If you read the strategy carefully, it is basically an updated rehash of the one written two years ago where IBM pledges support for e-business and platform independence. Their mantra of "Prepare, Deploy, Transition" is no different than what they proposed a few years ago which is in-line with corporate directives. Other than this, the "strategy" offers little insight as to specific goals and objectives for the operating system and offers instead sweeping generalities.

IBM makes a big point of telling its customers to transition away from client-server computing and move to what it calls the "IBM Framework" for e-business based on open standards (Java, XML, and the Internet). Although moving to open standards is an admirable objective, I fail to see how their approach is different than the "client-server" or "thin-client" models for computing. Basically, they are trying to create universal support for both client and server software thereby allowing any client to communicate with any server (an objective of OS/2 since 1996). If anything, I see the "IBM Framework" as the old traditional "mainframe network" model where mobile clients (terminals) access data and applications from the server (mainframe). So what else is new?

New Convenience Packages are promised for the fourth quarter of this year and will essentially concentrate on refinements for existing products, no additional enhancements were announced (unless you consider the IBM Web Browser for OS/2 something new).

To learn more about IBM's OS/2 Strategy, click HERE. I only wish IBM was as committed to OS/2 as it appears to be for Linux, which according to a report in the June 29th issue of InfoWorld, the company has so far committed to spending some $1.3 billion on Linux development and support.

eComStation

In the July issue I talked about plans for eComStation from Serenity Systems International, specifically, I mentioned the eCs review produced by the Southern California OS/2 Users Group (SCOUG). Consequently, I received a phone call from Serenity System's Bob St.John who wanted to clear up some misconceptions about the SCOUG report. A couple of things worth noting:

1. Bob insists that eCs is more concerned with interoperability of different OS based applications than it is about providing a migration path from OS/2 to another platform. He wants to dispel the myth that eCs is trying to provide a means for OS/2 users to migrate to the Windows world.

2. Project Odin is, in fact, included with eCs, and comes with Real Player v8.

3. The SCOUG group did not see the "golden" code, but a prerelease.

Bob does not want to start a war of words with the author of the SCOUG article, feeling that it would be antagonistic and counterproductive. However, I pointed out to him that eCs is still in its infancy and false perceptions regarding the product should be dealt with expeditiously, otherwise the public would assume the erroneous claim is correct. Consequently, he is planning to release a statement clarifying the issues regarding eCs. I, for one, am interested in hearing what he has to say.

Keep the Faith!