Re: ATT etc. (now: HTML versions | OS/2)

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "J. R. Fox"  on Sun, 29 Dec 2002
10:40:45 -0800


> Wendell asked me off-list about support, and the IBM announced "withdrawal" of
> Warp 4 and WSEB
> (a server / networking-heavy version).

One point: these "withdrawals" are only of boxed versions of the OS; all
delivery henceforth will be electronic. IBM has clearly and unequivocally said
that they will continue to sell, and to maintain, OS/2 as long as there are
users.

Jordan paints a gloomier picture than I perceive. I get all the "support" I
want or need -- new drivers every darn day, extremely active newsgroups with
highly skilled, technically-oriented participants -- including the guys at IBM
who maintain the program, which is pretty exceptional -- and interesting
programming developments, e.g. WarpVision, which reads DVD Video, Real
Audio/Video (native! in other words, an unReal implementation of the Real
Networks codec, instead of being stuck with the incredibly crappy Real Players,
which just funnel advertisements in and personal info out), and blah blah blah.
In addition to eCS (E-Com Station), there is Software Choice, an IBM-sponsored
subscription program which provides fixpacks, new drivers, etc. and basically
+|- duplicates what eCS offers.

> I believe someone on this list mentioned that OS/2 has a multiboot
> capacity built in?

Boot Manager. I use Boot Manager even on machines that have no OS/2 installed!
It works wonderfully. But Patricia, the OS/2 learning curve is truly steep,
and can be very frustrating if you approach it cold. It is complex -- IBM has
never shown a shred of interest in being "user friendly" in the M$ or Apple
sense. A large impediment is the way they describe things -- IBMspeak -- a
very formal language with special vocabulary and plenty of skill-level
assumptions, which takes some getting used to. You are pitched into the world
of arguments, switches, and command line options galore, and -- here's a
genuine problem -- current users are old-timers who did their basic learning
10-15 years ago, so the things that befuddle you are just distant memories to
them. DejaNews will be your constant companion.

To me, Linux is more sensible at this stage of the game, if you're so eager to
make a serious investment of time and energy. But given your Word Perfect
clients and etc, I would not automatically dismiss the option of buying some
heavy desktop iron (very cheap these days), installing NT, and trying to live
with it. It's the simplest way to go for someone already heavily sedated on
M$ludge, and it is not total dreck like 9X. I mean, what do you *need* to do,
or *want* to do, that NT can't do? If it's merely for the satisfaction of
depriving M$ of money/support/dignity, by all means install a bootleg! (Ever
hear of NewsBin Pro? The "binaries", e.g. "alt.binaries.multimedia.utilities"?)

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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