Microsoft(R) WinNews Electronic Newsletter, Vol. 2, #2, February 21, 1995 ******************************************* We're almost there. Windows 95 Beta 3 is within days of being complete, which means that the Windows 95 Preview Program is not far behind. Watch for an email in your box titled "Windows 95 Preview Program Ships". That mail will contain your official invitation to participate in the preview program, along with ordering information. There's a lot of material in this issue of WinNews. 1. "Is Windows 95 built on top of MS-DOS?" This piece was written by George Moore, our Windows 95 Program Manager responsible for core components. Although long, it's a very interesting discussion of the design of Windows 95 and the compatibility issues we needed to address. Great reading if you're even mildly interested in OS architecture issues. 2. "Microsoft Stands Behind Video for Windows". Microsoft Senior VP Brad Silverberg explains Microsoft's position on the Apple vs. Microsoft lawsuit regarding Video for Windows. Brad commits to defend not only Microsoft, but also developers using Video for Windows. 3. "Introducing Microsoft(R) Windows(tm) 95" by Microsoft Corporation. Many of you downloaded and read the Windows 95 Reviewers Guide and then wrote and told us we ought to publish it. It seemed like a great idea, so we did. It's available now from Microsoft press for US$12.95. 4. Correction: Reprinted from PC Week, February 13, page 6. This is a simple clarification of Windows 95 Logo policies. 5. Windows 95 Gains Support From Leading Networking- Technology Vendors. An announcement of 32 bit networking clients for Windows 95 being built by Banyan, DEC, FTP Software and Novell. If you're planning to deploy Windows 95 on any of these networks, check this out. 6. Update on the Windows 95 Logo Program. 7. SOFTLIB.EXE: In search of the elusive driver. The Microsoft FTP site can be intimidating to search, as many of you reminded me last month when you couldn't find the Pentium patch for Windows 3.1 (yes - it's there now). Product Support Services has provided a tool called SOFTLIB to make it easier for you to search our driver library. And finally, on a personal note, there are going to be some changes in how we manage this newsletter. WinNews started 8 months ago as an experiment to see if we could effectively fulfill customers information needs using email. With 80,000 subscribers, it's time to move WinNews beyond "experimental" status. So, as of next month WinNews will be managed by the Windows 95 communication group, and there will be a new editor. As always, our goal is to continue to deliver factual and newsworthy content about Windows. This change will allow us to do that better, and to start to impose more editorial discipline on that content. It's been fun, and I hope you've all enjoyed the last 8 months as much as I have. Alec Saunders WinNews Editor ************************************************************ 1. Is Windows 95 built on top of MS-DOS? Many recent books have come out on Windows 95. People interested in learning more about the product should take a look. They are a great tool to learn more about the product. One of these books "Unauthorized Windows 95" has prompted some questions about Windows 95 and its real mode code. Many have asked if Windows 95 contains MS-DOS code, and if so, does that mean that it is somehow built on top of MS-DOS. Some have asked if Windows 95 is in fact no different than Windows 3.0 with a few added extra virtual device drivers (VxD's). We'd like to clear up the misconceptions surrounding this issue, and to explain precisely the compatibility reasons behind the architecture of Windows 95. For those of you who have read the book, we've referenced the specific issues it raises. Our goal for Windows 95 was to be completely compatible with Windows 3.x, DOS and existing applications and device drivers. If you look at the system services that Windows 95 supplies, you'd find things like: - process and thread memory management - interprocess communications and synchronization - fully preemptive Win32 subsystem - CDROM and hard disk I/O services - network I/O services - printing services - high level graphics operations - window management - etc. In Windows 95, none of these services are provided by any MS-DOS code. Listed in "Unauthorized Windows 95" are the standard INT 21h functions which are handled by MS-DOS code in Windows 95: - Set/Get Drive (functions 0Eh and 19h) - Get Date/Time (functions 2Ah and 2Ch) - Get DOS Version (function 30h) - Dup File Handle (function 45h) - Exit (function 4Ch) - Set/Get Program Segment Prefix (functions 50h and 51h) - Create Program Segment Prefix (function 55h) - Create Temp File (function 5Ah) - International (function 65h) - Novell NetWare Get Station Num (function DCh) While it is true that these functions are handled by MS-DOS code, the code itself is running in Virtual 8086 mode, not real-mode as some people have misunderstood ("Unauthorized Windows 95" corrects this assumption on page 43). The reason why Windows 95 implements these functions in this manner is for backwards compatibility with existing real-mode software such as Novell's NetWare Client. All of these functions require the setting or retrieving of some global data structures, and all of these must be propagated down so that these existing real-mode programs or other device drivers continue to work. Since Windows 95 must run all software that runs on Windows 3.x, it is simply not an option to break this class of programs. Another area of confusion between MS-DOS and Windows 95 is the how Windows 95 makes use of the MS-DOS Program Segment Prefix data structure. This structure is used by Windows 95 as a unique identifier for every process that is executing. This PSP structure is conceptually no different than similar structures in other operating systems, such as the PROC structure in Unix. Each PSP is 256 bytes long, and it is the only MS-DOS memory that is used during the execution of Win32 applications. "Unauthorized Windows 95" makes the point on pages 17-18, that Windows NT does not create or use this PSP structure during the execution of it's Win32 applications, and therefore, the argument goes, Windows NT is not using MS-DOS code. However, it is important to realize that Windows NT does not support real-mode device drivers. If a user is running a Win32 application under Windows 95 that is making use of a real-mode network client, he or she would expect to be able to do file I/O to a network server through this client software. And this is exactly what Windows 95 allows: full compatibility with real-mode drivers, even from new Win32 applications which have no knowledge of these real-mode devices. Without this code, you would not be able to map to a network drive using a real-mode NetWare client, and then access files on that drive from a Windows application. The number one design goal of Windows NT was robustness, and it achieves as much compatibility as possible within that area. The number one design goal of Windows 95 is compatibility, and it achieves as much robustness as possible within that realm. A few other issues that were raised in the book are worth discussing. For example, how it would be extremely difficult to reclaim memory from real-mode device drivers such as MSCDEX. Since "Unauthorized Windows 95" was based upon the Beta 1 release of Windows 95, portions of it are out of date and this is no longer true. Starting with Beta 2, Windows 95 does indeed reclaim memory from MSCDEX, but not using methods discussed in the book. This is how it works: after the setup program completes the installation of Windows 95, and it then boots from the hard disk for the first time, there is special code which is executed to see if the protect mode CDFS drivers have completely taken over the CDROM drive on the machine. If so, this code is then able to backtrack and match up the real-mode MSCDEX driver in memory to the appropriate lines in CONFIG.SYS. Those lines are then commented out. This method is much safer than those discussed in the book, plus it leaves an excellent audit trail in CONFIG.SYS for a knowledgeable user to understand. Similar methods are employed on other device drivers that Windows 95 knows to be completely safe to remove, such as third party real-mode disk cache utilities and redundant protect-mode VxDs. Another issue worthy of discussion is the Windows 95 boot process. The book "Unauthorized Windows 95" questions why WINBOOT.SYS (now named IO.SYS) needs to load WIN.COM, and why it couldn't just load VMM32.VXD directly. Again, this is done for backwards compatibility. Windows 95 takes great pains to boot in precisely the same way that Windows 3.1 did by loading the same components in the same order. This is because there are real-mode drivers out there which insert themselves at various places in the Windows 3.1 boot process. If Windows 95 were to bypass the loading of the WIN.COM stub, any driver which expected to insert itself in that location would never be called. Therefore, the end-user's computer would be broken after a Windows 95 upgrade. And finally, there statements in "Unauthorized Windows 95" that Microsoft claims Windows 95 to be a "a complete rewrite" from Windows 3.x. Microsoft has never made such statements, in fact, we have repeated pointed out how we use a great deal of Windows 3.x code for compatibility reasons. Anyone who attended the Win32 Professional Developer's Conference at Anaheim, CA in December 1993 heard this message repeated over and over in many of the sessions hosted by Microsoft developers. Microsoft designed Windows 95 to have the highest degree of compatibility with the myriad of existing MS-DOS and Windows applications in the marketplace. The specific INT 21h functions implemented in Virtual 8086 mode were not simply ported from MS-DOS. Each one of those low-level functions were needed for compatibility with at least one major real-mode device driver. Over and over again, careful tradeoffs were made to insure that a user who upgrades an existing MS-DOS/Windows 3.1 installation will continue to have full use of their machine without needing new device drivers or applications. And sometimes, it works so well, you might mistake it for MS-DOS! As always, we welcome questions about Windows 95 and appreciate your interest. ************************************************************ 2. Microsoft Stands Behind Video for Windows Dear Developer: You may have been confronted in recent days with incomplete information from Apple Computer Inc. concerning Microsoft's Video for Windows (VFW) Software Developer Kit. I want you to know that Microsoft stands behind its products and the developers that use our SDKs to produce their own great products. Because of Apple's aggressive PR campaign on this subject, it becomes necessary for us to clarify our position. Microsoft has only just received information to enable us to begin to evaluate Apple's case against The San Francisco Canyon Company, Intel and Microsoft. Microsoft today told the court, "In light of Canyon's 1993 assignment to Intel, there are serious questions regarding whether Apple in fact owns the code on which its claim is based." This and other fundamental facts are in question in the case. Despite such questions, Apple seeks to rush its case to judgment. Intel and Microsoft are seeking, and Apple is resisting, expedited discovery in the lawsuit in order to fully explore these and other issues which Apple ignores in its statements to you and the press. To that effect, Microsoft announces the following: * First, we will aggressively defend VFW 1.1d against Apple's lawsuit. * Second, if Apple files a lawsuit against you or any other developer for the distribution of VFW 1.1d, Microsoft will defend you. We will stand behind you in your use of Video for Windows and your support of the Windows platform. If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to email mmdinfo@microsoft.com. Brad Silverberg Senior Vice President Microsoft Editors note: a Q&A on this lawsuit is available from the WinNews document servers. The name of the document is APPLEQ.ZIP. ************************************************************ Introducing Microsoft(R) Windows(tm) 95 by Microsoft Corporation 368 pages, $12.95 ISBN: 1-55615-860-2 Pub. Date: February 1, 1995 Introducing Microsoft(R) Windows(TM) 95 The Official First Look at Windows 95 -- From the Windows 95 Product Team INTRODUCING MICROSOFT(R) WINDOWS(TM) 95, from Microsoft Press, is the only book to provide computer users at every level a clear vision of how Windows 95 looks, works, and acts. In this exclusive Microsoft Press special release, the Microsoft Windows 95 product team provides a comprehensive overview of Windows 95. Readers get a description of the features, benefits, and behavior of Windows 95. Whether an individual computer user, a system administrator, a programmer, or an Internet surfer, anyone will find valuable information on every aspect of Windows 95. It includes everything users of Windows have wanted to know about Windows 95 but didn't know where to go for the answers. INTRODUCING MICROSOFT WINDOWS 95 describes the new Windows Interface_and how Microsoft has made using PCs even easier. Also covered are the new 32-bit architecture enhancements and system improvements over Windows 3.1. For those responsible for rolling out Windows 95 within a company, coverage of the new built- in networking functionality in Windows 95, including connectivity with Novellr NetWarer, Microsoft Windows NT(TM) Server, and the Internet, will be especially beneficial. Other topics include: * How Plug and Play simplifies the configuration of PCs and the addition of peripherals * How new system management functionality in Windows 95 makes managing PCs easier for system administrators * How multimedia comes alive and is made easier with Windows 95 * How the new Microsoft Exchange mail client, Microsoft At Work(TM) fax software, and the Microsoft Network online service will expand the world of information for users of Windows 95 * New features you can expect from applications and hardware designed for use with Windows 95 At the end of the book is a fascinating question-and- answer section that will help readers separate rumor from fact. Microsoft Press is the independent book division of Microsoft Corporation and the leading publisher of quality computer books about Microsoft products. Millions of users at all skill levels rely on a complete line of Microsoft Pressr books to make learning and using software easier. Titles ranging from streamlined tutorials for first-time computer users to technical references for professional programmers are distributed to book and software retailers worldwide. Consumers in the United States can also order directly from the publisher at 1-800-MSPRESS and through the CompuServer Electronic Mall (GO MSP). Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. Microsoft and Microsoft Press are registered trademarks and Microsoft At Work, Windows, and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. NetWare and Novell are registered trademarks of Novell., Inc.. CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc. ************************************************************ 4. Correction: Reprinted from PC Week, February 13, page 6. "A Feb. 6 Breaking News item incorrectly stated Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 95 logo licensing terms. Microsoft will continue to require that Windows 95 applications also be able to run on Windows NT. The only exception will be where NT prevents a Windows 95 application from being able to run, as a result of different APIs or features, Microsoft officials said." General information on the Windows 95 Logo program is available in the WinNews forums on CompuServe, America OnLine and other electronic services. Information is also available via the Microsoft Developer Relations Phone-fax service, at (206) 635-2222; relevant documents are numbered in the 130s range. ************************************************************ 5. Windows 95 Gains Support From Leading Networking- Technology Vendors New Software Products Designed for the Open Network Architecture of Windows 95 REDMOND, Wash. -- Feb. 21, 1995 -- Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of beta-test copies from top networking vendors of network-client software designed for the Microsoftr Windowsr 95 operating system. Augmenting the built-in support for the Windows NT(tm) operating system and Novell(r) NetWare(r) servers, the new software products will provide users of Windows 95 connectivity with Banyan(r) VINES(r) and Banyan Enterprise Networking Services (ENS) servers; PATHWORKS(tm) from Digital Equipment Corp.; and client software for UNIX(r)r-based Network File System (NFS) servers from FTP Software Inc. Developed for the open, integrated network architecture of Windows 95, these network-client products support key features such as 32- bit code, seamless integration with the new user interface, Plug and Play, system management, and multiple-client support. The key customer benefits of the 32-bit network architecture in Windows 95 are reduced support costs and the ability to use all the resources on the network more effectively. These benefits are realized through faster network performance, built-in system-management features, and greater system reliability. "Customers are demanding full support for Windows 95 in their heterogeneous network environments," said Brad Chase, general manager of the personal systems division at Microsoft. "The strong support for Windows 95 demonstrated by these industry leaders marks a positive step toward meeting this customer requirement." Windows 95 Integrated Networking: The Well Connected Client Current network clients are not designed to integrate well with one another and typically provide connectivity to only one vendor's server at a time, making support of multiple servers nearly impossible on today's typical desktop PC. Because of the integrated networking built into Windows 95, customers can now seamlessly and simultaneously integrate multiple network clients on a desktop or notebook computer. Microsoft has also simplified the installation and configuration of network software, including support for performing server-based "hands-free" upgrades. Additionally, Windows 95 includes built-in management tools and support for industry management protocols such as SNMP to make running Windows on the network even easier. "Network IS managers currently face the daunting problem of providing manageable, easy-to-use connections to all servers on the corporate network," said Jamie Lewis, president of The Burton Group. "Windows 95 meets this challenge by providing a client architecture that can support multiple network clients simultaneously and transparently." "Banyan has a great deal of experience supporting wide-area, heterogeneous environments," said Donna Angiulo, vice president and general manager of ENS Platforms at Banyan Systems Inc. "By combining Windows 95 with services such as messaging, management and directory, Banyan is giving customers a freedom of choice and the power to find, share, and manage information and resources throughout their enterprise." "Digital continues its strong relationship with Microsoft and its Windows family of operating systems," said Faye Allen, director of marketing, network integration software at Digital Equipment Corp. "The PATHWORKS client for Windows 95 provides our customers with the best of both worlds _ easy access to their enterprisewide data and seamless integration with the Windows 95 desktop." "As the pioneer in developing commercial-quality, PC-based TCP/IP software, FTP Software is proud to continue its long-term commitment to interconnectivity solutions with our upcoming NFS support for Windows 95," said Joanne Daley, director of product marketing at FTP Software Inc. "FTP will deliver innovative information-sharing products with valuable additions, such as our recently acquired viewing and conversion technology, across disparate computing environments." Software Availability The Microsoft Windows 95 Preview Program provides organizations with a low-cost evaluation copy of Windows 95 for testing and deployment planning. For more information on the Windows 95 Preview Program and the most recent Windows 95 information, send e-mail to enews@microsoft.nwnet.com with the words subscribe winnews as the only text in your message. Banyan is conducting a limited beta test in February 1995, followed by an Early Access Program in March. Customers may call (800) 222-6926 for more information. For more information regarding the beta of PATHWORKS for Windows 95, send an e-mail message to PATHWORKS_95 @RANGER.ENET.DEC.COM. For more information regarding the beta of FTP Software, send an e-mail message to "nfs95beta@ftp.com" to request a beta test application form. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. ######### Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks of Novell Inc. in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Co. Ltd. Banyan and VINES are registered trademarks of Banyan Systems Inc. Digital and PATHWORKS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corp. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Ltd. ************************************************************ 6. Update on the Windows 95 Logo Program The new Windows(r) 95 logo was developed to help users easily identify hardware and software products designed specifically for Windows 95. Users can mix and match hardware and software products designated with the Windows 95 logo and be assured that the products are fully compatible with the Microsoft(r) Windows 95 operating system. Microsoft has recently announced some new information on the Windows 95 Logo, for developers of Windows 95-based products. To facilitate the communication of a clear message behind Windows 95 Logo, the current Logo will be gradually phased out of the marketplace. While we had closed the old (Windows 3.1) Logo licensing program as of October 1, 1994, we have received a lot of Logo customer feedback that there is a need to continue using the old Logo for a bit longer. In response, we are temporarily re-opening licensing of the old Logo, through September 1, 1995. Email "winlogo@microsoft.com" to apply. Logo testing for software products will be conducted by VeriTest, Inc., an independent testing laboratory. Logo testing for peripheral hardware devices will be conducted by Microsoft Compatibility Labs. Logo testing for PC systems will be conducted via the "SCT" [Systems Compatibility Test], a test suite provided by Microsoft, performed by the system vendor. For more information, please access the several documents available on the Windows 95 Logo, on the WinNews forums. We will begin licensing the new Windows 95 Logo approximately in April or May of 1995. Logistical information on joining the new program will be made available in March 1995. Keep watching the WinNews forums for these and other details! Editors note: updated logo docs are available on the WinNews Servers. ************************************************************ 7. SOFTLIB.EXE: in search of the elusive driver update. SOFTLIB.EXE is an Access database of the current files in the Microsoft Software Library (MSL). The file can be used to browse the MSL offline to select files you wish to download from the MSL; the database is a monthly snapshot of the MSL and is be updated once a month. For a more current listing, the Microsoft FTP site contains an index which is updated daily. (ftp.microsoft.com) To access the most current index on the Microsoft FTP site, change directories to the softlib directory and Get, INDEX.TXT, a listing of file dates, names, and titles, for all files in the Software Library. To locate a file on the Microsoft FTP site change directories to the SOFTLIB\MSLFILES directory and Get, .EXE. ************************************************************ WinNews Servers WinNews servers have been updated this month. I have pulled the ASCII and Postscript versions of the files, and from now on will be distributing files in Word 6 format only. If you can't read a Word 6 file, download WORDVU.EXE from the WinNews servers. This is a viewer program that will allow you to read a Word 6 file. New files: CRIT.ZIP Windows 95 Logo -- Technical Criteria DIVE2.ZIP Diving into the Windows 95 Logo Requirements for Software EGUIDE.ZIP Guide to the Transition to the Windows 95 Logo (February update) EOV2.ZIP Overview of the Windows 95 Logo Program QALOG.ZIP Q&A on the Windows 95 Logo Program FEB.ZIP Windows Logo Update Mailing -- February APPLEQ.ZIP Q&A: Apple vs. Microsoft, Video for Windows On the Internet use ftp or the World-Wide-Web (ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/PerOpSys/Win_News, http://www.microsoft.com). On The Microsoft Network, open Computers and Software\Software Companies\Microsoft\Windows 95\ WinNews. On CompuServe, type GO WINNEWS. On Prodigy JUMP WINNEWS. On America Online, use keyword WINNEWS. On GEnie, download files from the Windows 95 Roundtable. ************************************************************ If you know someone who might be interested in WinNews, feel free to forward this document, provided you forward it in it's entirety, as per the copyright notice below. Permission to quote excerpts from this issue of WinNews may be obtained by sending mail to winnews-owner@microsoft.nwnet.com. If you wish to stop receiving WinNews, send mail to enews@microsoft.nwnet.com with the text UNSUBSCRIBE WINNEWS in the body of your message. If you have received WinNews from someone who is a subscriber and WISH to subscribe yourself, send mail to enews@microsoft.nwnet.com with the words SUBSCRIBE WINNEWS as the sole text of your message. ************************************************************ This document is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to change in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document may be copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and all pages must be included; 2) All copies must contain Microsoft's copyright notice and any other notices provided therein; and 3) This document may not be distributed for profit. Copyright (c) 1995 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.