[3258] in comp.os.os2.announce archive
VENDOR: Process Commander 1.02 for OS/2!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Brad Wardell)
Tue Aug 12 20:39:51 1997
To: os2ann.DISCUSS@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU
Date: 12 Aug 1997 19:05:00 -0400
From: wardell@ibm.net (Brad Wardell)
Reply-To: wardell@ibm.net (Brad Wardell)
Reply-to: wardell@ibm.net (Brad Wardell)
[Followups directed to comp.os.os2.utilities]
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Stardock's system utility, Process Commander has been updated to version 1.02.
If you already have Process Commander, you can upgrade to 1.02 by downloading
Fixkit #2 from Stardock's website:
http://www.stardock.com
The new version addresses a variety of suggestions and reports that have come
from our customers. Specifically, better support for when Netscape hangs,
better shutdown support, and a bunch of enhancements to terminating processes
that had hung your system.
Site licensing is available on Process Commander through Indelible Blue and
other OS/2 resellers. End users can also purchase Process Commander through
either an OS/2 reseller or directly from Stardock at 1-888-STARDOCK. Process
Commander costs $69.95.
For those of you not familiar with Process Commander I am attaching an article
on it:
There are so many reasons why every OS/2 user needs Process Commander. When
Process Commander went into beta, some OS/2 users discovered that it became so
essential to them that they could not imagine running their system without it
again.
So what's so great about Process Commander? What's all the excitement about?
Well, for one thing, now that OS/2 Warp 4 is out and the potential message
queue hang issue is still alive and well, Process Commander's ability to
recover from hangs and lockups makes it pretty attractive. If your system
hangs, slows down, or locks up, by hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del you can often recover.
When you hit the "three finger salute" it now brings up a full screen process
management screen that allows users to usually terminate the process that is
hanging their system.
In other words, if your system has ever hung, you'll want to make sure you get
Process Commander
Another very useful feature is the graphical Process Commander tool that
displays all the running programs. Not only can you modify the priority of
programs, view how much shared memory they use, and lots of other details, but
it is extremely useful in improving system performance. For example, most
users do not realize just how much "stuff" is running on their system on a
"clean" boot up. Lots of unnecessary and usually hidden programs are running
that really aren't necessary that use up memory and CPU. One simple example is
the ARTCHRON.EXE program. In OS/2 Warp 4, this program is loaded whether you
want it or not unless you take action. Most users didn't even know it was
loaded until Process Commander beta testers discovered it. They also
discovered that it was slowing down the system immensely during the OS/2 Warp
4 beta and were able to notify IBM about it thanks to the Process Commander
beta. The ARTCHRON program (which is an auto registration program) is still in
OS/2 Warp 4 though. Users of Process Commander could see that it is loaded,
find out where it is loaded from, terminate it and delete the program from
their system and hence save memory and CPU usage. This is one simple example
of where Process Commander can help and there are plenty of other examples.
In other words, if you want to know what your system is really running and
improve your performance, make sure you have Process Commander.
Process Commander also has a terrific feature that is unique to it: The
Shutdown folder. OS/2 has a "Startup" folder that loads things when you first
boot. The Shutdown folder works just the opposite. When you shutdown your
system, anything in this folder will be executed. For example, let's say that
at the end of the day you want your system to be backed up or you want a virus
scan to be run, just drop that program in the Shutdown folder and it'll be run
when you shutdown.
One common complaint from OS/2 users is that new computers now come with
special "Win95" keys. These might be useful if you're running Windows95 but
for users who have upgraded to OS/2 Warp, they are of no use. But with Process
Commander, you can now assign the Win95 keys to do something. Modifying those
keys is not the only thing that Process Commander does for your keyboard. It
can also allow you to set the boot-up Num-Lock condition (to be ON or OFF) as
requested by thousands of OS/2 users. It can also allow users to swap certain
keys to make their keyboard behave more like a Unix keyboard or terminal
keyboard.
For power users, Process Commander comes with a plethora of command line
tools. Users can actually modify process's priorities from the command line.
It also provides a true KILL -9 capability that many long time OS/2 users can
appreciate. Any function you could imagine performing on a process can be done
from the command line now.
But Process Commander is not just targeted at power users, it is also aimed at
corporate users and IS managers. For IS managers, Process Commander actually
allows remote process management. That is, you can terminate processes on a
remote machine. For example, imagine if your server has hung and it is a
considerable distance away. Instead of having to reboot the server, an IS
manager could logon to it remotely and terminate the offending application
from his or her machine.
Process Commander has been designed from the ground up to be flexible enough
for power users but safe enough for IS managers to place on their corporate
users' desktops. It is remarkably easy to use, has a friendly GUI interface,
has built in advisors that can optionally advise users on what is causing a
system hang and each process is described in plain English. For example,
PMSHELL.EXE isn't just listed, it also explains that this is the main UI for
OS/2. Moreover, all of the above features can be selectively installed such
that IS managers can decide which features they want their users to have
access to.
With these features alone, it's easy to see why so many end users, power
users, and corporations are eagerly looking at Process Commander. Not many
products are truly "must have" but Process Commander would certainly qualify
as a must-have utility for all OS/2 users.
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