be developing a generic WinOS/2 audio driver that would use the MMPM/2 DART interface to quickly access the sound card. Besides the obvious speed advantages, this would conceivably free vendors from having to develop a driver that works under WinOS/2.

CD AutoPlay. It has been suggested that IBM is concerned about the possiblity of loading a virus via this method. However, it may make an appearence in the BonusPak.

An enhanced joystick driver(though the currently available driver should be included). IBM has evidentally not renewed their contract with the original developer of the currently available driver. This does not bode well for the development of a future driver that supports the newer digital joysticks. FWIW.

Mwave support may be integrated into the shipping OS. With any luck(and a little effort on IBM's part), this will not break the Mwave code that is currently preloaded on some ThinkPads and Aptivas.

It is possible that MGI Software Corportation's PhotoWorks will be a part of the BonusPak(it may even be OpenDoc-enabled).

This is still somewhat speculative at the moment, but it would jive nicely with the rumors of a "big" DAX app being in the BonusPak. I might also mention that I believe this was one of the applications featured in the video portion of the 4/29 teleconference.

With IBM's focus on the "connected consumer," ISDN support may be integrated directly into Merlin. Evidentally, David Barnes has been mentioning this in some presentations, with the caveat that everything is not finalized yet.

IBM may also be adding another dirt path to the Information Superhighway by adding the option to register Merlin electronically.

IBM is supposed to consolidate and enhance the User Profile Management services(included with Warp Connect, DB2/2, and other products) even further, to facilitate access to multiple networking resources on disparate servers/domains. This may include the integration of a simple "logon" utility a la Windows 95 and Windows NT.

If there is time, IBM may also be including the ability for network managers to "lock down" the Desktops on remote systems to prevent users from changing them. This is not set yet.

In the "Why didn't IBM do this years ago?" vein, it appears that they are strongly leaning toward including a second "driver" CD with Merlin. This CD(to be updated periodically) would contain the latest device drivers for a great deal of less common hardware(600+ devices?).

IBM may also choose to integrate the IBM Software Installer tools directly into the base operating system. People active on the Internet will recognize this set of standard install routines as becoming more and more popular with many software vendors. Bundling the runtimes into the OS would eliminate the need for the same installation executables to be shipped with each application. There is some precedent for this, as the IBM Software Installer is shipped as a part of OS/2 Warp (PowerPC Edition).

OS/2's Advanced Power Management(APM) features will be updated. This should prove especially useful for laptop owners, but it may also indirectly benefit desktop systems through the TrapDoor feature.

The Personally Safe and Sound backup program(included with Warp Server and also available standalone) may be included. If it is, this version will probably not include tape support, though you can still back up to any media, network drive, or via ADSM mechanisms in a large shop. The lack of tape support is not as bad as it sounds(if you are looking at it from the point of view that it is already available), because only a limited number of tape drives(often more high-end ones to integrate in a ADSM environment) are supported. This item is still pretty unconfirmed, so please take it with a large grain of salt.

The System Find functions should be enhanced. It is _possible_ that they will also permit you to use Merlin's speech recognition to "Find last Friday's marketing report" or something along those lines.

Support for irregularly shaped windows(this is supposedly a part of the Developers API Extensions/OpenDoc code level).

An explicit option for NUMLOCK settings.

What will probably not be in Merlin?

BTW, if you are an industry analyst or journalist who is reading this FAQ, it might be appropriate to do a little research with IBM to make sure that I am accurate. Some recent articles have reported that Merlin will contain features like roll-up windows that I strongly believe to be false. Just a suggestion . . . <g>

It seems increasing unlikely that dual-processor SMP support will be included in the box. IBM would really like to put it in there, but the code will just not be ready in time. IBM may make it available as a CSD at a later point in time(a la Warp Server SMP), but nothing has been announced.

TWAIN support. If this does get included in Merlin, my understanding is that it will be technology and code developed by an ISV. If TWAIN support were to be included in Merlin, it may come from the MGI Software Corportation. We'll have to wait and see how this particular item shakes out.

Bitmap/gradient coloring of dialogs and toolboxes.

Roll-up windows a la some Mac addons and some OS/2 utilities.

System-wide "Bubble Help"(based along the lines of the popup tips in many Lotus products) will probably not be included(though it will be a part of the WarpCenter).

It is unlikely that the TME agent from IBM's Tivoli acquisition will be in Merlin. Note that this is different than the SystemView Agent(which may be in Merlin, we'll see) currently included with some preloads.

For some reason(which I confess I am not privy to), some portion of IBM seems hesitant to include NFS support in Merlin(though some people are strongly pushing for it). Let's help encourage them to see the light. ;-)

Support for the VFAT file system. IBM is still considering this, but the "current" plans are not supposed to include this feature. I do not know what effect Microsoft's new FAT32 scheme is going to have on anything(thankfully, Microsoft appears to be just as clueless on this issue).

Merlin will probably not support NTFS either.

It seems somewhat likely that Merlin will not support 386 processors. To summarize the following quote, IBM will not be testing Merlin on 386-based machines. This does not necessarily mean that it will not run(though some portions like speech obviously will not). I have no idea what this means for non-Intel CPU's.

    04-Apr-96  11:00:04
Fm: John A. Soyring [IBM] 76711,412

We have very few OS/2 Warp customers who run on 386 processors, yet
testing on 386's consumes a large part of our test resources. We 
are redirecting our testing resources to the most popular platforms
--as is Microsoft.

Second, there are some new functions in Merlin that, if used, really 
will require the processing power of a 486 or faster at least. Now, 
one does not have to use these functions, but we think they will 
be highly desirable.

Pen and additional "humancentic" capabilities.

Merlin will probably not come with integrated RealAudio support. IBM is evidentally developing "something better," but I do not have the details. I understand that at least one group outside of IBM has started developing their own RealAudio player for OS/2. OTOH, we also have those persistent rumors of Netscape Navigator for OS/2 . . .

There have been several reports that IBM is working on Real Time extensions to OS/2. While these extensions may not become a part of the base OS, it is possible the the scheduling features of the Intel kernel will be enhanced.

As an aside, I saw one post where someone had seen a demonstration of some of this code at Comdex. Evidentally, there was some sort of gadget that was being used to balance a rod that was standing on its end. With the addition of the "Real Time Extensions," OS/2 was able to sense when the rod was about to tip over and alter the position of the base to keep it balanced. Sounds like a neat little project, but its applications outside of embedded systems will probably be limited at first.

There have been rumors that Merlin will include a new file system. I regret to say that at this point in time, I strongly believe that these are false(though HPFS should be getting some much needed help! ;-)). Any "new" files systems will have to wait until the release after Merlin. I have broken this section out into the FAQ Appendix section to attempt to cut down on the size of the main FAQ.

What will not be in Merlin?

Translucent folder backgrounds. These can be seen in the infamous MERLIN.GIF screenshot. Depending on who you talk to, there are several possible explanations for this being dropped. Most of them had to do with usability and performance concerns. As a personal note here, I plan on encouraging anyone I can at IBM that translucent icon drag and menu support would still be nice to have. Join me, won't you? ;-)

The IBM Microkernel. Merlin is based on the current OS/2 Warp kernel. While this may well be the last version of OS/2 tied specifically to the Intel platform, as of this point in time the Merlin kernel is Intel-specific. While on the subject of kernels, do not expect to see enhancements to allow the equivalent of "kill -9" in Merlin.

Support for Win32 binaries. IBM has stated that they will not be supporting Win32 binaries directly unless customer demand warrants it. In the meantime, developers can utilize the Developer API Extensions to maintain a high degree of code commonality that will allow them to easily develop native applications for both Win32 and OS/2.

Support for Macintosh applications. Merlin will not support Macintosh applications.

Due to distribution problems, Merlin will not include the kitchen sink.

OS/2 Warp SMP

There is still some confusion about what kernel OS/2 Warp SMP is based on. All indications are that it is strictly Intel-based.

While Merlin _might_ include dual-processor SMP support out of the box, Warp SMP may not be based on Merlin. According to feedback I received from JWT's presentation to the Phoenix OS/2 Users Group, Warp SMP will be based on Warp Connect.

In a discussion about many things on Compuserve, John Soyring had this to say about a request for dual-processor SMP support in the base package(7/21/95):

 "Our product planning team recognizes the value of supporting the dyadic
processors that we expect to start appearing in the coming months."

The current target date for OS/2 Warp SMP appears to be mid-3Q96.

Updated Win32s support

The beta Win32s 1.25 driver is available from ftp://ftp-os2.nmsu.edu/os2/patches/win32s.zip.

Nobody seems to know exactly when a new revision of the driver will be made available. I have seen some secondhand comments that indicate that Win32s 1.30 support may not be included in the Merlin beta. I make no claims as to their veracity.

Bad news for users of Photoshop 3.0. IBM appears to have closed APAR PJ18756 as a permanent restriction in the current version of OS/2 Warp. From the technical description:

"The application fails to load one of its Resource Strings due to the FindResource Win32 API failing. FindResource fails because MicroSoft's Win32 design places resources in the virtual memory region above 2 GB but the OS/2 architecture only allows up to 512 MB of virtual memory in a VDM. Regardless of what Win32S version is supported by OS/2, any application that uses the Win32 FindResource API for a Resource String will fail."

OS/2 Warp FixPaks

Another set of links to most of the updates to OS/2 can be found at http://www.cincyteamos2.org/masterupdate.html. FixPaks are built internally every two weeks. If no major problems turn up in a month of testing each FixPak, it is usually OKed for external release. If you have a bug that is fixed by a specific FixPak, you can call IBM Support and they will provide you with the means to download a copy. Note, FixPaks are primarily intended as bug-fixes. While they may speed up your system, that is not their primary intention.

If you are not having problems, the rule of thumb is not to apply a FixPak. Most of the bug fixes "cured" by FixPaks will not apply to your situation. If you think you are having a problem, then by all means give a FixPak a try. Be aware that using FixPaks that have not been released by IBM will leave your system in an unsupported state.

FixPak 9 was released briefly. It was pulled and FixPak 10 was quickly issued. However, this is the code level that the OS/2 v3.01 refresh release was based on. This release was a refresh of the original OS/2 Warp v3 for Windows that was released in October 1994.

FixPak 10 was the second official release. It added some improvements to the HPFS code, but also appears to have broken some portion of the REXX and HELPMGR support. Warp Server Beta 2 appears to be based on an intermediate code level near this build.

FixPak 11 was leaked to the Internet. It contained more bug fixes.

There were two versions of FixPak 12. The first, which was leaked to the Internet, was basically a bug-fix like previous FixPaks. It also appeared to introduce some PM problems. Backing out the PMCTLS.DLL file from the archive created by the FixPak install takes care of most errors. Several people reported improved speed and stability with this release.

The second version of FixPak 12 remained IBM Internal only. It was combined with a Developer API Extensions(Striker) beta. This version of FixPak 12 evidentally included the infamous Synchronous Input Queue(SIQ) fix that many of us have been waiting a long time for. It is my understanding that this does not add multiple input queues to OS/2. This input queue has evidentally been redesigned to detect and rip the focus away from any app that hogs the queue for more than 100ms(IBM's Colin Powell on CIS). This is visually represented to the user by adding a red border around the offending app and dumping it to the back of the z-stack.

The internal version of FixPak 12 made an appearance on DevCon 9. Since this came out at around the same time as FixPak 16, no one really gave it much attention.

FixPak 13 was leaked to the Internet. No additional information about feature/function/bugs is available. It has been suggested that FixPak 13 also contains a partial workaround to the queue problem. This is not the SIQ mentioned above, but an increase to the queue size a la Brent Noorda's PMQSIZE patch. I have not verified this myself.

FixPak 14 was also leaked to the Internet. An interesting tidbit about this FixPak is that it first made its appearence on an IBM FTP site. It appears that the window where FixPak 14 would have been an official release has passed. There have been many reports of increased speed, responsiveness, and improved stability with this release.

FixPak 15 probably existed internally, but was not leaked to the best of my knowledge.

FixPak 16 was released around the end of December and pulled shortly thereafter due to problems with some systems. Much of the information about FixPak 17 originally applied to FixPak 16.

To see the queue fix in action for yourself, Kurt Westerfeld suggested: "Try doing a search all libraries from an .INF file and hit Ctrl+Esc. Works great!"

For my own part, I have been very pleased with the queue fix. I have not had any identifiable queue hangs in the past month that I have been running FixPak 16 or 17. I have also noticed a marked increase in the stability of my system. I have not noticed any significant problems with FixPak 17. I have lost the pointer once and did decide to remove the SES addon due to some hangs, but I have not had the system go down otherwise.

Some additional information about FixPak 17 is contained in a document compiled by Frank McKenney. The 2/22 version of this document is available from http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~kwilas/fp17nfo.zip.

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/v3.0warp/english-us/xr_w017

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/warp.update.kit/xr_w017/

ftp://ftp.pcco.ibm.com/pub/corrective_service/

ftp://ftp.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/v3.0warp/english-us/xr_w017/

ftp://ftp.europe.ibm.com/psmemea/oem/w017/

ftp://ftp.nordic.ibm.com/pub/pccc/baseos/os2/os2v30/

With all of these sites, look for XR_W017.*. Please note that there are at least two versions of FixPak 17 floating around. The files are the same, but the sizes of the individual disk images are slighly different. To make things even more confusing, both versions can sometimes be found on the same site. However, I have provided the checksum information for all the variations that I am aware of.

IBM rereleased Disk 8 of FixPak 17 on 1/31/96 to correct a problem with file placement on the disk. This should only be a concern to Aptiva P- and M- series owners, as well as users of the IBM PC 100, 300, and 700 series machines. The other disks remained the same(with the exception of the new release of all the images noted above).

Since there has occasionally been some concern over the legitimacy of FixPak, I have provided some checksums for the disk images in FixPak 17(the most recent "official FixPak). However, to be absolutely certain about the integrity and legitimacy of a FixPak, only download from official IBM sites like the ones noted above.

I am providing these checksums as a service to the OS/2 community. I make no claims as to their validity over time. I will attempt to keep them updated as new FixPak's are released.

Grab ftp://ftp-os2.nmsu.edu/os2/unix/sum.zip for the program used to generate the checksums. While the file dates may be different, the file size and the value in the far left column should match the values below. Please ignore the underscores(__) in the list below.

[2/01/96 Disk Images]

49401 2881 XR_W017.1DK 1474601

53649 2874 XR_W017.2DK 1471017

15074 2874 XR_W017.3DK 1471017

44092 2874 XR_W017.4DK 1471017

36191 2874 XR_W017.5DK 1471017

00506 2870 XR_W017.6DK 1468969

53383 2859 XR_W017.7DK 1463337

41775 _103 XR_W017.8DK __52265

29633 2881 XR_W017.1DK 1474640

41954 2874 XR_W017.2DK 1471040

17589 2874 XR_W017.3DK 1471040

63895 2874 XR_W017.4DK 1471040

16218 2874 XR_W017.5DK 1471040

29763 2870 XR_W017.6DK 1469040

36832 2859 XR_W017.7DK 1463360

35695 __61 XR_W017.8DK __30800 (original Disk 8)

41775 _103 XR_W017.8DK __52265 (rereleased Disk 8)

"The parameters to the SET command are:

 SET PM_ASYNC_FOCUS_CHANGE=ON | ON x | OFF

 The default is OFF.  To turn it on, put
 SET PM_ASYNC_FOCUS_CHANGE=ON
 in CONFIG.SYS and reboot.

 To change the timeout (I'll describe that in a moment)
 SET PM_ASYNC_FOCUS_CHANGE=ON x
 where x is in milliseconds.  Default is 500 (half a second)
 and reboot.

 The timeout says that that when a focus change is requested (by
 clicking on another application, hitting Ctl-Esc etc) and
 the application that has the focus does not respond to the message in
 x milliseconds, OS/2 determines that the application
 is not responding to messages, flags his queue as bad and switches
 focus to the desired application.  The system will subsequently
 monitor that queue to see when it does indeed start responding to
 messages and mark the queue as good again.

 A good first cut at isolating a problem would be to raise the timeout
 to say, 5000 milliseconds.  If that does not help, turn it off and see
 if that helps.  If there is indeed a SIQ fix problem, this will help
 us isolate it."

SET PM_DYNAMIC_DRAG=ON turns on a full window drag mode a la NT, the Windows 95 Plus Pack, and numerous OS/2 utilities. The IBM code does not extend to VIO windows. While not bad for their first attempt, the code could certainly use some tuning. The easiest way to see its limitations is to turn on Always Maintain Sort Order and resize a folder. Pretty choppy, right? It may be because of the video driver not being optimized for that time of redraw, but Windows NT experiences none of the same choppiness with my ATI Mach64 video card.

Some people may remember the leaked reports of the SIQ fix in FixPak 12 mentioned a "red border" that indicated an application that was blocking the input queue. For FixPak 17, the color used to indicate a hung window was changed to the inactive window color. In the "final" queue fix(which is probably not FixPak 17), the color used is supposed to be configurable.

For anyone who is interested, FixPak 17 also changes the default OS/2 File Open/Save dialog box. Click here for a snapshot. The widgets in the titlebar and the altered window resource graphics are not a part of the new dialog box.

The best advice I can offer for FixPaks is to be very careful. If you are happy with the way your system is running, and you do not have an APAR that is specifically addressed by a FixPak, it is probably best not to apply one. If, after a couple of weeks, the denziens of the Internet have passed their approval on it, feel free to give it a whirl. Of course, the usual cautions about having a backup and knowing what you are doing apply.

FixPaks 18, 19, and 20(RSN) are available directly from IBM if you have have a problem that is fixed in them. These are not generally available on the Internet, though parts of some of them have been leaked at times. Do not worry about these more recent FixPaks unless you have a pressing, outstanding problem with FixPak 17.

Bottom line: Caveat Lector!

Lotus WordPro, Freelance Graphics, and Striker

You can read the IBM/Lotus announcement for WordPro 96 for OS/2 at OS/2 e-Zine!(Issue 6) and directly from IBM at http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/m8lotus.htm.

Now, I realize that this next part is going to make some people unhappy, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Sometime around during 3Q96 1996, IBM will release the SmartSuite 96 for OS/2 Warp(which should run on Warp as well as Merlin). This package will only include the updated versions of Wordpro 96 and FLG 96. The revision of 1-2-3 included with the SS 96 product will be the 1-2-3 that is currently shipping in the SmartSuite 2.0 for OS/2(a backlevel product, in other words). Lotus is having lots of problems getting a 32-bit version of 1-2-3 out the door on any platform, so OS/2 users are not the only ones getting upset here. According to the WordPro 96 for OS/2 announcement letter(linked above), the new versions of 1-2-3, Organizer, and Approach will automatically be shipped as they become available(presumably as the 97 versions, see the next paragraph).

The rest of the Lotus applications(Organizer, Approach, and 1-2-3) are being developed for OS/2 and Windows 95/NT through the Developers API Extensions. At the end of 1996, Lotus will release the full SmartSuite 97 on all platforms with full feature parity. IBM and Lotus are adding a lot of IBM's Time and Place/2 functions directly into Organizer 97, as well as making Approach into a front-end for DB2 databases(amongst other things). Approach(in its current implementation) evidentally makes heavy use of the Microsoft Foundation Class libraries. Lotus is developing the 97 versions of their product with the Developers API Extensions to enable them to really target both platforms. As I understand it, their current code base was a mix of internal frameworks and straight C code, that did not readily lend itself to multi-platform development(as can be seen from their 1-2-3 delays). Yes, nobody(with the possible exception of Microsoft) is happy about the timeframe, but we have to accept that and move on. ;-)

From everything I have seen from Lotus and IBM, these applications will not be based on OpenDoc in the first release. However, IBM and Lotus have some cool tricks up their collective sleeves . . . ;-) The 4/29 issue of PCWeek reports that Lotus will be quietly demonstrating some Smartsuite OpenDoc integration in the near future. This should be taken as indicative of long-term plans, not for the SmartSuite 96 release.

A message recently crossed my desk that said Lotus has formed a team dedicated to specifically enhancing the OS/2 functionality of the new versions. To me, this means "add features that the Windows versions do not have." FWIW.

Java

An updated version of the Java 1.0 runtimes for OS/2 was released the week of 4/8/96. Visit the Hursely site below to download a copy.

On 3/19/96, IBM released a Java-enabled beta of the WebExplorer. Visit http://www.ics.raleigh.ibm.com/ics/give3.htm for information on how to download a copy. This beta release requires the Beta1 Java support available from http://ncc.hursley.ibm.com/javainfo/download/index.html. Note that due to the distribution of the Beta1 Java for OS/2 code, you must install this code on an HPFS partition.

Other

OpenDoc for OS/2 went Gold on 12/15/95. However, it was not until the end of February that mere mortals got their copies via a Special Edition of the IBM Developers Connection CD series. It basically works as promised and includes a newer ObjectREXX(than is currently generally available) as the scripting language. The initial release does not appear to have OpenDoc-enabled the WPS in any way, but I have not sorted through all the nuances of the distribution yet.

The GA is now available on IBM's Club OpenDoc. You will need to install FixPak 17 or higher prior to adding the OpenDoc code. Be forewarned that the runtimes are a 7MB download. At the moment, they are of little practical use to most people. FYI. ;-)

The OpenDoc distribution on the DevCon 9 SE CD's also included an updated level of MMPM/2 with some OpenDoc integration. For a semi-complete listing of the new multimedia enhancements that this code base added, see the bulleted list of new multimedia features under the Merlin section. <g>

On 3/19/96, IBM released a second Java-enabled beta of the WebExplorer. Visit http://www.ics.raleigh.ibm.com/ics/give3.htm for information on how to download a copy. This beta release requires the Java 1.0 runtime support available from http://ncc.hursley.ibm.com/javainfo/download/index.html.

IBM is also making a free, unsupported version of its Internet Connection Server 4.0 for OS/2, AIX, and NT available. Additional information and download instructions are available from http://www.ics.raleigh.ibm.com/.

IBM has also made the 4.1 beta versions of the Secure and non-Secure Internet Connection Servers available from the above site.

You can pick up a beta version of the 1.1b WebExplorer from the OS/2 "Must-Have" Utilities page at http://www.os2.hammer.org/OS2. FWIW, I have found this version to be very stable, provided you boot to a command line and completely clear out all traces of older versions of the WebExplorer before installing 1.1b. You have been warned. ;-) I should also mention that(like 1.1a) this beta does not jump back to the top of a page if you hit ESC while updating/loading a link.

More information to come!

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