REVIEW OF IBM OS/2 2.0 4/8/92 to 5/7/92 Christopher J. Sacksteder, cjs@psuvm.psu.edu Lead System Developer Center for Academic Computing Pennsylvania State University SUMMARY The combination of extensive publicity, claims of "running MS Windows applications better than MS Windows", and aggressive pricing have caused tremendous interest in IBM's new OS/2 2.0. We evaluated the system as a possible replacement for Microsoft Windows 3.x in some of Penn State's public microcomputer labs. We also wanted to learn about the capabilities and requirements of the new system to be able to make recommendations to users who may be considering OS/2. The hardware requirements (memory, disk space, and processor speed) for OS/2 2.0 are much greater than MS Windows 3.1 for the same level of performance. However, it it can be argued that such a comparison is unfair since OS/2 is fundamentally different in capabilities and the way it uses the hardware. Nevertheless, we found annoying lags in responsiveness for simple tasks. The system has many impressive features, but we experienced many system failures and found numerous small problems. These problems and the limitations in running MS Windows applications cause us to recommend that most users wait for the next release. The new features and capabilities suggest that users of OS/2 1.3 will want to upgrade, and curious DOS/Windows users with enough disk space to install both systems may wish to experiment with OS/2 2.0. OS/2 2.0 FEATURES Among significant features are: -- "32-bit" system for larger PCs (need minimum of 386 and 6MB) -- true multitasking -- runs DOS and MS Windows applications (not all) -- several ways -- object-oriented shell -- icons, folders & drag/drop -- comes with many "applets" -- extensive on-line documentation with many links to objects -- IBM support (e.g. corporate accounts DO NOT get a busy signal!) Further explanation of some of these is presented below. EQUIPMENT For this evaluation, OS/2 2.0 was installed on a PS/2 95 (25mhz 486) with 8MB memory, 320MB SCSI hard drive, an XGA adapter and an 8515 display. The drive had already been partitioned into 1 physical and 4 logical partitions. The last two partitions were cleared of all files, but the first 3 were left for DOS 5 and MS Windows. Additional tests were made with a PS/2 56slc with 12MB memory and VGA. Although there was not time for objective measurements, it seemed that 12MB of memory performed much better than 8MB. SUPPORT We depend on our local IBM technical personnel for expert support. Their service, as with other IBM platforms, is excellent. Also of particular importance to us is IBM's large national support organization, available to larger customers. Unlike most software vendors, you DO NOT get a busy signal, and you DO NOT have to wait to talk to someone intelligent. Individuals can use the CompuServe IBMOS2 forum, or an IBM OS/2 BBS (see the README file), which costs about as much as CompuServe. Those with Usenet access will find hundreds of articles per day posted by OS/2 zealots and others caught up in the excitement of 2.0. Some very helpful information can be found, but with significant effort. New Mexico State University maintains one of the better "anonymous-FTP" sites (hobbes.nmsu.edu) for OS/2 public-domain and shareware programs and information. INSTALLATION There are 21 1.44mb diskettes. Installation is easy if you already have partitions setup or a completely empty machine. The "boot manager" was installed to allow booting any of three partitions; it takes a bit of caution and reading to avoid erasing existing data. OS/2 was installed two different ways into two logical partitions (56MB each). The first partition was installed with all features and "high resolution" (XGA, 256 colors); the second with selected features and "medium resolution" (VGA, 16 colors). Herein, references to the two versions installed are labeled "XGA" and "VGA". This was done because the 1024x768 mode cannot run Microsoft Windows 3.0 (MSWin) applications in windows; they must execute in a full-screen "WIN-OS2" session. This is disappointing, not only because 648x480 is difficult to work with and the fonts are rendered poorly, but the VGA mode supports only 16 colors even though the XGA adapter can display 64K colors at that resolution. The advanced installation options "Migrate Applications" and "Copy WIN-OS2 desktop from existing Windows desktop" were not chosen (we had tried these with a beta version, and the results were not useful). DISK SPACE The XGA install (all features) use 27MB, not including the swap file. The VGA installation (selected features) used 18 MB. The installation program for the VGA install had said 11 MB would be needed for the features selected. The swap file (\OS2\SYSTEM\SWAPPER.DAT) expands as needed. You'll want to have 10 to 20MB free for it; I ran out of space once with a 12 MB swap file and was not doing much. USER INTERFACE The Workplace Shell (WPS) takes some "adjustments" for users of MSWin or Macintoshes. (Apple will *not* be suing IBM for copying a "look and feel"!) It has to be experienced to be understood, and the following notes don't really explain how it looks or feels. It becomes very comfortable after a few days, except for certain lags in speed. Desktop The whole screen is a desktop. Any number of icons or open windows can be positioned anywhere. Windows can be moved off the edges. If icons are off an edge, scroll bars for the desktop appear. Everything (usually) comes up the way it was the last time the system was shutdown. Menus There is no menu bar for the desktop and most windows have no menu bars; instead, there are pop-up menus activated with one click of mouse button 2 on any part of the object. Some menu items have cascading menus that are opened by clicking on a small arrow. If you miss the arrow the default action is taken. I had difficulty adjusting to this. Other menu items' cascading menus are displayed when the item is highlighted. It might help if you get into the habit of holding either mouse button down as the pointer is dragged across menu items. Objects and Folders There is no file manager or program manager. Objects can be programs, folders, data files, or devices. The file system is somewhat hidden, but not entirely. Subdirectories appear as folders, and folders open into a window, but a folder can have any set of objects, unrelated to their location in the file system. Windows that are drives or directories can be opened with one of three views (icon, tree, or details). The view cannot be changed after the window is opened, but it doesn't take long to open another window with a different view. Drag and Drop Objects are dragged with mouse button 2 -- I couldn't get used to this and changed it to button 1 (some mouse functions can be reset), but later I thought that the system might be waiting to see if button 1 was going to be a double-click, so I moved it back to button 2. Multiple icons can be selected different ways: by dragging a frame around icons in an Icon View window (like a Mac), or holding down button 1 and dragging the pointer across files listed in a Details View, or holding the Control key when clicking on files or icons. Dialog Windows Most dialogs (e.g., settings notebook pages) do not have a DONE or OK button to commit changes -- instead the window is closed to commit. There are several exceptions where there is an OK button; the inconsistency is confusing. There is usually a CANCEL button and an UNDO button. Window and Desktop Attributes The system automatically saves window attributes such sizes and locations. Many windows have HIDE buttons which can be changed to MINIMIZE buttons. "Hide" means the icon for the open folder or program doesn't appear anywhere but the window from where it came; there it has a hash pattern background to indicate that it is open. Minimized windows by default go into a "Minimized Window Viewer" rather than the desktop, but a global setting can change this. The state of the desktop is saved when the system is shutdown. This is annoying if you want everything to come up the same way each day, but is nice if you want everything to come up the way you left it. Fonts and colors can be changed for any object or, usually, all objects. Different color schemes can be customized. For an XGA system with 256 colors, allow yourself several days of fiddling to get the colors and fonts just right! "APPLETS" There is a substantial collection of small applications that come with OS/2. These vary from being primative to "pretty neat", and include two editors, a tune editor, an icon editor, daily and monthly planners, a to-do list, an activity list, alarms, a calendar, a calculator, "post-it notes", note pads, a small spread sheet, a chart-maker, a simple database manager, a terminal emulator, a utility that searches for text inside files, a picture viewer, and a CPU-use monitor. Some of these work well, and some are awkward. Missing is something for doing backups and something like MSWin's Recorder. Six games are in the games folder. The chess program isn't very smart! UNDELETE OS/2 has an UNDELETE function, however it works only from command prompts. Files deleted through WPS are permanently deleted. This is quite ironic, since the WPS gives easy ways to delete files (delete with menu, drag to shredder), and presumably experienced and cautious users would be using a command prompt. (Yes, we've removed REM from the SET DELDIR statement in CONFIG.SYS.) MIGRATE APPLICATIONS The application Migrate Applications can be used to migrate DOS, MSWin, or OS/2 applications. There is a data file that list some (many?) applications, presumably with the attributes they need to be setup with. It will search the given drives for applications and present a list to select from. It was not clear what happened to the migrated applications -- the Windows Programs folder was minimized on the desktop, but under another window. (A message would have helped.) If it doesn't initially list all the programs wanted (perhaps it just finds those with PIFs, or those in its database?), an Add Programs button brings up a dialog that list *ALL* programs. This is hard to use because the programs are in order they were found on the disk and there are no features to search or sort the list. Generally, I found it easier to define program icons "manually" (drag a "tear-off" icon from the Templates folder). Selecting the few needed settings is easier than making a PIF file under MS Windows, DOS COMPATIBILITY A DOS program maybe setup to run fullscreen or in a window. A full-screen DOS program can be switched to a window with Alt-Home (equivalent in MSWin would be Alt-Enter). A huge number of options for controlling the DOS environment are available. There was something curious about the mouse with one DOS application, CIM (CompuServe Information Manager). When setup to run in a Window, the mouse worked for only 1 click, then the cursor disappeared. Switching to full screen, the mouse worked. When setup to run fullscreen, THEN switched to a window with Alt-Home, the mouse worked IN THE DOS WINDOW and elsewhere on the desktop. This is, indeed, running a DOS application better than MS Windows 3.0 where a DOS program in a window cannot use the mouse. (Can do with Win 3.1.) The "OS/2-DOS" is quite different from, say, DOS 5.0. Users will miss a few things such as HELP. You can, however, setup an icon to boot any version of DOS from a diskette or an image file on a hard disk. It will run as a window or full-screen. There are problems with DOS programs that use a network adapter. See the NETWORKING section below. WINDOWS COMPATIBILITY A system installed for high resolution (XGA) cannot run Windows applications in windows -- a fullscreen WIN-OS2 is started instead. This takes a lot of extra time (see PERFORMANCE section below). IBM states in the README file that tests with MS Windows 3.1 beta indicates that the WIN-OS/2 desktop will not be configured by the installation program. This is true. They suggest changing the PATH to find a Windows 3.0 directory or selecting the default environment. Windows 3.1 applets will not run (an error code flashes too briefly to be seen). Programs that *require* Windows enhanced mode are not supported. The README has a list of some of these. Windows programs cannot start DOS sessions or DOS programs. Notes on a large number of applications are in the README file. NETWORKING IBM's TCP/IP 1.2 for OS/2 was installed and tested. It works, but has a few problems (a separate review is being prepared). Later, version 1.2.1 was installed. DOS programs that use the Token-Ring adapter (e.g., FTP Software's PC/TCP) could be be made to work only in a booted virtual DOS session, and only when OS/2's config.sys was changed to not open the Token-Ring card. Program that need device drivers and TSR's can be setup for an OS/2-DOS session, and were, but various problems occurred (e.g., see system hang #5). Windows programs that use the Token-Ring adapter and drivers from PC/TCP did not work. DOS and Windows programs that use the 3270 adapter worked. Banyan Vines -- support for 2.0 is not available until the second quarter of 1992. PERFORMANCE Objective and repeatable measures are hard to obtain because so much depends on what is open and running, location of data on the hard disk, and amount of memory. Generally, it feels slower than DOS/MSWin 3.1 on the same system. The time it takes to start the system varies with what was left open when it was shutdown. With four folders and the system clock open, it was about 72 seconds from leaving the boot manager menu until everything on the desktop was drawn. The disk drive runs, and runs, and runs. It seems like the disk cache isn't working so well, but I have no idea -- it might be paging to the swap file. Note that all tests were with a FAT file system. An HPFS (High Performance File System) ought to perform better. Screen updates (XGA) aren't terrible but aren't great. Screen painting on the SLC system with VGA was fast. Opening a folder the first time can take a long time if there are many icons in it (e.g., 5 seconds for 12 icons, 11 seconds for 17). Starting even small applications takes a while the first time (e.g., 5 seconds for the System Editor). Switching between a full-screen MS Windows application and the OS/2 desktop is slow. For example, running MS Windows 3.0 Notepad in a Win-OS2 fullscreen session, and switching between them a few times: Start Notepad: 13 seconds (until mouse moves pointer) Back to Desktop: 22 (Alt-Home, wait until screen painting done) Restore Notepad: 6 (again, wait until mouse will move pointer) Alt-Home again: 14 (note that you can do things even though the screen is being updated) Restore Notepad: 7 Alt-Home again: 9 Restore Notepad: 6 Alt-Home again: 8 Restore Notepad: 7 With each switch, the disk drive runs a lot. I closed all the open windows on the OS/2 desktop, and (after one cycle) switching hardly runs the drive at all, and is just 1 or 2 seconds. So it seems the speed in the test is related to memory. Running MSWin 3.0's Notepad in a Win-OS2 window (on VGA installation) is better, but not exactly fast: 8 seconds to open, no extra time to switch between it and other windows on the desktop. Open Excel: in a window (VGA): 12 seconds; full-screen (XGA): 30 seconds first time, 18 seconds second time. Windows 3.1: 5 seconds first time, 2 seconds second time. Opening a subdirectory that has many files can take a long time. For example, it takes about 30 seconds to open an icon view of \TCPIP\BIN. Maybe this is because the many executables in that directory all have to be opened to find their icons. Opening a Detail View setup to not show icons is much faster. MULTITASKING The pre-emptive multitasking is one of the most obvious difference between OS/2 2.0 and a DOS/MS Windows system. For example, useful things can be done while formatting or copying a diskette. Another example: although opening a folder with many icons takes a long time, you don't have to wait until it is done; you can go do something else or even open one of the icons already painted. PRINTING A wide variety of printer drivers are available, but not one for an (old) IBM Graphics Printer. It isn't clear how to install different printer drivers after the system has been installed. It is not hard to do, it is just a strange path to get there. The clipboard doesn't have a PRINT menu item -- you have to save paste it's contents into an editor and print from there. CONCLUSIONS OS/2 2.0 is a significant advance for 80386 and 486-based hardware. Its features and capabilities provide a new baseline for future systems such as Microsoft Windows NT. This first release has a few serious problems, many minor problems, and some limitations in running MS Windows applications. MS Windows users should probably wait for the next release. OS/2 1.3 users will probably be delighted with the improvements. Installtion of OS/2 in Penn State's public microcomputer labs may not be in the future at all. Most systems are not fast enough and do not have enough memory, and there are many questions on maintaining public workstations when it is so easy to change so many settings. APPENDICES Below are three sections of notes collected during the evaluation: SERIOUS PROBLEMS, MINOR PROBLEMS, and WISH LIST. APPENDIX 1. SERIOUS PROBLEMS On every day OS/2 2.0 was used for more than a couple hours, the system failed in some way. Most of the time nothing unusual was being done. Strangely, only once did it fail twice in the same day (except #5). Most of these problems are not reproducible (exception, #5). One amazing thing is OS/2's ability to restore the desktop and restart almost everything that was running when it is restarted (either re-boot or power off/on). Sometimes this is a problem -- see #5. Please excuse the technical terms "hang", "crash", and "screwed up". (1) Hang. Had just returned from lockup (entered password) and screen was repainted ok. Mouse buttons and keyboard do not do anything, but mouse moves cursor. Keys cause beeps (right away, not after a few keystrokes). Right hand CTRL and ALT cause beep on down and up, but left hand CTRL and ALT cause none. PM Eyes is tracking ok, but system clock is not being updated. Active window is Drive F: icon view. Other open windows include Drive F: tree view and a few other folders. TCP/IP started, but no apps running. Did Ctrl-Alt-Del. (2) Hang. Screen when blank. Had started Visual Basic in a full-screen Windows session, and switch back to OS/2 with Alt-Esc. Was about to time going back to VB, and clicked on RESTORE. There was not much else running. Tried a few keys. Did Ctrl-Alt-Del. On reboot, system remembers VB was running, and restarts it (!), but changes to various folders have been lost. Switch back to OS/2 desktop then back to VB without a problem. (3) Hang. Screen when blank. Had started WinGif in a fullscreen windows session. Had returned to OS/2 desktop and back to the Win-OS2 session once, and was returning from the Win-OS2 session a second time. Blank screen. Part of one icon and pointer painted. No keys worked; did reboot. Wonder if it was running out of swap space; but on reboot: 8megs free disk space (swapper.dat is 10megs). (4) Hang. Had deleted a folder, and message "Cannot delete Icon.ICO for one of the following reasons: . . . " came up, with a cancel button. Clicked cancel button, nothing happened. Mouse won't move pointer; keyboard does nothing. PM Eyes still tracks pointer. Did ctrl-alt-del. File was deleted when system can back up. (5) Crash. Trying to setup Rumba (Windows app), which, for TCP/IP needs several device drivers and TSRs (Using FTP Software's Token-Ring drivers for DOS). Was getting "Initialization Error 0x40" from kernel, but no system error. Switch to IBM LSP drivers version 1.2 (had been using 1.01), and got: Exception in device driver: IBMTOK$ ... The system detected an internal processing error at location ##0160:fff6453f - 000d:a53f, 60000, 9084 048600b4 Internal revision 6.307, 92/03/01 The system has stopped. Record the location number of the error and contact your service representative. Ctrl-Alt-Del did nothing; powered off/on. System tries to launch same application (groan), and same thing happens. Second power off/on: hope to ctrl-break the .BAT file that starts the kernel -- keys ignored, same result. This time use Shift-F1 . . . desktop comes back ok, didn't lose too much. Try app again -- same error. Did Shift-F1 too late. Power off/on again. Hmm, that bad DOS session keeps coming up, but now as an icon on the desktop, and system is hung. Boot DOS and check README . . . hmm, special keys are ctrl-shift-F1 and alt-F1; wonder why shft-F1 helped before? Try left ctrl-shift-F1 at correct times (takes several tries) -- works -- icons only on desktop, nothing open. (6) Hang. Mouse pointer moves (PM eyes track it) but buttons and keyboard do nothing. System clock not updating. Only other windows open are various folders and drive:tree-views. Had just closed Drive A: window and opened another folder; was not launching anything. Ctrl-Alt-Del. (7) Hang. Same symptoms as above. Had copied files to A: folder, removed diskette, and got error message. Re-inserted diskette, and clicked OK in error message box. System read from diskette (not sure why). That was all! Ctrl-Alt-Del. The diskette (720k) was wiped-out. This was SLC VGA system. (8) Screwed up -- menus all strange, with funny characters. Cascade menus (arrow shown) don't come up. Can't close anything open (no close item, and double-click on control button doesn't close. Some things close from Windows List, but not others. Desktop menu doesn't have SHUTDOWN any more (just Open, Help, and Create Shadow). This was SLC VGA system. Did ctrl-alt-del. (9) Hang. No mouse pointer; system clock not being updated. Had just double-clicked on system editor icon, but it never opened. Was running a DOS session in a window (had booted A:). Several folders open, not much else. Did ctrl-alt-del, no response. Powered off/on. (10) Crash. Was having trouble reading 720K diskette (2.88M drive on SLC). Got: The system detected an internal processing error at location ##0160:fff7cbde - 000d:00020bde. 2100, 7010 038600d1 Internal revision 6.304, 92/02/09 The system is stopped. Record the location number of the error and contact your service representative. Drive was still spinning; powered off/on. Was now able to read same diskette without error. (11) Hang. On start-up, a program icon in a folder was setup to boot from A:; although it had not been open on last shutdown, system wanted to read from drive A:. On several previous start-ups, an error message was displayed, but system started ok. This time, everything just stopped. Did ctrl-alt-del, system came up ok, and I deleted that program icon. (12) Hang. Settings notebook for X-Server active, just changed parameters box. Running: X-Server (1.2.1), telnet (stuck), clock, and a few folders open. Clock is updating, but mouse and keyboard do nothing (keyboard beeps). Did ctrl-alt-del and did same change to settings notebook. APPENDIX 2. MINOR PROBLEMS Every day we found yet another little problem. Individually, these don't hamper use of the system, but collectively they are quite annoying, and gave the feeling of "roughness". Some are due to the XGA device driver and are not seen on the systems installed for VGA. Icons & Desktop Labels of icons minimized to desktop displayed incorrectly (maybe due to font selection). For example, "OS/2 System Editor" shows as: +--------+ | OS/2 | | Syste | +--------+ Many icon labels are "screwed up". Returning to smaller font might help, but my eyes like the Swiss Helvetica 10 point bold. Another example: a directory folder named "BIN" -- when minimized, the icon has label "BI". It is hard to move icon positions small amounts (system thinks you are trying to drop the icon onto itself). Often have to move it twice to adjust location a small amount. Icon labels -- sometimes positioned incorrectly so top of letters are chopped off (in folder windows). Icons minimized to the desktop are sometimes placed on top of other icons when there is plenty of open space. Icons sometimes show up in different locations in windows when system is started. Dragging items -- often there is a lag in response, and you have repeat the operation (XGA). Desktop often comes up with scroll bars when there were none when system was shut down (yes, icons are near edge). XGA and VGA. Rename (alt-button1) -- on XGA, comes up with strange font with bottom chopped off. Windows apps with setting to put minimized icon onto desktop still have minimized icon go into "Minimized Window Viewer" folder (VGA). Icons on desktop often have hashmarks as if they are open or running, yet they are not. Tree View Sort doesn't change order (should either work or not be a menu item). Would prefer directories to be listed alphabetically within levels. Can't select multiple folders (on purpose; have done it accidentally!) Details View Drag a font to it with ALT key down for system-wide change and nothing happens. Sort -- would not sort. Maybe because "Always maintain sort order" was checked? No . . . can't sort any details view on VGA system. Change INCLUDE setting to be Program File and blank lines are left where excluded files were -- Refresh no help. Close and reopen window, then list is ok. Change include setting back to "Objects" and files that weren't listed now OVERWRITE existing list, making a mess. (VGA but not XGA). Can't do rename (alt-button1) on Real Name column, only Title column (which might not be visible). Sometimes text is painted two extra times (XGA). Location of divider bar is not saved. Settings Notebook Notebook page Menu (any), Listbox "Actions on menu ..." -- painted incorrectly -- first item covers part of heading. (Am using larger than default font, but it isn't that large.) Folder, View Page 2 (Tree View): when Icon Display button "Small size" is selected, tree view comes up with small icons, but next time into the settings notebook, the button "Normal Size" is selected. Folder, Sort: check "Always maintain sort order" and next time you open settings notebook it is not checked. (VGA only.) Folder: Include has a second page (File System Criteria) but page 1 doesn't have a "Page 1 of 2" label. File System Include Criteria -- could not change Flags criteria to NOT show hidden files (on SLC system) -- simply would not accept flag values. Works ok on other system (w/ XGA). Usability Problems Copy menu item for A: assumes target is B:; no option to change it. Diskcopy (A: A:) from OS/2 command line: if target diskette is wrong density or write-protected, the copy is ended and you have to start over (reading source again). Better to let user try another target disk. Highlighting text -- insertion bar must be in front of the character. If it is on the character, that character is not included. It is difficult to include the first character in a text box. Window minimized to desktop: can't double click on label to restore, must be sure to hit icon. Some text boxes allow text to be highlighted, but not edited or changed (e.g., Folder box in find window). No RENAME menu item; alt-button1 not obvious. Not clear how to end rename (enter adds a line!) Miscellaneous Problems Format Diskette -- Percent Completion gauge doesn't work -- starts at 100% and stays there (XGA only). The Edit Color palette takes a long time (16 seconds) to open the first time (XGA). Help window has buttons on bottom (Previous Search Print Index) with underscores indicating a key can be pressed instead of clicking with mouse (E, S, P, I) . . . neither key nor alt-key nor ctrl-key work. Copying files to diskette -- repeatedly get message "A:\filename.ext is currently in use by another program" -- the file is not in use, but is referenced by a program icon. But this is a COPY, not a MOVE, so there should be no message. Intermittent Problems Drive Tree View -- for C: (a DOS drive) -- subdirectories don't have the little + and - boxes to click on and expand the subtree. Later: one of the directories has the "+" box; hmm, someone it found out there were subdirectories. Wonder how to tell it to check them all -- opening a tree view on every one? Later: drive C: tree view opened first time in VGA installation: all subdirectories have the "+" box. Later: drive C: comes up ok, and problem did not happen again. Copied an item to the same folder, but didn't change the name. Copy did not show up. Copied another item, changing the name. Duplicate of first item then showed up. Tree View -- folders were remaining selected when different folder was selected (no shift keys were touched.) Have sometimes had problem with selecting a window from the Window List, and that window get's focus for a split second, but then a different window is lay on top of it with focus (did not click on anything else or touch keyboard). Not repeatable. Dragged file icon with ctrl key depressed (to copy). Two identical icons in target window. Details view of that directory shows two files with same name, one with new date and size 0. Deleted that one and both disappeared. Tried same operation again; no problem. Applications System Clock -- if digital, shouldn't changing color of "face" change color of digits? Error when seconds changes from x0 to x1 -- stil see part of "0". Changing fonts did not change fonts. Migrate Applications shouldn't enable FIND button when no drives are selected. Get "FatalExit Code = xxxx" (message flashes too quickly to see) when trying to run Norton Desktop in full-screen Win-OS2 session. NDW ran on the 6.304E beta. WinGif (MS Windows app) -- in full-screen WIN-OS2 session, XGA, screwed up palette when running minimized (colors all wrong, and could no longer see menu bars). Windows app in Win-OS2 full-screen session on XGA -- not like same on VGA -- get program manager as shell and no "OS/2 Desktop" icon -- was ok on 6.304E beta. Toolbook (Windows app) in a window (SLC/VGA system) -- when closed, sometimes leaves tool bar on desktop. Can make some other window cover it, then it goes away. Also: when minimized, PULSE still shows CPU 100% (is it really?). System Editor -- scroll button in vertical scroll bar doesn't move text (does in Enhanced Editor). APPENDIX 3. WISH LIST (Perhaps there is a way to do some of these things.) Wish pop-up menus would "pop-down" -- that is, because OPEN is most often the item of choice (and often need to select SETTINGS, else one would double-click icon) it would be better if the top, or even middle, of the menu was next to the icon, rather than the bottom. Needs macro facility and/or PM calls for REXX (like Norton Desktop Batch Builder, but better). Very much wish the mouse would track faster (XGA only; VGA ok). Although it accelerates, it is hard to get used to the difference between it an MSWin (or OS2-WIN fullscreen). Windows always open first time same size -- usually far too big for their contents. A nice option for a window would be for it to expand/shrink to fit size of its contents. Wish there were a "snap-to-grid" option to arrange icons. Wish the menu item arrow indicating another menu was lots bigger (XGA). Wish there was a short cut for OPEN-SETTINGS. Wish there were a lot more keyboard short-cuts. Wish there was a way to quickly see file details for one file. (Settings: File: page 2.) Wish there was a way to see total space used by all files in a directory and total space used by all files in all subdirectories. (Freeware DU.EXE helps.) Wish there was a way to change the default for OPEN of a all directories from ICON VIEW to DETAILS VIEW -- must do each one individually. Wish there was a way to save various (or just one) desktop configurations and recall them. (Or, an option to not save desktop state at shutdown.) Wish details of objects (shadows of) listed in FIND RESULTS were shown. Wish system editor wouldn't ask the what type a file is when it is saved. Why can't it know; why does it need to know? Wish Details View of a directory would maintain sort order when new files are added (or view would scroll to top to show new files) by default. (To change setting, Settings: Sort: Always maintain sort order, but this doesn't work!) Wish there was a way to convert Windows icons. (Hmm, can probably cut them and paste into icon editor.) Desktop Settings/Lockup page 2/Image/File: wish a different drive and directory could be specified. A color scheme was dropped on a particular window, but later I wanted to change colors system-wide. Using ALT to drop scheme changes all but the windows that had their individual schemes changed (probably good idea). Wish there was a way to reset those windows to use system-wide settings. Wish ctrl-alt-del was trapped like in Windows 3.1. Wish there was a shut-down restart option like a Mac -- often have to reboot when installing new things, and when the Boot Manager is installed (with a different partition as the default) it is annoying to have to wait and watch the reboot process. Calculator -- wanted to paste numbers from clipboard. Database -- could not make it dial my modem (has standard AT command set).