System Juggles Many Tasks at Once

In April, Microsoft announced a radically new version of its operating system, the basic software required to run a computer. The new version, called OS/2, will not work with the older IBM PCs and XTs, but is designed for the IBM AT and its compatibles, most of IBM’s Personal System/2 computers and other machines that use Intel’s new 80386 central processing unit.

One of OS/2’s most heralded features is its ability to run more than one program at a time. By using a mouse or a keyboard command, users can switch from program to program without having to save their work, exit one program and load new software for another. That will make it possible, for example, to run a spreadsheet, word processing and communications programs at the same time. In other words, the system will enable you to write a letter while your computer is printing a spreadsheet, sorting a database file and communicating with another computer.

This is called multitasking.

Although OS/2 is expected to be available early next year, it will probably be months, if not years, before a large body of software can be developed to exploit the new system. The reason is that in order to function in the multitasking environment, programs will have to be rewritten.

OS/2 is expected to cost about $400 and requires that the machine be equipped with at least 1.5 megabytes of memory (equal to about 1.5 million characters).

But you don’t have to wait, buy new equipment, replace your software or spend a lot of money just to run several programs at once. Quarterdeck Office Systems of Santa Monica has recently released a new version of Desqview, a $130 program that allows any IBM PC to run several programs at the same time. And it works with existing software.

For about two years, I’ve been using an earlier version that has been very reliable and quite powerful. The new version, 2.0, is somewhat easier to use, works with a wider range of computers and monitors and offers several additional features.

The concept is simple: Desqview takes hold of a computer’s memory and assigns portions of it to different programs. So you can run as many programs as your machine’s memory will allow.

Although Desqview will work with as little as 512K of memory, it shines when your computer is equipped with an “enhanced expanded memory board,” such as AST Research’s SixPac Premium and RAMpage boards or Quadram’s EMS+. These boards let Desqview access up to 8 megabytes of additional memory.

Desqview also works with machines equipped with Intel’s 80386 CPU. These run several times faster than their predecessors and can be equipped with up to 16 megabytes of memory that can be used by Desqview. More memory allows you to run more programs at the same time, making it easier to switch from one task to another.

I tested Desqview on a 4-megabyte Compaq 386 and was able to run WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, PageMaker, Ventura Publisher and dBase III simultaneously. All use lots of memory.

Installing Desqview is easy. Happily, it still comes on a single floppy disk. You insert the disk into drive A and type “Install.” The installation program not only copies Desqview to your hard disk but also checks to see what other programs you have and, whenever possible, configures Desqview so that it can immediately run those programs.

The first thing to do when running Desqview is to “open a window.” That’s the command for running a program. It presents a menu from which you select the program you wish to run. The program is then loaded into memory and displayed inside a window. Some programs can run inside small windows; others require the entire screen. Even if the program is running in a window, it can be “zoomed” to fill the screen. The windows allow you to have several programs on the screen at a time.

Running more than one program at a time does create some problems. Like a mother with several kids tugging for attention, the machine’s single CPU must divide its attention between all the programs running. Only one program at a time can run in the “foreground,” while many can run in the “background.” It takes only a keystroke or mouse click, however, to move a program from background to foreground; when in the foreground, a program has the attention of the keyboard and, generally, runs faster.

If a program is running in the background, it can actually be doing something like performing complex calculations. When multiple programs are running simultaneously, they run slower than they would if each was on its own. (However, programs can be configured to sit idle on the screen and in the computer’s memory so that they have very little effect on the operation of other programs.)

When you’re running several programs at once, Desqview makes it possible to move data between them by marking material from one and copying it to another. I moved figures from a 1-2-3 spreadsheet to a WordPerfect document.

Desqview also lets you customize the programs you are running. It has its own macro feature so that you can redefine the meaning of any key or command. I use this to create my own custom command structure so that all my programs use similar commands.

You can also change the way in which the programs display color and text. I never have been impressed at how WordStar looks on a color monitor until I used Desqview to modify the program’s choice of text and background color. With some monitors, you can even display more text. If you have an extended graphics adapter, you can display up to 43 lines of text instead of the standard 25.

One enhancement of Version 2 is the ability to run text and graphic programs simultaneously. You can even run software displaying graphics, such as the PageMaker and Ventura Publisher desktop publishing programs, simultaneously with text-only word processing programs. Quarterdeck has added optional companion programs ($99) that include a date-book, communications program, calculator and word processing. (The word processor uses the same commands as WordStar but is faster and takes up less memory.)

Desqview works with any IBM PC or 100% compatible, including the new Personal System/2 machines. I’ve used it on several systems, including one of the original PCs, and have found its speed and performance to be excellent.

Quarterdeck Office Systems is at 150 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, Calif., 90405, (213) 392-9851.