On May 27, 1996 at 09:02, Bill Grimsley of 3:640/305.9 wrote:

 db>> Yeah, Paul finally sent it.
 BG>
 BG> Does it work OK for you?

A bunch of text files telling me where else I can obtain HPFS tools for
DOS?  Yeah, those files work *real* well!  ;-)  (I'll get around to getting
the utilities eventually.)

The only binaries in the HPFS4DOS.ZIP that arrived here were various MS-DOS
6.x variants of the "ASSIGN.COM" command.

 BG> If I have my DPMI server loaded, it tells me to disable it first, and if
 BG> I run it from Win95 DOS session, it only recognises the first HPFS
 BG> partition.  I found it works best from a raw DOS boot, no startup files
 BG> at all.

That's probably the safest - those other systems don't handle IFS' too well.

 BG> A few new features then, but still mainly cosmetic.

As I said in OS2_Z3, only time will tell if Merlin is really worth the wait.

 BG> Unless app suport for OS/2 improves dramatically, I'll be seriously
 BG> considering NT 4.0 as my next OS (just as long as it handles comms as
 BG> well as OS/2 does now).

I'd say it most probably will.

 db>> redesigned window buttons/frames, DIVE, DAX, etc.
 BG> If it's the DAX from DS9, I'll buy it tomorrow!

;-)

 db>> GUI "System" font (ATM-controlled), not CLI.
 BG> Dunno, I prefer Arial TT, and as OS/2's Helvetica ATM is much the same,

Well, from what I've been told then Arial TT may be an option for you in Merlin.

 BG> it's not really an issue as far as I'm concerned.

It is for me .. aesthetics are both a "first impression" cosmetic
thing, and then later a productivity thing (if you hate the interface, your
productivity drops).

 db>> 2.  It's a Windows application - I've long since gone
"PROTECTONLY=YES".
 BG> What, no DOS apps or utes either?

None - that's what a DOS boot partition is for!

 BG> What a brave fellow you are.  :)

Brave, foolish .. what's the diff'?  ;-)

 db>> Simple - any functionality gain is offset by the lacking available
 db>> memory which leads to decreased performance and a need for me to
 db>> upgrade memory again.
 BG>
 BG> What could possibly consume your entire 32Mb though?

Admittedly you could argue that NT's underlying design is better than OS/2
Warp's, but the problem with "better designs" is that they
generally consume more memory (look at the argument that OOP systems are
supposedly always bloated compared to their structured alternatives).

Basically, I estimate that I'd have far less free RAM (and consequently
more swapping) with NT doing all the things I do now, than with OS/2 doing
it.

 BG>> All you'll need is a 64Mb swapfile as well, and away you go... :)

Of course .. and that swap file exists on a Flash RAM card, doesn't it...  :-)

 BG> Dunno, I have 8 processes running right now, yet memsize still shows just
 BG> over 17Mb free (and that's with no swapfile either).

The equivalent under Linux would be around 20-24 processes with 16Mb RAM
free;  quite a difference in the number of concurrent tasks with a much
smaller resource requirement.  ;-)

(Don't worry, I'm not really encouraging Linux usage or anything - I'm just
a little impressed after getting it to do some "unorthodox
things" over the past couple of days.)

 BG> Have they managed to clone Unix's X-windows yet?

XFree86 has been ported to OS/2 and is available in beta form (XFree86
3.1.2E) as of May 15, 1996.

 BG> Add to that the ability to run DOS and Winapps (whether you like it or
 BG> not [and I personally don't] it seems we're stuck with Winapps for quite
 BG> a while yet), and it could become a fairly useful alternative for
 BG> non-mainstream users.

I'm playing with Linux at the moment in a number of roles - firewalling,
and "universal file/printer services" (AppleTalk, IPX, TCP/IP,
SMB, etc.);  works like a treat.  That's my focus - server stuff, not
running crappy DOS/Windows apps.  StarOffice for Linux is set to be
released as a freebie for Linux users (as a "Thank You" or
something), and it's meant to be a Microsoft Office clone/compatible or
something.

Should be interesting, especially if it includes a presentation tool (a la
PowerPoint) - then I could reclaim that 250Mb DOS/Windows partition on my
work PC...

Cheers..

    - dave
    d.begley{at}ieee.org

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