Updates from last month's column:

The WarpZilla team has released Mozilla 1.7.7 as of 04/25/2005. This is an update to Mozilla 1.4 that was demoed by Tony Butka at the Sept. 2003 SCOUG general meeting. Older versions of Mozilla were mentioned in the May 2002 Mr. Know-It-All (http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2002/scoug205.mrkia.html). Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.7.7/contrib/. There is an installer version (mozilla-1.7.7-os2-installer.exe), and a zip file version (mozilla-1.7.7-os2.zip). More info is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/.

NOTES:
1. The version 1.7.x series is the last version to be officially produced by the Mozilla Foundation; read the transition plan at http://www.mozilla.org/seamonkey-transition.html. This means the Foundation will now concentrate their efforts on Firefox and Thunderbird (see below).
2. Having said that, the Mozilla community plans to pick up development of Mozilla (probably under a different name to avoid confusion); go to http://wiki.mozilla.org/SeaMonkey:Home_Page.
3. Steve Wendt has a WarpZilla tips page at http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/Warpzilla.html.
4. Another site that has documentation of plugin support on OS/2 is at http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/OS2.html.
5. If you install the zip file version, you need to unzip it yourself into a directory and create or update a program object accordingly.
6. The recommended installation method is to install into a fresh directory; however, if you install over an older version, be sure to delete GKCONTNT.DLL and COMPREG.DAT (if they exist); otherwise you may have problems running Mozilla after installation. Also, if you do install over an older version, be sure to read the Dec. 2003 Mr. Know-It-All (http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug312.mrkia.html).
7. 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 MOZILLA.EXE (see next note).
8. Mike Kaply of IBM posted to the netscape.public.mozilla.os2 newsgroup some time back that he figured out how to share a profile between version 1.4.2 or older (which is compiled with the VACPP compiler), and version 1.5 or greater (which is compiled with the GCC compiler): Make sure that MOZRMI36.DLL is NOT in your LIBPATH and only exists where the version 1.4.x (or older) MOZILLA.EXE is; conversely on the version 1.5 or greater side, make sure the GCC runtime DLLs (LIBC05 and GCC322) are also NOT in your LIBPATH and only exists where the version 1.5 or greater MOZILLA.EXE is.
9. An alternate set of icons for Mozilla are available at http://members.cox.net/greenemk/os2/mozstuff/mymozillastuff.html.
10. Tony's notes on installing and running Mozilla are at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug310.mozilla.html.

The WarpZilla team has also released Firefox 1.0.3 as of 04/21/2005. This is an update to Firebird 0.6.1 (the previous name for Firefox) that was demoed by Tony Butka at the Sept. 2003 SCOUG general meeting. It is a stand-alone browser based on Mozilla that does not include mail, news, composer, IRC, and the other frills. A recent announcement said that there will not be any more versions of Mozilla (as produced by the Mozilla Foundation) past the 1.7.x series, so Firefox is now the Foundation's official browser. Go to ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/1.0.3/contrib/. The file name is firefox-os2-1.0.3.zip. More info is at http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/.

NOTES:
1. This version is primarily security fixes and probably does not contain any functional changes otherwise.
2. Steve Wendt has a WarpZilla tips page at http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/Warpzilla.html.
3. You must unzip the zip file yourself into a directory and then create or update a program object accordingly.
4. 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 the Firefox executable.
5. There are some icons for Firefox as of 02/13/2004. Use search keys firefoxicon or os2firefox on Hobbes.
6. Tony's notes on installing and running Firefox are at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2003/scoug310.mozilla.html.

FlashBlock version 1.3.1 has been released as of 04/10/2005. This is a Mozilla extension that replaces Flash animations with a "click to play" placeholder. Go to http://flashblock.mozdev.org/.

DFSee, which was presented by Tony Butka at the March 2004 SCOUG general meeting, is now at version 7.03 as of 04/28/2005. It is an FDISK, display, analysis, and recovery tool for disks and filesystems. It includes the ability to resize FAT and FAT32 partitions, and has some JFS and LVM support. Go to http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee.htm. Tony's tutorial on DFSee is at http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2001/scoug012.dfseetutorial.html.

NOTES:
1. You can also use search key dfsee on Hobbes.
2. DFSee is now shareware. Registration is at Mensys (http://shop.mensys.nl/catalogue/mns_DFSee.html).
3. Apparently, DFSee can now be installed via Warpin.

eComStation Maintenance Tool, version 2.1.8.2 beta, has been updated as of 04/25/2005. As the name implies, it is used to apply maintenance to eComStation. If you are a registered eComStation user, go to http://www.ecomstation.com/; after signing-in, you can then download the Maintenance Tool.

Mr. Message has been updated as of 05/02/2005. 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/.

NOTES:
1. You need WarpIn to install.
2. There is a zip file version available at http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/MrMessage_bin_05022005.zip.
3. Source is also available at http://mamodeo.dyndns.org/MrMessage_srcbin_05022005.zip.

DOSBox/2 beta 1 has been released as of 04/07/2005. This is a port of DOSBox to OS/2. It is a DOS emulator that uses SDL; it emulates XMS, EMS, CGA, EGA, VGA, VESA, SoundBlaster, Gravis Ultra Sound, and more, for excellent compatibility with older games. Go to http://www.joschs-robotics.de/dosbox/. More info is at http://wiki.netlabs.org/index.php/DOSBox_Port and http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/.

WarpIn version 1.0.6 has been released as of 04/23/2005. This is an open-source PM installer / uninstaller that can also install quietly through environmental variables. It also offers self-installing executables. Use search key warpin on Hobbes, or go to http://warpin.netlabs.org/.

NetBeans 4.1 RC was released as of 04/21/2005. NetBeans Developer is a Java IDE written in pure Java. The IDE is based on JFC, and uses its' full feature set. Full support of JavaBeans, use the BeanWizard to generate your own beans in minutes. Integrated full-featured text editor, debugger, compiler, pluggable look and feel, and Form Editor with advanced layout manager support. Go to http://www.netbeans.org/.

A new release of Odin has been made available as of 04/24/2005. Go to ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/odin/Daily/odin32bin-20050424-release-xp.zip. More info is at http://odin.netlabs.org/, and the changelog is at ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/odin/Daily/Changelog.

SciTech SNAP Graphics version 3.0.4 beta has been released as of 04/28/2005. This is a universal video driver, with support for almost 220 graphic chipsets, with extra features like zooming and multi-head. The latest version features updated support for ATI chipsets. Go to http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/snap/os2/beta/; more info is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/products/ent/snap_os2_content.html. The README is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/snap/os2/readme.txt, the changelog is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/snap2_changes.txt, and the list of supported chipsets is at http://www.scitechsoft.com/chiplist/snap_os2_chiplist.html.

USB 1.1 Expanded Control Driver has been released as of 04/22/2005. It provides a device driver to directly control classless USB devices attached to an OS/2 system. It has been specifically designed to ease the development and testing of simple homemade USB devices under OS/2 Use search key usbecd on Hobbes.

This month's new listings - Drivers:

DaniS506 version 1.7.3 has been released as of 04/05/2005. It is a replacement for IBM's IBM1S506 EIDE driver, 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.

Matrox has released version 1.06 of their video card BIOS update for the Parhelia chipset as of 02/11/2005. Go to http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/drivers/bios/home2.cfm. NOTE: BIOS updates for older Matrox chipsets are also available here.

IBM has updated the BIOS for the ThinkPad T40, T41, and T42 series as of 04/06/2005. Go to http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/license.do?filename=mobiles/1ruj29ud.exe.

IBM updated the printer drivers back in Feb. 2005; they are now available to registered eComStation users as of 04/04/2005. Available drivers are for laserjets, Omni (inkjets), plotters, and PostScript. Go to http://www.ecomstation.com/; after signing-in, you can download the appropriate driver for your printer (a zip file).

This month's new listings - Applications:

Python, which was demonstrated by Sheridan George at the Dec. 2001 SCOUG general meeting, is now at version 2.4.1 as of 04/04/2005. 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 on 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).

PDFMerge version 0.5.5 has been released as of 04/09/2005. It is a utility to concatenate multiple PDF or PostScript files into a single PDF file. Use search key pdfmerge on Hobbes.

ePDF version 2.0 beta 21 has been released. It is a PM tool for PostScript to PDF conversion, which uses GhostScript as the back-end. Go to http://www.subsys.de/ePDF/.

Weasel version 1.73 has been released as of 04/05/2005. It is a "lightweight" SMTP/POP server that has multi-domain support. Go to http://eepjm.newcastle.edu.au/os2/weasel.html.

IMAPD version 0.08 has been released as of 04/05/2005. It is an IMAP add-on for the Weasel mail server (see previous item). Go to ftp://eepjm.newcastle.edu.au/Weasel/imapd008.zip.

PMView Pro, the indispensable graphics viewer, is now at version 3.12 as of 04/06/2005. This is primarily a bug fix with reading 16-bit TIFF files with Motorola byte ordering. Go to http://www.pmview.com/.

NOTES:
1. 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).
2. If you already have version 3.11 installed, you don't need to upgrade unless you have TIFF files of the aformentioned type above. However, if you have version 3.10 or older, it is recommended that you upgrade.
3. A list of new features/fixes is at http://www.pmview.com/os2new.html.

PM Disk Monitor version 1.0 has been released as of 04/15/2005. It uses hooks in DANIS506.ADD (see above under Drivers) to display I/O stats about IDE disks. Use search key dskmon on Hobbes.

SmartMon has been updated as of 04/10/2005. This is an IDE HDD S.M.A.R.T. monitor which resembles the HDDSPEED package. It includes temperature monitoring, failure prediction features, and SYSLOG output. Use search key smartmon on Hobbes.

RSJ CD-Writer version 5.53 has been released as of 04/06/2005. It has support for DVD writing, freedb, DAO (Disk At Once), IDE drives, creating bootable CD's, and more. A few fixes are included. Go to http://www.rsj.de/stage/en/cdwriter/cd_os2.asp. NOTE: It must be purchased at this site, or at Mensys (http://shop.mensys.nl/catalogue/mns_RSJCD.html).

FFMpeg version 0.49pre was released as of 04/23/2005. This is a complete (command-line driven) solution to record, convert, and stream audio and video. Use search key ffmpeg on Hobbes.

FFPlay has been released as of 04/21/2005. It is a companion piece of software to FFMpeg (see previous item); it is a video player that uses the SDL libraries. Go to http://users.bigpond.net.au/paulsmedley/ffplay.zip. NOTE: It is a test release and may have issues with your hardware configuration.

PM123 has been updated as of 05/04/2005. It is a MP3, WAV, and CD audio player, which is now open-source. Some of the features include sharing of the sound card, playlist with drag/drop support, HTTP streaming, and the use of "skins" (including some cool WinAmp skins) to change the program's look. Go to ftp://ftp.ptv.ru/pub/glass/pm123/; for the skins, go to http://sektori.com/pm123/skins.php.

eComStation Window Theme Installer version 1.2.3b (beta) has been released as of 04/15/2005. It comes packaged with 107 window themes. Go to http://www.os2ecs.org/ethemes.html.

ChatZilla version 0.9.68a has been released as of 04/11/2005. 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/.

FotoGet/2 version 1.0.7 has been released as of 04/16/2005. This is a utility to ease the transfer of pictures from a digital camera. Use search key fotoget on Hobbes. NOTE: You need WarpIn to install.

An EXIF reader for the Nikon D series of digital cameras is at version 0.21 as of 04/17/2005. It reads EXIF data from Nikon D70, D100, D2H, & D2X NEF or JPG files. It outputs to text, HTML, or XML. It can also extract the JPEG thumbnail from a NEF file. It may work with other Nikon digital cameras. Use search key d70reader on Hobbes. NOTE: Source is also available.

PHPMyAdmin version 2.6.2 has been released as of 04/16/2005. This is a set of PHP scripts to administer MySQL over the web. Go to http://phpmyadmin.sourceforge.net/.

Linky version 2.6.0 has been released as of 04/18/2005. 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.

Warped Wave Editor version 0.77 has been released as of 04/20/2005. This is a fully plugin-based audio editor, which supports reading and writing of OGG files and all formats supported by MMOS2, cut/copy/paste, changing volume, and playback (via DART). Use search key wawe on Hobbes.

CoolFM version 2.15 has been released. This is a powerful FM radio tuner program, compatible with most popular FM tuners, including several USB models. Go to http://en.ecomstation.ru/coolfm/. NOTE: You can also use search key coolfm on Hobbes; you will need WarpIn to install.

NewView version 2.16.4 has been released as of 04/24/2005. It is a rewrite of VIEW.EXE that comes with OS/2. It reads .INF and .HLP files. Improvements include a new user interface, remember size/position, select and copy from the window, and more. Use search key newview on Hobbes.

MBMon2 beta 1 has been released as of 04/23/2005. This is a universal motherboard monitor for a broad range of boards, based on XMBMon 2.05. Go to http://web.utanet.at/abuchin1/OS2_Software/index.html, or use search key mbmon2 on Hobbes.

GhostScript version 8.51 has been released as of 04/18/2005. It is a freeware PostScript interpreter/converter for generating Acrobat (PDF) documents; it is also the display engine for GSView. Go to http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/.

PCI+AGP bus sniffer version 1.01 has been released as of 04/27/2005. This tool shows PCI, AGP, and CardBus device information, has a huge database of known vendors and devices, and can tell what IRQs are supported by which slot. Use search key pci1 on Hobbes.

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.