The American presidential election is based on an Electoral College whereby each state is allocated X number of electoral votes based on population. Depending on the popular vote of each state, the winner retains the electoral votes of the state. The person with the most electoral votes wins the election. There have been a couple of rare instances in our history where a person has won the popular vote, yet lost the electoral vote and hence the election.

Like most of the other states, the race was incredibly close in Florida. So much so that Florida law mandated a recount of the votes, which has been done expeditiously. The reason the spotlight focused on Florida was because the state held sufficient electoral votes to push one candidate into the victory column. Had Florida as few a number of electoral votes as some of the other states like Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, etc. the outcome in Florida would have been relatively meaningless and would not have attracted the media circus we are currently experiencing. Nonetheless, Florida has 25 important electoral votes which each candidate desperately needs to win. Consequently scurrilous comments began to surface that the Florida electoral process is flawed. Frankly, it is no more flawed than any other state. In fact, if the truth were known, it is probably better than most.

The Democrats demanded a manual recount which, as we know in computing, is much more prone to error than by automation. Wait a minute; maybe some of you don't realize it. Many of you probably have not had to work closely with punch cards (I have to keep reminding myself that I am getting older). I broke into the field 25 years ago when punch cards were the norm as a reliable vehicle for input. In fact, I still have stacks of them collecting dust in my inventory somewhere. The one thing I remember vividly about them is that they are next to impossible to read with consistent accuracy using the human eye. I was, therefore, shocked when I heard the Democrats demanded a manual recount. Madness; sheer madness.

Bottom-line this brouhaha over the Florida electoral process was simply a clever subterfuge to undermine the victory of the Republicans, thereby casting doubt over their ability to govern. Claiming voting snafus and vilifying state officials makes great theater in the press, which the Democrats know how to manipulate to their advantage. I really don't think Bill Gates could have done it better himself. Woops, maybe he did -- to OS/2. Frankly, I do not consider the hyperbole over Florida's electoral process patriotic; rather, I consider it subversive since it is intended to derail our democratic process. As of this writing, Florida is mired in protests and lawsuits from both political parties. These are just the types of shenanigans Richard Nixon foresaw in 1960 when he conceded the election to John Kennedy thereby circumscribing such national turmoil.

So, as a Floridian, am I embarrassed? Hardly; I actually feel more duped than embarrassed. But, as an American, my face is definitely red.

So now on to my OS/2 related comments.

eComStation

As a follow-up to my November editorial regarding eComStation from Serenity Systems, I received an e-mail from Serenity's Director of New Business Development, Bob St. John, who answered several of my questions regarding his new OS/2 based product:

1. They are anticipating a GA by the end of the year... but will remain flexible. They want some meaningful feedback from the preview release to help guide them on what needs to be delivered in the GA.

2. The basic difference between the Standard Edition and Professional Edition will just be the SMP support. Originally the Standard did not include IBM's JFS (Journaling File System) and Pro had JFS and SMP. Now JFS is in the Standard edition, so, at this time, the SMP feature is the only difference.

3. Existing OS/2 users (Warp 4 only) will be given an "upgrade" price until the end of January.

4. Project Odin will be included with the product.

5. Lotus SmartSuite for OS/2 version 1.5.1 (that is.. the 1.5 product and the 1.5.1 "update") will be included.

6. The Java version of Sun's StarOffice v5.1 will be included "in as much as it makes sense to do so."

7. eCS will come bundled the WiseTalker DB Server evaluation product, which allows users to develop Interactive Voice Response applications. Putting the product into production use would require purchasing the WiseTalkerDB product and voice processing board, but eCS would allow you to develop the application ... and get familiar with that process.

8. IBM's Desktop on-Call will be included, providing remote control from eComStation from any Java web browser.

eComStation standard - $279.00
eComStation Pro - $389.00

Also, don't forget eComStation will include IBM's new "Convenience Packages" (or "Paks") which represents the next major release of OS/2 scheduled for November 30th.

Other Notes

1. Warpstock Europe was recently held October 13th-15th in Germany. I'm told there were over 300 people in attendance and was quite successful, resulting in a good review in Planet IT by Editor Esther Schindler.

2. Well, COMDEX in Las Vegas has come and gone with very little fanfare, probably because there wasn't any major announcements made and the nation was distracted by the presidential election. It will be interesting to see how the Spring COMDEX in Chicago fares in comparison. Perhaps we're witnessing a decline in the event.

Have a good holiday season.

Keep the Faith!