It seems that Microsoft’s next version of Windows, Windows 3.0, is an upgrade designed to appeal to a large number of 80386 users, despite Microsoft’s positioning statement that Windows will simply be a transition environment to get users from MS-DOS on 80286 and 80386 micros to OS/2 and Presentation Manager on high end 80386 machines. Indeed, it was only last November that Microsoft’s Bill Gates shared a stage with IBM’s James Cannavino at Comdex in an effort to give credibility to OS/2 (CI No 1,306). However, Windows 3.0, which is expected to appear before June, will have improved memory management and system installation as well as new user interface and configuration software, says Computer Systems News. All these features are likely to appeal to a broad sector of 80386 users and could mean that Windows 3.0 ends up competing with Presentation Manager. But users may be dissuaded from buying Windows 3.0 because of a lack of both new applications and modified old ones that are able to exploit its enhanced-mode operation. Furthermore even if developers come up with such applications, users will have to switch between real mode and enhanced mode when running, respectively, incompatible and compatible applications. This means that they will not get the full benefit of the enhanced mode’s 2Mb memory since real mode is written for systems with less than 1Mb of memory. However, programs that will run in the new environment will be able to benefit from a user interface enhanced via three new programs to replace the old MS-DOS Executive Shell in Windows 2.0. The first of these is Program Manager which enables programs and their files to be grouped into a single icon and launched directly from the screen. File Manager will offer a visual description of files and their locations, while Task Manager helps the user to switch quickly between applications or to deactivate particular windows. Other features include a new macro-recorder facility, improved on-line help facilities, an upgraded Paintbrush program and a new program Smartdrive to handle disk-caching for virtual memory mode use.
