OS 2 WARP beats Windows 4.0 to market.

The new Windows from Microsoft Corp.--version 4.0--had been scheduled to hit the market in late 1994, but it probably won't come out until the second quarter of 1995. Lucky for IBM, which did come out on time at the end of the year with its exciting new OS/2 software.

By way of background, IBM introduced the IBM PC in 1981. The computer giant wanted to encourage the personal computer industry to supplement and support its efforts. So rather than creating an exclusive operating system for the PC, it used a third-party system --MS-DOS--that could be licensed to any and all PC manufacturers.(1) This decision brought legitimacy to the use of PCs at the office because all PCs could "speak" a common language. It also kicked off a computing firestorm: the clone boom. For that, we should all be eternally grateful to IBM.

However, IBM was mostly into the mainframe computer business in the 1980s. The company itself probably did not anticipate how eagerly and efficiently other computer makers would clone the IBM PC md turn it into a low-cost commodity.(2) Since 1981, IBM has had tough, and at times overwhelming, competition from these manufacturers for microcomputer sales.

In an attempt to battle its way back to major-player status in the PC industry, IBM has tried for years to make a success of its own PC operating system, which is called OS/2. Early versions were not heartily accepted by the PC community, and Microsoft's MS-DOS and Windows continued to be the dominant operating-system software internationally.(3)

Since Microsoft's Windows 95--the 4.0 version previously code-named Chicago--probably won't appear until June, IBM has a unique opportunity to gain market share with its third version of OS/2, or WARP. Here are the details.

WARP and the `Gooey'

This is the third generation of IBM's 32-bit operating system, and it's a winner. OS/2, like Windows, is based on a graphical user interface (GUI, pronounced (GOO-ee). One benefit of OS/2 is that it operates all existing DOS and Windows applications in addition to OS/2-specific software. OS/2 is also "multi-tasking"--that is, you can operate several programs at once. For example, you can download a file from an online service while creating a motion for summary judgment in your word-processing program.

From the moment you start to install the software, you know something new has been added. The one-button "install" icon loads the software, identifies the hardware, and configures the system. (There are advanced installation options for those who wish to customize and fine-tune the software.

To demonstrate OS/2's features and how to use them, WARP comes with an online, context-sensitive tutorial, which is an enhanced "help" feature. The tutorial, which includes "practice" and "do it" buttons, substantially reduces learning time and can be read from anywhere in the operating system or from applications running on it. For Window'ss users, the tutorial offers a view of OS/2 WARP functions from a Windows perspective.

IBM has significantly enhanced its interface, or the look if the onscreen images. Animated icons give users a picture of system operations, and if your computer is equipped for audio it adds sounds for your entertainment and use. Frequently used icons have a three-dimensions look and employ animation. For example, when you open a file to work on it, the image on the screen will look like a file folder opening.

OS/2 features a WARP "LaunchPad," a floating tool bar on the screen, or desktop. (The OS/2 desktop design resembles Apple Computer's Macintosh desktop. Windows 95 also is expected to look like it.) This allows you to "launch," via an icon and the click of the mouse, into programs you use a lot. To customize your desktop, you can drag-and-drop those application icons onto the tool bar so that your most-frequently used programs are just a mouse-click away.

WARP also features a utility for Plug & Play PCMCIA--the small "cards" that store a great deal of information and fit into slots in laptop, notebook, and desktop computers. Plug & Play recognizes which PCMCIA cards are in use. You can plug in PCMCIA cards while the system is running, and the utility will recognize the card without a reboot.

By inserting a particular card, you also can designate an application like your daily calendar or word-processing software to be started automatically each time you turn on your computer. For example, a fax application can be "launched" automatically when a fax-modem card is inserted.

While away from the office, you can queue up faxes, print jobs, and outgoing electronic mail on your laptop computer, and you can send these once you plug your computer into a telephone outlet.

Although games probably are not a lawyer's first and best use of computers, it is significant that WARP makes accessible more than 100 of the best-selling DOS and Windows titles. This means that the high-performance multimedia support necessary to transform a PC into a regular television as well as a photo-storage system is present.

Multimedia tools include Eastman Kodak Photo CD support, IBM Person to Person for OS/2, a multimedia viewer, WIN/TV card support, and new audio device drivers. These capabilities make OS/2 an ideal operating system for CD-ROM-based educational programs and games.

Hardware requirements for OS/2 WARP are a 386SX or higher processor with 4MB of memory (I recommend a 486 and a minimum of 8MB). OS/2 WARP will allow OS/2, Windows 3.1 and its updates, Windows for Workgroups 3.1, and DOS applications to run on the same desktop.

Bonus Applications

A BonusPak of 10 or more applications is standard with OS/2. The following software programs c configured to work with the much more powerful 32-bit WARP system:

* IBM Works. This is a suite of applications for word-processing, database, spreadsheet, charting, graphics, and report-writing functions. The software provides almost everything you will need to get your system up and running immediately.(4)

* CIM for OS/ 2. This is the OS/2 version of the CompuServe Information Manager online service navigational program, which allows you to get online.

* FaxWorks for OS/2. With this application, you can fax documents from within another application or from your computer desktop. To fax a document, just drag icons representing your documents to the fax icon, and away, they go. You need not leave the application program in which you are working to open up the fax program.

* Personal Information Manager (PIM). Lawyers looking to get organized may find OS/2's PIM adequate to schedule meetings, note important reminders, and maintain an up-to-date address book. You can also drag and drop an address or reminder directly from the PIM into an IBM Works document.

* Person to Person for OS/2. Did you ever want to collaborate on a document with someone outside your office while you both sit at your own desks? IBM'S conferencing software allows up to eight users to view and revise the same document simultaneously. This is a powerful program that lawyers in a commercial practice will find invaluable.

Accessing the Internet

IBM has also included comprehensive Internet access capabilities like TCP/IP communications software, Gopher, FTP, and Telnet, plus advanced e-mail capabilities. WARP provides one-button access to the IBM Global Network, whose U.S. provider is Advantis, a partnership formed by IBM and Sears, Roebuck and Co. Up to now, accessing the Internet has been a complex process, but with WARP it will be much easier.

Any one of these applications might warrant paying the cost for OS/2. There are two versions. For users who already have DOS or Windows, the list price is S129 (an expected street price of under $80). The "full-pack" edition, for users without Windows, has a list price of $199 (a street price of less than $130). Both editions will include the BonusPak.

OS/2 will come preloaded on computer systems from a growing number of vendors, including IBM, Toshiba, and CompuAdd. A preload option is available to Dell computer buyers.

I gave tinkered with OS/2 for some time, but until now I was never persuaded to adopt OS/2 as my main operating system. WARP has changed my mind. I think IBM has a minner in this version of OS/2. Before Windows 4.0 comes out, IBM will have to secure a large share of the market if it is to capture a long-term place in the operating system world for OS/2.

Notes

(1) Microsoft is the licensor of the MS-DOS operating-system software and the Windows graphical user interface. (2) IBM probably could have negotiated an exclusive relationship with Microsoft when IBM first licensed MS DOS. By allowing other hardware vendors to license MS-DOS from Microsoft and to openly compete with IBM, IBM ensured the success of Microsoft. (3) An estimated 50 million copies of MS-DOS are in use worldwide. Before the release of OS/2 WARP, there were about 5 million copies of the original OS/2 in circulation. (4) The word-processing program included in the BonusPak is quite adequate for a lawyer's day to day needs. It enables users to bypass mainstream, stream, popular programs like WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, and Ami Pro. Also, 1 was impressed with the ability to link information between files. For example, if you want to take a chart in a spreadsheet and copy it into a word-processing document, highlight the chart and drag it from the file on your screen showing the chart to your open word-processing file.

Paul Bernstein is a CPA, practicing attorney, and law office automation consultant in Chicago. The opinions expressed in this column are the author's and do not reflect an endorsement of any product by TRIAL or ATLA.