My theme about OS/2 last month was that many of those who have taken the effort to educate themselves about OS/2 have, like me, adopted it as their primary operating system. These are people who have knowledge about more than one operating system and have made a choice based on what they have learned and observed. They all found something in OS/2 that they found lacking in other systems. In many cases they bore the expense of replacing the system that came installed on their new computers with OS/2 for reasons they believed were good and proper. No matter what features each one found s/he liked, I believe they all will agree that they recognized OS/2 as having superior technology. But as we have seen many times, the American buying public is usually more influenced by hype than by superior technology.
Additionally, there are many freeware and inexpensive shareware programs that can be had simply by downloading them, and all the software needed for the downloading is included. BTW, an unintended bonus is that OS/2 and its native applications are almost completely free of the threat of computer virus infections. I have had to help family members and others who use "that other system" detect and clear out viruses that have infected their disk drives and word processing documents, but I have never even heard of a virus in an OS/2 system. There is OS/2 antivirus software available, however, for those who feel more comfortable with it installed.
But I digress. You can find out more about the publicly available OS/2 software at several web sites including OS/2 "Must-Have" Utilities and FTP Links (http://www.musthave.com/) and the BMT Micro Catalog (http://www.bmtmicro.com/catalog/). These sites can lead you to other links, and you will probably be amazed by the amount and variety available.
OS/2 includes everything you need to use the Internet including the IBM Web Explorer. Netscape Navigator for OS/2 is also available as a free download. Tip: Although the Navigator comes as Version 2.02 for OS/2, it really includes the functionality that is found in Version 3 for other systems. Many web sites are not aware of that, so if you include the parameter "-3" (without the quotes) in the properties, Navigator will report itself as Version 3 and allow you to access web sites that might otherwise deny access.
Do not ask your ISP if s/he supports OS/2! All too often they say "No" because they do not have any special software for OS/2, but no special software is needed. All that is needed is the usual dotted names and digital addresses to configure the included dialing program. Once you get the same information that is needed for any other system from the ISP, it is a simple matter to enter it into OS/2. Again, no special OS/2 support is needed from any ISP.
OS/2 also includes all the software you need to set up networking using either parallel ports or a network interface card. If you have more than one computer at your site it is easy to network them together and get the advantages of file, printer, and modem sharing. I have such a setup between two computers and I can share between various combinations of OS/2 Warp Versions 3 and 4 and Windows 95. (Oh yes, I have Windows 95 on one machine and I use it when I have to, so I do know whereof I speak.) I will be adding a network card to my laptop so I can include it in the net.
Furthermore, with few exceptions, your existing DOS and Windows 3.x applications will run beautifully and can be multi-tasked from the OS/2 desktop. In fact, as I mentioned last month, that is what led me to OS/2 in the first place several years ago when there was no other good multitasking operating system available for those programs. Arguably, there still isn't.
One of the best places to browse an impressive collection of retail OS/2 products is the Indelible Blue catalog. This can be seen at http://www.indelible-blue.com/ib, or call 1-800-776-8284 and ask them to send you one. The latest issue I received has 62 pages chock full of software and hardware for your OS/2 system. You can even buy a computer with OS/2 pre-loaded and be assured that the hardware is 100% compatible.
Indelible Blue is also a good place to purchase your copy of OS/2 Warp Version 4. The retail street price is $185, but if you have any previous version the upgrade is only $115. You don't have to have a previous version installed to install the upgrade, so if you can find an old one cheap you can just go ahead with the new version. If you have an academic connection you can get OS/2 Warp Version 4 Academic for $85. The only difference is that the microphone is not included.
I have installed OS/2 Warp Version 4 on a variety of different machines for clients, and even I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it installed on almost all of them. It is always a good idea to read the README.INS file before attempting to install.
If you have read this far, thank you, and you now are "smarter than the average bear" about OS/2. If you have any more interest in "getting Warped", attend the MBUG-PC OS/2 SIG to ask questions and learn more about it. Check the newsletter for time and place. I hope to see you there.
Bob Stephan is an OS/2 enthusiast with over 30 years of computing experience. He welcomes comments and questions that The Frugal Hacker can respond to. He can be reached as bstephan@redshift.com and BobStephan@compuserve.com on the Internet, or snail mail at the MBUG-PC address. Bob has a home page under construction at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BobStephan.
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