We've made the decision today that the 16-bit version of QCTerm that's up on
the web page will be the last 16-bit (Windows 3.1-capable) version that will
be released.

QCTerm is 97% converted over to 32-bit now (it's taken two weeks to complete
the conversion) and we're on the home stretch now. From this point on,
there's just no reason to go backwards. It has always been our plan to do
this: release one final version that was 16-bit and move over to 32-bit. It
was just never clear until today when that move would be.

There are a few pecadillos with the current (December 27, 1999) version
that's currently up on the web page, but very few people will ever find them.
In general, it's a stable release. If you need to run QCTerm on Windows 3.x,
then you will want to run the current version until you retire those
machines. There will be no more 16-bit enhancements. However, if there's
anyone on this list that still runs 3.x PCs, they must represent a very small
minority.

Both the current 16-bit version and the next 32-bit release will run
perfectly satisfactorily under Windows 95, 98, 98SE, 98Me, NT 4.0, and 2000.
The only exception to that statement that we've ever found is that some
Windows printer drivers, particularly those for created for HP and Lexmark
inkjet printers "lock up" the 16-bit version of QCTerm when you go to print.
We've determined the problem to be with the printer drivers themselves. They
are 32-bit drivers that were apparently never adequately checked out with
16-bit applications; the point of lock-up lies with Microsoft's 16-bit call
of the printer driver -- which locks, and then locks up QCTerm. It appears to
simply be sloppy programming on the part of whoever created the printer
drivers for the SOHO inkjet printers. Although it is a relatively minor
problem (unless you have it, of course), it is indicative of the general set
of ancillary reasons to stay relatively synchronized with the current version
of the operating system, simply because you're never really programming
against just the operating system alone, but also the general environment in
which it exists as well.

Wirt Atmar