Photo shows Priority Master II running on @Macarlos' s Warp 4.0
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Ted Waldron III is
announcing new features for Version 2.5
of Priority Master II for OS/2 - just released December
22,1998. I, @Macarlo,
registered user of 212 OS/2 programs, including Priority Master II, recommend it
to all OS/2 users! I' m working with dozens of applets running on WPS and I set
the rings with Priority Master II. My Warp 4.0 never crashes!
Upgrades for Version
2.5 - Released 12/22/98
1. This version supports and independant "hot List"
which can be displayed as soon as the Priority Master II Version 2.5 program loads.
The list can hold up to 10 programs and supports the following features:
One button to run all of the programs
Multiple selections allows you select programs from the hot list and run them in
the order selected. One button launches the selected programs.
Edit feature allows editing of the programs parameters and environment
Delete feature supports multiple deletes from the list
Direct access to the Stored Prioritized Programs list (128) for instant inclusion
into the hot list.
One button activation (ESC key) to bring up the "hot list".
The "hot list" can displayed upon program activation by selecting the
Popup on Startup option.
2. The Find Program and Prioritize has benn modified to allow direct inclusion
into the "hot list"
3. The Run Prioritized Programs from list dialog has been modified to add programs
directly into the "hot list" and displays the current number of programs
already in the hot list.
Upgrades for Version 2.4 - Released 9/1/98
1. The restriction that only programs launched with the Auto
Close on Exit option turned on can have the priority in the main window and task
list has been removed. Now you can set the priority and have it show in the main
window and/or task list and exit Priority Master II without automatically closing
all of the programs that you started.
2. The Run Prioritized Programs from List has the following improvements:
Multi-launch capability has been added which allows you to automatically launch
any or all programs in the list at once. When launching more than one program, the
priority scanning logic is automatically disabled. This prevents the priority scanning
logic from detecting lockout priority levels which are very likely when launching
several programs simultaneously.
Programs are launched in the order selected and visually displayed in the processing
status bar. This allows you schedule programs launches. For example, you can select
In-joy first, then a few other programs, then Netscape and PMMail. That way, when
Netscape loads, the default page is loaded and your mail is already loading when
the PMMail appears on the desktop.
Invalid options are automatically disabled and new information and warning messages
have been added to support new features.
Launching a single program now allows you add a title to Presentation Manager(PM)
programs that will appear in the main window and/or CTRL+ESC task list.
The Sort Now becomes un-highlighted after the sort and gets engaged when selecting
a different sort ordering.
The Edit feature works with the multi-selection so that the last selected program's
settings will automatically be displayed for editing.
The multi-selection capability provides for overlapping of processing to allow
multiple programs to launch faster that if they had been launched one at a time.
The multithreaded synchronization design allows a fast machines to launch programs
faster than slow machines.
The Delete button also supports multi-selection so that any number of stored programs
can be deleted at once.
3. Dynamic prioritization allows you change the priority of any Presentation Manager(PM)
program while the program is running. The new priority is reflected in the programs
main window and/or the CTRL+ESC task list. Only valid priorities are presented to
prevent a user level prioritization error. This is done forcefully without using
the priority scanning logic so that you can in effect make the program's priority
so low that it may get very little CPU time. You may also add a title to the program
main window and/or CTRL+ESC task list with or without changing the priority.
4. Selecting the programs banner when it is turned off has been modified to display
immediately as compared to restarting the program in Version 2.3.
5. Online help has been added for all new dialogs.
6.The Show All Priorities, Active Program Snapshot and Auto Scanning have been
improved to display the actual CPU time used by each thread. This makes it easy
to determine which threads are using CPU time and their priority.
7. Program identification helps to make the process of prioritization easier.
Netscape automatically gets the -3 option to engage version 3 features for version
2.02. System monitoring tools like PULSE.EXE and MEMSIZE.EXE are not good prioritization
candidates and are automatically excluded.
8."HOT Foreground" allows you set the foreground priority for any PM
program launched by Priority Master II version 2.4 and gives significantly more
foreground power than standard OS/2. The main window title automatically changes
when the program becomes the foreground application and returns to the previously
set priority when it is placed into the background. You may set the foreground priority
so high that can get virtually 100% of the CPU while in the foreground. No more
foreground delays due to background activity! This is particularly good for file/application
servers using PRIORITY=ABSOLUTE in their CONFIG.SYS. The foreground boost is only
applied if the boost priority is higher than the programs current priority. This
feature was backfit from the Priority Master III prototype.
9. "Crash Protection" for programs started with the Auto Close on Exit
feature has been built into the new design. In all previous releases, if Priority
Master encountered an exception, all programs that were started with the Auto Close
on Exit feature would also terminate. The new design allows Priority Master II to
take and intercept a fatal exception and only have Priority Master II exit while
all PM programs started with the Auto Close on Exit feature remain running.
10. If upgrading from Version 2.2 or 2.3, all user options, including stored program
and environments, are automatically available in Version 2.4 and new option defaults
are programmed into the code to work on the first use of the program.
11. The Dynamically Change Program Priority and/or Title includes a "Pre-Check
Modify" option. This new feature actually performs a detailed analysis of the
program being selected and inspects it for a possible dangerous priority inversion.
A recommendation is quickly provided which gives you a "PASSED" or "FAILED"
status condition. This new incredible feature is the first of its kind! Only available
from ScheduPerformance, Inc.
12. The Auto Recovery Window logic has been enhanced to automatically reset any
Time Critical PM programs launched to Server 31. Here is an example. You are using
Netscape at Time Critical and a page that you load has CGI script that consumes
all CPU time. This can freeze your system. However, the Auto Recovery Window will
be launched and Netscape will be reset to Server 31 and this will recover your system.
You may then change the priority of your program(s) to whatever you want. The default
is 60 seconds and is user selectable for Class, Level and time delay.
13. The cumulative amount of CPU time used on a per thread basis was added for
the Active Program Snapshot and Show All Priorities options. This tells you how
much "wall clock" CPU time is being used and on which thread and at what
the priority. This gives precise identification of CPU "hogs".
14. The Check CONFIG.SYS Utility was enhanced to support both Client and Server
environments when analyzing the system settings.
Bug Fixes for Version 2.4 of Priority Master II for OS/2
The auto-scanning features in the main window's Utilities had a problem in which
the number of seconds to do the scan required two times the actual number. This
has been corrected to use actual seconds for all entries. Note that the scan is
performed in increments up to 10 times per second.
The cancel button on the Optional Parameters and/or Working Environment of the
Find Program and Prioritize did not cancel. This has been corrected.
Upgrades for Version 2.3 - Released 2/8/98
Compatible with everything on OS/2.
Should be compatible with all OS/2 programs. Including programs like Process Commander,
CPU Monitor Plus, and CAD. Even programs that set their own priority. For example,
Netscape Navigator sets the priority of the threads and still gets better response
because the main thread can be prioritized. So punch up the priority and surf faster
while running dozens of programs.
Direct web site access.
Press one button and the Netscape Navigator is launched at Critical 15 directly
to the home page of the Priority Master II for the highest level multi-tasking support
available anywhere on the planet. Not a single multi-tasking related problem has
escaped resolution in over 5 years.
Support for CMD.EXE replacements.
All functions that launch a prioritized CMD.EXE has been modified to provide a
choice of the Warp 3, Warp 4 or installed CMD.EXE. This allows you select arguments
that apply to a particular CMD.EXE version.
More support for visual identification of the priority in the main window title.
Programs like Netscape dynamically alter the main window title. In previous version
this would overwrite the priority stored in the main window. A watchdog thread is
launched for programs using the Auto Close Launched Programs on Exit to dynamically
insert the priority into the main window title. In titles longer than the 60 character
limit, an option is provided to force the priority within the 60 character limit.
Hypertext links were added to navigate the extensive Online Help.
New users were overwhelmed with volume and complexity density of the extensive
and detailed Online Help. Hypertext links appropriate to the various user options
and graphic panels now provide simple high level information with detailed information
available relevant to the current topic. Also, context sensitive help has been
added for all new graphic panels.
Additional information and warning messages have been added to ease a new user
into the world of program prioritization.
Priority override support for all functions.
All functions have been modified to provide a Class and Level selection. Including
the Auto Scanning so that you can decided how much CPU to divert to the various
scans. Older versions relied on the priority in the main window title.
More support for stored prioritized programs.
The Find Program and Prioritize has been modified to automatically insert the the
working directory based on the programs path. This is inserted at the beginning
of the CONFIG.SYS statements for PATH, DPATH, INCLUDE, HELP and BOOKSHELF. This
further enhances the file system performance of the launched application.
The logic has been modified to allow you to continuously enter programs into stored
prioritized list without actually running them when using the Find Program and Prioritize
option.
Even more support for stored prioritized programs.
A new graphic panel has been added to give edit capability for the class, level,
parameters and working directory of all stored prioritized programs. The dynamically
constructed environment for the new session is also presented.
A dynamic in place sort has been added for the stored prioritized programs for
easy location of your favorite program. The sort is done by priority or alphabetically
in increasing or decreasing order and is updated right on the Run Prioritized Programs
From List panel.
A new option has been added to the Run Prioritized Programs From List to automatically
present the dialog when the Priority Master II application is started. This give
fast access to your prioritized programs on startup.
Additional support for automatically closed programs.
A new graphic has been added to view the class, level, path and icon of all programs
launched with the Auto Close Launched Programs on Exit option. This allows you see
if you need to close any programs manually prior to exiting Priority Master II.
More support for user options.
A new graphic has been added to allow selectively resetting up to 19 groups of
options. This resets the complex options selected back to their original settings
for a new user.
Banner page can be selectively turned OFF.
Some people hate to be reminded that the Priority Master II program has been granted
a US Patent. In older releases, this was controlled by having the Information Messages
or Warning Messages ON. Therefore, the only way to turn the banner that appears
in the main window when Priority Master II is started OFF was to turn both OFF.
A new option was created so that just the banner with the US Patent number and startup
information could be turned OFF. Besides, the Information and Warning Messages can
be very helpful to a new user.
The Install program automatically recognizes a previous release.
lnstalling Priority Master II to more than one drive on a system can lead to trouble.
The Install program has been modified to detect a prior install and lock onto that
drive letter by disabling all other drive letters. The new version has to be loaded
on the installed drive. If you want to select a different drive for the Version
2.3 upgrade, then use the Uninstall option first and all valid drive letters will
be enabled when you re-install.
Some Fixes.
The Delete Entry in the Run Prioritized Programs From List has been corrected.
The delay in starting the Auto Scanning required milliseconds and has been corrected
to use seconds.
Upgrades for Version 2.2 - Released 11/25/97
More support for stored prioritized programs.
The Find Program and Prioritize and Run Programs From List have been redesigned
to dynamically enhance the working directory by now including program that install
"SET" variables into the CONFIG.SYS. Version 2.1 would work only for programs
that used standard CONFIG.SYS variables and and several commonly installed ones.
You simply open the the Properties of the Workplace Object and use CTRL+INS to copy
the parms and SHIFT+INS to paste the text into the Priority Master II dialog. All
programs launched with these functions automatically use the US Patented priority
scanning logic and can give the visual priority identification.
Even more support for stored prioritized programs.
The Find Program and Prioritize now can use F11 and Run Programs From List can
use F12 for quick easy access to the dialogs.
More support for the Show All Priorities and Active Program Snapshot.
The speed of getting the reports has been dramatically improved. Also, a new Utility
- Auto Scanning has been introduced. This allows you to select memory usage, active
programs, and swapfile size at precise intervals to get detailed status as the program
runs. You can add comments and print the results or save them to a file for later
analysis.
More support for the Auto Recovery Option.
The Auto Recovery option generates a TIME CRITICAL OS/2 window if the system does
not have any idle cycles or when the PM message queue is hung. Support has been
added to allow advanced users to select the class, level, and delay at which to
start the recovery window and the use the KILL function to avert bad programs or
to do any checking.
More support for the stored options.
Some options were not saved across a reboot. In version 2.2 all options are saved
across a reboot and even if you use the uninstall and then reinstall the program
you will still have your original options. That means that if you enter programs
and preset their priority for the Run Programs From List, you only have to do it
once.
Warning beeps can be turned OFF.
The warning beeps can be turned OFF so as not to annoy others around you.
Upgrades for Version 2.1 Released 9/7/97
More support for stored prioritized programs.
The Find Program and Prioritize now supports parameters and the working directory
just like the desktop icons. Now you can open the settings of a desktop icon and
copy the parameters and working directory into the Find Program and Prioritize option.
The program with its parameters and working directory can be stored into the Run
Programs from List Option. This allows programs like the IBM WebExplorer and even
multi-media applications like the Compact Disc to be started and prioritized with
a double mouse click. The program's icon can viewed by from the Run Programs From
List by using a right mouse button removing the need to memorize the path name.
Extensive working directory environment support allows additional OS/2 applications
to be prioritized. Also, now you can prioritize your command files. Simply select
CMD.EXE (in the OS/2 subdirectory of the install drive) and put the command file
name in the parameters of the environment dialog. Support is built in to properly
format the environment string.
Help buttons for all of the dialog boxes.
Additional help has been added to make using the program easier than ever before.
Extensive Online Help is available for all aspects of multi-tasking on OS/2.
Some Fixes.
The font dialog has been initialized to set a 10 point courier font. This corrects
an error in the window support.
The install program now recognizes multiple installations and will prompt to remove
all old versions by drive letter.
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