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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Buckley who wrote (33512)	11/9/1999 6:45:00 PM
From: Bob Drzyzgula	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74651

Alan: Hey, thanks for making me look this up! If you browse off to: support.microsoft.com You'll find some interesting details. Best part is that I think it answers the question about what I remember with regard to some weirdness with Win-OS/2. The meat of the Knowledge Base article follows: 1.What is Windows 3.11? How is it different from Windows 3.1? Microsoft Windows 3.11 is a "refresh" release that implements packaging changes designed to reduce counterfeiting. The release also includes some updated device drivers and a few bug fixes to address issues such as diskless workstation support. 2.Why were these changes made? It's been nearly two years since Windows 3.1 was introduced to the market. These new drivers and bug fixes will improve the experience of a customer buying Windows for the first time. Also, these changes had already been incorporated in our Windows for Workgroups 3.11 release. 3.Who should update to Windows 3.11? There is no new functionality in the 3.11 release of Windows and all of the drivers being added or refreshed have been available on the Windows Driver Library and Microsoft's Download Service. So unless a customer is having a problem related to one of the areas covered by the fixes detailed below, there should be no need for them to update to this release. If a customer does need to update they should call Microsoft at 800) 871-3270 for more information. 4.What is the difference between Windows 3.11 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Windows 3.11: Windows 3.11 is simply Windows 3.1 plus the additional video and printer drivers and the five bug fixes described below. As mentioned above, there is no new functionality or performance improvements, features, etc. Windows for Workgroups 3.11: WFW 3.11 offers a number of enhancements to our Windows 3.1 product. WFW 3.11 includes enhanced performance, from 50-150% faster disk I/O and up to 100% faster network access. It also includes integrated networking, Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Schedule+, Microsoft At Work PC Fax, and Microsoft's Remote Access Services, and a number of other enhancements for both standalone and networked Windows PCs. 5.Does Win 3.11 work with OS/2 for Windows? No it does not. From what we have been able to learn without the benefit of source code, which IBM refused to provide Microsoft, OS/2 for Windows patches Windows in memory at fixed address locations. Such a design makes OS/2 for Windows extremely fragile because it depends on Windows code being frozen over time. Microsoft encourages developers to write well-behaved Windows applications using documented application program interface (API) functions and good programming practices. By establishing these ground rules we can move the platform forward and maintain support for these applications. Windows 3.11 did not break any well-behaved applications that we are aware of. Though we regret the inconvenience to customers, IBM has to be responsible for writing well-behaved applications -- they have taken shortcuts with OS/2 for Windows that have put their customers in a bad position. We presume that one or more of the bug fixes incorporated in Windows 3.11 (which were included in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 released November 6, 1993) changed the fixed address locations that are patched by OS/2 for Windows. As a result, OS/2 for Windows no longer runs correctly. 6.Did Microsoft do this to thwart IBM? No we did not. We have been talking publicly about this release since August of last year -- well before IBM even announced their OS/2 for Windows product. Negotiations with Novell and a desire not to interrupt the Christmas selling season caused us to delay, but Windows has been on the market for nearly two years now and we felt that customers would benefit from a refresh of the product. 7.What should customers do that have purchased OS/2 for Windows and want to update to Windows 3.11? IBM has the means at its disposal to permit purchasers of OS/2 for Windows to use it with Windows 3.11. First IBM can release a new version of OS/2 for Windows that patches Windows 3.11 at the appropriate address locations in memory. Second, IBM can provide customers with the KERNEL, USER, and GDI modules from Windows 3.1 that do not contain the bug fixes which apparently are the source of the problem. Alternatively customers can purchase the full OS/2 2.1 product from IBM. 8.What about customers who buy Windows 3.11 and then want to run OS/2 for Windows? We think IBM bears the responsibility for designing OS/2 for Windows in such a way that virtually guaranteed it would break if Microsoft made any changes in Windows. Nonetheless, in an effort to assist our mutual customers, Microsoft will provide purchasers of Windows 3.11 who experience difficulty running the product with OS/2 for Windows with the unimproved Windows 3.1 files which we modified in Windows 3.11 to fix various bugs. Our Product Support Services will distribute these as soon as a diskette can be made available.