Software Firm’s Program for DOS 6.0 Users Raises Microsoft’s Ire
TouchStone Software Corp. this week offered a free program to users of the popular DOS 6.0 operating system, and that gesture landed the small software company in a big fuss with industry giant Microsoft Corp.
On Tuesday, TouchStone issued a press release saying it would give away a routine from its diagnostic computer software package that will help customers avoid losing data when they install a feature of Microsoft’s latest version of its operating system--the software that gives a computer the basic instructions it needs to perform.
TouchStone’s CKMEDIA mini-program can be used to prevent problems that result when users install a DOS 6.0 feature called DoubleSpace, which uses an encoding technique known as compression to double the amount of permanent memory available on a computer, TouchStone officials said. The compression problems result from errors in the hard disk, not errors in the DOS 6.0 program, they said.
Shannon Jenkins, chief executive at TouchStone’s Huntington Beach headquarters, said the company would make CKMEDIA available free on the CompuServe on-line computer bulletin board network, as well as other sources, to help prevent problems in installing Microsoft’s DOS 6.0, which has sold more than 3.9 million copies since April.
On various computer bulletin boards and in one trade journal, some DOS 6.0 users have complained about losing data after installing DoubleSpace.
“Since the potential for data loss is such a serious problem for so many users of DOS 6.0, we decided to make the CKMEDIA (program) available to them immediately at no charge,” Jenkins said in a statement Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Brad Chase, general manager of DOS for Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., learned of TouchStone’s action and denied that there were any recurrent problems with the DoubleSpace feature itself.
“I’m deeply concerned this will unnecessarily alarm customers,” he said.
“We have excellent customer satisfaction,” Chase said. “There is no specific set of steps you go through that will mean you will have a problem with DOS 6.0. There are always specific things you can do with computers, such as testing your (hard) disk (drive), that can help protect your data.”
Chase said DOS 6.0 has generated fewer complaints than any other major software package released by Microsoft and was tested at 10,000 sites before its release. Fewer than 1% of product support calls about DOS 6.0 are related to data loss, the company said. Chase said he wondered whether TouchStone might be trying to improve sales of its own diagnostic product, which is one of several on the market.
The CKMEDIA program is one feature of TouchStone’s $149.95 CheckIt PRO: computer program, which diagnoses problems with a computer’s hardware or software. Jenkins said there is some precedent for giving away programs. When a national computer virus scare arose two years ago, companies that make anti-virus programs gave away software to combat the virus.
Jenkins said TouchStone engineers found no “bug,” or programming error, in DOS 6.0, but they did lose data when they installed the program on a computer disk drive with physical defects.
Microsoft’s installation procedure does not warn customers of that risk, though the manual warns them to back up their data before beginning. Jenkins said that can lead the customer down the wrong path. If a user issues a particular command, DOS Format, the disk drive is vulnerable during compression, TouchStone said.
Kevin Strehlo, executive editor of reviews and testing for the trade journal Infoworld in San Mateo, has been critical of DOS 6.0. He examined Microsoft’s product with respect to TouchStone’s claims, however, and said that the issues raised by TouchStone are a “red herring” because users do not need to format their disks before installing DoubleSpace.
Jenkins noted that users have made the mistake of formatting their disks and talked about it publicly on bulletin boards.
Gibson Research Corp. in Aliso Viejo publishes a competing program, the SpinRite 3.1 disk utility program. The company’s president, Steve Gibson, said he thinks Jenkins is crying wolf on the particular DOS format problem. But he said he also thinks use of DoubleSpace can lead to data loss and that Microsoft should do a better job of educating users.
The CKMEDIA program helps to correct defects before installation, especially on older computers, TouchStone said.
Chase of Microsoft says that the problem, if it exists, is so obscure that users will not routinely encounter it.
But Jenkins, speaking of Microsoft, said: “They insist this is not a bug. (But) when people lose their data, I don’t think they care whether it is a bug or not. . . . It is a horrible thing to happen. I think both Microsoft and we agree that people have to educated better to prevent it, sort of like saying that you can drive your car 20,000 miles without changing the oil.”
The DoubleSpace technology was developed by Vertisoft Systems in San Francisco.
Vertisoft Systems President Anatoly Tikhman acknowledged that a senior engineer from his firm helped TouchStone decipher DoubleSpace, but he said his company offers its own solution, SPACEMANager 1.5 for $49.95, and he could not endorse TouchStone’s program.
By Thursday afternoon, after Microsoft officials spoke with TouchStone, the companies agreed to issue a joint press release, but they later scrapped those plans.
And to Jenkins’ dismay, Microsoft officials said they will remove the TouchStone solution from the DOS electronic forum on CompuServe, saying that they do not want to endorse a particular vendor’s diagnostic product. Instead, the solution was posted on CompuServe’s Zenith and IBM forums. The CKMEDIA program is also available on America Online and from some computer retailers.
Jenkins said local computer store managers have expressed gratitude for TouchStone’s willingness to help customers prevent data loss. She said her company stands by its technical work, though she conceded that, in hindsight, she might have worked directly with Microsoft.
“We did kind of blindside (Microsoft) with this announcement,” she said, “and probably should have worked with them.”
Tony Audino, director of marketing for DOS at Microsoft, said the company does not want to appear to be endorsing TouchStone’s program, considering that other companies produce competing products, such as Norton Utilities.
“People should do regular maintenance to avoid problems,” he said. “But what concerns me is to prey upon fear to market a product.”
Said Jenkins: “Aside from all the politics here, we just want people to be aware they should check the tires before they go zooming down the highway at 120 m.p.h.”
