Re: OS2 Warp vs Win95

["R Tennenbaum"]

On Wed, 15 Apr 1998 13:06:44 +0100, Paul Breeze wrote:

>This
>appears to have some advantages as far as XyWrite and XyWin are concerned,
>but how does it function with other general software? I currently use the
>Microsoft Network for internet communications, together with Outlook
>Express, some Win3xx/Win95 dictionarites, and Encyclopedia Britannica which
>only runs under Win95. How will I get on by shifting these to OS2?

OS/2 runs 99% of all W3.1 programs. You W3.1 dictionaries should have
no problem. As for Outlook Express, Internet applications are one
place where OS/2 "rulez": there are three first-rate email readers and
at least half a dozen newsreaders, Netscape/2 (with Communicator due to
appear 3rd q this year) and thanks to the great openness and
user-configurability of OS/2's workplace shell they can usually be
linked together nicely one way or another.

I haven't heard encouraging things about Encyclopedia Britannica
running under OS/2 (as yet, but there are developers working on a
project to make it possible to run W95 programs -- for all intents,
recompiled -- under OS/2).

OS/2 can be some trouble to set up, apparently -- it never was for me
-- but its advantages are stability, genuine (almost spectacular)
multitasking, and unsurpassed support for legacy DOS apps. It Its
primary disadvantage is that IBM is intent on positioning it away from
SOHO/small business users and simply maintaining it where its large
corporate customers need it. As a consequence, device drivers do not
get written speedily (or at all) for the latest soundbugger or
television card, and OS/2 users tear their hair out at IBM's
indifferent support. But it is VERY much like Xy in that 1) it runs
close to perfectly as it is, 2) allows a great deal of
user-configurability and customization, and 3) has a loyal, dedicate,
and very helpful community of fanatical users.

By installing Boot Manager you would be able to boot either at will,
basically.  A product named Partition Magic will all you to
non-destructively shrink your W95 partition, then add a small (5 meg)
partition at the front of the disk (for OS/2's Boot Manager), and
another partition (AFTER the W95 one since W95 must be on its own
primary partition) -- a logical partition would be best here. OS/2
would be able to "see" everything on the W95 partition, so long as it
had been formatted simply FAT; if it's FAT32, you'd need to use
Partition Magic to convert it.

I use OS/2 except for the times I must go on the net armed with those
silly browser plugins. Or sometimes to play Hearts.



Rafe T.
http://www.quicklink.com/~rtenn
raphaelt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx