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   PC Magazine -- July 30, 1996
   [INLINE]
   
   This week, Michael addresses the all the computer gamers worried about
   not being able to run DOS games in Windows NT Workstation 4.0. Also
   filling up our mail bags were letters from people wondering what
   Merlin has in store for them. 
   
   [LINK] Submit a question or suggest a topic
   
   [INLINE] Last week you wrote that Windows NT Workstation 4.0 won't be
   able to run existing DOS-based games. Can you explain why? Will
   Windows NT ever be able to run these types of games? 
   [INLINE] You can get some DOS games to work under Windows NT, but it's
   not an ideal gaming environment. Here's why: Many DOS games go
   directly to the PC's hardware to access sound, joystick drivers--even
   the file system itself. Sometimes you can get around this by doing
   things like changing the sound card interrupt--I'm told that setting
   it to an IRQ less than or equal to 9 will work. And in many cases, the
   games will work on a FAT partition, but not NTFS. We've also found
   that DOS games run much slower under Win NT.
   
   If you really want to run DOS, you can set up a dual-boot
   configuration with Windows NT (if you have DOS, that is). But
   remember, you'll need a FAT partition and either an upgraded
   configuration of Win NT with multiple operating systems on your pick
   list or a DOS boot disk.
   
   Lastly, Microsoft just added DirectX support to Win NT, meaning that
   some of the Windows-specific games that didn't work before now do.
   
   [INLINE] Can you give us a little information about Merlin, the next
   generation of OS/2? When can we expect to see a shipping version? 
   [INLINE] As I mentioned two weeks ago (see Why is Windows NT getting
   so much attention?), Merlin is the public code name for OS/2 Warp 4.0,
   which is currently in beta testing. I expect to see the operating
   system out in early fall of this year.
   
   Warp 4.0 will have a new, friendlier user interface, built-in Java
   runtime, and, most notably, support for native voice recognition that
   you can use for command and control (such as telling a browser to go
   to specific Web sites) and some dictation.
   
   [INLINE] Will Merlin support Windows 95 applications? 
   [INLINE] Warp 4.0 won't run applications written specifically for
   Windows 95 directly, because it doesn't support the full Win32 API.
   But Warp 4.0 will run Win32s (32-bit applications designed to work in
   both Windows 3.1 and 95) as well as 16-bit Windows applications under
   the Windows 3.1 environment that runs under OS/2 (and now comes with
   all flavors of the operating system). In additon, IBM is pushing
   Open32, a plan for simplifying the conversion of Win32 applications
   into native OS/2 applications.
   
   [INLINE] Is there room in the OS market for Merlin? And if so, where?
   Desktop? Server? 
   [INLINE] Merlin itself is a client operating system; it was not
   designed to be a server. (IBM offers Warp Server for that market.)
   OS/2 has found a home in many industries, particularly in those that
   have mission-critical applications, such as finance, banking, and so
   forth.
   
   Although I don't see any indication that OS/2 will become the dominant
   operating system any time soon, it does have a loyal customer base.
   Merlin is certainly a good upgrade option and a reasonable choice for
   those who want IBM's vision of client-server, mission-critical
   applications. On the server side, LAN Server and Warp Server continue
   to be successful (primarily as application servers) in the same
   markets.
   
                    Index to Q & A with Michael Miller. 
                                      
   [LINK] [ISMAP]
   Copyright (c) 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company