IBM Corp has announced new releases of its AS/400 and 3270 terminal emulation packages for OS/2 environments. The OS/2 2.1 versions have been enhanced, and support for OS/2 Warp has been added. Also announced is a new, combined package providing OS/2 users with support for both AS/400 and 3270 terminal emulation. Both Personal Communications 3270 for OS/2 and Personal Communications AS/400 have been enhanced with predominantly the same features, and indeed, according to Bill Duncan, IBM’s brand manager for SNA communications, the look-and-feel of the two is very similar. They are both native 32-bit applications, supporting local and wide area network environments including Token Ring, Ethernet, NetWare for SAA, TCP/IP, Synchronous Data Link Control, and Twinaxial. Communications via X.25 and ISDN are also provided when the products are configured using Communications Manager/2 v1.1. For mobile users, asynchronous communication via SNA-over-Async, and Hayes Autosync is also incorporated. Support for PCMCIA adaptors has also been added. Other additional features include a record-and-play macro facility, and a Configuration/Installation/Distribution feature for automatic installation across large networks. Duncan said the company introduced the combined 3270-AS/400 version in order to minimise file space, and the run-time footprint, as well as to offer customers a price advantage over the separate packages. Duncan reckons that an appreciable percentage of its customer base will be interested in the combined package, placing the figure in the 20% to 30% range. Called Personal Communications AS/400 and 3270, it has exactly the same features as its component packages. The prices are outrageous when you remember that OS/2 Warp is almost free: Personal Communications 3270 for OS/2 has a base price of $475, with additional licences priced at $400; upgrades will cost $200 for the base product, and $145 for additional licences – and that includes people moving from competitors’ products. Personal Communications AS/400 costs $400, with each extra user costing $330. The upgrade cost is $95, and $145 for additional licences. Personal Communications AS/400 and 3270 is priced at $545 for the base product, and $455 for additional licences, with upgrades coming in at $255, and $190 for additional licences. All of the products are shipping now.
