Updates from last month's column:

The IBM drivers for PCCard 8.0 (Cardbus) support have finally been posted to the eComStation website (http://www.ecomstation.com) as of 09/06/2004. If you need this driver but do not have a current Software Choice subscription, and you are a registered eComStation user, you can now go to the eComStation website, sign-in, and then download this driver.

The WarpZilla team has released Mozilla 1.7.3 as of 09/30/2004. This is an update to Mozilla 1.4 that was demoed by Tony Butka at the Sept. 2003 SCOUG general meeting. Older versions of Mozilla were mentioned in the May 2002 Mr. Know-It-All. Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.7.3/contrib/. There is now an installer version again (mozilla-1.7.3-os2-installer.exe), and a zip file (mozilla-1.7.3-os2.zip). More info is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/.

NOTES:
1. Steve Wendt has a WarpZilla tips page at http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/Warpzilla.html.
2. If you install the zip file version, you need to unzip it yourself into a directory and create or update a program object accordingly.
3. Another site that has documentation of plugin support on OS/2 is at http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/OS2.html.
4. The recommended installation method is to install into a fresh directory; however, if you install over an older version, be sure to delete GKCONTNT.DLL (or GKCONTENT.DLL) and COMPREG.DAT (if they exist); otherwise you may have problems running Mozilla after installation. Also, if you do install over an older version, be sure to read the Dec. 2003 Mr. Know-It-All (http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug312.mrkia.html).
5. This version requires the GCC runtime; download that at http://download.innotek.de/gccos2/runtime/libc-0.5.1.exe (a self- installing executable). The EMX runtime is no longer required if you don't already have it installed. The GCC runtime defaults to x:\OS2\DLL (where x is your OS/2 or eComStation boot drive); it may be preferable to put the runtime in the same directory as MOZILLA.EXE (for reasons listed in the next note).
6. Mike Kaply of IBM posted to the netscape.public.mozilla.os2 newsgroup that he figured out how to share a profile between version 1.4.1 or older (which is compiled with the VACPP compiler), and version 1.5 or greater (which is compiled with the GCC compiler): Make sure MOZRMI36.DLL is NOT in your LIBPATH and only exists where the version 1.4 MOZILLA.EXE is; conversely on the version 1.5 or greater side, make sure the GCC runtime DLLs (LIBC05 & GCC322) are also NOT in your LIBPATH and only exists where the version 1.5 or greater MOZILLA.EXE is.
7. An alternate set of icons for Mozilla are available at http://members.cox.net/greenemk/os2/mozstuff/mymozillastuff.html.
8. Tony's notes on installing and running Mozilla are at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug310.mozilla.html.

The WarpZilla team has also released Mozilla 1.8 alpha 4 as of 09/30/2004. Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.8a4/contrib/. There is now an installer version again (mozilla-os2-1.8a4-installer.exe), and a zip file (mozilla-os2-1.8a4.zip). More info is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/.

DFSee, which was presented by Tony Butka at the March 2004 SCOUG general meeting, is now at version 6.13 as of 09/10/2004. It is an FDISK, display, analysis and recovery tool for disks and filesystems. It includes the ability to resize FAT and FAT32 partitions, and has some JFS and LVM support. Go to http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee.htm. Tony's tutorial on DFSee is at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2001/scoug012.dfseetutorial.html.

NOTES:
1. You can also use search key dfsee on Hobbes.
2. DFSee is now shareware. Registration is at Mensys (http://shop.mensys.nl/catalogue/mns_DFSee.html).

Mr. Message for OS/2 was updated as of 09/27/2004. It is an instant messenger client, which is capable of communicating over AOL's Instant Messenger network using the OSCAR protocol (used in the Win32 AIM clients, jBuddy, gAIM, Kopete, ICQ, and a variety of other clients). A number of new features/fixes are included. Go to http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/MrMessage_bin_09272004.zip. NOTE: Source is available at http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/MrMessage_srcbin_09272004.zip.

ChatZilla version 0.9.65 has been released as of 09/16/2004. This is a Mozilla extension to enable IRC (Internet Relay Chat) from Mozilla. Go to http://www.hacksrus.com/~ginda/chatzilla/; more info is at http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/chatzilla. NOTE: A write-up on ChatZilla is in the Sept. 2004 VOICE newsletter at http://www.os2voice.org/VNL/past_issues/VNL0904H/vnewsf2.htm.

JFTP version 3.4 has been released as of 09/06/2004. This is a graphical FTP client that requires Java 1.4. Go to http://www.myjavaworld.com/.

FTP Server version 1.25 has been released as of 09/26/2004. Compared to the standard FTPD that comes with OS/2, this one has better security controls, together with extra features such as symbolic links. Go to http://eepjm.newcastle.edu.au/os2/FtpServer.html.

WarpVision, which was demoed by Jordan Fox at the June 2004 SCOUG general meeting, was updated as of 09/12/2004. This is a player for DivX-3, DivX-4, DivX-5, XViD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, and ASF, with MP3/AC3 audio, DVD support, and a Mozilla plugin. It also includes "skin" support (see note 1 below). Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/wvgui/wvgui_latest.zip. Info is at 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 (as of 05/04/2003) version of WarpVision available at ftp://ftp.os2.kiev.ua/wvcli/.
3. According to the authors, you must delete VIDEO2.INI prior to updating from a previous version of WarpVision.
4. According to Steve Wendt, WarpVision GUI is shareware and some builds may be limited to 15 minutes of playback; however, Mark Abramowitz says that both are not (or may not be) the case.
5. The WarpVision team accepts donations at https://secure.bmtmicro.com/ECommerce-Offsite/11980000.html, or at http://shop.mensys.nl/uk/warpvision.

eComStation Maintenance Tool version 2.1.7.6 has been released as of 09/20/2004. As the name implies, it is used to apply software updates to eComStation. Go to http://www.ecomstation.com/.

NOTES:
1. You must be a registered user of eComStation; after signing-in, then you can download the Maintenance Tool.
2. You need WarpIn to install the Maintenance Tool.
3. Starting with this release, this requires the eComStation Maintenance Tool Utilities (a separate download) for proper installation and maintenance.
4. After installing and executing this release, you will not be able to revert to an earlier release.

The RAR archiver has been updated to version 3.40. 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/.

DaniS506 version 1.7.0 has been released as of 09/04/2004. It is a 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, Serial ATA, and much more. Use search key danis on Hobbes.

This month's new listings - Drivers:

SciTech SNAP Graphics version 3.0.0 RC1 (Release Candidate 1) has been released as of 09/30/2004. This is a "universal" video driver, with support for over 200 graphic chipsets, with extra features like zooming and multihead. The latest version includes new or improved support for Intel, ATI Radeon, and Silicon Motion LynxEM chipsets. Also some fixes were included. Go to http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/snap/os2/beta/. The change log is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/snap2_changes.txt, and the list of supported chipsets is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/snap/os2/beta/readme.txt. More info is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/products/ent/snap_os2_content.html.

IBM has updated as of 09/27/2004 the IDEDASD driver to version 5.00. It includes updated OS2DASD.DMD, OS2CDROM.DMD, IBM1FLPY.ADD, and of course, the IDE support drivers (IBM1S506.ADD and IBMATAPI.FLT, if you are not using the Danis versions). Go to http://service.software.ibm.com/swchoice/os2dd/idedasd.exe.

NOTES:
1. You need a current Software Choice subscription to download this driver.
2. If you are a registered eComStation user, download it at http://www.ecomstation.com (after signing-in).
3. If you do not have a current Software Choice subscription, and you are not a registered eComStation user, version 4.98 is still available at http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/free/idedasd.exe.

IBM has updated as of 09/27/2004 the USB basic device support package. This supports the USB 1.0 OHCI, 1.1 UHCI, and 2.0 EHCI specifications. Go to http://service.software.ibm.com/swchoice/os2dd/usbbasic.exe.

NOTES:
1. You need a current Software Choice subscription to download this driver.
2. If you are a registered eComStation user, download it at http://www.ecomstation.com (after signing-in).
3. The updated Loader Package is a pre-requisite: go to http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/free/os2ldr.exe.
4. This must be installed first before installing any other USB device drivers.

IBM has updated as of 09/27/2004 the USB storage driver (diskette drives, CD-ROM, memory keys, Zip drives, LS-120 drives). According to Steve Wendt, compact Flash-type flash memory card readers and some USB digital cameras also have been reported to work with this driver. Go to http://service.software.ibm.com/swchoice/os2dd/usbmsd.exe.

NOTES:
1. You need a current Software Choice subscription to download this driver.
2. If you are a registered eComStation user, download it at http://www.ecomstation.com (after signing-in).
3. If Base Device Driver FixPak 3 (or eComStation 1.1 or greater) has not been installed, the latest IDEDASD package needs to be installed (see above).
4. You also need the USB basic device support driver (see previous item).

IBM has updated as of 09/27/2004 the USB printer support driver. It also provides support for parallel printers attached to the system by means of USB Parallel Converter cables. Go to http://service.software.ibm.com/swchoice/os2dd/usbprint.exe.

NOTES:
1. You need a current Software Choice subscription to download this driver.
2. If you are a registered eComStation user, download it at http://www.ecomstation.com (after signing-in).
3. You also need the USB basic device support driver (see above).

DaniATAPI version 0.3.18 has been released as of 09/04/2004. It is a replacement for IBM's ATAPI drivers (IBMIDECD, IBMATAPI, PCM2ATA.ADD, and OS2PCARD.DMD). It features support for ZIP-250, including full media swapping, and even booting from ZIP. It has faster 32-bit PIO when used with DaniS506 (see above under "Updates from last month"), and devices can be used as SCSI, for use with programs like CDRecord. Use search key dania on Hobbes.

Drivers for the VIA Technologies 8233/8235/8237 integrated sound chip have been updated as of 09/11/2004. This is an AC97 sound driver for VIA Technologies KT266A/KT333/KT400 (8233/8233C/8233A/8235 south bridge) with IOCTL90 support. There is also an optional package that has ALC-201A patches, diagnostics utility, startup sound driver and source code. Use search key 823x on Hobbes.

Someone posted to Hobbes as of 09/06/2004 an Ethernet driver for the D-Link DFE-650TXD PCMCIA network card; the person says that this driver is newer than what is on the Network Interface Card Pak (NICPak). Use search key dfe650txd.

The Universal Audio drivers have been updated as of 09/12/2004. This is based on the GPL ALSA Project from Linux and provides drivers for various sound chipsets. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/uniaud/uniaud_latest_zip.

NOTES:
1. The list of supported sound cards is at http://os2.kiev.ua/en/uniaud.cards.php.
2. The WarpVision team accepts donations; go to https://secure.bmtmicro.com/ECommerce-OffSite/11980000.html.

The Crystal Audio drivers have been updated as of 09/19/2004. These support the following chipsets:

1. 810/820 (PCI)
2. 4232/4236/4236B/4237B/4238B (plug-and-play)
3. 423x Mode 3 (plug-and-play)
4. 4280/46x4 (PCI)

This month's new listings - Applications:

The WarpZilla team has released Firefox (formerly known as Firebird) version 1.0 PR (Preview Release) as of 09/15/2004. This is an update to Firebird 0.6.1 that was demoed by Tony Butka at the Sept. 2003 SCOUG general meeting. It is a stand-alone browser based on Mozilla that does not include mail, news, composer, IRC, and the other frills. This will eventually replace Mozilla (on the browser side). Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/0.10/contrib/. The file name is firefox-os2-1.0pr.zip. More info is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/.

NOTES:
1. Steve Wendt has a WarpZilla tips page at http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/Warpzilla.html.
2. You must unzip the file yourself into a directory and then create or update a program object.
3. This version requires the GCC runtime; download that at http://download.innotek.de/gccos2/runtime/libc-0.5.1.exe (a self- installing executable). The EMX runtime is no longer required if you don't already have it installed. The GCC runtime installer defaults to x:\OS2\DLL (where x is your OS/2 or eComStation boot drive); it may be preferable to put the runtime in the same directory as the Firefox executable.
4. Tony's notes on installing and running Firefox are at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug310.mozilla.html.
5. There are some icons for Firefox available as of 02/13/2004. Use search keys firefoxicon or os2firefox on Hobbes.

The WarpZilla team has also released Thunderbird version 0.8 as of 09/15/2004. This is an update to Thunderbird 0.2 that was demoed by Tony Butka at the Sept. 2003 SCOUG general meeting. It is a stand-alone mail and newsgroup client based on Mozilla that does not contain the browser. This will eventually replace Mozilla (on the mail and newsgroup side). Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/releases/0.8/contrib/. The file name is thunderbird-0.8-os2.zip. More info is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/.

NOTES:
1. Steve Wendt has a WarpZilla tips page at http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/Warpzilla.html.
2. You must unzip the file yourself into a directory and then create or update a program object.
3. This version requires the GCC runtime; download that at http://download.innotek.de/gccos2/runtime/libc-0.5.1.exe (a self- installing executable). The EMX runtime is no longer required if you don't already have it installed. The GCC runtime installer defaults to x:\OS2\DLL (where x is your OS/2 or eComStation boot drive); it may be preferable to put the runtime in the same directory as the Thunderbird executable.
4. Tony's notes on installing and running Thunderbird are at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug310.mozilla.html.

CDRWSEL version 3.04 has been released as of 09/03/2004. This is a GUI program to attach multiple CDRW's at the same time using RSJ CD-Writer. Use search key cdrwsel on Hobbes.

SmartMon has been updated as of 09/07/2004. This is an IDE HDD S.M.A.R.T. monitor which resembles the HDDSPEED package. It includes temperature monitoring and failure prediction features. Use search key smartmon on Hobbes.

eBayWatch/2 version 1.09x1 has been released as of 09/08/2004. As the name implies, it is an eBay auction management tool. It aids the user in searching for, monitoring, and bidding on auction items. Go to http://www.eclipse.net/~knkrchnr.

A hard disk image converter has been released as of 09/09/2004. It does conversions between DFSee, SVISTA, and Virtual PC images. Use search key hdd_vdd on Hobbes.

Rocko! beta has been released as of 09/09/2004. It is a free text-mode IRC client. Use search key rcko on Hobbes.

Control Your Fans version 2.0 has been released as of 09/16/2004. This is a REXX script and XCenter widgets to control the speed of your fans as a function of the current CPU temperature. It works with the Winbond W836xx chipsets, and has been tested with Abit NF7. Use search key controlyourfans on Hobbes.

A Mozilla plugin for DjVu version 0.93 has been released as of 09/02/2004. DjVu is a set of compression technologies, a file format, and a software platform for the delivery over the Web of digital documents, scanned documents, and high-resolution images. Use search key npdjvu on Hobbes.

UpdCD version 2.45 has been updated as of 09/13/2004. It can be used to update the base Warp 3, Warp 4, Warp Server for e-Business, Convenience Pack, or eComStation 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. NOTE: This is an update that must be applied to the base 2.40 version.

SETMBR version 2.0 has been released as of 09/14/2004. This provides a set of programs to backup / restore / wipe-out the master boot record of physical disks, and is specifically designed to allow partitioning of a USB memory stick under OS/2. Use search key setmbr on Hobbes.

SysBar/2, which was part of Gary Granat's "Seeking Ways to Get Rid of System Bloat" series, is now at version 0.23 as of 09/22/2004. It is a toolbar-style task switcher. Use search key sbr2 on Hobbes. NOTE: Source is also available.

NetDrive version 2.2.2 has been released as of 09/20/2004. It allows users to mount a FTP site or a local directory or a network resource to a virtual volume. This version has special support for the Samba client from NetLabs (no shareware timeout). There are also many other plugins available (at http://www.blueprintsoftwareworks.com/netdrive/plugins1.html). including NFS, VFAT, ISO, Psion, and more. Go to http://www.blueprintsoftwareworks.com/netdrive/news.html.

CBIRC version 1.05 has been released as of 09/18/2004. This is a Java IRC client with features that include color, web links, DCC, and more. Go to http://www.bratschi.net/cbirc/.

RPM version 4.04 has been released as of 09/15/2004. This is the RedHat Package Manager; you can extract or install files from Linux CD-ROMs or Linux FTP sites, and make rpm packages for OS/2 users. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/rpm/.

Apache version 2.0.52, the premier web server of the Internet, has been released as of 09/29/2004. It offers big performance improvements over the 1.x version, due to multi-threading and elimination of some EMX dependencies. Go to http://apache.org/dist/httpd/binaries/os2/. Info is at http://silk.apana.org.au/apache/apache_v2.shtml.

XSane version 0.96 has been released as of 09/28/2004. This is a front- end for SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) that requires XFree86/OS2. Go to http://home.tiscalinet.de/fbakan/xsane/xsane-0.96-OS2.zip. Info is at http://home.tiscalinet.de/fbakan/xsane-os2-htm.

A new release of Odin has been made available as of 09/23/2004. Go to http://www.os2warp.org/odin/2004/odin32bin-20040923-release-uo.zip.

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!

Copyright 2004 the Southern California OS/2 User Group. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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.