IBM is continuing its strategy of releasing customized versions of OS/2 that are targeted at different markets. A forthcoming version of OS/2 that runs well on PCs with 4 MB of RAM targets users who want a robust, 32-bit operating system.
Dave Andrews and Matt Trask
IBM has released the first beta version of its new version of OS/2 for Windows that will run well on PCs with 4 MB of RAM. If the company is able to meet all its milestones, it should release this new version of OS/2 sometime this fall. With the new version of OS/2 for Windows, IBM is targeting businesses and end users who want to run a 32-bit operating system that supports preemptive multitasking and multithreading, while being able to run DOS, Windows 3.11, and native OS/2 applications on a modestly configured PC. This new ``Performance
Beta,'' which was code-named Warp, is similar to IBM's OS/2 for Windows product in that it installs on top of a copy of Windows that's already present on a PC. You can get a copy of the new version of OS/2 for Windows by calling (800) 251-2177.
IBM says it will add capabilities to the Performance Beta over the summer, including support for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Win32s applications. BYTE was able to evaluate a preliminary version of the Performance Beta that was running on a 486DX/33 system with only 4 MB of RAM.
When running a selection of sample applets (including Pulse, the Klondike Solitaire game in auto-play mode, and the Tune Editor) while formatting a floppy disk in a VDM (Virtual DOS Machine), the Performance Beta performed well: The Tune Editor didn't miss a note, and Solitaire played smoothly. Even though this is a rudimentary test of the Performance Beta's functionality, it is a strong illustration of some of OS/2's advantages over 16-bit Windows, under which almost all acti
vity ceases when you format a floppy disk.
Other features have been added to the Performance Beta to increase functionality and system performance. The new Fast Load option starts a common Win-OS/2 session during system start-up and can save 50 percent or more of the time required to load Windows applications. ATM (Adobe Type Manager) provides OS/2's native font support. The Performance Beta's new configuration option for Win-OS/2 sessions lets you load ATM only when you use it, thus saving memory and extra load time.
In addition, VDM support in OS/2 2.1 only provided a single priority level for DOS programs, and the Performance Beta now permits DOS tasks to be adjusted to 32 different priority levels. APM (Advanced Power Management) support has been added for laptops (e.g., the AST PowerExec 4/25SL and IBM ThinkPad 750) that have 32-bit APM BIOS code. A new PlayAtWill object manages your PCMCIA slot to support the dynamic loading and unloading of hot pluggable PCMCIA adapters and drivers.
IBM says it has already sold 500,000 copies of the first version of OS/2 for Windows, which was released in November 1993. Company officials say most of the product's sales were ``off-the-shelf retail'' sales to end users who wanted multitasking and a more stable foundation from their desktop operating system than what's available in Windows 3.1. Because of the end-user focus, the Performance Beta will also have an easy, ``one-button'' default installation option that should appeal to novices. Enhancements and performance tuning that appears in the new version will likely appear in a future version of OS/2 2.x as well.
The Performance Beta is just one example of how IBM is customizing its operating system for different markets. IBM is adding support for today's 486-based and higher SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) platforms to OS/2. Also this year, the company plans on shipping its first Workplace (formerly called Workplace OS) product for PowerPC, which will deliver the same features available with O
S/2 on Intel hardware today (i.e., IBM's Workplace is based on a common set of APIs that are scalable across operating environments).
But in the Intel desktop API wars, Windows has captured the majority of developers' efforts. In terms of unit sales, OS/2 has enjoyed modest success in the past two years, but in this regard, Microsoft's Windows still reigns as king of the Intel desktop environments. IBM says that it has shipped about 5 million copies of OS/2--as of early June, Microsoft claimed over 50 million copies of Windows have shipped.
Noting Windows' success, independent-software developers have flocked to the platform--some developers are even putting their OS/2 development efforts aside. Last fall, for example, WordPerfect (Orem, UT) announced that it was suspending development on a 32-bit version of its namesake word processor for OS/2. Instead, it developed OS/2 WPS (Workplace Shell) Integration Tools that let WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows users who are running OS/2 take advantage of th
e WPS's drag-and-drop capabilities.
WordPerfect continues to use OS/2 on the server side, however. The next version of WordPerfect Office (which will be called Symmetry, starting with version 4.1) will include many back-end servers that run on OS/2, such as the Message Transfer Agent and the post-office server.
Symmetry 4.1's Telephone Access Server, which lets remote users call in and retrieve their E-mail messages over the phone via text-to-speech technology, is a native OS/2 server. ``It had to be OS/2 because of the [operating system's] support for multithreading,'' says Bennett Anderson, director of development for WordPerfect Office. ``To do the text-to-speech technology is a very CPU-intensive operation, and the task manager has to do a good job of spreading the CPU cycles around to the different threads.'' The bad news for OS/2 in Orem on the client side is offset by good news on the server side. Says Bennett: ``We've built servers for Windows NT, but a lot of our customers are saying, i
n regard to NT, `Well, we're interested [in NT], but maybe in 1996.'''
Other companies are working hard on new OS/2 applications. Lotus Development has released SmartSuite 1.1 for OS/2, which adds new features such as a stand-alone Lotus Application Manager that lets you switch between SmartSuite applications, Lotus Notes, and an OS/2 window. Other SmartSuite features include support for multithreading, multitasking, REXX (in Ami Pro), and IBM's Configuration, Installation, Distribution technology that supports unattended remote installation of software applications to networked PCs.
Smaller companies are also developing for OS/2. In August, Athena Design (Boston, MA, (617) 734-6372) says it will release Mesa 2 for OS/2, a spreadsheet that takes advantage of SOM (System Object Model), OpenDoc, multithreading, and the WPS while offering real-time data feeds, SQL database access, and an object library for integrating Mesa's spreadsheet functionality into custom applications. Mesa 2's spreadsheet a
nd graphics objects will be packaged as SOM objects so that they can be integrated into a line-of-business application. ``We're confident that OS/2 will continue to capture a sizable share of the market for Intel and PowerPC desktop machines,'' says David Pollak, president of Athena Design, ``that's why we're committed to the platform.'' He adds, ``Chicago will not run on the PowerPC.''
One big unanswered question regarding OS/2 is whether it will support the forthcoming 32-bit version of Windows, code-named Chicago. IBM will only say that if its customers demand Chicago support in OS/2, it will provide it. But for now, OS/2 and OS/2 for Windows are attracting a few million users who need OS/2's capabilities today and are unwilling to wait for Chicago. ``I think both [Windows and OS/2] have their places in the market, and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon,'' says Chris Shanks, product manager for Windows products at SofNet (Atlanta, GA), a company that sells stand-alone and network vers
ions of fax software for DOS, Windows, and OS/2. ``Windows has the bigger part of the market, but the OS/2 side is growing.''
Illustration: IBM intends to offer its Workplace Shell on a variety of platforms--not only on OS/2 2.x and OS/2 for Windows on Intel-based PCs but also on OS/2 on PowerPC and even DOS-based PCs, as shown in this screen shot. The company plans to begin beta testing this summer a version of the Workplace Shell that provides task switching, applets, drag-and-drop operation, file management, and other functions for PCs running DOS in real mode. IBM plans on releasing the Workplace Shell for DOS in the first half of 1995.
Illustration: Several new products have been announced for OS/2 recently, including FaxWorks OS/2 2.0, which adds support for the Workplace Shell, Lotus Notes, and cc:Mail integration (from SofNet, (404) 984-8088).
OS/2 Gets Lean and Mean
