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***** OS2 *****
Following information kindly provided by Steve Kelly (sacman on ICC).
Running Chess Interfaces under OS/2 Warp
----------------------------------------
This help file is provided to help the OS/2 user to get an interface
up and going, as quickly as possible, covering the most common OS/2
and connection configurations. All of the advice given in this
file should also apply to any version of OS/2 beyond 2.0, but has only
been tested on OS/2 Warp versions 3 and 4.
TCP/IP Connections
------------------
The first pleasant surprise is the quality interface available only
to users of the OS/2 operating system. PMICS211.ZIP, available in our
ftp download directories, is absolutely outstanding.
Imagine, if you will, a session where you have, separate from your
main screen, a channel window open for taking part in a discussion in
that channel, a dedicated talk window making a popping sound when
someone "tells" to you, another talk window dedicated to a chat with
just a couple of friends, a digitized guitar-chord crash when another
friend arrives, kibitz windows that limit the comments displayed to
those masters whom you choose while filtering the rabble of others, a
player information window which not only tells you who is logged on
and who is playing, but also allows point-and-click history, finger,
chat, observation and challenging, and with all that going on, ALSO
having several chess boards layered about, all focused in on observing
various games, all going on at one time, all running on top of an
operating system platform built to withstand this punishment.
What I have described is no longer something that chess players
dream about, but rather, something that the OS/2 users do every single
day, with this powerful, feature-packed interface written by Paul
Mitchell from England.
GETTING PMICS UP AND GOING
--------------------------
Installing PMICS to connect to the ICC is simple. Just unzip PMICS211
into any empty subdirectory. From your desktop, pull off a program
template, and point it at (for example) C:\PMICS\PMICS.EXE. Now start
PMICS. Click the settings icon, click "New," name this entry "ICC,"
and then proceed to fill in the settings as follows:
Description: Internet Chess Club
Address: chessclub.com
Port: 50xx, where xx is 00 thru 99
CR->LF: Select it
Timeseal: Turn Off
Handle: Enter Handle
Guest: If you are a registered ICC member, do not select. If
you are a visiting guest, checkmark it.
Handle: Enter your handle here
Password: Enter your password here.
Script: When selected, presents a text box into which you may
enter the ICC commands you wish to invoke upon
entering the ICC. Here is an example of a login
script:
'messages'
'i has arrived.'
Page Two Settings for this dialogue can be used to define text
windows, one of PMICS's most powerful features, But for now, just
ignore them. These settings can also be defined and saved while
operating the interface itself, which is probably the easier way.
All you have to do at this point is connect via SLIP to your Internet
Service Provider, start PMICS, click the login button, select ICC, and
go. That's all there is to it.
Adding Timestamp for OS/2 Support
---------------------------------
To support timestamp for OS/2, do the following:
(1) FTP Timestamp for OS/2 from ftp.chessclub.com.
(2) Unzip these files into your PMICS directory.
(3) Create a desktop icon for Timestamp, point it to the appropriate
exe file with the following parameter:
207.99.5.190 50xx -p 6000
Where "xx" is any number between 00 and 99
(4) Change the following PMICS settings for ICC:
Address: 0.0.0.0
Port: 6000
(5) When you wish to log onto the ICC, run your timestamp icon, and
then run PMICS.
Alternative:
Do steps 1,2 and 5, then write the following CMD file, ICC.CMD:
@ECHO OFF
start C:\PMICS\ PMICS
C:\PMICS\timestmp 208.196.3.66 50xx -p 6000
exit
This assumes, of course, that PMICS and timestamp are both installed
on drive C, in the PMICS directory. Now simply make a desktop item for
this CMD, and now you can connect to the ICC by clicking this icon.
Windows TCP/IP CHOICES:
-----------------------
If migrating to OS/2, you can in fact bring your favorite Windows
interface along with you, if that is what you prefer.
To migrate Blitzin to the OS/2 desktop, simply prepare a program icon
for it, pointed to BLITZIN.EXE. Go to your session settings and choose
either full screen or windowed, as you prefer. Click the "Win-OS/2
Properties" Button, select "Win-OS/2 Settings," select the setting
WIN_RUN_MODE, and select the "3.1 Enhanced Compatibility" button.
Blitzin will not run in the setting's default 3.1 Standard Mode.
There is no need to bother with timestamp settings for Blitzin,
because Blitzin has timestamp built into it, and is fully compatible
with IBM's TCP/IP.
If your windows interface is a TCP/IP aware inteface OTHER than
Blitzin, you may use OS/2 timestamp with it. The steps you would want
to go through are as follows:
(1) Create a program icon for timestamp, as described for PMICS.
(2) Create a program icon for your Windows interface. Follow the steps
described for Blitzin. Lastly, have your interface pointed to
0.0.0.0 6000 rather than to the ICC directly.
Now, all you have to do is double click your timestamp icon, and then,
double click your Chess Interface Icon, and you're all set.
Optional: You can in fact run Timestamp for Windows, along with your
favorite Windows interface. It will work, but is not recommended
because while timestamp for OS/2 allows ANY chess interface to address
it regardless of platform, Windows sessions to use it, Windows
Timestamp is accessable only to Windows sessions. The setup is very
similar to the above instructions, substituting Windows Timestamp for
OS/2 Timestamp in step one.
Dial-up's
---------
With the advent of $20 a month SLIP/PPP accounts, the days of the
dialup account are pretty much over. However, should you be in a
position to require a dialup connection, the following instructions
are for installing ZIICS, an excellent DOS interface, by Zek:
Create a program Icon pointed to ZIICS.EXE. It is MANDATORY that you
make the following changes:
Select "DOS Full Screen Session." ZIICS will not run in a DOS
window with many video cards. You can try it if you like, but
don't be surprised if OS/2 won't run it that way.
In the DOS Session Settings, the following change is MANDATORY:
VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION=ON
These are optional, but recommended for performance:
DOS_HIGH=ON
DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT=0
DPMI_NETWORK_BUFF_SIZE=1
EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT=0
XMS_HANDLES=0
XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT=0
HW_ROM_TO_RAM=ON
In this Manner, ZIICS runs using as few resources as possible.
For Windows interfaces which support a dialup connection, all of them
I have ever tried ran well, both in full screen and in windowed
sessions, with default settings. Thus your installation is limited to
creating a program icon on your desktop, and setting it to the
appropriate EXE file. If you wish, use all of the OPTIONAL settings as
explained above for ZIICS to tweak performance, but it's not nessary.
Additional Help
---------------
In summary, OS/2 offers a robust platform for running a myraid of
various interfaces to suit one's taste. Fortunately, with the
development of PMICS211 and OS/2 Timestamp, the OS/2 native options
are now the best options available by far to the OS/2 user, making
initial installation and setup far, far simpler than it was in the not
too distant past.
The above should be able to get you through almost any installation.
However, there is still the possibility that something won't work. If
so, feel free to email me. If it's urgent, ask an admin to do the
following:
(1) Tell the admin you need to call for OS/2 help.
(2) Ask the admin to "finger sacman".
(3) Tell the admin to note that sacman has given permission in
his comments to pass out his home phone number for anyone
needing OS/2 help.
Good chess to you all,
L. Stephen Kelly
lskelly@ibm,net
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