Updates from last month's column:

The WarpZilla team has released Firefox (formerly known as Firebird) version 1.0 RC 1 (release candidate 1) as of 10/28/2004. 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/1.0rc1/contrib/. The file name is firefox-1.0rc1.en-US.os2.zip. More info is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/.

ChatZilla version 0.9.66d has been released as of 10/31/2004. 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.

DFSee, which was presented by Tony Butka at the March 2004 SCOUG general meeting, is now at version 6.14 as of 10/05/2004. 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).

WarpVision, which was demoed by Jordan Fox at the June 2004 SCOUG general meeting, was updated as of 10/17/2004. 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 2 below). Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/wvgui/wvgui_latest.zip. Info is at http://os2.kiev.ua/en/wv.php.

NOTES:
1. Apparently this is an update to the base version; the base version is at ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/wvgui/wvgui20040820.zip.
2. There are downloadable "skins" available at http://os2.kiev.ua/en/wv.skins.php.
3. There is also a command-line (as of 05/04/2003) version of WarpVision available at ftp://ftp.os2.kiev.ua/wvcli/.
4. According to the authors, you must delete VIDEO2.INI prior to updating from a previous version of WarpVision.
5. 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.
6. 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 2.1.8.0 has been released as of 10/24/2004. 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.

UpdCD version 2.46 has been updated as of 10/10/2004. 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.

FTP Server version 1.26 has been released as of 10/25/2004. 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.

A new release of Odin has been made available as of 10/31/2004. Go to http://www.os2warp.org/odin/2004/odin32bin-20041031-release-uo.zip.

eBayWatch/2 version 1.09y has been released as of 10/08/2004. 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.

CBIRC version 1.06 has been released as of 10/16/2004. This is a Java IRC client with features that include color, web links, DCC, and more. Go to http://www.bratschi.net/cbirc/.

Mr. Message for OS/2 was updated as of 10/30/2004. 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_10302004.zip.

NOTES:
1. A WarpIn installation package is also available at http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/MrMessage_10302004.wpi.
2. Source is also available at http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/MrMessage_srcbin_10302004.zip.

JFTP version 3.5 has been released as of 10/10/2004. This is a graphical FTP client that requires Java 1.4. Go to http://www.jmethods.com/products/jftp/.

SciTech SNAP Graphics version 3.0.0 has been released as of 10/15/2004. This is a "universal" video driver, with support for over 200 graphic chipsets, with extra features like zooming and multi-head. There are some fixes incorporated since version 3.0.0 RC1 was released on 09/30/2004. Go to http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/snap/os2/snap-os2-3.0.0.exe (a self-extracting executable). 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/readme.txt. More info is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/products/ent/snap_os2_content.html.

This month's new listings - Drivers:

IBM's version of SciTech SNAP Graphics was updated as of 10/06/2004. New to this version is support for Intel i915G/GV chipsets. The BAD news: Starting with this version, you must have an active contract for Passport Advantage with Software Maintenance (I'm not sure if Software Choice, which will be discontinued as of 12/10/2004, qualifies) and then call IBM at 1-800-426-7378. The GOOD news: if you are a registered eComStation user, this version of the driver is available at http://www.ecomstation.com/ (after signing-in). However, if you are NOT a registered eComStation user, but you do have a current Software Choice subscription, the previous version is still available at http://service.software.ibm.com/swchoice/os2dd/snapse218.exe.

IBM has updated as of 10/06/2004 the infrared stack (IrDA) driver. This allows, among others, printing to an IR-capable printer, and serial communication through an IR-capable cell phone (see the README file for further details). This is supported on ThinkPad 38x, 560, 600, 770, T2x, T30, and T4x series. Go to http://service.software.ibm.com/swchoice/os2dd/irda/irda.exe.

NOTES:
1. You need a current Software Choice subscription to download.
2. If you are a registered eComStation user, download it at the eComStation website (http://www.ecomstation.com/) (after signing-in).

IBM has updated the BIOS for the ThinkPad T4x series as of 10/29/2004. Go to http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/license.do?filename=mobiles/1ruj26ud.exe.

This month's new listings - Applications:

4OS2, which was demoed by Tony Butka at the Sept. 2004 SCOUG general meeting, is now at version 3.04f as of 10/29/2004. Go to http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/devel/4os2/.

Guiffy, which was presented at the April 2003 SCOUG general meeting, is now at version 6.4 as of 10/18/2004. It is a file compare / merge (diff-like) tool with a GUI implemented in Java. Go to http://www.guiffy.com/.

FlashBlock version 0.9 RC (release candidate) has been released as of 09/30/2004. This is a Mozilla extension that replaces Flash animations with a "click to play" placeholder. Go to http://flashblock.mozdev.org/.

PrefBar version 2.3.1 has been released as of 10/03/2004. It allows you to configure several Mozilla settings on the fly, and now incorporates the features of UABar. Go to http://prefbar.mozdev.org/.

An OS/2 build of NVU version 0.50 has been released as of 10/30/2004. NVU is the next generation of Mozilla Composer, as a stand-alone application. Go to http://weilbacher.org/Mozilla/builds.html; more info is at http://www.nvu.com/.

IBM Alphaworks has released as of 09/28/2004 version 1.2.3 of a MPEG-4 player and content creator development kit that works with Java 1.3.1. According to Steve Wendt, it plays MPEG-4 video (samples included) just fine on a PII-300MHz machine. Go to http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/tk4mpeg4.

Extended Attributes Toolbox has been released as of 10/05/2004. This is a set of tools to handle problems arising from false extended attributes attached to files and/or directories. Unlike other tools that remove all extended attributes, these tools can remove selected extended attributes (.ICON, .ICONPOS, .LONGNAME, .SHORTNAME) without touching others in a simple and convenient way. In addition, there is a program that compares the real filename/directory name against the attached .LONGNAME, and offers possibilities to resolve this in case there is an error. Use search key eatoolbox on Hobbes.

2Hobbes version 1.04 has been released as of 10/05/2004. This script allows you to automatically upload packages and description files to Hobbes. Before the upload, the file names and the FILE_ID.DIZ from the zip file are checked for matching version numbers and more. Use search key 2Hobbes. NOTE: This requires UNZIP.EXE (from Info-ZIP) and the latest upload template (TEMPLATE.TXT)

cdrtools version 2.01 has been released as of 10/11/2004. This contains cdrecord (discussed in the Sept. 2003 Mr. Know-It-All at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug309.mrkia.html), readcd, cdda2wav, and mkisofs. Use search key cdrtools on Hobbes.

The VIA Technologies KT133/266/333 CPU cooling and power management tools have been updated as of 10/16/2004. Use search key 8233cool on Hobbes.

MR/2 ICE version 2.60b has been released as of 10/13/2004. This is a e-mail and newsgroup program. Go to http://www.mr2ice.com/.

bootAble version 3.4 has been released as of 10/11/2004. This is a script which can be used to create a maintenance partition or bootable CD with enough facilities to fully manage and recover your system. It contains support for LVM, HPFS, JFS, FAT32, UDF (turned off by default), and the CD file system. Go to http://www.xs4all.nl/~hrbaan/.

Warped Wave Editor version 0.74 has been released as of 10/17/2004. This is a fully plugin-based audio editor, which supports reading and writing of OGG files and all formats supported by MMOS2, cut / copy / paste, changing volume, and playback (via DART). Use search key wawe on Hobbes.

JAlbum version 5.0.4 has been released as of 10/17/2004. This is a web photo album generator that runs on Java. Go to http://jalbum.net/.

LAME version 3.96.1 has been released as of 10/26/2004. It is a MP3 encoder, and includes a graphical frame analyzer. Use search key lame on Hobbes.

ConfigApps version 1.1.1 has been released as of 10/30/2004. This is a tool to configure default Internet apps, including Web browser, mail program, FTP program, IRC, etc. Newer versions of Mozilla honor these settings. Use search key configapps on Hobbes.

A UniAudio Mixer has been released as of 10/29/2004. This is a PM sound mixer for the UniAudio drivers. Use.search key umixpm on Hobbes.

Marty Amodeo has created a modified MMOS2 PLAY.CMD. It should do a better job of freeing up resources, and additionally supports a play list, with optional randomization. Go to http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/play.cmd.

REXXSeek is a replacement program for PMSeek, the file and text search utility that comes with OS/2 or eComStation. Unlike PMSeek, REXXSeek can handle filenames containing blank spaces, and can be called from a command line. It can optionally create shadows or program objects in a results folder. Go to http://www.degeus.com/rexxseek/.

AiR-BOOT version 1.03 has been released as of 10/20/2004. This is a multi-boot partition loader with some extra features, including colored "Award-like" setup, virus protection, Linux kernel support, and more. Go to http://en.ecomstation.ru/personal/kiewitzsoft/air-boot.php.

NesCafe version 0.55 has been released as of 10/19/2004. This is a Java Nintendo Entertainment System emulator, which includes the source code under the GPL. Go to http://www.davieboy.net/nescafe/.

If you are using the older 1.x version of Apache (the premier Web server of the Internet), it is now at version 1.3.33 as of 10/29/2004. Go to http://apache.org/dist/httpd/binaries/os2/.

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.