The latest version of Reflection began shipping last month, as WRQ released an 8.0 version with certification for Microsoft Windows 2000 and features to make it a better citizen on the Microsoft desktop.

WRQ’s product manager Dave Hebert asserts the Reflection line has 80 percent of the market share among desktops connected to HP 3000s, and WRQ pointed to 11 percent growth in the total number of host access seats. The 11 percent figure includes connections to all of its supported host environments, such as IBM, Unix and HP systems.

The HP suites for its Reflection line were the first products to earn the Windows 2000 certification, Hebert said. The Windows 2000 certification requires that new features be backwards compatible with previous Windows 95 and 98 platforms.

“Most of the functionality that’s been added can be used in Windows 98, 95 or 4.0 with a browser upgrade,” he said. “It’s not just for Windows 2000 users.” Downloading the latest version of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser provides access to new features that tie Reflection closer to the Microsoft design.

“There’s a higher level of interoperability,” he said. “As Microsoft evolved the operating system, especially Windows 2000, we’ve been able to refine a bit and get more in line with the messaging systems inside of Windows.”

Reflection 8.0 introduces features which let the software interact with the Web-enabled features of Visual Basic for Application 6.0 such as support for Visual Studio. WRQ says Visual Basic automation tools help administrators and programmers control PC and host interactions. Reworking its software to the new Microsoft standards did more than earn a certification logo.

“Microsoft did raise the bar on certification, with a 300-page document with guidelines, specifications and recommendations,” Hebert said. “We implement those as they increase our ability to serve the needs of our customer. These are good things to do to make us better citizens on the Microsoft desktop.”

Reflection Deployment Manager has been further integrated with the Microsoft Windows Installer, making it easier to customize installs of the software on clients.

Reflection Hands Free Administration has evolved into Reflection Links in the 8.0 release. Microsoft’s Windows Installer gives WRQ the ability to do centralized management and deployment from any Windows central file server which has a Web front end on it. Links further refines that process, giving Reflection the support of the new Microsoft Active Directory. System administrators can use the feature to control access to the HP e3000 by user, group and organization unit.

Reflection Links has a component that becomes a plug-in to Microsoft System Manager on the Windows 2000 server, Hebert said. WRQ software can be administered as part of Windows 2000 profile settings. Keyboard mapping scripts can be assigned to specific users, for example, as they log in to the e3000.

The Active Directory support lets the software ease administration for roaming users — like an IT manager who must go into an office for 10 minutes to access an HP e3000, then must connect from another building for another 10-minute session. “His profile as a user goes with him,” Hebert said. “Wherever he logs in, he gets the same standard desktop, and the same Start menu with the same programs on there, and Reflection can be one of those.”

WRQ’s changes to the product are designed to reduce the total cost of ownership, Hebert said. Customers on a current maintenance contract for WRQ products for any prior version of Reflection for HP may upgrade to version 8.0 of the same product at no charge. Maintenance contracts are 20 percent of the product’s purchase price per year.

For customers who aren’t on support, list prices to upgrade from earlier versions of Reflection for HP to Reflection 8.0 for HP with NS/VT are $129 per seat for 10 or more seats, or $159 for a single user. Upgrading from Reflection Suite for HP or Reflection for HP, to WRQ’s new Reflection for the Multi-Host Enterprise Professional Edition Version 8.0, costs $229 per seat for 10 or more seats, or $259 for a single user. This Professional Edition includes connectivity for IBM mainframes, AS/400s, UNIX and OpenVMS systems, as well as WRQ’s NFS Connection. Customers must have a current maintenance plan to upgrade to the Professional Edition at this price.