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EDM/2

The News

Written by Aram Agajanian

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OS/2

After an Internal IBM document outlining IBM's strategy for OS/2 was posted to Loren Bandiera's News and Rumors web page, IBM released a more official updated strategy document to Mr. Bandiera. The updated document supports IBM's previously stated plan of moving its customers away from OS/2 APIs and towards Java and Network Computing.

IBM recently disclosed to NewsBytes that a version of WorkSpace On-Demand due in 1999 will include client support for Windows 95 and Windows NT.

The Danish edition of Warp 4 fixpack 7 is now available for download from IBM. Fixpack IP08407 for Warp Peer services has also been released. Printer fixpacks 7 for Warp 4 and 37 for Warp are subsets of the full fixpacks of the same designation for Warp 4 and Warp 3.

Warpstock

Warpstock '98,the second annual conference for small business and home users of OS/2, will take place on October 17 and 18 in Itasca, Illinois (U.S.A). The event will gather of OS/2 users from wide-ranging areas and will include vendor exhibits, software demonstations, technical seminars, software strategy seminars, and more. Tickets may be purchased online or at the door for one or both days. A list of exhibiting vendors is available.

Java

An early version OS/2 Java 1.1.7 runtime faired strongly in tests by Infoworld against JVMs running on other platforms. IBM has now made a preview release of Java 1.1.7 available for download via the web.

IBM has made the Entry Edition of Visual Age for Java, Version 2.0, available for download from the Visual Age Developer's Domain web site. (Online registration is required for downloading.) The Entry Edition supports a maximum of 500 classes and requires Java 1.1.6.

A third beta of Netbeans Developer 2 has been released at the publisher's web site. The product is a multi-platform integrated development environment for Java 1.1. It is free of cost for non-commercial or educational development.

Software Installation Tools

IBM's alphaWorks web site has released version 1.0 Install Toolkit for Java, a package for creating install programs for systems that support Java. The install programs that Install Toolkit generates can install native software as well as Java applications.

MaccaSoft Development has released PackageWizard 1.00 for OS/2. PackardWizard allows a developer to creates installation executables that build applications for OS/2, Windows 95/98, Windows NT, and systems that support Java. PackageWizard can also create program icons on the users virtual desktop for easy application launch. PackageWizard is distributed under a shareware license and can be downloaded from the publisher's web site.

Database

Yuri Dario has released the first non-beta port of mSQL 2.0.4.1 at the OS/2 Netlabs. mSQL is a free, lightweight, and relational database server that is often used by web sites.

American Coders has released version 1.7.2 of xBaseJ, an xBase database engine written in Java. The current release supports DBF, DBT, NDX, and MDX files. The software is available for download from the publisher and can be purchased at BMT Micro.

Rexx

REXX Tips and Tricks is a collection of information about OS/2 Rexx by Bernd Schemmer. Version 2.80 is now available at hobbes. REXX Tips and Tricks is presented in INF format.

Web

IBM has made Netscape Communicator 4.04 Generally Available at its Software Choice web site. The long-awaited internet client includes a web browser, e-mail, a newsreader, and an HTML editor. Available on the site is an international version as well as a version for the U.S.A. and Canada (only) which supports 128-bit secure web pages.

Lotus has begun a beta program for Release 5.0 of Notes/Domino server. A beta-level package of the OS/2 edition is available for download. (Online registration is required.)

PowerWeb Secure Server++, an integrated http/ftp/smtp/pop server, has been updated to version 4.06R8 with a new release. The software is available for download from the publisher CompuSource Pty. Ltd.

IBM has made a new release of the XML Parser in Java that is available at the alphaWorks site. Version 1.1.4 is said to run twice as fast as the previous version and also includes several bug fixes.

Joerg Klemenz has made an OS/2 build of word2html available for download via the web. word2html is a utility that converts a file in .DOC format from Microsoft Word 6 or later to html.

MaccaSoft has released version 1.42 of the Internet Gate proxy server.

The Apache web server has been updated to version 1.3.2.

The Xitami web server has been updated to version 2.4a1. This release includes important CGI security enhancements for non-Unix servers.

PMStripper has been updated to version 1.18. PMStripper strips html codes from web documents but optionally leaves the URLs. The new version has updated the translate quotes option and has an improved user interface. PMStripper is available at BMT Micro.

Printing

Ghostscript 5.50 (and GSView 2.6) have been made available at the Alladin Enterprises web site. Ghostscript is a freeware postscript interpreter that can also generate PDF documents and print to a variety of printer types. GSview is a postscript page viewer that uses Ghostscript.

Documentation

IBM has published two new redbooks pertaining to the field of networking. ``Beyond DHCP : Work Your TCP/IP Internetwork with Dynamic IP'' contains extensive sections on TCP/IP 4.1, Warp Server, Warp 4, and WorkSpace On-Demand. ``A Comprehensive Guide to Virtual Private Networks, Vol.1'', includes coverage of OS/2 Warp's VPN capabilities. For more information, see IBM's Redbooks web site.

Special Offer

ScheduPerformance, Inc. has announced a special offer for OS/2 developers. For a limited time, the retail price of Priority Master II Version 2.4 has been reduced to $9.95 per copy (or less) for commercial or shareware OS/2 software developers. See the author's web site for more information.

News items to news@edm2.com

 

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