OS/2 Archive

eComStation 2.0 RC5 is available for download for users with Software Subscriptions Services subscription. For those who don't know, eComStation is the next evolution of the OS/2 operating system.

"It just might be possible for Linux desktop users to get one of OS/2's best features: SOM (System Object Model). Of course, many of you are asking, 'SOM, What's the heck is SOM?' I'll tell you. It's a CORBA object-oriented shared library. Those of you who aren't programmers are doubtlessly staring cross-eyed at the screen right about now. For you: SOM is an easy-to-use universal programming library that both KDE and GNOME developers could use to create programs that would work in any Linux desktop environment."

IBM pretty much slammed the solid oak door on open sourcing os/2. "As stated in our response to your September 2005 letter we have considered the positioning of os/2 and open source several times in the past, and for a variety of business, technical, and legal reasons we have decided to not pursue any os/2 open source projects."

"Serenity Systems International is pleased to announce the availability of eComStation 2.0 RC4 for download. eComStation 2.0 will offer unparalleled performance with Bootable JFS and support for multi-core CPUs. This is the eighth public beta release of eComStation 2.0. This product is available for download to all registered eComStation customers with active Software Subscription Services. This version of eComStation 2.0 is the fourth Release Candidate, no big changes or additions will be added before the GA version, it mainly consists of updates to drivers and installation scripts."

The second release candidate of eComStation 2.0 has been released. "This is the sixth public beta release of eComStation 2.0. This product is available for download to all registered eCS customers with active Software Subscription Services (see this explanation). This version of eComStation 2.0 is the second Release Candidate, no big changes or additions will be added before the GA version, it mainly consists of updates to drivers and installation scripts."

"The latest release candidate for eComStation has been released and it has some new interesting features as well. We wanted to take a look at it to see how easy it is to install. Why? Well, for many users the installation procedure has been and still is a painfull chapter when it comes to OS2 and eComStation. So in this article we will primarily focus on how easy this RC1 release installs on various pieces of hardware."

"Serenity Systems International and Mensys BV are pleased to announce the immediate availability of eComStation 2.0 RC1. This release is available to customers with an active Software Subscriptions Services subcription." There are a lot of changes and new features; you can find them in the announcement and changelog.

OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 is now available for eComStation and OS/2 users. "Effective immediately, Serenity Systems International will be distributing a GA version of OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 to all users who ordered the Support Agreement for OpenOffice.org product. This version has been compiled to run on IBM OS/2 and eComStation as a native application. OpenOffice.org version 1.1.5 will no longer be distributed."

"In this anniversary, I'd like to shed some light about my first-hand experience with , especially since I see many attempts at history re-writing and over-simplification, when people compress OS/2's two decades into a single paragraph. An OS/2 user named Roger Perkins wrote to OS/2 newsgroups ten years ago: "Here's to OS/2's 10th Anniversary on April 2nd! No OS has ever died so many times!"

While browsing some OS/2 news websites, I stumbled upon the usage tutorial included in OS/2 2.1 at GUIdebook (an invaluable website for (G)UI fanatics such as myself). To set the mood: "This tutorial describes how you work with the objects (small pictures) on your screen. Some objects are folders, which contain other objects. Your screen is called your desktop (pictured on the right), which is a folder itself." Have fun, boys and girls, in 1993-style.

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is close to be released for OS/2 and eComStation. Release Candidate 1 is available for immediate download in English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian and Dutch to all customers of an active Support Agreement for OpenOffice.org for eComStation and IBM OS/2, via their download-area at the Mensys Online Shop.

The winter issue of the OS2eCS eZine has been published, with various different articles on, among other subjects, OpenDOC, Warpstock Europe and North America, Lucide, and CBIRC.

The new issue of the OS2eCS 'ezine' (a fancy web 2.0-like word for a magazine on the internet) has been published. "The WorkPlace Shell, A Powerful Jewel of OS/2 and eComStation" and "Setting up a TCPIP Network Printer on eComStation" are just two of the articles in this issue.

The proposed design for Voyager, which aims to become an OS/2 replacement, is now available. "Voyager is the codename for the idea of having a replacement OS/2 on top of modern technology. This idea is the result of around 1.5 years of thinking a lot about what we can do in the future as current OS/2 and eComStation users. Note that it's absolutely impossible to convey what we plan to do in a few sentences. I made a speech on it at Warpstock Europe 2005 that, by itself, took 1.5 hours so you get the point." Read the Voyager FAQ to understand what it actually is and aims to become.