BEING an OS/2 2.0 user since last June, I feel that I have a right to demand an explanation on the way IBM handled OS/2 2.1 in Hongkong. As we all know, OS/2 2.1 was announced in mid-May and shipping of it started in mid-June, at least in the United States. It is now early July, but this excellent product has yet to be announced in Hongkong. Its predecessor in the form of 2.0, has attracted a number of very dedicated users in the territory who are all waiting eagerly for the new release. A few of my fellow OS/2 users and I have contacted IBM China by telephone to inquire, but they have been very reluctant to give us any further information regarding availability and price. I should be grateful if IBM could give me answers to the following: 1. When will OS/2 2.1 be announced in Hongkong? I imagine IBM China, being a very important operation of IBM, should not have any problem securing stocks for this product. Since the native US version will be sold in the territory, there should also be no delay due to translation. 2. How much will it cost? Will it be available at retail stores, or will it be available exclusively from IBM's authorised dealers? The latter, in my opinion, is a limited channel for distributing OS/2. The product can appeal to many computer users, while the majority of them do not usually have contacts with IBM's corporate market-orientated authorised dealers. I like OS/2 2.0 very much, and I truly want it to succeed. Whenever I have the opportunity, I recommend it to other computer users. However, people cannot switch to OS/2 if they cannot get it. I have heard unconfirmed rumours that OS/2 2.1 will not be available in Hongkong until September. I can always order the software from the US or Australia and, with access to the CIS, I do noteven need to rely on local support. However, I believe OS/2 deserves success in Hongkong as much as in the US. I sincerely hope IBM will consider giving some decent support to OS/2 in marketing and other areas. FRANKIE CHU