Updates from last month's column:

The WarpZilla team has released Mozilla 1.3a as of 12/13/2002. This is an update to WarpZilla 0.9.2 that Dave Watson demoed at the July 2001 SCOUG general meeting, was mentioned in the May 2002 Mr. Know-It-All, and was demoed by Steven Levine at the Sept. 2002 SCOUG general meeting. Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.3a/. There are 2 files (take your pick):

• mozilla-os2-1.3a-installer.exe (now a self-extracting executable/installer).
• mozilla-os2-1.3a.zip (you must unzip it yourself into a directory)

NOTES:
1. Steve Wendt has a WarpZilla tips page at http://www.os2bbs.com:80/os2news/Warpzilla.html.
2. Another site that has documentation of plugin support on OS/2 is at http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/OS2.html.
3. MozTweak version 1.2 has been released as of 12/03/2002. This is a GUI tool for modifying hidden Mozilla preferences. Go to http://mozillapl.mozdev.org/.

DFSee, which was demoed at the June 2001 SCOUG meeting, is now at version 5.09 as of 01/02/2003. It is a FDISK, display, analysis and recovery tool for disks and filesystems. It now includes some JFS and LVM support. With this version, it can now replace LVM.EXE and VCU.EXE to create & modify compatibility volumes. Go to http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee.htm, or use search key dfsee on Hobbes. Tony Butka's tutorial on DFSee is at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2001/scoug012.dfseetutorial.html. NOTE: DFSee is now shareware. Registration is at Mensys (http://shop.mensys.nl/catalogue/mns_DFSee.html).

SciTech has released SNAP Graphics version 2.1.1 RC1 as of 12/19/2002. One important change is that the driver will now be installed into the x:\OS2\DRIVERS\SNAP sub-directory instead of the x:\OS2\DRIVERS\NUCLEUS sub-directory (x is your OS/2 boot drive). Therefore, if you upgrade from a previous version of SNAP Graphics, either uninstall the previous version first, or else remove the \OS2\DRIVERS\NUCLEUS sub-directory. Other changes are: improved support for ATI Radeons and some other ATI chipsets; the latest version (B.095) of the IBM GRADD components, etc. The list of changes in this beta is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/snap2_changes.txt; the driver and README is at ftp://ftp.scitechsoft.com/snap/os2/beta/.

The eComStation Maintenance Tool is now at version 1.11.4 as of 12/09/2002. Be sure to get the latest language files as well. Go to http://www.ecomstation.com (HOWEVER: You must be a registered user of eComStation to download).

The Neptune project is a giant library of "skins" for the PM123 MP3 player. Go to http://www.os2ecs.net/neptune/history4.shtml. (NOTE: There are more entries in their "catalog"; also the URL is different from what I had last month).

JAlbum version 3.0 has been released as of 12/28/2002. This is a web photo album generator that runs on Java 1.3, which means you need a current Software Choice subscription or eComStation. Go to http://www.datadosen.se/jalbum/.

The Tamarack TC9021 Ethernet driver is now at version 1.03 as of 12/08/2002. Use search key tc902x on Hobbes.

The RAR archiver has been updated to version 3.10. This is a command- line compression utility, with tight general and multimedia compression, recovery record option management of non-RAR archives, RCVT (aRchive ConVersion Tool), and more. Go to http://www.rarlab.com/.

UpdCD version 2.3 has been released as of 12/18/2002. 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 diskettes. You can use the updated OS/2 image in combination with these diskettes to create new installations of OS/2 which already incorporate the FixPaks and other software. Go to http://xenia.sote.hu/~kadzsol/rexx/sajat/updcd.htm.

Amouse version 2.2 beta has been updated as of 01/01/2003. USB support has now been added, along with improved Logitech support. This is a scroll mouse device driver that works better on some wheel mice than IBM's driver. There is also a widget for XCenter available. Go to http://www.nbsoftware.de/sw_ms2ben.htm.

jSyncManager has been updated as of 12/10/2002. It is the most popular Palm handheld sync solution for Java. Go to http://jsyncmanager.sourceforge.net/.

This month's new listings - Drivers:

BTTV version 0.03 (for BT8X8 TV cards) has been released as of 01/03/2003. It is a port of the Linux BTTV driver, with radio and TV working. Included is a small radio application, a small TV application, and the source is available (along with a LXAPI32 support driver for porting Linux drivers). Go to http://www.nord-com.net/s.milcke/bttv_en.htm. NOTE: This should be considered a beta driver.

IBM has updated as of 12/09/2002 the BIOS for the ThinkPad T23. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/spsd1a59.exe.

IBM has updated as of 01/03/2002 the Embedded Controller Program for the ThinkPad T23. It fixes a problem where the battery may not charge while the ThinkPad T23 is powered off, or the ThinkPad T23 may not wake from suspend during battery operation. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/embc1d21.exe.

IBM has updated as of 12/19/2002 the Embedded Controller Program for the ThinkPad T30. It fixes a problem where the battery may not charge while the ThinkPad T30 is powered off. Go to ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com/pub/pccbbs/mobiles/embd1i15.exe.

IBM has updated the USB Mass Storage Device Driver as of 12/10/2002. It provides OS/2 support for USB mass storage devices that meet the USB 1.0 or 1.1 specification and the USB Mass Storage 1.0 specification. Examples of supported USB mass storage devices include diskette drives, Zip drives, CD-ROM drives, LS-120 drives, and flash memory keys.

NOTES:
1. You must be a current Software Choice subscriber to download.
2. You must have the USB Basic Device Support drivers installed.
3. 3) If you did not install Base Device Driver FixPak 3, then you must install the IDEDASD Support package at http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/free/idedasd.exe.
4. Download the USB Mass Storage driver at http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/swc/usbstor.exe.

Drivers for the Creative Labs Soundblaster AWE32/64 (ISA) and the Soundblaster 16/VIBRA (ISA) sound cards were released as of 12/19/2002. These drivers have been repackaged for installation via MINSTALL. Use search key soundblaster on Hobbes.

DaniS506 version 1.6.1 has been released as of 01/02/2003. This is the replacement for IBM's IBM1S506 EIDE driver, which features support for many chipsets, PCCard controllers, busmastering, Ultra33-DMA, Ultra ATA-66, Ultra ATA-100, faster PIO due to 32-bit I/O, and much more. Use search key danis on Hobbes.

NOTES:
1. I tried it on one of my home machines (a PII-400 with Intel SE440BX-2 motherboard) and it hung trying to load, so I had to revert back to version 1.5.2. Your mileage may vary; Steve Wendt also reports that others have had problems with this version.
2. If you use DaniBoot version 1.0 in conjunction with DaniS506, you need to upgrade DaniBoot to version 1.0.2 (see below).

DaniBoot version 1.0.2 has been released as of 12/25/2002. This is a CD boot filter driver which allows OS/2 to boot from a CD. Use search key daniboot on Hobbes.

DaniATAPI version 0.3.13 has been released as of 12/25/2002. It is a replacement for IBM's ATAPI drivers (IBMIDECD, IBMATAPI, PCM2ATA.ADD, and OS2PCARD.DMD). It includes support for Zip-250 drives, including full media swapping, and even booting from Zip drives. It has better 32-bit PIO when combined with DANIS506.ADD (see above), and devices can be used as SCSI, for use with programs like CDRecord or RSJ CD-Writer. Use search key dania on Hobbes.

This month's new listings - Applications:

The WarpZilla team has released Phoenix 0.5 as of 12/10/2002. It is a stripped-down version of Mozilla that does not include mail, news, IRC, composer, etc. Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/phoenix/releases/0.5/. The file is phoenix-0.5-os2.zip (this is NOT a self-extracting file; you will need to manually unzip it into a new directory). Also, go to http://www.mozilla.org/projects/phoenix/phoenix-release-notes.html for important installation information.

If you have the Upgrade Protection feature of eComStation, eComStation version 1.1 release candidate 1 is now available as of 12/31/2002. It is approximately 500MB in size, and is a fairly complete release, except for some glitches in desktop cleanup at the end of the installation. Go to http://www.ecomstation.com/.

CBIRC was released as of 12/03/2002. It is an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client (the CB is the author's initials). It is written in Java; the author recommends Java 1.3.1 with Java Web Start (which means you need a current Software Choice subscription or eComStation). Go to http://www.bratschi.net/cbirc/.

WarpVision was updated on 12/29/2002. It is a player for DivX3/DivX4 format video streams, with MP3/AC3 audio. The latest version has a nice GUI interface, and no longer uses Odin and Win32 codecs. Go to http://os2.kiev.ua/en/wv.php.

NOTES:
1. There are downloadable "skins" available at http://os2.kiev.ua/en/wv.skins.php.
2. There is also a command-line (12/20/2002) version of WarpVision available.
3. According to the author, you must delete VIDEO2.INI prior to updating from a previous version of WarpVision.

An alpha version of XFree86/OS2, version 4.2.99.2 has been released as of 11/28/2002. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/xfree86/. The stable version of XFree86/OS2 is version 3.3.6, available at http://borneo.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html.

Preferential version 0.4 has been released as of 12/12/2002. This is an add-on for Mozilla that gives you a tree with access to all of the preferences, including those that are not normally exposed. Go to http://preferential.mozdev.org/installation.html.

New builds of Odin are available as of 12/06/2002. There are release builds and debug builds available; also these builds are available as zip files or WPI format for installation via WarpIN. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/odin/weekly/ for the WarpIN builds, or ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/odin/daily/ for the zip file builds.

NewView version 2.0.25 was released as of 12/10/2002. This is a replacement for VIEW.EXE that comes with OS/2 to view .INF and .HLP files. Improvements include a new user interface, remember size & position, select and copy from the window, and more. Use search key newview on Hobbes, or go to http://homepages.visp.co.nz/~aaronlawrence/NewView.html.

MP3Gain version 1.31/2a was released as of 12/07/2002. It is a powerful utility to modify the loudness of MP3 files automatically to one common level. Go to http://www.maazl.de/project/mp3/mp3gain.html.

ZOC version 4.10 has been released as of 12/20/2002. It is an award- winning telnet, secure shell (SSH), rlogin, modem, and ISDN communications program. Go to http://www.emtec.com/zoc/.

eBayWatch/2 version 1.09g2 was released. As the name implies, it is an eBay auction management tool. Go to http://www.eclipse.net/~knkrchnr/.

cdrtools/2 version 2.0 was released as of 12/26/2002. This contains cdrecord, readcd, cdda2wav, and mkisofs. You can burn single-session, multi-session, or audio CD's. Use search key cdrtools on Hobbes.

Open Watcom, which has been featured at several recent SCOUG meetings, is now at version 0.9.5 as of 12/20/2002. This is an open-source release of the Watcom compiler. Harry Chris Motin carefully took us through download and installation issues in March 2002; read it at scoug204.watcom.html. Michal Necasek, our June 2002 co-presenter, has an article describing how to set up Open Watcom at http://pages.prodigy.net/michaln/os2/Watcom11c.html. Go to ftp://ftp.openwatcom.org/watcom/openwatcom/ to download.

SysBar/2, which was part of Gary Granat's series on "Seeking Ways to Get Rid of System Bloat", is now at version 0.21 as of 01/03/2003. It contains a task switcher, a named pipe monitor, and also contains a clock/calendar window and a miniature CD player. Source is also available. Use search key sbr2 on Hobbes.

WaveCut beta 10 was released as of 12/29/2002. This is a wave player and cutter with RSJ support, integration with Normalize, and fast cutting with Copywave. The documentation is currently only in German, but the program should be self-explanatory. Go to http://subsys.de/index2.htm. NOTE: You will also find some other utilities/applications at this site, including a couple that work with Mesa 2 version 2.2.

Polarbar Mailer version 1.24c was released as of 12/31/2002. This Java e-mail program came from decompiling the last released version of JStreet Mailer, and permission was obtained from Innoval to continue the development. Go to http://www.polarbar.org/.

AutoScroll has been updated as of 12/27/2002. This is an add-on for Mozilla and Phoenix that allows auto-scrolling functionality similar to HotScroll and XWorkplace. If you are not familiar with this, when you middle-click on a page, you can then move the mouse up and down to have the page scroll. Go to http://autoscroll.mozdev.org/.

WarpGoGo version 1.10 was released as of 12/26/2002. This is a MP3 encoder with a graphical interface. Go to http://www.os2.cz/ed2/.

GoGo (not to be confused with WarpGoGo above) is now at version 3.11 as of 12/23/2002. This is a very fast MP3 encoder based on LAME. Use search key gogo on Hobbes.

JPhotoBrush version 2.3 was released as of 12/25/2002. This is an image editing and enhancement application/tool written in Java 1.3, making extensive use of Swing and Java2D. NOTE: due to the requirement of Java 1.3, this means you need a current Software Choice subscription or eComStation. Go to http://www.tanveer.freeservers.com/programming/JPhotoBrush.htm.

gX version 0.2 was released as of 12/20/2002. This is a native 32-bit XML editor and parser for OS/2; it can do full validation and SGML compatibility checking. The editor uses document type definitions to provide guidance in authoring correct documents. For example, use it to create HTML 4.0 documents, or DocBook books and articles. Use search key gx- on Hobbes.

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.