by @Macarlo
Windows 2000 Professional Beta Tester
(Screenshots by Embellish)

 Hi All.
Knightware Software Company (Secant Technologies, Inc.) updated his e-mail client for OS/2, MR/2 ICE - the state of the art for e-mail clients - and released a new beta for Windows platform. This small file (only 1.28MB) with this great fine piece of software gives you the ability to cruise the Net really enjoying this task!! If you are scared with Outlook Express, this hole of viruses; if you consider complicated others e-mail clients, I suggest that you try MR/2 ICE! You will love it at the first e-mail, because MR/2 ICE is not only a soft! It is an authentic piece of digital art, developed on the sacred OS/2 platform, the environment for experts. Now, in Windows version, MR/2 ICE follow being the best in show inside de e-mail clients world. I tested it on my Windows 2000 Professional exhaustive and his performance is simply perfect. I encourage you to download this beta from the developers web site. Try it and  verify for yourself.

With MR/2 ICE no giant files must be downloaded, no complicated steps must be performed in order to install it. Simply unzip the mrw-b25.zip (1.28MB) into a directory that you created for it (e.g. MR2ICE) in the partition that you decide install it and that is all. To start the install process - and launch the soft ready for cruiser the Net, after a very quickly and simple configurating process - the only action needed is a click of mouse on MRW.exe.

Normally betas are not ratted here but for this one I'm forced to evaluate it: Five Butterflies, the maximum for a soft here:
  
Five Butterflies for the best

READ ALSO (FOR OS/2 USERS)

MR/2 ICE v1.47 email client released

MR/2 ICE Email Client Updated

SPECIAL NOTICE!!

MR/2 ICE - Internet Cruiser Edition
An Internet Email Client for OS/2 PM
Current Version: 2.25 Released 02/23/2001

Windows version updated! 02/23/2001
http://nick.secant.com/mr2win.htm

Developers web site:
http://nick.secant.com/mr2ice.htm

Changes in v2.25 for OS/2

A "stability" release before I start changing some internal data
structures and working on threading some other functions.

o More bug fixes, some specifically for the Win32 platform, but many dealing with "core" issues.

o In preparation for a proposed new filter type, there is now a way to queue "new mail" for addition into any account's inbox. Simply, before each poll for new mail, a subdircetory is checked for message files to include as part of the "new mail" process. Using the default MAIL account as an example, placing a message file with a .RCV suffix in the xfer subdirectory of mail (i.e., "mail\xfer\new00001.rcv") will result in this file being included with the results of the next mail poll. If no mail is found via the normal poll route but a single file still exists in the XFER subdirectory, MR/2 will report ONE new message. NOTE THAT the xfer files imported are also deleted.

Photo above shows the welcome message of MR/2 ICE

MR/2 ICE - An Internet EMail Client for Win32.

Copyright (c) 1996-2000, Knightware Software Company.
All rights reserved.

A WORD BEFORE YOU START

MR/2 ICE is an internet e-mail program. Accordingly, before running
MR/2 ICE you must have set up Windows so that it can connect to the
internet. The relevant software and information is provided with the
version of Windows that you are running.

Apart from the software, you will also need to have a valid
connection to the internet through a provider. Your Internet Service
Provider ("ISP") will have provided you with the relevant
information required.

For the remainder of these instructions, it is assumed that you are
already able to connect to the internet, that is, that you have
installed the Windows internet software (including the dialer) and that
you have been given all the necessary information from your ISP.

It is suggested that you read this through before starting the set
up so that you know what will happen. If you want to jump right in,
you can keep this screen open, move it by dragging the blue line at
the top with your mouse and make it smaller by dragging the sides
with your mouse. That way you can keep this text open on the screen
while you do your set up. If the windows overlap you can switch
between this screen and the MR/2 ICE screen by clicking on the
screen you want to see with your left mouse button ("LMB").

To install MR/2 ICE on your Windows simply unzip the pack into a directory and click the MRW.exe (in the photo above you can see his icon near the words <3.21 MB>).

INSTALLATION

MR/2 ICE is designed to be easy to set up and run. Once you are
familiar with the basic operation you will find that there are
plenty of sophisticated features which allow you customize your set
up and optimize you mail operations.

For the moment I am just concerned to get you up and running as
easily as possible. As this text is likely to be read by users with
differing experience with computers in general and Windows in
particular, please excuse me if this text appears to be too simple
or too complicated. Either way I hope that you will find something
of use in it.

MR/2 ICE QUICK START

Here are the simple instructions on installing MR/2 Internet Cruiser
Edition (MR/2 ICE):

Step One:

Create a directory on your hard drive (any partition) and unzip the
MR/2 ICE archive in it.

Step Two:

Type in MRW to start the configuration of MR/2 ICE.  Since you are
starting MR/2 ICE for the first time, the Network Configuration
Screen will be shown.

If there is a problem, simply follow the instructions on your
screen.

Step three:  

You will be asked, in some cases, which method to use to send and
receive mail.

POP3 is the most common method of retrieving mail and SMTP is the
most common method to send mail.

If you received a software package from your Internet Service
Provider (ISP), it may contain a file on how to set up other
software packages.

Please take the time to completely read your ISP's documentation.

If you still do not have all the information you need to complete
this page, please contact your ISP's technical support personnel.

Note: The address for your ISP's POP and SMTP servers might not be
the same.

It is possible that the Personal Address Settings "From" box will be
incomplete in that it may start with the "@" symbol (for example:
"@secant.com"). If this occurs, fill in the details you have been
given by your ISP (or which you might have in your dialer
information).

For example, I would fill in "nick" to complete the address:
nick@secant.com.

Do not worry if you miss this, MR/2 ICE will prompt you to fill it
in before leaving the page.

Photo above shows the configuration window of MR/2 ICE for Internet connections

Step four:  

Setting up your preferences.  Using the mouse, click LMB (left mouse
button) on the USER PREFERENCES tab.  This will switch the notebook
page to the settings you, as the user, can change.

Notice that the top part of the page is for automatic mail handling.  
The default is to automatically check for new mail and to
automatically send new mail when created.  The default time to check
for new mail is two minutes.

You can change any of these settings by checking or unchecking the
settings.  To check or uncheck click LMB on the relevant box. The
tick will appear or disappear. If the tick is there, the item is
"checked". The time interval is changed by clicking in the box and
then typing in the amount of time you want to wait while on line
with your ISP.

You can change the choices here at any time. Unless there is
something that you specifically do want or do not want, I suggest
you stick with the default settings (the "default" is what is
already pre-selected).

The only item I want to comment on here is the first item under
"Default settings". This is "Remove messages from server after they
are fetched". You will notice that this box is not selected (it does
not have a tick). This means that when you get a message, your ISP
will keep a copy in your "mailbox". This can be useful if you are
only trying out MR/2 ICE because the messages will remain there to
be retrieved using your other e-mail program.

It is also useful if you want to read mail in one place (e.g. your
office) but you want to keep all your e-mail files somewhere else
(e.g. at home). In that case you can check your messages at work and
use another computer at home to download and file. The only thing to
be aware of is that, if you NEVER remove the messages from your ISP,
one day, your mail box will get too full to accept new messages.
This is easy to deal with from the MR/2 ICE main window. Click on
"Messages" and then "Purge messages from server". That will clear
out the mail your ISP is holding for you.

Step five:  

Since MR/2 ICE will now work without you having to change any other
settings, click on the left hand corner of the window twice to close
it. MR/2 ICE will switch to the Main Window/In Box which should
contain a couple of messages from yours truly, Nick Knight.  For now
we will ignore these messages.

Photo above shows MR/2 ICE receiving e-mails on @Macarlo's Win 2000 Pro Web IDE (note the extensive pop-menu available for the e-mails management)

CONNECTING

Since MR/2 ICE does not contain a built-in dialer, you must use a dialer
program. If you are not logged on to the Internet you will not be able
to send or receive mail.  As mentioned at the beginning of this file, it
has been assumed that you have already configured your dialer and you
are able to log on.

At this time, please start it and dial your ISP. MR/2 ICE will
either pick up any mail that is waiting for you or, depending on the
configuration choices you may have made, you can press "F2" to
instruct MR/2 ICE to check for new mail.

When your dialer logs on to the Internet, you may have the following
message at the bottom left of the MR/2 ICE screen "POP3 service
unavailable:" followed by the name of your POP server. Pressing "F2"
will cause the program to search for mail and this message will
change to indicate that MR/2 ICE is checking for new mail.

If you need to find a particular message, the file name for it is on
the right hand side of the menu bar.  The file is physically located
in a sub-directory called MAIL under the directory you installed
MR/2 ICE to.

If you cannot get the program to work, or if you want further
information on MR/2 ICE please use your WWW browser and search my home
page at http://nick.secant.com/mr2ice.htm  There you will find the
latest version of MR/2 ICE and a Frequently Asked Question page. I hope
there will also be a complete downloadable manual available soon.

BASIC OPERATIONS

Now that you can receive mail, try to send yourself a message.  You
can create a new message by selecting either the blank message icon
(the first one on the left hand side) or the message drop down menu
(Alt and M keys) then N for New.  Fill in the message header window
with your address as the "to" address, then press the TAB key to get
to the subject and fill in that window with whatever the message
subject is.

If you fail to fill in the "to" address line, MR/2 ICE will note
that it is unable to send the message and returns you to the header
edit window.  However, all MR/2 ICE will do if you fail to put in a
subject is give you a warning and then ask you through a dialog box
if you want to continue or return.

Now you are at the message edit window.  Type in your message and
then press either the SEND button or ALT and S keys at the same
time.  This will place the message in the outbound queue.  Either
the message will be send immediately, or the next time you connect
to your ISP, depending on the setting you selected for automatic
message handling.

You can reply to any message that you receive that contains a valid
"from" address.  Just click on the reply button, and you should be
able to use the same steps as you did when sending a message.  
Notice that the text in the message you received is put in the
message edit window with a ">" next to it.  This is called quoting.  

Do not quote excessively.  It wastes time to quote back to the
sender such items as their signature and other lines placed at the bottom of a message.

Please note that MR/2 ICE supports selective quoting. However if you find that your reply contains more of the original message than is desirable, you can easily delete portions of unwanted quotes by using your mouse, holding down LMB while you drag the mouse across the text you do not want. Release LMB when you get to the end of the passage you wish to remove. The text is now  
highlighted. Press the "Delete" key on your keyboard and the
highlighted text is removed.

The simple editor included with MR/2 ICE allows you to toggle back
to the original message (the "<" button) and then forward to the
reply (the ">" button).  It also allows you to split the screen and
show both windows at the same time (the "-" button").

While reading messages, you can click on Navigate.  This brings down
a menu of many options you can use. If you prefer to use the
keyboard, pressing the alt and N keys together will also select the
Navigate menu. On the right hand side of all menus are the
appropriate keyboard commands that will complete the operation
without using the drop down menu system.

The Right Mouse Button (RMB) is used often.  Try it inside message
index lists, on toolbar buttons, and inside address fields.

Selecting message(s).  Mark the message(s) you want to open with the
mouse and use the RMB to call up the popup menu (or use the main
menu).  Click on OPEN.  Alternately, double click on any single     
message to open it.
        
Outbox:  The Out Box shows all messages sent with status symbols.
Unsent messages have a mailbox icon.  Sent messages switch to an
envelope icon.  There is a resend option on the popup menu (RMB) and
on the viewer screen.  Resending from the viewer screen provides an
optional chance to modify the message first.

If you want to create a new folder to put specific mail in this is
just three clicks away (two, if you are already in the Folders
window).  Click on the Folders tab, then RMB click on an empty space
on the Folders window to pop up the Folders menu.

COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

If you are just itching to get on and play with MR/2 ICE I suggest
you skip the next portion of this file and come back to it later if
necessary. It is not required reading before you can get up and
running. If you close this file now, I hope you enjoy MR/2 ICE.
However if you would like to know more ... I still hope you enjoy
the program but here is some additional information ...

MR/2 ICE provides many more features than are needed just to get
started. The following section deals with command line options that
you might want to use.

Command line switches:

        /Iinifile   Specifies a file where user interface
                    settings (e.g., toolbar visibility and
                    position, window positions) are kept.
                    The default is mr2i.ini.
                
        /Mmailcfg   Specifies the file in which to keep and
                    access your EMail configuration.
                
        /S          Suppresses the polling and delivery of
                    email.  No network access is attempted.
                    
        /T          Toolbar-less operation.  Bypasses the crash
                    caused by some bug in Soft & GUI's CmdLine.exe.
                    
        /L          Logs activity to mr2i.log - debugging
                    information.  Use this option if you experience
                    problems using MR/2 ICE. I would like for you to
                    include the log segment concerns the problem. This
                    will aid in troubleshooting your problem by me.

        /Fn         Select a default font for custom control
                    windows. (Necessary only if problems appear in
                    install)
                    
        /Pnnn       Specify an alternate Pop3 port. (Default is 110)
        
        /-          Minimize on start

        /X          Poll for new mail, exit.
        
        /XS         Poll for new mail, send any queued mail, exit.
                    This option is very useful for use with REXX
                    scripts.
        
        /Cn         Overrides the Code Page setting to n.
        
        /B          Advanced option: TCP/IP buffer sizes.  Defaults
                    to 24000.  Some systems cannot handle this many
                    buffers and MR/2 ICE crashes.
        
        /Qfile      Will add the named file to the MR/2 ICE outbox
                    and exit.  File is assumed to be a properly
                    formed message file.  You can force MR/2 to
                    attempt to send the message via use of the /XS
                    flag.
        
        /Euser@domain
        
                    Starts MR/2 ICE and immediately invokes a new
                    message to the address specified.  For use by a
                    third-party address book program still under
                    construction.

Command-line control of a running copy of MR/2 ICE:  The commands
above will actually cause an existing instance of MR/2, if found, to
do the desired work.  I went the extra step of support this for
multiple accounts, so specifying an account should talk to the right
copy of MR/2 ICE.  So, using the /Q option to queue a file actually
puts it in the outbox of a running copy, and proceeds to send it.
Using the /E option causes a New Message header screen to pop to the
desktop from a running copy of ICE.  Also:
    
        /Qfile  - as described above
        
        /Euser@domain - as described above        

        /+  will restore and bring focus to a minimized/buried
            copy of MR/2 ICE.
            
        /-  will minimize an existing, running copy of MR/2 ICE.
        

CONTACT AUTHOR

Nick Knight  (nick@secant.com)
http://nick.secant.com
Senior Software Engineer
Knightware Software Company
http://www.secant.com

@Macarlo, Inc.
@Macarlo's Shareware & Web
OS/2
Java Lobby Member
Java Site Accredited

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