ArcaOS 5.0.7 includes refreshed driver content, updated kernel and included software, as well as installation boot fixes since 5.0.6 was released in 2020. If you have experienced difficulty installing previous releases of ArcaOS on your hardware, 5.0.7 may address your issue(s). If installing from USB stick, the image may be created using any major operating system at hand (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and of course, OS/2, eComStation, and ArcaOS). Once built, the USB stick can be inserted into any USB port in the target system to boot into the ArcaOS installer/updater.
This is an important update, as boot issues during installation were a problem on all my machines. I’m hoping this release will address them, since running ArcaOS on real hardware, instead of in a virtual machine, makes me giddy with excitement – especially since an updated, modern browser is on its way, too.
I am not really complaining but I wonder how much more money they could make if they sold the personal edition for $50 or even $25. It is $129 which just seems like a lot in an era of free Linux and years of free Windows updates.
I have fond memories of OS/2 and feel like I would spring up to $50 to have a legit copy of its modern incarnation. Pretty hard to justify over $100 on that kind of nostalgia though.
If they sold a lot more personal edition, I bet a few developers might even bring a few ports that would drive the rest of the ecosystem. It bet it would be a tonne of fun ( but also a bit of work ) to port .NET 6 for example which would be a game changer for ArcaOS I would think.
Perhaps they are still paying some crazy licenses themselves which keeps the price high. Who knows?
I think the key will be how much they have to pay IBM for the license to distribute in the first place…
As interested to try this out as I am purely for nostalgic reasons… I have several things stopping me. Firstly, no DEMO editions to even try it before I spend quite a considerable amount to obtain it if I wish.
The second thing putting me off is the UI – It looks just too out dated where the term “Why would I bother using this?” comes to mind. While I like OS/2 the reality is… there is nothing on it I cannot get on Windows or Linux, and Windows has been a free upgrade path for me now for a long time!
The Lone OSer,
+1, I wouldn’t even consider it without trying a demo either. But then again, I very much doubt I’d be in the target demographic anyways, haha.
I see what you’re saying, it has an older vibe to it. It doesn’t bother me so much though. I don’t know what the value proposition is over linux or windows either. I think it’s mainly for mainly for people who are already invested in OS/2 or want an alternative to 32bit windows. Seems niche, but hey whatever floats people’s boats 🙂
That’s the problem with these niche platforms that have a price tag. People are used to getting the OS for free (or the appearance of free bundled with hardware) these days. Even windows and macos now provide free updates, even if you paid a hidden cost for the original when you bought the physical machine.
Buying an OS just to try out is a frivolous waste of money and very few people would ever do that.
OS/2 might get some sales from corporate users who have things tied in to it, but i doubt such sales would be huge numbers.
Having a price tag just disincentivises hobbyists, who might develop/port open source software or participate in online forums etc just for fun. Even commercial platforms like OpenVMS offered free hobbyist licenses.
I got the personal edition when 5.0 came out but not so sure when 5.1 is released if you have to pay $129 again? That would be the end for me as I find ArcaOS 5.0.x perfectly fits my retro-ish needs and I don’t need the updates (UEFI, GPT etc).
Arca Noae made it perfectly clear they wanted a demo disc but IBM said no for licensing reasons. If you really, really want to try out ArcaOS there’s a leaked 5.0 iso floating around.
How good is this for retro gaming? I think I would rather have a licensed / supported version of this on my old Pentium III box than Windows98 that is… well I never have liked Windows.
OS/2 is great for DOS and 16-bit Windows games, 32-bit games *might* work through Odin (WINE).
Yep same echo here. $129 is too much for having a play with it. I did have a muck around with eCS for um…free for a couple hours a couple years ago. Fun to have a play with. Nostalgia again from 2.1 days and the dozens of floppies onto a Compaq 386… It was awesome back in the day. I wish ArcaOS all the best. With a current browser (like Haiku), people may actually use it!