From: brian%jaguar.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Brian Sturgill)
Subject: Tidbits about NT and OS/2 from the trade rags.
Date: 30 Sep 92 21:35:26 MDT
Originator: brian@jaguar.cs.utah.edu
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept


[
Contents:
	OS/2 PDK
	IBM ignores small developers
	Zachmann
	HP and NT
    !!! Novell "rebuffs" OS/2 !!!
	OS/2 users await Microsoft apps.
	OS/2 demos SMP.

Both PC Week and InfoWorld had several articles about the
OS/2 2.0 SPP and the new easy entry into the DAP.  These
have been well covered in c.o.o.a so I omit them.
]
---------
[PC Week; September 28, 1992; Pages 1,10]
OS/2 PDK a Boon for Developers.
[
The article contains a good review -- if you develop for OS/2
and have a CD-ROM drive... you want this.

Among many other things the PDK contains "Release-level copies of the
OS/2 multimedia extensions and multimedia development kit."
Is this the same stuff IBM charges $125 for?
] ...
The OS/2 Professional Developer's Kit is available [on CD-ROM] to members
of IBM's Developer Assistance Program for $15 shipping and handling
charge.  The PDK may be ordered by calling (800) 342-6672.
...
------------
[PC Week; September 28, 1992; Pages 75]
OS/2 Still Suffers from IBM's Lack of Foresight.
By Jim Seymour
...
The distribution screwups of OS/2 2.0 have been widely reported. But
there's a darker side to IBM's weak support of OS/2 that hasn't been
reported--its lame, often insulting non-support of applications
developers eager to port their products to OS/2.

I've heard these stories over and over from developers since late
last year. It sounded odd to me: IBM know applications sell
operating systems; IBM knows that early, wide support of OS/2 by
apps developers is important. Why else would IBM spend so much
money on subsidy deals with large developers?

But not all the essential support for a new operating system
comes from the Big Boys. Especially when the biggest of the Big
Boys, Microsoft, seems very unlikely to sign up as an OS/2
developer. Sure, IBM has Lotus, Borland and WordPerfect, but a
broad range of software support is what's going to drive buyers
to OS/2.

Yet the stories for small developers about IBM turning a deaf ear
to their requests to join the team continued.  When I tracked
them down, few of those developers were willing to provide
specifics.  They made it plain they were afraid to anger IBM on
this.  They still hoped to develop for OS/2
...
------------
[PC Week; September 28, 1992; Pages 78]
[Zachmann is rational this week -- amazing -- must be job hunting...
this is his next to last article... I won't miss him.
His theme is that despite what he's said before everyone should
look at Windows NT.  Hopefully he'll take his own advice before
writing more about NT.]
------------
[PC Week; September 28, 1992; Pages 150]
Microsoft, HP Discuss NT Port for PA-RISC

Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard are discussing porting Windows NT
to HP's PA-RISC workstations, officials at both companies
confirmed last week.

HP, however, has not committed to a port, instead taking a
"wait-and-see attitude," said Wim Roelandts, vice president of
the Network Systems Group for HP.
...
------------
[InfoWorld; September 28, 1992; Pages 1,107]
NOVELL SEES THE FUTURE IN UNIX; OS/2 REBUFFED
Novell bids on USL takeover with UnixWare in the wings.
By Cheryl Gerber

On the eve of the formal rollout of UnixWare, Novell Inc.
officials last week acknowledged they see the future in Unix, not
OS/2.

The launch of the UnixWare desktop operating system, slated for
October 12 at NetWorld, will begin what analysts expect to be an
expanded interest in 32-bit Unix technology, and away from IBM's
beleaguered 32-bit OS/2.

"The reason we're in Unix is we woke up and realized that OS/2
wasn't going to be it," said Peter Troop, a Novell spokesman.
"Novell long assumed that OS/2 would be the platform to field a
32-bit operating system that is hardware-scalable and supports
application integration on the network."

Novell has not been bashful about its preference for UnixWare,
sources said.  They said the LAN giant has worked closely with
major software developers, including WordPerfect, Informix, and
Lotus Development Corp., to get them to commit to shipping
UnixWare versions of their most popular applications by year end.

"There is no question that UnixWare is a strategic platform for
Novell, while OS/2 has become a check-off item," said Jamie
Lewis, an analyst with the Burton Group, in Salt Lake City.
"There's no question the relationship between IBM and Novell has
chilled."

...

"There have been discussions for Novell to take a larger stake --
even to own 100 percent -- of USL, because Novel considers USL
strategic in its battle against Microsfot," said Roel Pieper,
chief executive officer of USL. Novell currently owns about 5
percent of USL.
[
Peiper had a rather lengthy article in last weeks Open Systems Today
where he blasted NT with every dirty trick in the book... including
irrational things like implying that Windows 3.0 UAE's were an
example of what NT would be like.

Unix International had a huge multi-page ad where they had a
lot of extremely prejudiced graphs show things like Unix app
availability and number of users.  Careful readings of
the graphs showed them to not be outright lies... but
it was all very misleading.
]

...

Univel officals said the UnixWare OS, slated for commercial
shipment by year end, will be NetWare ready with Novell's SPX/IPX
protocols built in.  Users will be able to share files and
printers as DOS and OS/2 do now, without an NFS server with
TCP/IP as an add-on NetWare Loadable Module.

...

IBM did not return calls by press time.
---------
[PC Week; September 28, 1992; Page 3]
OS/2 2.0 users impatiently await native applications from Microsoft
By Doug Barney and Ed Scannell
...
So far, Lotus Development Corp, is the only major vendor to
commit a broad suite of its native applications to IBM's advanced,
multitaksing operating system.

Overall, users prefer that applications under OS/2 run natively
rather than in the Windows compativility mode. True 32-bit OS/2
2.0 applications not only provide superior performance, the users
said, they also offer tighter integration than their Windows
counterparts.
...
Despite persistant rumors that Microsoft has developed key
applications such as new, 32-bit versions of Word and Excel, the
company continues to deny any OS/2 development plans.
...
---------
[PC Week; September 28, 1992; Page]
IBM SHOWS KERNEL OF MULTIPROCESSING OS/2
Technology would allow multiple operating systems on the same PC.
By Cate Corcoran

NEW YORK--IBM demonstrated microkernel technology that will
enable multiprocessing in OS/2 during Unix Expo here last week.

The technology will also enable object-oriented software and give
users a wider choice of applictions, the company said.

IBM showed OS/2, OSF/1, Unix, and DOS running as applicaitons on
top of a Mach microkernel on a PS/2.  The applications were
resident in the same machine bu could not run concurrently.
...
[Several speculations by third parties as to when it would ship.]
IBM said only that the microkernel technology could find its way
into actual products in five years or less. The company has said
in the past that OS/2 3.0 will be based on Mach.
...
---------

Brian
-- 
C. Brian Sturgill                I strongly encourage you to read Ross Perot's
University of Utah                             United We Stand
Center for Software Science             How we can take back our country.
brian@cs.utah.edu; CIS: 70363,1373  (It's more important than OS/2 vs NT! :-))