January 30, 1995

IBM building Windows 95 compatibility into Warp

By Mary Jo Foley

IBM is well on its way toward developing its next-generation OS/2 Warp product even as it labors to get multiple versions of the current OS/2 edition out the door.

Warp 2, as it is known inside IBM, will include a number of features that will make Warp more directly competitive with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 95, according to sources familiar with IBM's plans.

IBM already has made significant progress in achieving compatibility with Windows 95, even though IBM no longer has access to Microsoft operating system and Win32c code, sources close to the company said.

IBM officials declined to comment on features, or even the existence, of Warp 2.

IBM engineers are reverse-engineering compatibility, so that Warp users won't have to wait six months or more for IBM to catch up with new Microsoft operating systems, sources said. Warp 2 users will be able to boot up both Windows 95 and Warp 2 or install Warp 2 over Windows 95, sources said.

Warp 2 will include more complete plug-and-play support, going beyond the PCMCIA-only device support available in the current OS/2 Warp release, sources said.

With the Warp 2 release, OpenDoc and IBM's Object REXX will be integrated into the base operating system, the same way Microsoft integrates Object Linking and Embedding into Windows, they said.

Warp 2 will support a minidriver/unidriver model that is designed to simply the development and modification of operating-system device drivers, sources added.

Warp 2 also will include a built-in user-interface enhancer, possibly Lotus Development Corp.'s SmartCenter, according to sources.

Inclusion of a product such as SmartCenter could provide IBM Warp users with a front end more similar to Windows 95, with its start button and tool bar across the bottom of the screen.

"This release could be a real Windows 95 thunder-stealer," said Michael Kogan, a consultant with Kogan Associates Inc., an Atlantic Beach, Fla., software-development consultant. "Currently, you can't run Warp on top of Windows 95 [beta code]. If IBM can provide a version of Warp that will install on top of Windows 95 they'll be well ahead of the game."

What remains to be seen, Kogan said, is whether IBM will roll these features into OS/2 LAN Client, which is due to ship in the second or third quarter, or hold off and do a separate release of Warp 2 late this year or in early 1996.

IBM users said they were eagerly anticipating some of the Warp 2 features.

"Building in REXX will be a real plus," said a systems engineer with a major West Coast financial firm who requested anonymity.

"REXX is a good, quick-and-dirty app-building tool. It's much easier to use than C.

"Our office also is likely to get some Windows 95, too," the engineer said. "Warp will need to be able to handle this right away, so as not to become the next DR DOS. It's good. It shows IBM is trying harder to keep up."