San Mateo (02/13/98) — IBM Corp. continues to keep OS/2 relevant for its major customers, integrating a newer version of the Java virtual machine (JVM) directly into both the operating system and WorkSpace on Demand, as well as releasing a FixPack for the operating system.The company will announce on Tuesday several enhancements to the operating system’s kernel and video subsystems, as well as improved performance, which will allow IBM’s OS/2 customers to leverage their investment, company officials said.“OS/2 is an operating system that is beleaguered,” said Chris Carrigan, an analyst at Summit Strategies in Boston. “IBM needs to leverage it for as long as they can by giving developers some application development capability, and Java is the way to doing that.” OS/2 Warp Server and WorkSpace on Demand are designed to tackle cost-of-ownership problems and help companies move toward network computing, said Steven King, IBM product manager for Warp Server.“The core of our network computing strategy is built around Java solutions,” King said, “and Warp Server is a premier Java server.”The Java 1.1.4 virtual machine can be integrated into the OS/2 server, clients, WorkSpace on Demand, and into the OS/2 version of Netscape Navigator, giving users the same JVM everywhere. The package also comes with a utility to switch to an earlier version of Java, if needed. WorkSpace on Demand, an OS/2-based thin client, tackles cost of ownership by allowing system administrators to more easily manage computers running a variety of DOS, Windows, and host-based applications, IBM officials said.Also being upgraded is the OS/2 Personal Communication package, which by the end of the month will get several new connectivity features and enhanced security when using telnet through a firewall and an encryption enhancement. Java