Updates from last month's column:

The refresh of Netscape Communicator 4.61 with strong encryption that was available as of 09/07/2000 has been moved to a new download location. Go to http://www6.software.ibm.com/dl/netscape4/nc461os2w-p. Downloading from this site requires a free registration first. For more information on what has been fixed in this release, go to Steve Wendt's Communicator Bug-Tracker page at http://www.os2bbs.com:80/os2news/Communicator.html.

IBM released on 10/19/2000 another fix for Warp 4 FixPak 14. It is at ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/v4warp/english-us/xr_m014/. The file is W41019.ZIP, and the readme file is KRNL1019.TXT. According to Steve Wendt, there are some new features: ALT-F3 at the white blob is a combination of ALT-F1 & ALT-F2; and if you create a dummy file called altf2on.$$$ in either x:\OS2\BOOT or in the root directory of x (where x is the drive where you installed OS/2), then ALT-F2 is always enabled. This apparently makes the ALT-F2 bootup patch that Dallas Legan described last month no longer necessary on Warp 4 systems.

IBM released on 10/13/2000 a fix for JFS (Journaled File System) for Warp Server for e-Business. Go to ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/v4.5warp/. The file is JFS1009.ZIP, and the readme is JFS1009.TXT.

IBM released an update for Java 1.1.8 as of 10/12/2000. Go to ftp://ftp.hursley.ibm.com/pub/java/fixes/os2/11/118/.

For those of you who like to play with alpha or beta versions of software, semi-daily builds of Mozilla/Warpzilla M18 (the successor to Netscape 4.61) are available as of 10/20/2000 at ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/warpzilla. NOTE: You should download the zip file containing the builds to an HPFS drive as the name is quite long. Information on Mozilla is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/; a link to lists of known bugs is also at this site.

NewView version 1.19.4 was released as of 10/07/2000. It is a rewrite of VIEW.EXE that comes with Warp 4. It reads .INF and .HLP files. Improvements include a new user interface, remember size and position, select and copy from the window, and more. Use search key newview on Hobbes.

Ray Gwinn has resumed work on the beta of SIO version 2. The beta is at level 12 as of 10/18/2000. Go to http://www.gwinn.com/. The GA version of SIO is at version 1.60d (as of 03/17/1997).

Java Pilot Desktop, a Java program for interfacing with the Palm Pilot, was updated 10/10/2000 to version 0.951. Go to http://www.ctag.de/projects/jpd/.

The program UpdCD (a.k.a. cdupd) was updated to version 1.0 as of 10/15/2000. It now has support for SciTech Display Doctor, Dani ATAPI drivers, FAT32, and updating of the SYSLEVEL files. Also a problem with Peer icons was fixed. With UpdCD you can incorporate public FixPaks into your Warp 4 or Warp Server for e-Business install CD. This allows you to install a Y2K-compliant Warp 4 or Warp Server for e-Business on systems with large hard disks right from this CD. Look for updcd10.zip on Hobbes, or go to http://xenia.sote.hu/~kadzsol/rexx/sajat/updcd.htm.

MR/2 ICE was updated 10/26/2000 to version 2.21. Go to http://nick.secant.com/mr2ice.htm.

This month's new listings - Drivers:

SciTech Display Doctor is at beta 35 as of 10/27/2000. Go to ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/sdd/beta/os2/sdd-os2-7.0.4-b35.exe (a self-extracting executable). A list of changes is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/sdd2_changes.txt; the main SciTech page is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/sdd_os2.html. Also, IBM has updated their version of SciTech Display Doctor for OS/2 as of 08/21/2000 (although it may have been posted to the Device Driver Pak just recently). Go to ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/os2ddpak/sddse703.exe.

IBM updated the IDEDASD driver as of 09/18/2000. Go to ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/os2ddpak/idedasd.exe.

IBM updated the drivers for CardBus support (PC Card Standard 5.0) for laptops with Cirrus Logic or Texas Instruments socket controller chips 10/13/2000. Go to ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/os2ddpak/cardbus.exe.

IBM has moved some drivers (especially USB support and scrolling mice) to the Software Choice web pages, which means you need a current Software Choice subscription. Go to http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/asd-bin/doc/en_us/ddcat.htm.

IBM as of 10/12/2000 has created drivers to support the new ThinkPad T21 series. Go to ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/os2ddpak/t21.exe.

IBM updated as of 10/10/2000 the printer drivers for PostScript, ink-jets, LaserJets, and plotters to version 30.728. Go to ftp://service.software.ibm.com/os2ddpak/html/printers/.

LSI Logic (Symbios) has updated 2 sets of SCSI drivers:

1. The drivers for cards based on the SYM8xx chipsets were updated as of 08/14/2000. Go to ftp://ftp.lsil.com/pub/symchips/scsi/drivers/OS2_Driver/Driver/SYM8XX/.
2. The drivers for cards based on the SYM896 chipsets were updated as of 10/02/2000. Go to ftp://ftp.lsil.com/pub/symchips/scsi/drivers/OS2_Driver/Driver/SYM896/.

This month's new listings - Applications:

IBM released on 10/19/2000 a fix for Warp Server for e-Business. It's at ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/v4.5warp/english-us/xr_e001. The file is UNI1019.ZIP (for uni-processor systems), SMP1019.ZIP (for SMP systems), and the readme is KRNL1019.TXT.

IBM released Java 2 (JDK 1.3) as of 10/13/2000. Go to http://service.boulder.ibm.com/asd-bin/doc/en_us/java13/f-feat.htm. However, you must be a current Software Choice subscriber to be able to download. Also, according to Jerry Rash, TCP/IP 4.3 (which is also only available to current Software Choice subscribers) is not currently compatible with Java 1.3; you must stick with Java 1.1.8 if you use TCP/IP 4.3 at least for the time being.

If you have Warp Server or Warp Server SMP (not Warp Server for e-Business), IBM released FixPak 43 as of 10/18/2000. Go to ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/v3.0warp/english-us/xr_w043/.

IBM updated as of 09/28/2000 the installation diskettes for Warp 4. They are for ThinkPads, but should work on other systems as well. Go to http://www.pc.ibm.com/qtechinfo/YAST-3MARH8.html.

Lotus has released a Domino server version 5.0.5 update for OS/2. Go to http://www.notes.net/qmrdown.nsf/QMRWelcome.

Samba version 2.0.7 was ported to OS/2 as of 10/23/2000. It is an implementation of the SMB peer-to-peer protocol used in OS/2 and Windows (and now Unix/Linux). Use search key samba on Hobbes.

An updated version of Apache (version 1.3.14 as of 10/13/2000) has been released. Go to http://apache.org/dist/binaries/os2/.

ISOFS is an installable file system for OS/2 to access ISO-image files suitable for burning on CD. It allows transparent read-only access to the contents of the image file. Currently only Joliet filenames and single-session images are supported, but this may change in the future. This release (10/04/2000) fixes a bug causing the WPS to crash. Go to http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Sector/5785/isofs/isofs.htm.

A new version of CDR/RW Wizard (0.9.94) is now available as of 10/22/2000. It's a GUI wizard interface to cdrecord/2 to burn CDR/CDRW (data, audio, etc.) It now features BootWizard to create bootable CD's. Go to http://www.quasarbbs.com/rocco/.

Audio/Data-CD-Creator version 0.42 is available as of 10/23/2000. It is a folder class for the WPS which works as a front-end for cdrecord/2 for creating audio & data CD's. Just put wave files or data into this folder and press "write". Arbitrary ordering of files is possible via drag-and-drop. Go to http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Sector/5785/creator/creatormain.htm.

724mix version 0.1 was released on 09/30/2000. It is a simple mixer with a VIO interface for YMF724-based sound cards. It also supports YMF724-compatible chips such as YMF740, YMF744, and YMF754. Go to http://os2.ru/projects/724mix/index.phtml.en.

GOGO is a very fast MP3 encoder based on LAME. Version 2.36 is now available. Go to http://homepage1.nifty.com/herumi/gogo_e.html.

LBMix version 0.05, a sound-related program/utility, has been released as of 10/09/2000. Go to http://www.podolsk.ru/~boga/OS2Programs.html.

XWorkplace, which was included in Part 3 of Gary Granat's series on "Seeking Ways to Get Rid of System Bloat" in August, was updated to version 0.9.5 as of 10/07/2000. Go to http://www2.rz.hu-berlin.de/~h0444vnd/xwp.htm.

CandyBarZ, which was mentioned by Gary Granat in Part 2 of his "Seeking Ways to Get Rid of System Bloat" in July, was updated to version 1.40 beta 1 as of 10/20/2000. Go to http://candybarz.netlabs.org.

WarpIN, which was written up by Gary Granat in August as required to install XWorkplace, was updated to version 0.9.5 10/07/2000. Go to http://www2.rz.hu-berlin.de/~h0444vnd/warpin.htm.

eBayWatch/2 version 0.10c is now available. As the name implies, it is an eBay auction management tool. Go to http://www.eclipse.net/~knkrchnr/.

Desktop On Call, which is to be included in eComStation, is downloadable from the OS/2 Shareware BBS. Go to http://www.os2bbs.com/file_d/otherapp/DTOC30OS.EXE. However, you must be a registered subscriber to the OS/2 Shareware BBS: for subscription info, go to http://www.os2bbs.com/docs/subscription_info.html.

JSANE, a Java front-end for the scanner program SANE, was updated 10/22/2000 to work with Java 1.1.8. Use search key jsane on Hobbes.

Speaking of SANE, it is now at version 1.0.3 beta 1 as of 10/27/2000. Use search key sane on Hobbes. An older version (1.0.1 as of 06/26/1999) is at http://www.quasarbbs.com/yuri/sane2.html.