organizations w
ith large numbers of 386 and 486 systems now running Windows 3.1x or OS/2 2.1x stay put, upgrade, or switch OSes?
And which of these three major 32-bit desktop OSes is best suited to everyday business applications? These are complex questions, and most users realize there are no simple, clear-cut answers. Generally speaking, both OS/2 Warp and Windows NT Workstation provide robust applications development platforms. However, both require more
CPU horsepower
, memory, and disk space than Windows 95, which may be the best choice for the largest number of users.
OS/2 Warp Connect 3.0
Although it's been around longer than Windows, OS/2 has carved out only a tiny market share compared to the Microsoft products, never achieving the acceptance that IBM (and many users) believe it deserves. The newest release of OS/2 Warp Connect is a solid contender in many areas.
OS/2 lets the user install just the base OS; the dual boot manager, which
boots either DOS or OS/2; or the Boot Manager, which requires repartitioning the drive and designating the partitions as installable, bootable, or startable. IBM includes good documentation for installing OS/2, but the installation should be done by an experienced user if the system must be customized.
OS/2's object-oriented interface, the
Workplace Shell
, more closely resembles the Apple Macintosh interface than Windows NT's menu-oriented interface. The right mouse button activates a menu of settings and parameters for whatever icon, folder, or desktop area the mouse points to. There's great flexibility in setting up the desktop and customizing folder management, and users can arrange folders and other icon elements according to numerous characteristics. OS/2 also offers great context-sensitive help.
Connectivity and networkability are two crucial considerations. IBM has greatly improved the installation and setup for network interface cards (NICs), making it easier to sel
ect protocols and bind them to the installed adapter, but the process has some flaws. OS/2 automatically detects and configures most well-known NICs but is less effective for others.
In additon, the program may or may not obtain media access control (MAC)-layer address information for user-added NICs. When it doesn't--and it won't for some older cards--the user has to manually edit the adapter parameter and enter the network address. And even when it does detect the NIC's 12-digit network address, it doesn't identify the network topology correctly but defaults instead to token ring. The user has to manually check and select the correct topology.
NSTL encountered several problems because this error isn't reported during the Multi-Protocol Transport Services (MPTS) installation and configuration. The system sometimes hangs when the adapter driver fails to load and the OS tries to bind the selected protocol to the missing driver. Removing the NIC doesn't fix the situation; you have to manually edi
t the CONFIG.SYS and PROTOCOL.INI files.
Once you're finally connected, OS/2 interfaces well with the Novell NetWare utility for OS/2, and users can map drives and make printer connections easily. IBM's LAN Distance Remote on OS/2 Warp enables mobile users and remote PCs to access corporate LANs. The OS/2 Warp Connect BonusPak, a collection of programs and utilities that IBM includes with the OS, contains Internet connection services as well as a World Wide Web browser.
Many power users think OS/2 is the most robust and strongest of the 32-bit contenders, but its minuscule market share continues to dog the product. Device drivers are a case in point. Earlier versions of OS/2 suffered from a lack of them. Today thousands of PCs will support OS/2, and a large number of peripherals vendors provide OS/2 device drivers. In fact, OS/2 ships with more printer drivers than either Windows version--but for all other peripherals, Windows has the edge.
OS/2 still provides the best DOS environment. It
runs DOS faster than Windows, offers more versatility, and is easier to use. Each DOS session can have a separate memory space, and all are fully multitasked. Although DOS-exclusive environments are rare today, they can gain advantages and operating efficiency from upgrading to OS/2, which gives users a graphical interface, extends memory, and runs multiple DOS sessions concurrently.
OS/2 would likely shine in environments with a strong existing IBM presence and connections to midrange and mainframe systems--insurance companies, banks, and other financial-service companies, for example. The product's superior link capability to the Internet should encourage users planning to upgrade from earlier versions of OS/2, and even some DOS and Windows 3.1 shops. This OS also has technical merits that make it appealing to users that demand a powerful OS, such as software developers and technical workstation users.
Windows NT Workstation 3.51
This is Microsoft's most powerful OS, and
many observers believe that Windows 95 is just a temporary way station on the road to widespread adoption of Windows NT. Certainly NT seems ready to take on all comers. You can now run Windows NT Workstation on symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems, as well as on systems that are based on a wide variety of processors besides the Intel x86 family, including Digital Equipment's Alpha, Mips, and PowerPC systems.
Windows NT Workstation has unique usability strengths that benefit the advanced user and network administrator more than the casual user. In addition to the familiar Windows 3.1x desktop tools--File Manager, Print Manager, Accessories, and Control Panel--the
Administrative Tools
group provides access to User Manager, Disk Administrator, Performance Monitor, and Event Viewer, all functions that simplify system administration. Control Panel also offers a facility for network adapter configuration and client setup.
Windows NT automatically detects and configures a goodl
y number of network cards; for those it doesn't detect, the user must manually select and configure the card. Overall, NT presented fewer problems for NSTL than did OS/2.
All network drives and NetWare printers are accessible, respectively, from the File Manager and Print Manager. Microsoft's Remote Access Service provides remote access to LANs and secure, high-speed connection services with user-selectable transport protocols. Windows NT Workstation includes a TCP/IP stack, ftp, and telnet service, but it doesn't currently come with a Web browser.
Windows NT offers good information, and the user's manual is helpful and easy to read. However, users may have difficulty getting information they need via on-line help. Finding the correct information often requires being in the right window or program. Microsoft has vowed to offer a common user interface, and in fact the Windows 95 user interface is now available as a service pack for current owners of Windows NT.
Windows NT's manuals are gen
erally the best of the three products at presenting information in a visually appealing manner, with clear, step-by-step instructions. Unfortunately, the pretty documentation is weak in guiding users through the installation process.
Windows NT has better facilities for system administration than either OS/2 or Windows 95. Windows NT is a good choice for environments with stringent data integrity, security, and fail-safe requirements. It not only provides a secure and robust environment but also scales well across different single- and multiple-processor platforms. Its extensive feature set and system-administration tools, combined with a GUI ease of use, make it an attractive choice for client/server applications.
Windows 95
After years of announcements, previews, reworking, and the industry's largest beta-test program, Microsoft finally gave birth to Windows 95 last summer. Although its market penetration may be far less than what was originally predicted for this time, th
is is the OS that most users will be dealing with in the near future.
Windows 95 provides the
easiest-to-use
system interface, a simplified installation and system-setup procedure, and a good set of learning tools. It has by far the best network adapter detection and installation and configuration capabilities. Other peripherals' setup and configuration are just as simple.
It's less impressive in the areas of disk drive preparation and management and overall system maintenance and administration. But because Microsoft targets Windows 95 to the mainstream user, these drawbacks aren't critical for most operations. Furthermore, Microsoft evidently believes users don't require much guidance; the slim manual for Windows 95 often refers the user to manuals that must be purchased separately, or it forces the user to go to the on-line documentation.
Windows 95 not only detects and configures Plug and Play network cards easily, it also detects most other network cards, with u
ser-supplied configuration adjustment and modification. The Network Neighborhood icon on Windows 95 also provides easy connection to NetWare servers, and mapping drives is easy, although we still prefer the NetWare utility that was available with Windows for Workgroups 3.11. As with NT, Windows 95 comes with a very long list of drivers for a variety of devices, including printers, IDE and SCSI disk drives, network adapter cards, video adapter cards, sound cards, PC Card devices, and multimedia subsystems.
Windows 95 comes with HyperTerminal, which provides basic dial-out and file transfer functions, as well as links to CompuServe, AT&T Mail, and MCImail. Microsoft Plus, a companion product, adds Dial-Up Networking server capability, so users can dial into their workstations from a remote location and access shared resources (i.e., files and disks) plus the necessary tools for Internet access, including Microsoft's own Web browser, Internet Explorer. There are no advanced security features, such as call
back or data encryption, but passwords are encrypted.
Windows 95, with its low resource overhead and compatibility with thousands of existing 16-bit applications, targets the broad user base that doesn't have serious security and integrity requirements. Its superior performance in everyday applications makes it an excellent platform for mainstream business and home use.
This report contains partial results from a recent issue of
Software Digest
, a monthly publication of NSTL, Inc. To purchase a copy of the full report, contact NSTL at 625 Ridge Pike, Conshohocken, PA 19428; (610) 941-9600; fax (610) 941-9950; on the Internet, editors@nstl.com. For a subscription, call (800) 257-9402.
BYTE magazine
PRODUCT INFORMATION
OS/2 Warp Connect 3.0.........$299
IB
M Corp.
Armonk, NY
Phone: (800) 426-2255
Internet:
http://www.ibm.com
Circle 1170 on Inquiry Card.
Big Decision: Warp vs. Windows
