VOICE Newsletter 01/2004

Virtual OS/2 International Consumer Education

VOICE Home Page: http://www.os2voice.org

January 2004

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December 06

Update: Open Watcom 1.2 RC1 released - Windows installer only

This is the Windows-installer version! People should know before they start a 66 meg download - it is said that there still are some folks without cable modem and flat rate ... ;-)

It may be installed using Odin, but - of course - the installation doesn't generate desktop objects, nor does it generate setvars.cmd (although setvars.bat maybe easily adapted)

Besides this, the OS/2 C compiler and linker work.

December 06

Scitech SNAP Graphics v2.3.0 (build 420) released

SciTech SNAP Graphics 2.x for OS/2
----------------------------------

CHANGE LOG
----------

Changes in 2.3.0 (build 420)
----------------------------

. The Watcom Runtime Library is now used for all core BPD code, as well as any new or updated chipset drivers.

. Improved MultiHead support - DDC detection is now done for all heads, and monitor records are created for each. GAMon can now manage the monitor records for multiple heads as well (requires drivers to be updated before this part works properly).

. DDC monitor detection is now working correctly on the S3 ProSavage graphics chipsets.

. Added zooming support for the Trident 3DImage 975 and 3DImage 985 chipsets. Also removed some broken text modes on the 3DImage 985.

. Added full acceleration for the VIA PN133 (S3 Twister) chipset.

. Added support for the VIA Eden and AMD Geode processors.

. The MultiHead "Center Windows on Head" option now ignores listboxes.

. Integrated latest versions (C.098) of IBM GRADD components. This fixes some APM suspend/resume problems.

http://www.scitechsoft.com/snap2_changes.txt

Url: http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/snap/os2/beta/snap-os2-2.3.0.exe

December 06

4os2 3.04e released

Soon after I completed 3.04d, I found a problem with fancy batch files - IFF/ELSE statements seemed to behave in a strange way. Problem fixed now, although I'm a bit surprised that no one noticed earlier.

Available at ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/devel/beta/4os2304e.zip Please let me know of any problems.

December 05

Open Watcom 1.2 RC1 released

Get it here:

ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/watcom/open-watcom-win32-1.2-rc1.exe

C and C++ should be pretty stable, hopefully better than 1.1. State of F77 support is unknown.

December 05

RexxMail build 20031205.164705 released.

A new build of RexxMail is available from my web site:

http://www.degeus.com/rexx/rexxmail_english.html
or
http://www.degeus.com/rexx/rexxmail_nederlands.html

The distribution ZIP file is also available from the Hobbes repository:

http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=rexxmail

CHANGES:

Bugfix: Broken message redirection to folders without the '*' wildcard.

Added : Messages can now also be processed and/or redirected to specific folders based on multi-word strings in subject lines. As before, the WordSeparators setting can be used to define subject line characters that RexxMail will interpret as spaces.

____________________________________________________________________________
RexxMail is an object-oriented WPS e-mail client, written in REXX, which uses the standard WPS user interface. It features an extensive range of functions and options with full command-line access.

RexxMail is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, see: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

RexxMail features include:

Standard WPS interface.
Full command-line access to all functions.
Send mail from any folder on your desktop.
Edit/view messages using your favourite editor/viewer.
Add addresses to messages using standard drag & drop methods.
Add attachments to messages using standard drag & drop methods.
Compatible with external junk mail filter software.
Message transmission status indicator/byte counter/progress bar.
Display message dates in RFC or ISO-sorted form.
Display message times as original, local system, or UTC times.
Calculates time zone offset using any RFC 868 time server.
User exits to run external programs before/after:
opening user folders;
collecting mail;
sending mail.
User exits to run external programs for collecting/sending mail.
User exits to run external programs for processing attachments.
Process/create/edit messages from the command line, a user script, or any other program with user exits.
Add attachments to messages from the command line, a user script, or any other program with user exits.
Automagically collect/delete/skip mail on a POP3 mail server, based on sender/recipients/subject or junk/virus mail flag.
Automagically move incoming mail to specific folders (or delete it), based on sender/recipients/subject or junk/virus mail flag.
Automagically move outgoing mail to specific folders (or delete it), based on sender/recipients/subject.
Collect mail from a POP3 server through an interactive interface to:
Collect a message and delete it from the server;
Collect a message and leave it on the server;
Delete a message from the server without collecting it;
Skip a message on the server for later processing.
User-customizable signals for:
Incoming messages;
Outgoing messages;
Incoming junk mail;
Incoming virus mail.
And more.

December 05

FotoGet/2 Version 0.9.14

FotoGet/2 is intended to be a freeware utility to ease the transfer of pictures between a digital camera and your OS/2 (eCS) PC.

The camera must be accessible from OS/2 by a driveletter.

Note: This is not a device driver.

Usage is (and should be) obvious and easy.

There are no switches (yet), no options or whatever, that are not visible on the main window.

FotoGet/2 makes use of the WPS. It optionally creates light tables instead of folders and optionally creates shadows of subfolders on the desktop.

This is the third public release and should be considered a public beta. It fixes a some minor bugs and has a new option to leave the pictures on the camera.

Thanks for everybody, who reported bugs
Hobbes Incoming: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/fotoget0914.zip
Hobbes Search: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=fotoget

December 04

eco-logical icons

A pack of icons for popular software products and system utilities was published (The products with updated icons will be released soon).

You can download eco-logical icons pack #1 now and spread icons on your desktop for familiarizing.

Every modern application should be decorated with quality icons. Take in mind that users make decision to run you application depending on subject and attraction of icon.. So, don't adjourn the order! Visit the page of eCo-logical design

December 03

SmartBackup 1.01 update

I have released SmartBackup 1.01 as a minor update to correct the following issues:

* Fixed crash when input directory had a \ as the last character (such as C:\). Users can avoid this crash in 1.0 by not including the \ (ie. use C: instead of C:\ if you are backing up the entire C drive).
* Increased width of SmartBackup PM window - some users reported clipped text in 1.0.
* Options in SmartBackup PM window now reflect default settings in configuration file.

Nothing else has changed in this release.

SmartBackup 1.01 can be downloaded in simple Zip form or as a WarpIn self-installer from:

http://freiheit.syntheticdimension.net/ecomstation-apps.php

December 03

RexxMail build 20031203.173013 released.

A new build of RexxMail is available from my web site:

http://www.degeus.com/rexx/rexxmail_english.html
or http://www.degeus.com/rexx/rexxmail_nederlands.html

The distribution ZIP file is also available from the Hobbes repository:

http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=rexxmail

Some of you may have noticed that we're now into twice-daily builds as the feature requests keep coming in. So who said OS/2 was dead, eh?

NEW additions/changes:

- Changed Install.CMD so it can create a main dir more than one level deep from an existing dir.
- Redirection file action entries can now specify multiple commands, with or without a destination folder. Command(s)/destinations are separated by ampersands (&).
- Added MaxCollectSize setting: any message over the limit is left on the server when collecting mail.
- Added signal icons to incoming mail folders to indicate the presence of unread mail messages. When RexxMail "registers" a messages in a user mail folder, the folder's signal icon is set. After viewing the last remaining unread message in the folder, RexxMail resets the folder icon to normal.

RECAP of functional additions/changes of the last few days:

- NTP, POP3, and SMTP servers may now be specified in mnemonic or dotted decimal form.
- Non-standard NTP, POP3, and SMTP port numbers may now be specified by appending them to the mnemomic name or dotted decimal address, separated by a colon.
- Message redirection routine can now create new directories more than one level deep.
- Added keyword AND (&) function to message redirection files. - Added *RUN* command to message redirection routine.
- Added NewMessageSend and NewMessageHereSend commands.
- Added ReplyAddress setting.

____________________________________________________________________________
RexxMail is an object-oriented WPS e-mail client, written in REXX, which uses the standard WPS user interface. It features an extensive range of functions and options with full command-line access.

RexxMail is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, see: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

December 02

Golden Code J2SE 1.4.1_06 Available

The new version offers several enhancements over the previous one (1.4.1_03), including a plugin for Mozilla, better high memory usage, new configuration options, improved font processing and DBCS support, more compatible native interface for C programs, and others.

Url: http://www.goldencode.com

December 02

DRIVE200

DRIVE200.ZIP is a little freeware PM applet that quickly showns the amount of space available on every hard disk in your OS/2 system.

This is a very old applet that has now been refreshed to cope with large drives and reserved drive letters.

The upgrade was done because this little tool is just too handy to ignore.

The applet is available now on ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming, and later in ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/utils/drive

December 02

Warpstock Shirts still available

Just a reminder we have some white 2002 and blue, green and red 2003 shirts in limited quantities and limited sizes (Check the web site for availability). The shirts are very well made, and I wear mine just about every day (I have quite a few now :-).

These could make great presents for the holidays for a dedicated OS/2-eCS user. I liked them so much I bought a blue and a green one in San Francisco. The red ones were not sold at the Warpstock event itself as these are reserved for the event team and the board. So this is a chance to get something that very few people have and there are very few of these left.

If you are interested please check out our secure shopping web site:

http://bamart.com/Store.asp?m=Warpstockinc&n=10&k=106652&s=Merchandise

Thanks for supporting Warpstock.

Mark

December 02

Master of the Empire Released for FREE

I'm releasing MOTE free to the OS/2 community. Its a commerical game released in 1999 and its held up well over the last 5 years. Its a strategy game (similar to Empire and Warlords 3) with a closed economy and a resource market. You can play against up 3 computer opponents. The game maps are randomnly generated, so you get a fresh game everytime. Units include tanks, infantry, fighters, battleships and others. You can download the OS/2 version from http://www.masterempire.com.

[Moderator note: I reviewed this game back in 1998 - http://www.os2voice.org/VNL/past_issues/VNL1298H/vnewsf9.htm It was a bargain then at $25.]

December 02

4OS2 3.04d released

" These command line tools give you a new command prompt that you can use every day -- for everything from launching applications to serious file management and scripting."

I have uploaded 4OS2 3.04d today, it can be found here:

ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/devel/beta/4os2304d.zip

The biggest changes are improved DBCS support and an obscure fix for FAT32 short/long filename handling, both contributed by KO Myung-Hun.

The major difference from 4OS2 4.00A is, as far as I can tell, that 3.04d actually works pretty well. Feel free to report bugs here, or directly to me. Contributions are welcome too.

December 02

NEPTUNE3.INF - 2 000 perfect skins for PM123 !

NEPTUNE3.INF version 1.45 is an English hypertext file in the native INF format, offering a detailed overview of 2000 perfect skins for PM123 !! In practice, it is an accurate catalog of all skins with order numbers from - 01 to 2 000.

NEPTUNE3.INF is FREEWARE and is a part of the NEPTUNE project, which contains -- 2 800 skins !

New features:
- Simple Calculator (Some useful tools)
- Neptune-CD Cover (StarOffice 5.1 - necd2000.sda)

Direct download link (31.35 MB) -
http://www.os2ecs.net/neptune/neptune3.zip

Url: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=neptune&pushbutton=Search

December 02

New CD - 1 500 perfect skins for PM123 !

NEPTUNE2.INF version 1.45 is an English hypertext file in the native INF format, offering a detailed overview of 1500 perfect skins for PM123 !! In practice, it is an accurate catalog of all skins with order numbers from - 01 to 1 500.

NEPTUNE2.INF is FREEWARE and is a part of the NEPTUNE project, which contains -- 2 800 skins !

New features:
- Simple Calculator (Some useful tools)
- Neptune-CD Cover (StarOffice 5.1 - necd1500.sda)

Direct download link (22.85 MB) -
http://www.os2ecs.net/neptune/neptune2.zip

Url: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=neptune&pushbutton=Search

December 02

NEPTUNE1.INF version 1.45 !

NEPTUNE1.INF version 1.45 is an English hypertext file in the native INF format, offering a detailed overview of 1000 perfect skins for PM123 !! In practice, it is an accurate catalog of all skins with order numbers from - 01 to 1 000.

NEPTUNE1.INF is FREEWARE and is a part of the NEPTUNE project, which contains -- 2 800 skins !

New features:
- Simple Calculator (Some useful tools)
- REXX program to uninstall NEPTUNE1.INF

Direct download link (14.70 MB)
http://www.os2ecs.net/neptune/neptune1.zip

Url: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=neptune&pushbutton=Search

December 02

SmartBackup 1.0 released

SmartBackup 1.0 is now available for eComStation 1.x, OS/2 Warp 4.5x and OS/2 Warp 4 fixpack 13 or later. Users may download either a standard Zip file or a self-installing WarpIn archive from:

http://freiheit.syntheticdimension.net/ecomstation-apps.php

SmartBackup takes the time and guess work out of backing up large drives or directories to CD, DVD or other low-capacity media. It supports smart disc spanning to safely store all of your files while minimizing the number of discs needed.

SmartBackup is written entirely in Rexx and sports an optional PM graphical user interface. SmartBackup is currently free for all use, however if you wish to promote future development, you are asked to make a small donation.

SmartBackup is extensible through simple Rexx scripts. I have included three such "post-processing" scripts in the distribution along with a skeleton (framework) for users to create their own scripts. Included scripts are: * pp_checksize - verifies that backup projects will fit the capacity of the user's discs.
* pp_iso - records files in each backup project directly to CD-R/RW. This method is quick but due to CD file system limitations does not store Extended Attributes or long filenames
* pp_zip2iso - first zip compresses the files in each backup project and then records the archives to CD-R/RW - this method saves EAs and long filenames but requires temporary file space on the user's hard drive

December 01

DECalc 3.41 - minor update

DECalc 3.41 has been released to correct 2 minor issues.

* The constant for Pi was set to 22/7 (correct) but Rexx seems to mis-calculate this. I have set the constant to 3.14159265359. Users of previous versions can make this same change by editing the DECalc.INI file with an INI file editor.

* Corrected the copyright notice on the About dialog and removed reference to non-existent readme.txt.

DECalc is a donation-ware OS/2 and eComStation PM-based calculator with many advanced features. DECalc 3.41 can be downloaded from:

http://freiheit.syntheticdimension.net/ecomstation-apps.php

December 01

MR/2 ICE 2.41 has been released

Web site: http://mr2ice.com/mr2ice.htm

"MR/2 ICE is a feature-packed Internet EMail client. Both POP3 and SMTP are fully supported. Configurability is taken to an extreme. MR/2 ICE lets the user select from many options, including optional pieces of the user interface. You'll find things like toolbars and status bars configurable, even to the point of hiding them."

MR/2 ICE version 2.41 has been released, and is available at:

http://mr2ice.secant.com/nick/mr2i241.zip

Changes in v2.41:

* UTF-7 and UTF-8 Decoding in header literals. I'll add encoding for outgoing UTF-* next.

* Filtering on "address book match" using $@ tweaked again. Better token-specific matching.

* Filter disposition form text fixed in OS/2 version.

November 30

RexxMail build 20031130.132628 released.

A new build of RexxMail is available from my web site:

http://www.degeus.com/rexx/rexxmail_english.html
or
http://www.degeus.com/rexx/rexxmail_nederlands.html

The distribution ZIP file is also available from the Hobbes repository:

http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=rexxmail

NEW:

- Added NewMessageSend and NewMessageHereSend commands;
- Added ReplyAddress setting.

BUGFIX:

- Restored some sanity-checking code that I had removed by accident.
____________________________________________________________________________ RexxMail is an object-oriented WPS e-mail client, written in REXX, which
uses the standard WPS user interface. It features an extensive range of functions and options with full command-line access.

RexxMail is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, see:
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

RexxMail features include:

Standard WPS interface.
Full command-line access to all functions.
Send mail from any folder on your desktop.
Edit/view messages using your favourite editor/viewer.
Add addresses to messages using standard drag & drop methods.
Add attachments to messages using standard drag & drop methods.
Compatible with external junk mail filter software.
Message transmission status indicator/byte counter/progress bar.
Display message dates in RFC or ISO-sorted form.
Display message times as original, local system, or UTC times.
Calculates time zone offset using any RFC 868 time server.
User exits to run external programs before/after:
opening user folders;
collecting mail;
sending mail.
User exits to run external programs for collecting/sending mail.
User exits to run external programs for processing attachments.
Process/create/edit messages from the command line, a user script,
or any other program with user exits.
Add attachments to messages from the command line, a user script,
or any other program with user exits.
Automagically collect/delete/skip mail on a POP3 mail server, based
on sender/recipients/subject or junk/virus mail flag.
Automagically move incoming mail to specific folders (or delete it),
based on sender/recipients/subject or junk/virus mail flag.
Automagically move outgoing mail to specific folders (or delete it),
based on sender/recipients/subject.
Collect mail from a POP3 server through an interactive interface to:
Collect a message and delete it from the server;
Collect a message and leave it on the server;
Delete a message from the server without collecting it;
Skip a message on the server for later processing. User-customizable signals for:
Incoming messages;
Outgoing messages;
Incoming junk mail;
Incoming virus mail.
And more.

November 30

Realtek RTL8169 MAC driver 1.05

A new version of Realtek RTL8169 MAC driver (1.05) is available for download:

http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=rtgnda05.zip

November 30

eBayWatch/2 Ver 1.09u

Hello All,

"eBayWatch/2 is an auction management tool for OS/2 users. It works solely with the eBay auction site. It is meant to aid the user in searching for, monitoring and bidding on auction items. eBayWatch/2 is copyright freeware.

Required -
1) partition with long filename support (hpfs/jfs)
2) rexxutil.dll and rxsock.dll in libpath
3) must start from its work directory, or a program object which sets the work directory"

This release is to fix bid confirmation problems that have been appearing in the past week or so. Again there has only been limited testing of the fix, so if you see any bid failures I'd appreciate a note, along with the logfile.txt and tracelog.txt files.

As usual, any feedback of things strange or broken is appreciated.

Thanks,
Ken

I have uploaded ver 1.09u to - http://www.eclipse.net/~knkrchnr

November 30

OSNews: SciTech SNAP Graphics for OS/2 v2.2.4 and OpenWatcom Released

We got some more press at OSNews:
SciTech SNAP Graphics for OS/2 v2.2.4 and OpenWatcom Released By Eugenia
Loli-Queru - Posted on 2003-11-29 07:02:41
http://www.osnews.com/comment.php?news_id=5252

We've had a few somewhat negative eCS postings in the past from Eugenia but at least Eugenia helps keep the general OS world up-to-date on eCS-OS/2. I do get tired of the (thankfully moderated down) postings about OS/2's irrelevence but at least there is a presence.
[Moderator note: Scitech SNAP can be found at http://www.scitechsoft.com/products/ent/snap_os2_content.html]

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