I am really happy by the amount of support there has been for Eterna since I announced that I did not have the time. Since then, I have recieved dozens of e-mails requesting source material and information about the composure of Eterna. This post will contain information and since I have a computer to work online with on a limited basis, I will hopefully be able to upload some files that will prove usefull for those who want to further develop Eterna.
First off all, you need to be aware that Eterna was NOT based directly from Windows 3.1, but from A Windows NT Tool which created a bootable Disk to perform hardware detection. This Tool was called NTHQ. The boot disk would create a Ramdisk and place a miniture version of Windows 3.1 on this Ramdisk. This version of windows, although technically Version 3.1, was designed for the NT tools and may even contain a hint of NT code since it was designed to run on NT machines. (This is no problem since NT 3.5 shared much common code with Win 3.1, in fact many applications run with Win32's enabled, since Win32's was primarily to enable NT Programs to function on the 3.1 Platform.)
The files included on this bootdisk were dosx.exe plus other executables. I personally have not tried adding win.com, but since I am concerned about copyright matters, I felt that if I stuck to files included with the bootdisk, except for libaries needed for a shell to run, it would be safer since for official purposes, Eterna could be considered an enhanced version of NTHQ and Diagnostics for any platform.
Most of Eterna was designed by taking a base system which ran plain old Program Manager and simply using search engines to locate drivers for Windows 3.1 and replacement programs. So far I have found replacements for these:
Calculator, Notepad, Task Switcher, Program Manager, System Driver, Sound Driver, Some Control Panels, Libaries, and other misc. items.
Within a month orso I will be getting an imac computer and setting it up as a server on an ADSL line with a Static IP. I will be hosting files for Eterna on my server. In the meantime, I will be working on a Web-Installer for users to download items for Eterna such as drivers and programs.
For most of you, the main question about Eterna is wether there is source code or not. No, because it's like a jigsaw puzzle, you find a replacement piece and you take the old one out, put the new one in. It's suprising how many programs there are out there to do better jobs than those supplied by Microsoft. It's a matter of finding them since many 16-Bit applications are losing thier hosts.
It is my sincere hope that someone can begin to look over the source code of WINE and see wether it would be compatible to port it to Windows 3.1, so that the functions can be increased, including support for some Windows 95 32-Bit applications. The whole idea behind Eterna is summed up in our background bitmap: Eternal possibilities folowed by eternal discoveries. With a little work and support, we can have something worthwhile. many have commented on how that even though Eterna may be lacking alot, it does have potential to those who help it. We al realize it is impossible for me to do it alone, and I am thankfull for those who beta tested for me.
I will be in and out in Eterna development, and I will create a site where users can upload new findings. I have an account at sourceforge.net, so I will post here once the project page is up so everyone can benefit.
Please, iether post here to say yeah or naye about the project, for most it doesn't take more than a minute to say that it's ok, but work on this...if you say what's wrong, then it can hopefully be fixed. Also, please post urls of old software and titles you want to see run on Eterna if it doesn't so other know the work that lies ahead!
Thanks For Your Support.
David Scherer
Creator Of Eterna (graphical clone)
