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Subject: PSP Press Release: Next Version of OS/2 Warp
  
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PSP Press Release: Next Version of OS/2 Warp
                   To Gain Broader Industry Capability
  
         Device Driver CD-ROM, OpenGL and TrueType Support
                 Part of Merlin's Compatibility Mix
  
CHICAGO, June 3, 1996...IBM today unveiled several new features in
the next version of OS/2 Warp, code-named Merlin, that will broaden
its compatibility with industry hardware, software and standards. A
device driver CD-ROM, OpenGL APIs and TrueType font support are among
the additions that will make Merlin compatible with emerging and
established technology standards, thereby broadening the solutions
available to customers and protecting their current technology
investments.
  
"We will be making great strides across software and hardware
development fronts with Merlin in order to expand OS/2's reach," said
Wally Casey, vice president of client product management in IBM's
Software Group at Comdex here today. "Combined with speech
recognition, integrated Java capability and a multitude of network
improvements, we believe Merlin will represent a significant
advancement for OS/2."
  
"Corporations must be able to exchange information efficiently among
heterogeneous systems," said Alina Pozark, analyst at the Yankee
Group. "IBM's next version of OS/2 will facilitate this process with
support for cross-platform applications and industry standards, like
OpenGL."
  
                   Software Compatibility:
             TrueType, OpenGL, OpenDoc and Open32
  
IBM has added several features to Merlin that will allow it to run
leading-edge software designed for multiple operating system
platforms. For instance, Merlin will support the widely-used OpenGL
API. OpenGL is a high-quality, portable graphics API from Silicon
Graphics Computer Systems that allows for development of complex
three-dimensional applications in technical and commercial areas like
industrial design, computer-aided design, manufacturing, petroleum
and chemical engineering, scientific visualization and entertainment.
OpenGL support in Merlin will allow applications built with this API
to be developed on OS/2. Licensed by such vendors as AT&T, Cirrus
Logic, Digital Equipment, Hitachi, Microsoft and Sony, OpenGL has
become the industry standard for building high-quality applications
in the fields of engineering, architecture and entertainment.
  
Merlin also will come with support for fonts that were built using
the TrueType font specification. This means that when Windows 3.1
and Windows 95 users exchange documents with OS/2 users, the font
used in the original Windows document will appear the same on the
screen of the OS/2 user. The forthcoming release of Lotus Word Pro
for OS/2 will support TrueType fonts, as well.
  
"Our company is in the process of migrating all of our applications
from Windows to OS/2 because we believe that OS/2 is the most stable
operating system," said William Teags, systems analyst with Advanced
Package Engineering in Phoenix, Ariz. "The ability to use TrueType
fonts will help our migration because several of our employees have
been using forms created with TrueType fonts, which have been hard to
replicate in OS/2."
  
TrueType support in Merlin also will allow OS/2 users to print to any
printer without font substitution occurring at the printer. The
printed document will retain the same typeface, style and color that
the user sees on the screen.
  
In addition to OpenGL and TrueType support, Merlin will come with
OpenDoc** runtime support, giving end users the ability to run
next-generation, object-oriented, component applications based on
industry standards. OpenDoc is a robust architecture for creating
component software that can be shared and customized across
heterogeneous environments. More than 3,000 software developers have
downloaded the OpenDoc developers toolkit for OS/2 since its release
in February.
  
Merlin also will integrate IBM's Developer API Extensions for OS/2
Warp, now known as Open32. Open32, introduced in May of 1995,
consists of more than 800 of the most commonly-used Win32 APIs and
the 300 most common Win32 messages. They enable software developers
to write applications using common source code for OS/2 Warp and
Win32 platforms, simplifying the port of existing Windows, Windows 95
and Windows NT applications to the OS/2 Warp environment. This way,
developers can develop for both the OS/2 and Windows environment at
once, rather than conduct a separate development effort for each
environment.
  
With OpenDoc runtime support and Open32 built into OS/2 Warp,
software developers that build applications using these techniques
will gain a ready installed base and open new business opportunities
for their companies. To date, IBM has sold more than 13 million
copies of OS/2.
  
  
                   Hardware Compatibility:
  Device Driver CD-ROM, GRADD and Enhanced Resource Management
  
Merlin users will have easy access to device drivers that support
thousands of OS/2 devices through a CD-ROM that will come bundled
with the product. Once installed, the CD-ROM immediately will take
the user to a directory of OS/2 device drivers using a World Wide Web
browser, which will provide the most current information about each
one, including how to install it. The directory also will tell users
where to find the device drivers and then will provide a vehicle to
obtain them.  In some cases, users will be able to hot link to a
vendors' Internet home page to download the device driver. In other
cases, they will be able to download the driver directly from the
CD-ROM.
  
This gives OS/2 users a single location to obtain virtually any
driver they need and eliminates the need to search for drivers on
electronic bulletin boards and home pages.
  
"When I set up an OS/2 machine, the last thing I want to worry about
is whether or not I will find a particular device driver, much less
whether or not the driver will install," said Josh Airall, systems
analyst at Cincinnati Bell Information Systems. "With the device
driver CD-ROM that comes with Merlin and the ability to distribute
drivers over a network using OS/2 Warp Server, I will be able to find
the drivers I need and then install them on multiple machines at
once."
  
An enhanced resource manager in Merlin will ease the installation
process for users and ensure that their hardware devices, like
printers and sound cards, have the resources they need in order to
operate. For new Plug-N-Play devices, the resource manager will
detect the device, determine how much memory and other resources it
needs, and then allocate the proper resources to it. In keeping with
IBM's commitment to protect customers' investments, the resource
manager also will detect older devices supported in Merlin and
reserve the appropriate resources for them.
  
In addition, the number of graphics device drivers available for OS/2
will increase after the release of Merlin because the operating
system will support a new graphics device driver architecture, known
as Graphics Adapter Device Driver (GRADD). With GRADD built into
Merlin, hardware developers will have the basic foundation they need
to create graphics device drivers, which significantly reduces the
amount of code they need to write and eases their development
efforts.
  
                         More about Merlin...
  
Merlin, the code name for the next client version of OS/2 Warp, is
currently under development and expected to be generally available in
the second half of 1996. Integrating IBM's latest VoiceType*
technology in speech navigation and dictation, Merlin will be the
first major Intel-based operating system with built-in speech
recognition, taking the concept of ease-of-use to an entirely new
level. It also will be the first desktop operating system to
integrate Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Java programming language. In
addition to its broad industry compatibility, Merlin will provide
customers with unmatched connectivity features, improved systems
management, easier-than-ever Internet access and an improved user
interface that shows off an enhanced version of the Lotus
SmartCenter.
  
 * OS/2 and VoiceType are trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM
 Corporation.
 **OpenDoc is a trademark of Apple Computer Corporation.
 All other product and service names may be trademarks and/or service marks of
 their respective owners.
  
For Internet users, IBM offers complete information about the
company, its products, services and technology on the World Wide Web.
The IBM home page is at http://www.ibm.com. The fastest, easiest way
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enter "99" at the voice menu.