Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Tue 4th Dec 2001 17:47 UTC
IBM's OS/2 has a great history as a workstation operating system, it was a major alternative OS in the '90s. At its peak time in the mid-'90s OS/2 had about 2 million users but the Windows NT and Windows 95 releases broke its further development. This year Serenity Systems has released a new client version of OS/2. This article will introduce you to what OS/2 is all about. You will learn its history, its user interface, and its power under the hood. The article is also accompanied by a number of screenshots.
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OS/2 is being used by some rather significant financial institutions around the world. I don't think they are comfortable with the thought of open sourcing OS/2 to the public. On the other hand, the nice thing about OS/2 is that *lots* and *lots* of things can be done without the source code. What it takes is programmers that are willing to take a look at it. That doesn't mean that you can do *everything* without the source code (like dynamic screen resolution, anti-aliasing fonts, irregular shaped windows - these things can not be done without the source code) - but the networking, the multi-media, the drivers, the file system, and to a great extend, the WPS, can all be fixed, extended, or even out right replaced without too much fan fare.
There are much work to be done. The installation program is not perfect by a long shot. However, lots of work are being done almost immediately after the 1.0 went out the door. This is the first time in the 15 year history of OS/2 that something is being done to modernize the installation process - and yes, we fully expect to have some rough spots in it's first release. The pre-boot screen is being replaced by a multi-page setup (similar to typical bios setting screens). The entire phase 2 installation is going to be replaced by auto-matic NIC detection code, new drivers, loader, and kernel are being integrated into the process. Heck, we might even replace the ugly and totally confusing LVM user interface.
Much more to come, folks!