Updates from last month's column:

DFSee, which was demoed at the June 2001 SCOUG meeting, has been updated to version 4.02 as of 08/17/2001. It is an FDISK, display, analysis and recovery tool for disks and filesystems. It now includes some JFS and LVM support. Go to http://www.fsys.demon.nl/dfsee.htm. NOTE: DFSee is now shareware.

ThirdEye version 1.0.4 has been released as of 08/11/2001. It is a universal digital camera manipulation program that supports cameras from Agfa, Olympus, Epson, Nikon, Sanyo, HP, Konica, and Kodak. Go to http://ecomstation.ru/download/.

Ogg Vorbis version 1.0rc2 has been ported to OS/2 as of 08/14/2001. It is an audio compression format similar to MP3 using variable bitrates but free of patented algorithms and is fully open-source. The quality is at least as high as that of similar MP3 files. Go to http://silk.apana.org.au/vorbis/.

Guiffy version 3.1 has been released as of 08/17/2001. It is a file compare / merge (diff-like) tool with a GUI implemented in Java. Go to http://www.guiffy.com. FYI: The developer is a locally-based company (Escondido).

IBM has released on their alphaWorks site ManplatoSync for Java (formerly jSyncManager) as of 08/21/2001. It provides PalmOS data synchronization on any Java-enabled platform. It is also a powerful developer's toolkit, allowing programmers to write jConduits, or to employ data synchronization into their own projects. It also includes support for Lotus Notes. Go to http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/manplatosync4java.

XWorkplace, which was part of Gary Granat's series last year on Seeking Ways to Get Rid of System Bloat, has been updated to version 0.9.14 as of 08/26/2001. Go to http://www.xworkplace.org/proj_xwp.html. It requires WarpIn (see below).

WarpIn, which was also part of Gary Granat's series last year on Seeking Ways to Get Rid of System Bloat (see http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2000/scoug008.xworkplace.html), has been updated to version 0.9.14 as of 08/26/2001. Go to http://www.xworkplace.org/proj_warpin.html.

For those of you who use eBay: eBayWatch/2 version 0.10m is now available. As the name implies, it is an eBay auction management tool. Go to http://www.eclipse.net/~knkrchnr/.

Tonigy version 1.4 has been released as of 08/27/2001. It is an IFS that maps tracks of CD-I, VideoCD and audio CD's into .WAV and MPEG files. Use it to access tracks like ordinary files. A new feature is that it represents the boot image of an ISO track as a separate file. Go to http://www.tonigy.com/.

This month's new listings - Drivers:

IBM has released as of 08/01/2001 an audio driver for the new Thinkpad T23. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/aftp1aos.exe. HOWEVER: according to the IBM website, it says you need Windows 9x/ME/ NT/2000 to extract the driver.

IBM has updated as of 08/16/2001 an audio driver for the Thinkpad T20, T21, T22, and 600X. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/aftpitos.exe.

IBM has released as of 08/11/2001 the driver for the Intel PRO/100 VE/SP LAN adapter that is available for the new Thinkpad T23. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/tpnw1all.exe.
NOTES:

1. According to the IBM website, it says you need Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000 to extract the driver.
2. This is a fairly large file (approximately 19 MB).

IBM has updated as of 08/04/2001 the video driver for the Thinkpad T2x series to support the new Thinkpad T23. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/vftpados.exe.

IBM has updated as of 07/31/2001 the IDEDASD drivers (IBM1FLPY.ADD, IBMATAPI.FLT, IBMIDECD.FLT, OS2DASD.DMD, & IBM1S506.ADD). Go to http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/free/idedasd.exe.

For those of you who are still using Warp 4 instead of Convenience Package 1 or eComStation, IBM has updated some of the Warp 4 installation diskettes (Diskette 1 & 2, but not the initial installation boot disk) as of 08/04/2001. Go to http://www.pc.ibm.com/qtechinfo/YAST-3MARH8.html.

IBM has updated as of 08/17/2001 the printer drivers for laserjets, ink-jets, PostScript, and plotters to version 30.740. Go to ftp://ftp.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/printpak/en/.

IBM has updated as of 08/16/2001 the driver for USB diskette drives. HOWEVER: You must be a current subscriber to Software Choice to download. Go to http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/swc/usbstor.exe.

IBM has updated as of 08/15/2001 the COM.SYS driver to support serial port PCI add-on cards (controllers) with implemented software IRQ sharing. Go to http://service5.boulder.ibm.com/2bcprod.nsf/Driver+Profile+Web/COM.EXE?OpenDoc ument. It is a self-extracting file; extract to a temporary directory and read the README.

IBM has updated as of 08/24/2001 the BIOS for the Thinkpad T20, T21, and T22 series. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/. The Thinkpad T20 BIOS is SPSDIY56.EXE; for the Thinkpad T21, it is SPSDKZ29.EXE; and for the Thinkpad T22, it is SPSD1625.EXE.

SciTech Display Doctor beta 42 has been released as of 08/24/2001. Go to ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/sdd/beta/os2/sdd-os2-7.0.7-b42.exe. The list of changes is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/sdd2_changes.txt; the README file is at ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/sdd/beta/os2/readme.txt.

FreeJFS version 1.0 has been released as of 08/10/2001. This is a freeware version of IBM's Journaled File System (JFS), based on the open-source OpenJFS for Linux. Go to http://os2.ru/projects/freejfs/freejfs_1_1.zip.

NetDrive version 2.0 has been released as of 08/08/2001. It allows users to mount an FTP site or a local directory or a network resource to a virtual volume. There are also many plugins available now. Go to http://www.blueprintsoftware.com/netdrive/.

Ray Gwinn has updated his beta of SIO Version 2 to beta 16d as of 08/06/2001. Go to http://www.gwinn.com. The GA version of SIO is version 1.60d as of 03/17/1997.

Amouse version 2.0 beta has been released as of 07/22/2001. This is a scroll mouse device driver that works better on some wheel mice than IBM's driver. Go to http://home.t-online.de/home/klaus.breining/sw_ms2en.htm.

Lexmark has updated the OS/2 printer drivers for their laserjets to version 2.696 as of 06/18/2001, and the color ink-jets to version 2.522 as of 09/21/1999. Go to http://drivers.lexmark.com/drivers.nsf/SelectPrinter?OpenForm&0.

Matrox has released as of 06/11/2001 version 2.08 of their video card BIOS updates for the G200, G400, and G450 series. Also available as of 04/09/1999 is the 3.51 version of the Unified BIOS updates, which puts the G100 AGP at 1.6, G100 PCI at 1.2, Millenium II PCI at 1.5, Millenium II AGP at 1.4, Mystique at 1.8, and Millenium at 3.0. Go to http://www.maxtrox.com/mga/support/drivers/bios/home2.cfm.

JJSCDROM.DMD has been released as of 08/28/2001. It is a modified version of OS2CDROM.DMD based on the latest OS/2 DDK on-line source code. JJSCDROM.DMD now can be used together with UDF.IFS and CD-RW writers. Use search key jjscdrom on Hobbes.

This month's new listings - Applications:

The WarpZilla team has released as of 08/03/2001 WarpZilla version 0.9.3. This is an update to Warpzilla 0.9.2 that Dave Watson demoed at the July 2001 SCOUG general meeting. Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla/releases/mozilla0.9.3/. The file is mozilla-i386-pcos2-vacpp-0.9.3.zip.

Also: a fix to WDGTOS2.DLL was released as of 08/09/2001. This is for WarpZilla 0.9.3. Go to ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/warpzilla/widget093.zip.

EMX and XFree86/OS2 versions of WarpZilla 0.9.3 are now at Hobbes as of 08/15/2001. For the EMX version, it is Warpzilla-0.9.3-emx.zip; for the XFree86/OS2 versions, use search key XWarpzilla-0.9.3; there are 3 different versions (Xlib, QT, & GTK+). However: none of these versions has Java support. Also, you may need some extra libraries for these versions; for that go to http://www.axess.com/users/sobotka/warpzilla/binaries/.

Audio/Data CD-Creator version 0.48 Fix 1 has been released as of 08/05/2001. It is a folder class for the WPS which works as a front-end for cdrecord/2 for creating audio and data CD's. Just put wavefiles or data into this folder and press "write". Arbitrary ordering of files is possible via drag-and-drop. Go to http://www.os2world.com/cdwriting/creator/creatormain.htm.

Python version 2.1.1 has been ported to OS/2 as of 08/12/2001. It is a programming language that comes from the Unix world. Go to http://www.pcug.org.au/~andymac/software.html.

Psion OS/2 utilities version 1.2, some text-mode FTP-like utilities for the Psion handhelds, has been released as of 08/08/2001. There is now a NetDrive plugin available also. Go to ftp://cbs-edu.chel.su/pub/Porro/Psion/.

CandyFolder version 0.1.0 has been released as of 08/06/2001. This gives the illusion of transparent desktop folders. Go to http://candybarz.netlabs.org/.

Electronic Teller has been updated to version 4.10 as of 08/02/2001. It is a home finance application that allows you to keep track of your checking, credit card and cash accounts. It can keep track of multiple accounts and users, and can import .QIF files from Quicken. Go to http://members.home.net/phcaron/et/etframe.htm.

UpdCD version 1.7 has been released as of 08/13/2001. It now includes a PM interface and supports many OS/2 add-ons. It can be used to update the base Warp 4 or Warp Server for e-Business installation files with FixPaks and supports the creation of updated installation floppies. You can use the updated OS/2 image in combination with these floppies to create new installations of OS/2 which already incorporate the FixPaks and other software. Version 1.5 added preliminary support for Warp 3; version 1.6 added support for Convenience Package 1, and now version 1.7 has support for FixPak 1 for Convenience Package 1, ASPI router support, plus over 50 bug fixes and improvements. Look for UPDCD17.ZIP on Hobbes, or go to http://xenia.sote.hu/~kadzsol/rexx/sajat/updcd.htm. A mirror site is http://www.quasarbbs.net/updcd/.

The author of UpdCD has also updated his Warp 4 Update Kit page where you specify which software components (and in some cases, which level of the components) you want on a CD-ROM that you order from him. This CD is then input into UpdCD to produce your updated Warp 4 installation CD-ROM. Go to http://xenia.sote.hu/~kadzsol/rexx/sajat/updcd/wupdkit.htm. He has a fairly extensive list of 3rd-party products that can be included.

An "in-development" version of Apache (2.0.22) has been released as of 07/30/2001, for those who want to try out the new features. It offers big performance improvements due to multi-threading and elimination of some EMX dependencies. Go to http://silk.apana.org.au/apache/apache_v2.shtml.

GSView version 4.01 beta has been released as of 08/07/2001. It is a PM front-end for GhostScript, as demoed by Tony Butka at the July 2001 General Interest Group. Some minor enhancements and fixes are incorporated. Go to http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/gsview/.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), known as the "Photoshop for XFree86/OS2" is now at version 1.2.2 as of 08/16/2001. Go to ftp://www.netlabs.org/pub/gimp/. Info is at http://www.gimp.org/.

A new build of Gphoto2 was released as of 08/17/2001. This is a GNU digital camera application. There are now 112 cameras supported; check the list to see if yours is on it. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/gphoto/. Info is at http://www.gphoto.org/.

Also available is an XFree86/OS2 port of gphoto 0.4.3, the GNU digital camera image transfer program. It supports over 150 camera models of 19 different makes. Go to http://birdy.hpage.net/.

Vcdtools version 0.4 has been released as of 08/17/2001. It creates video CD's, which are ordinary CD-ROM's in a special format which contains MPEG-1 encoded video. Go to http://www.os2world.com/cdwriting/vcdtools/vcdtoolsmain.htm.

Odin Bug Report Generator version 0.4.0, which was mentioned by Steven Levine during his Odin presentation at the Aug. 2001 SCOUG general meeting, has been released as of 08/17/2001. As the name implies, this is a tool to easily generate Odin bug reports, and supercedes an older version that is included with Odin. Use search key odinbug on Hobbes.

WarpGoGo version 0.99a has been released. This is an MP3 encoder for OS/2. Go to http://www.os2.cz/ed2/. NOTE: The website is in Russian, but the program is in English.

Audio Center version 1.0 has been released as of 08/12/2001. It is an OS/2 audio front-end that you can configure to be used as a front-end for any OS/2-based audio program. It has been tested with UltiMOD, Muse/2, DMP 1.09, mp123, mpg123, maplay, and Timidity using Warp 4. Also available is MikMod 3.1.9a, along with a plugin for PM123. Go to http://go.to/langman.

MakeFI has been released as of 08/06/2001. It is a tool to display and rebuild the FI.INI for Feature Install. Look for MAKEFI.ZIP on Hobbes.

IBM has released as of 08/03/2001 some optimization fixes for Visual Age for C version 3.6. Go to ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/warpzilla/vacppoptfix.zip.

XSane version 0.79 has been released as of 07/28/2001. This is a front-end for SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) that requires XFree86/OS2. Go to http://home.tiscalinet.de/fbakan/xsane-os2.htm.

PMView version 2.31 has been released as of 08/20/2001. This version contains mostly bug fixes and support for animated GIF's. Go to http://www.pmview.com to download and obtain more info.

Dtape beta 7 has been released as of 08/21/2001. It is a PM program which provides the facilities to record and replay digital audio directly to/from disk (basically a digital tape recorder). It includes peak level monitoring and unlimited .WAV file sizes (up to 4GB). Also included are DPLAY and DRECORD, which are VIO programs for playing and recording digital audio. Go to http://home.clara.net/orac/os2.htm.

PMMail beta version 2.20.2370 is now available as of 08/23/2001. Some bug fixes and SMTP authentication are included. For more info, go to http://www.pmmail2000.com; the download is at http://www.pmmail2000.com/betas/pmm220.exe.

Editorial Note: Special thanks to SCOUG's Dallas Legan for writing a handy REXX script to convert URLs in a text file into HTML tags. It's much appreciated!

SCOUG, Warp Expo West, and Warpfest are trademarks of the Southern California OS/2 User Group. OS/2, Workplace Shell, and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.