Updates from last month's column:

An OS/2 build of NVU version 0.70 has been released as of 01/10/2005. It is the next generation of Mozilla Composer, as a stand-alone HTML editor. Go to http://weilbacher.org/Mozilla/builds.html; more info is at http://www.nvu.com/.

FlashBlock version 1.3.0 alpha has been released as of 01/14/2005. This is a Mozilla extension that replaces Flash animations with a "click to play" placeholder. Go to http://flashblock.mozdev.org/.

MultiZilla version 1.7.0.1J has been released. This is an extension that adds more features to the tabbed interface in Mozilla. Go to http://multizilla.mozdev.org/.

WarpVision, which was demoed by Jordan Fox at the June 2004 SCOUG general meeting, was updated as of 01/16/2005. 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/wvgui20050116.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. There are also some Windows codecs you can use via Odin available at ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/wvgui/wincodecs/.
5. The WarpVision team accepts donations at https://secure.bmtmicro.com/ECommerce-OffSite/11980000.html, or at http://shop.mensys.nl/uk/warpvision.

An OS/2 port of GCC version 3.3.5 beta 4 has been released as of 01/17/2005. It includes InnoTek LIBC version 0.6 beta 4, which is based on BSD LIBC. The source code is also available in NetLabs (CVSROOT is :pserver:guest@www.netlabs.org:/netlabs.cvs/libc, and CVS password is "readonly"). Features include fork() support, symlinks, chroot support, and many new functions. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/gcc/.

Wireless LAN Monitor version 1.12 has been released as of 01/20/2005. It is available as a XCenter widget as well as a stand-alone program, and features connection monitoring, multiple connection profiles, generation of WEP keys, and more. Go to http://wlan.netlabs.org/.

A new release of Odin has been made available as of 01/26/2005. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/odin/Daily/odin32bin-20050126-release-xp.zip. More info is at http://odin.netlabs.org/, and the changelog is at ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/odin/Weekly/Changelog.

An EXIF reader for the Nikon D70 digital camera has been updated as of 01/31/2005. It reads EXIF data from Nikon D70 NEF or JPG files; outputs to text, HTML, or XML. It MAY work with other Nikon cameras. Use search key d70reader on Hobbes.

JUne (JFS Unerase) version 1.10 has been released as of 01/30/2005. JRescuer version 2.11 is included. This is a tool to rescue files from a JFS volume which cannot be mounted. Go to http://en.ecomstation.ru/ecosoft/index.php?action=news&id=1131.

Amouse version 2.7 beta has been updated as of 01/23/2005. This is a scroll mouse device driver that works better on some wheel mice than IBM's driver. It has USB and improved Logitech support, has a widget for XCenter available now, and now supports mice with more than 5 mouse buttons. Go to http://www.nbsoftware.de/sw_ms_enb.htm.

This month's new listings - Drivers:

IBM has updated as of 12/20/2004 the UDF.IFS driver to version 2.1.5. This allows for reading and writing CD-RWs (including DDCD-RW) and DVDs. If you are a registered eComStation user, go to http://www.ecomstation.com; after signing-in, you can then download the driver (a ZIP file).

IBM has updated as of 01/18/2005 the Single Mouse driver. It integrates the TrackPoint features, making MOUSE2.SYS obsolete, and has some APM fixes. It also supports touch-screen monitors. If you are a registered eComStation user, go to http://www.ecomstation.com; after signing-in, you can then download the driver (a ZIP file).

NOTE: If you are not a registered eComStation user, an older version is still available at http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/free/SingleMouse/smouse.exe.

DaniS506 version 1.7.1 has been released as of 02/01/2005. It is a replacement for IBM's IBM1S506 EIDE driver (see next item), 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.

IBM has updated as of 01/18/2005 the IDEDASD driver. It includes 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). If you are a registered eComStation user, go to http://www.ecomstation.com; after signing-in, you can then download the driver (a ZIP file).

NOTE: If you are not a registered eComStation user, an older version (4.98) is still available at http://service.software.ibm.com/os2dd/free/idedasd.exe.

IBM has updated as of 01/18/2005 the ThinkPad infrared drivers. This allows for printing, communicating with a cell phone, and LAN access using IrDA. If you are a registered eComStation user, go to http://www.ecomstation.com; after signing-in, you can then download the driver (a self-extracting executable).

NOTE: If you are not a registered eComStation user, an older version that may support more hardware is available on Hobbes with search key irdd.

There are a couple of new network card drivers available:

1. The VIA Velocity VT612x driver is at version 1.03 as of 12/31/2004
2. The Broadcom BCM4401 driver is at version 1.02 as of 01/06/2005.

This month's new listings - Applications:

InnoTek has released as of 02/01/2005 InnoTek Font Engine version 2.60 Beta 1, based on FreeType. Curently, OpenOffice and Mozilla/ FireFox are the only applications supported. Go to http://www.innotek.de/products/ft2lib/. NOTE: InnoTek warns that since this is a beta release, it may not be stable, and therefore does not recommend using the beta on production systems. For production systems, use version 2.40 Release 1, available at the same link above.

IBM has released as of 11/30/2004 IBM Web Browser version 2.0.4. It is based on Mozilla 1.7. If you are a registered eComStation user, go to http://www.ecomstation.com; sign-in and then you can download.

NOTES:
1. Steve Wendt has a WarpZilla tips page at http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/Warpzilla.html.
2. Another site that has documentation of plugin support on OS/2 is at http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/OS2.html.
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 OS2WEB.EXE.

NetLabs has released Samba 3.0.9 alpha 3 for OS/2 as of 01/26/2005; both client and server are included. There is also a client plugin (beta 7) for the NetDrive filesystem, which supports 64-bit file I/O with NDFS 3.0 or higher. It allows you to mount SMB or CIFS shares on OS/2 without the need of NetBIOS (IBM LAN Manager or IBM Peer). Samba is freely available under the GNU General Public License; you can download the full OS/2 source code from NetLabs CVS. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/samba/; more info on Samba is at http://samba.netlabs.org/.

NetDrive version 3.0 has been released as of 01/15/2005. It allows users to mount a FTP site or a local directory or a network resource to a virtual volume. This version has 64-bit file support, and special support for the Samba client from NetLabs (no shareware timeout). There are also many other plugins available, including NFS, VFAT, ISO, Psion, and more. Go to http://www.blueprintsoftwareworks.com/netdrive/news.html; for the plugins, go to http://www.blueprintsoftwareworks.com/netdrive/plugins1.html.

Python, which was demonstrated by Sheridan George at the Dec. 2001 SCOUG general meeting, is now at version 2.4 as of 01/16/2005. It is a scripting language that comes from the Unix world. Go to http://www.andymac.org/python-2.4/. Sheridan's comparison of Python vs. REXX is at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2001/scoug012.rexx_python.html.

NOTES:
1. A number of extensions are available at the above site; you can also find them at Hobbes.
2. You can also use search key python on Hobbes.
3. Source is also available.
4. The EMX runtime is required; if you are not running eComStation 1.1 or 1.2 (where it is installed by default), use search key emxrt on Hobbes. For help with installation, see the June 2002 Mr. Know-It-All (http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2002/scoug206.mrkia.html).

bootAble version 3.6 has been released as of 01/02/2005. 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/.

There are 2 command-line utilities dealing with MP3 files now available. MP3Wrap (as of 01/03/2005) combines MP3 files; MP3Split (as of 01/23/2005) splits MP3 files. Use search keys mp3wrap and mp3splt on Hobbes, respectively.

PMView Pro, the indispensable graphics viewer, is now at version 3.10 as of 01/04/2005. It has several new features, including EXIF support, scripted batch conversions, lossless JPEG rotation, flyover image info, etc. Go to http://www.pmview.com/.

NOTE: President Tony Butka discusses the PMView Pro 3.xx series in the July 2003 and September 2003 issues of Ink (http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug307.ink.html & http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug309.ink.html, respectively).

The VIA Technologies KT133/266/333/880 CPU cooling and power management tools have been updated as of 01/06/2005. Use search key 823xcool on Hobbes.

WGET version 1.9.1 has been released as of 01/13/2005. It is a utility to retrieve files from the Web using HTTP and FTP in batch mode. The recursive retrieval of HTML pages, as well as FTP sites is supported - you can use it to make mirrors of archives and home pages. Re-getting incomplete files from where it left off works on servers (both HTTP and FTP) that support it. Use search key wget on Hobbes.

Mr. Message has been updated as of 01/25/2005. It is an instant messaging client which is capable of communicating over AOL's Instant Messenger network using the OSCAR protocol. Go to http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/MrMessage_01252005.wpi. NOTE: You need WarpIn to install.

The Neptune project is a giant library of "skins" for the PM123 MP3 player. The catalogs of skins have been refreshed as of 01/09/2005. Go to http://skins.cz/neptune/downloa4.shtml; more info on Neptune is at http://skins.cz/neptune/. NOTE: You can also use search key neptune on Hobbes.

ChatZilla version 0.9.67 has been released as of 01/07/2005. This is the IRC client that comes with the Mozilla suite. It now supports SSL and full Unicode nicknames. Go to http://www.hacksrus.com/~ginda/chatzilla/.

UPS Monitor Daemon version 1.0 has been released as of 01/07/2005. This is a small VIO program that monitors a UPS connected to a serial port, logs power events and performs a graceful shutdown of the operating system. There are versions of UPS Monitor for UPSs made by APC, Guardian, Tripplite, and IBM. Go to http://home.att.net/~LPAInfo/upsmonitor.html to see if your UPS is supported, and if so, to download the software appropriate for your UPS.

NesCafe version 0.56 has been released. This is a Java Nintendo Entertainment System emulator, which includes the source code under the GPL. Go to http://www.davieboy.net/nescafe/. NOTE: It is also available in WarpIn format at http://www.caetano.eng.br/os2page/.

Linky version 2.3.0 has been released as of 01/03/2005. This is an add-on for Mozilla that adds extra link-related items to the menu, allowing you to perform tasks such as opening all links on a page in new tabs or copying selected links to the clipboard. Go to http://gemal.dk/mozilla/linky.html.

MR/2 ICE has been updated to version 2.67 as of 01/24/2005. This program supports both e-mail and newsgroups. Go to http://www.mr2ice.com/.

JFTP version 3.7 has been released as of 01/19/2005. This is a graphical FTP client that requires Java 1.4. Go to http://www.jmethods.com/products/jftp/.

OS2Unix version 2.2 has been released as of 01/16/2005. With this tool, you can easily compile software for OS/2 from Linux source code, without needing autoconf. Go to http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~vtgf3mpr/os2unix/os2unix.htm.

PMM2TB has been released. It is a tool to convert PMMail messages and address books to a format that Thunderbird and Mozilla can import. Go to http://www.dahlem.name/pmm2tb.zip.

Mod_REXX version 2.1.0 has been released as of 08/18/2004. This is an Apache module for REXX. Go to http://sourceforge.net/projects/modrexx/.

This may be old news, but T&V HappyPlayer version 1.17 was released a while back (12/19/2003). This is a PM application that operates TV cards built on the Brooktree BT848 chipset, including some ATI and nVidia cards. Go to http://www.vrum.narod.ru/tvtuner/.

A digital camera RAW file conversion program has been released as of 01/26/2005. It supports Canon, Casio, Contax, Epson, Fuji, Kodak, Konica, Leica, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Rollei, Sony, and other cameras. It also includes a few related utilities. Use search key dcraw on Hobbes.

DVDDAO version 1.0 has been released as of 01/26/2005. It is a tool for writing DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM. Use search key dvddao on Hobbes. NOTE: You need ASPIROUT.SYS version 1.1b5 or above.

PMExif has been released. This is a GUI application which produces a list of Exif data for a whole directory of images, based on the RxExif.DLL. Go to http://os2.zworks.de/PMExif/eng/.

eComStation Maintenance Tool version 2.1.8.1 has been released as of 01/31/2005. As the name implies, it is used to apply software updates to eComStation. Go to http://www.ecomstation.com/; after signing-in, you can download the updated Tool.

ClipView version 2.9 has been released as of 01/25/2005. This is a set of tools to provide and work with multiple clipboards, including ClipPrint, PipeClip, ClipPipe, and more. Go to http://www.deezee.org/ClipView.html.

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.