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Why is this little set top box of import to us? Simple, it's the numbers. Right
now major sites have no qualms about restricting their sites to windows users only.
This is generally blatant descrimination, and we can access the site by changing
our Netscape profile to identify ourselves as a windoze user (assuming they don't
further restrict to internet exploder only). Of course that is self defeating because
it proves that there are no OS/2 users. These TV viewers may not even realize they
are using OS/2, but they will be using our version of Netscape and be counted as
OS/2 users.
Hopefully companies that have ignored the OS/2 market will take notice and finally
develop those plugins we have been deprived of for years, like Flash and Realplayer.
Maybe even IBM might take notice and finally release a version of ViaVoice for OS/2
so these folks can talk to their TV and tell it where they really want to go. :-)
So will this little box actually do well, number-wise? I don't know, but it is
certainly off to a great start, winning the Internet Product of the Year award in
1999 from a German Computer Site - http://www.computer-tip.de/reportagen/metabox500/
(again you can view an English translation via Altavista's Babelfish at http://babel.altavista.com/translate.dyn?sourceid=00263048410555532206&doit=done&urltext=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computer-tip.de%2Freportagen%2Fmetabox500%2F&lp=de_en&x=24&y=9).
Hopefully this product can expand OS/2 use in Europe and elsewhere throughout the
world. Certainly where it will be available, you can feel comfortable recommending
it to your less technically savy friends or relatives. They won't have to hassle
with installing on "designed for windoze" hardware, and finding and applying
obscure fixes just to get it installed and running. They will have support from
a company that seems to care enough to use the best product available, rather then
what's in vogue. Also the hardware will be made to run the best - OS/2 Warp, so
problems should be minor. On Met@box's site they declare they use a "Crash-safe
operating system". :-))
I've never really cared whether OS/2 was popular among the masses. I just want
to be able to continue to use the best operating system for the personal computer.
If it takes a stealth approach, then I'm all for it. People are beginning to wake
up to the fact that Redmond's best is a load of bugs (I'm being nice here). Hopefully
the sleeping blue giant will awaken and begin to at least stop standing in the way
of promotion of this crash-safe, easy to use, powerful operating system we call
OS/2.
Speaking of supporting OS/2, VOICE is looking for more members to help with the
Warp Doctor site. Warp Doctor is being designed to become the place to go to answer
questions on OS/2 support. An updated version of the now ancient Warp Pharmacy.
We need assistance with web design, suggestions for content, the content itself
and soon we will need help with entry of the data. If you can help we sponsor Warp
Doctor development sessions on IRC in the #voice channel every Wednesday at 9PM
EST(02:00GMT) http://www.warpdoctor.org/irc.html.
Please come to some of these and assist in creating the best OS/2 support site on
the internet. As to content we are in need of assistance with OS/2 Install/optimization
and Networking install/configuration pages. If you have an existing page with this
type of information, or you can help with writing new pages, plase contact dcasey3@home.com
or better yet join the Warp Doctor mail list - http://mailer.falcon-net.net:8080/guest/RemoteListSummary/warpdoctor
If you haven't done so yet, but are ready to do so now, joining VOICE has been
made a bit easier if you are outside the US. Mensys has added the VOICE memberships
to their online store - http://shop.mensys.nl/cgi-bin/db2www/mns_art2.d2w/report?artname=VOICESUB&username=&i1=&o=&x=86904.73096.
As before you can also join VOICE online via our BMT Secure order form at https://secure.falcon-net.net/BMT/order0308.html.
Please consider joining VOICE now. Every membership helps make us stronger in
our support of the OS/2 community.
Coming up in March, we have a General VOICE meeting on Monday, March 16th, 8PM
EST(01:00GMT) and again in April on the 17th. On April 3rd at 8PM EST(01:00GMT),
we welcome Sundial Software for a speakup on Mesa 2. As always, please be sure to
check out the updated VOICE Future events Calendar in this
newsletter or on the VOICE website at <http://www.os2voice.org/calendar.html>
for more details on future VOICE events.
This month we have a review of A Scanner that works
in OS/2, The HP 6200 and 6250, SCSI version by Beth Flunker. If you are
looking for a scanner to work under OS/2, that means SCSI, and they are getting
rare now, with the proliferation of USB devices. Beth has written an excellent article
on this newer model Hewlette Packard scanner that in deed works under OS/2.
I've been hearing about Papyrus word processor for at least a couple of years.
Now there is a Papyrus Office suite. Thomas Gunzelmann gives us a look at the current
German version in his review article Papyrus Office 8.05
for OS/2. Hopefully an English version will follow soon. The English version
of the site was just updated, http://www.rom-logicware.com/start_e.htm
and Ulli Ramps of R.O.M. logicware told me that they really are working hard to
have the English version available in a couple of weeks.
You can read the followup article on Junk Spy version
1.0, Part 2, by Wilson Rook. Wilson's first look at Junk Spy last month
covered the basics. This month he delves into it a bit deeper.
I have a review of Ghostview 2.8 and Ghostscript 6.0.
If you looked at Ghostscript or Ghostview before for postscript file/PDF viewing
and couldn't get it running, maybe now is the time to look at it again. The new
version looks polished, is easy to install and best of all it's free.
Finally Don Eitner returns with a new End(User) column. This month Don sets his
sights on the rumoured new client, in a peculiarly titled article The
black plague was common, but it sure wasn't popular..
Just a reminder that we now have a full Newsletter
Master Index page. All the feature sections of the current and previous issues
can now be found on this one page. Additionally, we have added a Java based search
function to this master index page. It will allow you to search all past issues
for a specific word or phrase. So try it out and let us know what you think. If
you have any ideas for improvements let me know at editor@os2voice.org.
That's it for this month. We are always interested in your thoughts and views
on subjects related to OS/2, and would like to see opinion/editorial pieces as well
as hardware/software reviews. To that end, and because of several recent requests,
we have added a Guidelines for Article Submissions to the
VOICE Newsletter
Mark Dodel
Editor, VOICE Newsletter
editor@os2voice.org
Joel I. Klein
Assistant Attorney General
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
601 D Street, NW
Washington, DC 20530
The email address is antitrust@justice.usdoj.gov,
however I believe a written communication has more effect then electronic.