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Results of the e-ball Awards 2009!(Sunday, 29 November 2009 -- 11:16pm)The winners of the e-ball Awards 2009 have been announced at Warpstock Europe 2009 and these are the results: Best eComStation Application OpenOffice.org 3.x (1st) PMViewPro (2nd) DVD/CD Toys (3rd) Best WorkPlaceShell Application NeoWPS + Sunny icons (1st) WPS Wizard (2nd) DragText (3rd) Best eComStation Utility DFSee (1st) Virtual Keyboard/2 (2nd) Samba (3rd) Best eComStation Driver Uniaud (1st) eCUPS (2nd) APC monitor (3rd) Best eComStation Developer Tool Qt4 app framework (1st) GCC 4.4.0 (2nd) wdsibyl (3rd) Best eComStation Game Qt4 fun package (1st) OpenTTD (2nd) ScummVM (3rd) Best Student Tool Python (1st) PMViewMol3D (2nd) teTeX (3rd) Best eComStation Website OS/2 World (1st) eComStation.ru (2nd) os2.org (3rd) Source: URL: http:// OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 GA released(Sunday, 29 November 2009 -- 11:10pm)Effective immediately, Serenity Systems International will be distributing a GA version of OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 to all users who own an active Support Agreement for OpenOffice.org product. This version has been compiled to run on eComStation and IBM OS/2 as a native application. This release replaces OpenOffice.org version 2.4. Source: URL: http://www.ecomstation.com/openoffice/ 20 Minutes With The President(Tuesday, 8 September 2009 -- 3:09pm)I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with our 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama, while he was out promoting his health care reform initiative. I requested 30 minutes given the scope and detail of my inquiry; they said I could have 20. Twenty minutes, 1200 seconds, not a lot of time to question the President about one of the most important events in our nation’s history. The following is a transcript of our remarkable discussion. ———————————————————————————————————————— Charlie Sheen – Good afternoon Mr. President, thank you so much for taking time out of your demanding schedule. President Barack Obama – My pleasure, the content of your request seemed like something I should carve out a few minutes for. CS – I should point out that I voted for you, as your promises of hope and change, transparency and accountability, as well as putting government back into the hands of the American people, struck an emotional chord in me that I hadn’t felt in quite some time, perhaps ever. PBO – And I appreciate that Charlie. Big fan of the show, by the way. CS – Sir, I can’t imagine when you might find the time to actually watch my show given the measure of what you inherited. PBO – I have it Tivo’d on Air Force One. Nice break from the traveling press corps. (He glances at his watch) not to be abrupt or to rush you, but you have 19 minutes left. CS – I’ll take that as an invitation to cut to the chase. PBO – I’m all ears. Or so I’ve been told. CS – Sir, in the very near future we will be experiencing our first 9/11 anniversary with you as Commander in Chief. PBO – Yes. A very solemn day for our Nation. A day of reflection and yet a day of historical consciousness as well. CS – Very much so sir, very much so indeed…. Now; In researching your position regarding the events of 9/11 and the subsequent investigation that followed, am I correct to understand that you fully support and endorse the findings of the commission report otherwise known as the ‘official story’? PBO – Do I have any reason not to? Given that most of us are presumably in touch with similar evidence. CS – I really wish that were the case, sir. Are you aware, Mr. President, of the recent stunning revelations that sixty percent of the 9/11 commissioners have publicly stated that the government agreed not to tell the truth about 9/11 and that the Pentagon was engaged in deliberate deception about their response to the attack? PBO – I am aware of certain “in fighting” during the course of their very thorough and tireless investigative process. CS – Mr. President, it’s hard to label this type of friction as “in fighting” or make the irresponsible leap to “thorough,” when the evidence I insist you examine regarding 6 of the 10 members are statements of fact. (At this point one of Obama’s senior aides approaches the President and whispers into his ear. Obama glances quickly at his watch and nods as the aide resumes his post at the doorway, directly behind me.) PBO – No disrespect Mr. Sheen, but I have to ask; what is it that you seem to be implying with the initial direction of this discussion? CS – I am not implying anything Mr. President. I am here to present the facts and see what you plan to do with them. PBO – Let me guess; your ‘facts,’ allegedly supporting these claims are in the folders you brought with you? CS – Good guess Mr. President. (I hand the first folder of documents to the President) CS – Again sir, these are not my opinions or assumptions, this is all a matter of public record, reported through mainstream media, painstakingly fact checked and verified. (the President glances into the folder I handed him) CS – You’ll notice sir on page one of the dossier dated August of ‘06 from the Washington Post, the statements of John Farmer, senior council to the 9/11 commission, his quote stating, “I was shocked how different the truth was from the way it was described.” PBO – (as he glances down at the report, almost inaudible) …. um hmm…. CS – He goes on to further state “The [NORAD Air Defense] tapes told a radically different story from what had been told to us and the public for two years….” (the President continues to view the documents) CS – On pages two and three, sir, are the statements, as well, from commission co-chairmen Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, commissioners Bob Kerrey, Timothy Roemer and John Lehman, as well as the statements of commissioner Max Cleland, an ex-Senator from Georgia , who resigned, stating: “It is a national scandal. This investigation is now compromised. One of these days we will have to get the full story because the 9/11 issue is so important to America. But this White House wants to cover it up.” He also described President Bush’s desire to delay the process as not to damage the ‘04 re-election bid. They suspected deception to the point where they considered referring the matter to the Justice Department for criminal investigation. Mr. President, this information alone is unequivocally grounds for a new investigation! PBO – Mistakes were clearly made but we as a people and as a country need to move forward. It is obviously in our best interest as a democratic society to focus our efforts and our resources on the future of this great nation and our ability to protect the American people and our allies from this type of terrorism in the coming years. CS – Sir, how can we focus on the future when THE COMMISSION ITSELF is on record stating that they still do not know the truth?? PBO – Even if what you state, might in some capacity, begin to approach an open discussion or balanced debate, I can’t speak for, or about the decisions certain commission members made during an extremely difficult period. Perhaps you should be interviewing them instead of me. Wait, don’t tell me; I was easier to track down than they were? CS – Not exactly sir, but let’s be honest. You’re the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, the buck stops with you. 9/11 has been the pretext for the systematic dismantling of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Your administration is reading from the same playbook that the Bush administration foisted on America through documented secrecy and deception. PBO – Mr. Sheen, I’m having a difficult time sitting here and listening to you draw distorted parallels between the Bush/Cheney regime and mine. CS – Mr. President the parallels are not distorted just because you say they are. Let’s stick to the facts. You promised to abolish the Patriot Act and then voted to re-authorize it. You pledged to end warrantless wire tapping against the American people and now energetically defend it. You decried the practice of rendition and now continue it. You promised over and over again on the campaign trail, that you would end the practice of indefinite detention and instead, you have expanded it to permanent detention of “detainees” without trial. This far exceeds the outrages of the former administration. Call me crazy Mr. President, but is this not your record? PBO – Mr. Sheen, my staff and I authorized this interview based on your request to discuss 9/11 and deliver some additional information you’re convinced I’d not previously reviewed. Call me crazy, But it appears as though you’ve blindly wandered off topic. CS – Sir, the examples I just illustrated are a direct result of 9/11. PBO – And I’m telling you that we must move forward, we must endure through these dangerous and politically challenging years ahead. CS – Mr. President, we cannot move forward with a bottomless warren of unanswered questions surrounding that day and its aftermath. PBO – I read the official report. Every word every page. Perhaps you should do the same. CS – I have sir, and so have thousands of family members of the victims, and guess what; they have the same questions I do and probably a lot more. I didn’t lose a loved one on that horrific day Mr. President and neither did you. But since then I, along with millions of other Americans lost something we held true and dear for most of our lives in this great country of ours; we lost our hope. PBO – And I’d like to believe that I am here to restore that hope. To restore confidence in your leaders, in the system that the voting public chose through a peaceful transfer of power. (An odd moment of silence between us. Precious time ticking away). CS – Mr. President, are you aware of the number of days it took to begin the investigation into JFK’s assassination? PBO – If memory serves I believe it was two weeks. CS – Close. Seventeen days to be exact. Are you aware sir, how long it took to begin the investigation into Pearl Harbor? PBO – I would say again about….two weeks. CS – Close again sir, eleven days to be exact. Are you aware Mr. President how long it took to begin the investigation into 9/11? PBO – I know it must have seemed like a very long time for all the grieving families. CS – It was a very long time Mr. President – four hundred and forty days. Roughly 14 months. Does it bother you Mr. President that it only took FIVE HOURS for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after the initial attack to recommend and endorse a full scale offensive against Iraq? PBO – I am not aware of any such purported claim. CS – I have the proof Mr. President, along with scores of documents and facts I’d like you to take a look at. Here. (I hand him another file – much thicker than the first) PBO – I see you came prepared Charlie. CS – No other way to show up Mr. President. When in doubt over prepare I always say. PBO – Now you sound like the First Lady. CS – That’s quite a compliment sir. PBO – As you wish. Please continue. CS – Sir, I’d like to direct your attention to the stack of documents in the folder I just handed you. The first in from the top is entitled “ Operation Northwoods“, a declassified Pentagon plan to stage terror attacks on US soil, to be blamed on Cuba as a pretext for war. PBO – And I’d like to direct your attention to the fact that the principle draftsman of this improbable blueprint was quickly denied a second term as Joint Chiefs chairman and sent packing to a European NATO garrison. Thank God his otherworldly ambitions never saw the light of day. CS – I wouldn’t be so certain about that Mr. President. PBO – I could easily say the same to you Charlie. (the President checks his watch) featured stories Twenty Minutes with the President soylent green featured stories Twenty Minutes with the President Charlie Sheen writing 20 Minutes with the President. Photo by Alex Jones. CS – The next document reads “Declassified staged provocations.” Now, Honestly Mr. President I wish I was making this stuff up. I’m certain you are familiar with the USS Maine Incident, the sinking of the Lusitania, which we all now know brought us into WW1, and of course the most famous, the Gulf of Tonkin incident. PBO – Of course I am familiar with these historical events and I’m aware that there’s a measure of controversy surrounding them. But to be quite frank with you, this is all ancient history. CS – Mr. President, it has been often said; “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.” And I concede to you sir, these events are the past. PBO – A vastly different world young man, shouldering a radically disparate state of universal affairs. CS – No argument sir, I’m merely inviting you to acknowledge some credibility to the pattern or the theme. Case in point; the next document in your folder. It was published by the think-tank, Project For a New American Century and it’s entitled “ Rebuilding Americas Defenses“, and was written by Dick Cheney and Jeb Bush. To quote from the document sir – (the President interrupts) PBO – “Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor.” CS – Touche, sir. Your thoughts on this statement Mr. President? PBO – I would call this a blatant case of misjudgment fueled by an unfortunate milieu of assumption. For some, the uninformed denial of coincidence. CS – Interesting angle sir. Nevertheless, Vice President Cheney didn’t stop there. In early 2008, Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh and MSNBC, both reported that Cheney had proposed to the Pentagon an outrageous plan to have the U.S. Navy create fake Iranian patrol boats, to be manned by Navy Seals, who would then stage an attack on US destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz. This event was to be blamed on Iran and used as a pretext for war. Does any of this information worry you Mr. President? Should we just ignore it, until these realities can be dismissed years from now by our children, as ancient history as well? PBO – Of course this information worries me, yet it’s not nearly as worrisome as you sitting here today suspiciously implying that 9/11 was somehow allowed to happen or even orchestrated from the inside. CS – Mr. President I am not suspiciously implying anything. I am merely exposing the documents and asking the questions that nobody in power will even look at or acknowledge. And as I stated earlier, I voted for you, I believed in your message of hope and change. Mr. President I have come to you specifically hoping for a change. A change in the perception that our government has not yet made itself open and accountable to the people. These are your words Mr. President not mine. The lives of thousands were brutally cut short and those left behind to suffer their infinite pain are with me today Mr. President. They are with me in spirit and flesh, and the message we carry will not be silenced anymore by media fueled mantras insisting how they are supposed to feel. Deciding for them, for 8 long years, what can be thought, what can be said, what can be asked. PBO – And I appreciate your passion, I appreciate your conviction. In spite of your concerns, in spite of what your data might or might not reveal, what you and the families must understand and accept is that we are doing everything we can to protect you. CS – Mr. President , I realize were very short on time, so please allow me to run down a list of bullet points that might illuminate some reasons why we don’t embrace the warm hug of Federal protection. PBO – We’ve come this far. Fire away. CS – Please keep in mind Mr. President everything I’m about to say is documented as fact and part of the public record. The information you are holding in your hands chronicles and verifies each and every point. PBO – You have five minutes left. The floor is yours. Brief me. CS – Thank you Mr. President. Okay, first; On the FBI’s most wanted list Osama Bin Laden is not charged with the crimes of 911. When I called the FBI to ask them why this was the case, they replied: “There’s not enough evidence to link Bin Laden to the crime scene,” I later discovered he had never even been indicted by the D.O.J. CS – Number 2; FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, was dismissed and gagged by the D.O.J. after she revealed that the government had foreknowledge of plans to attack American cities using planes as bombs as early as April 2001. In July of ‘09, Mrs. Edmonds broke the Federal gag order and went public to reveal that Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban were all working for and with the C.I.A. up until the day of 9/11. CS – Number 3; The following is a quote from Mayor Giuliani during an interview on 9/11 with Peter Jennings for ABC News. “I went down to the scene and we set up headquarters at 75 Barkley Street, which was right there with the Police Commissioner, the Fire Commissioner, the Head of Emergency Management, and we were operating out of there when we were told that the World Trade Center was going to collapse. And it did collapse before we could actually get out of the building, so we were trapped in the building for 10, 15 minutes, and finally found an exit and got out, walked north, and took a lot of people with us.” WHO TOLD HIM THIS??? To this day, the answer to this question remains unanswered, completely ignored and emphatically DENIED by Mayor Giuliani on several public occasions. CS – Number 4; In April 2004, USA Today reported, “In the two years before the Sept. 11 attacks, the North American Aerospace Defense Command conducted exercises simulating what the White House says was unimaginable at the time: hijacked airliners used as weapons to crash into targets and cause mass casualties.” One of the targets was the World Trade Center. CS – Number 5; On September 12th 2007, CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360′, reported that the mysterious “white plane” spotted and videotaped by multiple media outlets, flying in restricted airspace over the White House shortly before 10am on the morning of 9/11, was in fact the Air Force’s E-4B, a specially modified Boeing 747 with a communications pod behind the cockpit; otherwise known as “The Doomsday Plane”. Though fully aware of the event, the 9/11 Commission did not deem the appearance of the military plane to be of any interest and did not include it in the final 9/11 Commission report. CS – Number 6; Three F-16s assigned to Andrews Air Force Base, ten miles from Washington, DC, are conducting training exercises in North Carolina 207 miles away as the first plane crashes into the WTC. Even at significantly less than their top speed of 1500 mph, they could still have defended the skies over Washington well before 9am, more than 37 minutes before Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, however, they did not return until after 9:55am. Andrews AFB had no armed fighters on alert and ready to take off on the morning of 9/11. CS – Number 7; WTC Building 7. Watch the video of its collapse. CS – Number 8; Flight 93 is fourth plane to crash on 9/11 at 10:03am. V.P. Cheney only gives shoot down order at 10:10-10:20am and this is not communicated to NORAD until 28 minutes after Flight 93 has crashed. Fueling further suspicion on this front is the fact that three months before the attacks of 9/11, Dick Cheney usurped control of NORAD, and therefore he, and no one else on planet Earth, had the power to call for military sorties on the hijacked airliners on 9/11. He did not exercise that power. Three months after 9/11, he relinquished command of NORAD and returned it to military operation. * A d v e r t i s e m e n t * efoods CS – Number 9; Scores of main stream news outlets reported that the F.B.I. conducted an investigation of at least FIVE of the 9/11 hijackers being trained at U.S. military flight schools. Those investigations are now sealed and need to be declassified. CS – Number 10; In 2004, New York firefighters Mike Bellone and Nicholas DeMasi went public to say they had found the black boxes at the World Trade Center, but were told to keep their mouths shut by FBI agents. Nicholas DeMasi said that he escorted federal agents on an all-terrain vehicle in October 2001 and helped them locate the devices, a story backed up by rescue volunteer Mike Bellone. As the Philadelphia Daily News reported at the time, “Their story raises the question of whether there was a some type of cover-up at Ground Zero.” CS – Number 11 – Hundreds of eye witnesses including first responders, fire captains, news reporters, and police, all described multiple explosions in both towers before and during the collapse. CS – Number 12; An astounding video uncovered from the archives shows BBC News correspondent Jane Standley reporting on the collapse of WTC Building 7 over twenty minutes before it fell at 5:20pm on the afternoon of 9/11. Tapes from earlier BBC broadcasts show news anchors discussing the collapse of WTC 7 a full 26 minutes in advance. The BBC at first claimed that their tapes from 9/11 had been “lost” before admitting that they made the “error” of reporting the collapse of WTC 7 before it happened without adequately explaining how they could have obtained advance knowledge of the event. In addition, over an hour before the collapse of WTC 7, at 4:10pm, CNN’s Aaron Brown reported that the building “has either collapsed, or is collapsing.” CS – Number 13; Solicitor General Ted Olson’s claim that his wife Barbara Olsen called him twice from Flight 77, describing hijackers with box cutters, was a central plank of the official 9/11 story. However, the credibility of the story was completely undermined after Olsen kept changing his story about whether his wife used her cell phone or the airplane phone. The technology to enable cell phone calls from high-altitude airline flights was not created until 2004. American Airlines confirmed that Flight 77 was a Boeing 757 and that this plane did not have airplane phones on board. According to the FBI, Barbara Olsen attempted to call her husband only once and the call failed to connect, therefore Olsen must have been lying when he claimed he had spoken to his wife from Flight 77. CS – Number 14; The size of a Boeing 757 is approximately 125ft in width and yet images of the impact zone at the Pentagon supposedly caused by the crash merely show a hole no more than 16ft in diameter. The engines of the 757 would have punctured a hole bigger than this, never mind the whole plane. Images before the partial collapse of the impact zone show little real impact damage and a sparse debris field completely inconsistent with the crash of a large jetliner, especially when contrasted with other images showing airplane crashes into buildings. CS – Number 15; What is the meaning behind the following quote attributed to Dick Cheney which came to light during the 9/11 Commission hearings? The passage is taken from testimony given by then Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. During the time that the airplane was coming in to the Pentagon, there was a young man who would come in and say to the Vice President, “The plane is 50 miles out.” “The plane is 30 miles out.” And when it got down to “the plane is 10 miles out,” the young man also said to the Vice President, “Do the orders still stand?” And the Vice President turned and whipped his neck around and said, “Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?” As the plane was not shot down, in addition to the fact that armed fighter jets were nowhere near the plane and the Pentagon defensive system was not activated, are we to take it that the orders were to let the plane find its target? CS – Number 16; In May 2003, the Miami Herald reported how the Bush administration was refusing to release a 900-page congressional report on 9/11 because it wanted to “avoid enshrining embarrassing details in the report,” particularly regarding pre-9/11 warnings as well as the fact that the hijackers were trained at U.S. flight schools. CS – Number 17; Top Pentagon officials cancelled their scheduled flights for September 11th on September 10th. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, following a security warning, cancelled a flight into New York that was scheduled for the morning of 9/11. CS – Number 18; The technology to enable cell phone calls from high-altitude airline flights was not created until 2004, and even by that point it was only in the trial phase. Calls from cell phones which formed an integral part of the official government version of events were technologically impossible at the time. CS – Number 19: On April 29, 2004, President Bush and V.P. Cheney would only meet with the commission under specific clandestine conditions. They insisted on testifying together and not under oath. They also demanded that their testimony be treated as a matter of “state secret.” To date, nothing they spoke of that day exists in the public domain. CS – And finally Mr. President – Number 20; A few days after the attack, several newspapers as well as the FBI reported that a paper passport had been found in the ruins of the WTC. In August 2004, CNN reported that 9/11 hijacker Ziad Jarrah’s visa was found in the remains of Flight 93 which went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At least a third of the WTC victim’s bodies were vaporized and many of the victims of the Pentagon incident were burned beyond recognition. And yet visas and paper passports which identify the perpetrators and back up the official version of events miraculously survive explosions and fires that we are told melted steel buildings. (The Senior aide appears again beside the President whispering in his ear. He then quickly moves off). PBO – Well Charlie I can’t say this hasn’t been interesting. As I said earlier you’ve showed up today focused and organized. Regardless how I feel about the material you’ve presented, I must commend your dedication and zeal. However, our time here is up. (the President rises from his chair , I do the same). CS – Mr. President! One more second! (The President starts towards the door – I follow him quickly step for step). CS – Mr. President, I implore you based on the evidence you now possess, to use your Executive Power. Prove to us all Sir, that you do, in fact, care. Create a truly comprehensive and open Congressional investigation of 9/11 and its aftermath. The families deserve the truth, the American people and the rest of the free world deserve the truth. Mr. President - (He pauses. We shake hands). CS – Make sure you’re on the right side of history. (The President breaks the handshake). PBO – I am on the right side of history. Thank you Charlie, my staff and I will be in touch. (I watch as he strides gracefully out of the room, the truth I provided him held firmly by his side; in the hand of providence.) Source: Charlie Sheen URL: http://www.os2ecs.org/20min-w-president.pdf Mensys, Serenity release eComStation for OS/2 ATMs(Saturday, 5 September 2009 -- 1:53am)Netherlands-based Mensys BV and Serenity Systems International have launched eComStation to help ATM deplolyers prolong the life of their OS/2-based ATMs. According to a news release issued by Mensys, eComStation was developed based on the last version of IBM’s OS/2 Warp 4.52, despite IBM’s withdraw of OS/2 from the market in 2006. The move to Windows-based ATMs is picking up, Mensys says, but since a number of OS/2 ATMs remain in the market, Mensys and Serenity wanted to develop a solution that could help deployers support OS/2 hardware and features required to extend usage of ATMs for marketing and CRM purposes. The move to eComStation builds on NCR’s mid-2008 launch of NCR APTRA Promote Content Service in the United Kingdom, which provides an advertising service for deployers with mixed Windows and OS/2 ATM fleets. Key features of eComStation include: Source: Jeramie URL: http://atmmarketplace.com/article.php?id=11286&prc=26 eComStation 2.0 Silver Release August 28, 2009(Saturday, 29 August 2009 -- 0:30am)Serenity Systems International and Mensys BV are pleased to announce the immediate availability of eComStation 2.0 Silver Release for download. INTRODUCTION This product is available for download to all registered eComStation customers with active Software Subscription Services http://www.ecomstation.com/subscription What's new? This release of eComStation 2.0 has been under development for a long time. This shows in the amount of issues resolved and the amount of code committed. Pre-boot menu changes The Pre-boot menu has been changed to accommodate an easier selection of the target hardware and preset some configuration options automatically. The following options are available: HDA Audio support The support for HDA audio controllers on new motherboards is greatly improved since the previous release candidate of eComStation 2.0. It is now detected and installed on most supported systems. Panorama VESA video driver installation This version of eComStation allows the installation of the Panorama VESA videodriver, to enable accelerated display on video chip-sets currently unsupported by Scitech SNAP. Netware installation This version of eComStation allows the installation of the Netware client software and utilities straight from the regular installer. It is integrated in the network pages and makes it easier to setup eComStation as a workstation in a Netware environment. Disk Resizer GUI This beta has a custom DFSee engine that enables reliable RESIZING of FAT32 and NTFS filesystems to allow shrinking an existing Windows installation to make room for eComStation on the same system. The GUI to this tool has been updated and is now using a graphical interface. To invoke it, please select 'Paritition Resizing Tool' from the Installation Volume Manager which can be called during installation. GenMac support This package provides generic driver support for several network interface cards under OS/2 and eComStation. Moreover, Genmac is enabled to support WPA encryption with the Wireless LAN Monitor 3.x or better. Genmac and the Wireless LAN monitor will be installed when the appropriate hardware is detected by the installer. If it is not detected, you can manually select the driver in the network installation dialog. Bootable JFS This release of eComStation contains the option to install the operating system on a JFS volume. The advantage of doing this is that the amount of disk cache is only limited by system memory (typically 10% of available memory is assigned) This increased cache size gives a huge gain in overall system performance. To install onto a Bootable JFS volume, you will have to select 'JFS' as filesystem type in the 'Format Volume' page of the installer. ACPI 3.17 ACPI support has been updated to the latest available version (3.17) which results in varying success rate. For example, AMD Opteron multicore CPU is now reported to be supported. Installation of ACPI has been improved by the use of the ACPI Wizard, which tries to determine system configuration and set parameters accordingly. You can manually change them of course. It will be run after regular installation has completed. This beta supports the installation of eComStation on a Multi-Core CPU computer. This includes Intel Core Duo, Core2 Duo and AMD 64 X2. To enable it, you can do so in the ACPI Wizard that is launched from the Post Installation tasks at the end of the installation. Alternatively you can start the ACPI Wizard at any time from the install/remove folder in the Local System folder on the desktop. eComStation Virtual File System (Samba client support) Samba is a SMB/CIFS protocols file and print sharing server/client set originally made for UNIX world to cooperate with corresponding Windows and OS/2 servers or clients. eComStation has a native implementation of SMB/CIFS server/client set - IBM LAN Manager and IBM Peer. These products have not been recently updated and may have some compatibility issues with modern Windows SMB/CIFS implementations. Serenity Systems International has reached an agreement with Blueprint Software Works for the inclusion of the 'eComStation Virtual File System' driver which provides support for Samba Client. EVFS GUI There now is a GUI that will make it easier to configure network access using the Samba protocol. There is one big limitation though, the tool cannot determine if a network connection was properly created - so it will not provide sensible feedback on that, instead it will always create a mount point which may be empty if the actual connection fails. The object for this tool is placed in the "Local Network" folder and is called "Virtual Filesystem for SMB". REPORTING General Feedback eComStation 2.0 Silver Release includes the Feedback Wizard, which will start automatically after a successful installation of eComStation. Please use this a as a first method to provide feedback to the eComStation development team. We will use this info for example to quantify the success rate of ACPI support in eComStation. To tell us your findings, please create a report at: http://www.ecomstation.com/support/rc7report/ UniAud To report problems related to UniAud, please refer to http://svn.netlabs.org/uniaud When you create a new ticket, please do always attach logs. You can create all the logs we need, by downloading this package: ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/uniaud/UniInfo.zip Please attach the Uniinfo.zip it creates to your ticket. ACPI To report problems related to ACPI, please refer to http://svn.netlabs.org/acpi Before entering a ticket, please read http://ecomstation.ru/projects/acpitools/?action=logs Collect all the data that applies to your issue and include it with the ticket. TestTeam You are also welcome to join the TestTeam if you want to discuss this beta and future developments. See http://ewiki.ecomstation.nl/TestTeam for more details. Source: URL: http:// Question About Virtualizing OS/2(Wednesday, 12 August 2009 -- 8:33pm)We have an existing OS/2 Warp 4.5 computer that runs our company's voicemail system. There has been a lot of turnover in the telecomm department and currently no one knows anything about the system other than it runs stably. However, the hardware is old and in a white box clunker of a computer, of which there is no backup. We do not have the media for an OS/2 install although we could probably get it if needed. For the software that runs on it, it's not likely this can be located easily. There is no one here who would be able to configure it from scratch. We will at some point need to move to new hardware. Longer term, we'll get a consultant in or coming up with a new system, but shorter term, I'd like to image the hard drive and potentially migrate it to a virtual server. I see that Parallels Workstation supports virtualizing OS/2. My question is, what would the best way of doing this migration? Are there any other concerns I might not be thinking with? Source: URL: http://serverfault.com/questions/56863/virtualizing-os-2-warp/57028#57028 New Features in eComStation v2.0 Silver Release (RC7)(Wednesday, 12 August 2009 -- 6:31pm)New Features: Source: Jeramie URL: http://ewiki.ecomstation.nl/ecomstation20rc7whatsnew Galactic Civilizations 2 Expansion Pack for OS/2 Patch 1.1(Saturday, 1 August 2009 -- 7:05am)Source: URL: http://www.patches-scrolls.de/galciv2_os2_ep.php HOW TO: Getting XP and OS/2 to talk via NETBIOS or NETBIOS over TCP/IP(Saturday, 1 August 2009 -- 7:02am)Here's how to Get OS/2 and XP to talk via NetBIOS or NetBIOS over TCP/IP Source: URL: http://www.os2world.com/content/view/19082/2/ How Microsoft Sabotage OS/2(Saturday, 1 August 2009 -- 7:00am)(Circa 1996....) "So," asks the Big Guy, "any outstanding problems with the project? Are we ready to ship?" "Well sir," answers the Win95 program manager, "just a few things, but nothing we consider critical." He trembles slightly. "What things? What problems?" demands Big Guy. "Well, we are still seeing hangs, you know. Spurious hangs, it's in the project memo" says the PM. A glimmer of sweat appears on his lip. "O/S hangs? Application hangs? Network hangs. What?" drills Big Guy. "All, sir. You see, it's a thunking problem we, uh, believe, and due to legacy restrictions we..." Big Guy waves his hand impatiently and says, "Okay, okay, we can worry about the hangs later. Have marketing head it off and announce the fixes to be product improvements in the next release. What I really want to know," continues Big Guy, "is whether there are real problems with the release. Has anyone been killed using it? Recently, that is?" "Well," the head of marketing joins in, "there were those beta testers back. . ." "I said recently!" snaps Big Guy, "You do know what 'recently' means I assume?" "Uh, yes sir, I do" gulps the marketeer. "No, no actual deaths that can be attributed to this version, except, um. . . " "Except what?" shouts Big Guy. "Well, there was an incident we think was related to an update from OS/2, but I don't think we're entirely certain as to. . ." "OS/2? OS/2! Beautiful! Have our press folks spin it so IBM takes the fall! Perfect. . . Was it ours? Was it our code?" "I'm afraid so, sir," chimes in the R&D project manager, "But we found the problem and fixed it three or four snaps back. It was a little hard finding people to test the fix, but. . ." "You fixed it?! Dammit, put it back in!" screams Big Guy. The R&D manager hastily scribbles notes. "This is it! Perfect!" Big Guy coos, and leans back in his chair as a grin and a dreamy gaze cross his face. . . . Silence around the table, and everybody waits, breathing quietly but deeply and rapidly. The clock ticks toward seven. Suddenly, Big Guy bolts forward in his chair and announces "Ship it. And outline the fixes we'll sell in the next release. Good work." Source: Jeramie URL: http:// Readers Write: How Microsoft got Windows NT(Saturday, 1 August 2009 -- 6:50am)Responding to “The Palm Pre/iPhone Multitasking Myth,” which described the history of multitasking in operating systems, reader Marc Dufresne offered some additional insight into how Microsoft obtained the basis of Windows NT from DEC. I summarized the situation by writing “Microsoft hired Digital’s VMS development team, led by Dave Cutler, and paid them to create an original operating system for Microsoft that could itself be pitted against Unix.” “Well, not quite,” Dufresne writes, “I’m an old DECcie, so I have some inside info on this. When the VAX was viewed to be running out steam in the eighties, Dave Cutler moved to Bellevue WA (officially known as DECWEST, aka DECWET) to develop a new RISC based architecture (PRISM) and the OS (Mica) to go with it. It was supposed to be cheaper and faster than the VAX. ”This was not to be, for a variety of reasons and the project was cancelled. DEC later went forward with a revised version of the architecture, marketed as the Alpha, porting both VMS and UNIX to the new platform. A lot of the story is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEC_PRISM “So, Cutler walked down the street to Microsoft and offered them Mica which became NT. Later DEC sued MS and, in an out of court settlement, got royalties for the filched technology. Part of the deal included targeting NT (back) onto the Alpha platform. ”BTW, this was not an usual procedure at DEC. Many employees left the company with intellectual property from a cancelled project under their arm, with the understanding that if they made it a commercial success then DEC would come back knocking on the door for for royalties.“ Cutler originally began work on Starlet at DEC in 1975, which resulted in the development of the VAX-VMS operating system, experience that is reflected in the kernel design of both Mica and Windows NT. According to a confidential DEC memo from June 1988, hosed by Computer Refuge, Mica was in the process of being refashioned as ”a proprietary operating system that addresses commercial system requirements, VMS compatibility, contemporary computing concepts, and extensibility“ next to PRISM Ultrix shortly before it was canceled and Cutler left for Microsoft. Source: URL: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2009/07/30/readers-write-how-microsoft-got-windows-nt/ OS/2 Leads Readers' Favorite OSs Of Yesteryear--Computerworld(Tuesday, 21 July 2009 -- 0:46am)When Computerworld set out to reminisce about "gone but not forgotten" operating systems, we didn't attempt to be comprehensive, but instead chose to focus on 10 of the most memorable desktop operating systems -- some of which, we cheerfully admitted, are neither true OSs nor completely "gone." Many readers wrote in to laud the operating systems in our list, most notably OS/2. Not surprisingly, we also got many responses from readers quibbling with our choices and wondering how we possibly could have left off their favorite OS. While our list focused mainly on OSs for personal computers, our readers mentioned mainframe, minicomputer, microcomputer, network, distributed and virtual machine operating systems as well. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9130758/OS_2_leads_readers_favorite_OSs_of_yesteryear OS2eCS Org. Server Facilities Hit By Lightening(Saturday, 18 July 2009 -- 10:16pm)On July 15th. 2009, a lightening storm caused a power surge that took out critical network components at the OS2eCS headquarters. The surge happened at around 1am (CST). Repairs have been completed and OS2eCS Org. came back online around 10pm. (CST) on July 18th. 2009. Since our router was hit by the surge, we have upgraded to a newer router. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http:// OS/2 Was a fantastic OS(Wednesday, 8 July 2009 -- 3:21am)A forum with a recent discussion about OS/2 used in ATMs. Source: URL: http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-13416-0.html?forumID=102&threadID=310777&messageID=3108190 News on eComStation v2 GA(Wednesday, 8 July 2009 -- 3:11am)"The following is a short status update on eComStation 2.0. Almost all issues which have delayed the 2.0 GA have been resolved. Most of the remaining work is primarily resolving the issues with the installer and the integration of disparate components. The ACPI feature is now reaching a point that no longer should delay release, any longer. We do expect to continue to improve ACPI usability in the time after GA. = eComStation 2.0 Silver Release = This is anticipated to be the final Release Candidate, the Silver Release. While the last bugs are being ironed out, an initial test release will be provided to the Test Team asap and made available to Software Subscription Services customers a week after that. = eComStation 2.0 GA Release = The Silver Release will be feature complete. Only documentation and "fit and finish" items will be worked. The goal is to have the english version of eComStation 2.0 GA ready in August, 2009. = Want to be in the loop? = Join the Test Team if you would like to be the first to test the new releases. Please drop us a note at testteam-owner@ecomstation.nl if you would like to join. Of course, if you want to help out in other ways then testing, we always welcome active developers to join the eComStation Development Group, eDG. = Twitter = To give you more of an idea what's going on (and in fact that there is actually something going on) we created a Twitter feed from several eComStation development feeds. * eComStation bugtracker (resolved issues) * eComStation CVS changelog * eComStation eWiki changes * eComStation ACPI project at Netlabs You can follow the eComStation Dev Team at: http://twitter.com/eComStation = Thanks for the patience = Serenity Systems International and Mensys BV are certainly aware of the extreme delays this project has had and we appreciate your patience. -- Best regards," -- Serenity Systems International Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.ecomstation.com Uniaud 1.1.4RC7 Has Been Released(Thursday, 12 March 2009 -- 1:49pm)This provides the latest and best to-date Uniaud16.sys. Note that some hardware works better with Paul Smedley's 1.9.x Uniaud32.sys, so some will want to use it instead, some might want to try both. Changes since 1.1.4RC6: Improved ACPI support, with better support for high IRQ's Improved interrupt handling and fixes for stream processing No longer leaves devices in "improper state" Fixed trap on shutdown with SB Live Simplified, self-contained install, and a new uninstaller Updated documentation No longer includes support for HDA. Please use Paul's 1.9.x Uniaud32.sys for HDA hardware. Please help us update the hardware compatibility list to direct ongoing development: http://svn.netlabs.org/uniaud/wiki/SupportedHardware Source: URL: ftp://ftp.netlabs.org/pub/uniaud/uniaud114RC7.ZIP OS/2 Being Discussed in Debian Forum(Tuesday, 17 February 2009 -- 10:35pm)Debian users discussing OS/2. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=35800&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=0b1ac8226adfdbec Interactive Dynamic-system Simulation in Classroom and Lab: Neural Networks, DOS(Sunday, 15 February 2009 -- 9:09pm)Abstract We discuss teaching applications of new personal computer (PC) and workstation programs for simulating dynamic systems and neural networks. DESIRE software permits truly interactive modeling without the usual annoying time delays imposed by FORTRAN compilation and linking. DESIRE/NEUNET brings similar convenience to the interactive design of systems which include neural networks. Neuron-layer interconnections are described in a readable matrix language. We introduce PC simulation under OS/2 and workstation programs for UNIX/OPEN WINDOWS, and dwell briefly on the impact of these new operating systems on educational simulation laboratories Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a775977349~db=all~order=page Tried OS/2 lately?(Sunday, 15 February 2009 -- 9:07pm)A forum discussing OS/2. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://http://68kmla.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6381&sid=b45dffa7caea5a35249db9e1468ff737 Die Windows..Die!(Sunday, 15 February 2009 -- 9:04pm)Microsoft took a bad turn in the late ’80s, when, like the petulant child, decided to take its toys and go home, from Armonk, New York (home of IBM), to Redmond. OS/2 was, at that time, a product just coming into its own, and its only problems were that IBM really did not know how to market to the personal computer market, and Microsoft, with Bill gates at the helm, did. As a matter of fact, I would put forth that that was the one and only remarkable thing about Gates - he has the killer instinct of a great salesman, and knows when to put the fin up! (Forgive me, not all of you know the reference to sharks, it’s a joke about salespeople.) Read More Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.lockergnome.com/theoracle/2009/02/14/die-windows-die/ Firefox 3.0.6 Has Been Released(Sunday, 8 February 2009 -- 2:21pm)Firefox 3.0.6 for OS/2 was release together with the other platforms. Please get it from the Warpzilla Ports page, where the release package, the README file, and the MD5SUM file are linked. Changes over 3.0.5 include fixes for six security issues, one of them rated critical, in cross-platform code. No special changes were applied for OS/2. As usual for these "official" builds, please add bug reports here. For help please go to the mozilla.dev.ports.os2 newsgroup on the news.mozilla.org newsserver. Source: Peter Weilbacher URL: http://www.mozilla.org/ports/os2/ Suggestions Wanted For Next Generation eComStation(Sunday, 8 February 2009 -- 2:16pm)eComStation 2.0 is under construction with a GA release imminent! You can get a sneak preview of the raw power today by installing a release-candidate. Which features would you like to see implement in eComStation 2.1? Share your ideas: * Perfect eComStation -- Join us and submit features you would like to see implimented! (Some users need recovery means, fast boot, installer improvements, support of hardware, better USB support, better multimedia, system files protection, etc.) * What new applications would you like to see? -- Submit your wishlist here. (Some users need internet phones, editors, catalog's, ODBC, vocabularies, etc.) Source: Eugene Gorbunoff URL: http://forum.ecomstation.ru/viewforum.php?f=8 Blonde Guy Computers Reduces Prices on eComStation Computers(Sunday, 8 February 2009 -- 2:06pm)Thanks to increasing demand, Blonde Guy has reduced prices on IBM Thinkpads and new desktop computers with eComStation and OpenOffice preloaded. The $1199 notebook computer is an IBM Thinkpad T43 Model with a high resolution screen (1400 x 1050), wireless Internet (WiFi) and a DVD Multi-Burner. The $1399 desktop computer has a handsome small form-factor case, a removable SATA-2 disk drive for efficient backups, USB ports on the front panel, and a SATA DVD-RW drive. All computers are configured with eComStation 2.0 RC6a, OpenOffice.org 2.40, Firefox 3.0 and Suntan Special. Prices include eCS license and OpenOffice support. Source: Neil Waldhauer URL: http://www.blondeguy.com/ComputersForSale.html A bid for Warpstock Europe 2009(Sunday, 8 February 2009 -- 2:03pm)Well, it looks like we have an interesting bid for holding Warpstock Europe in the north east of Germany, directly at the coast and near to the island of Rügen. Possible dates are November 6 to 8, 13 to 15, 20 to 22, and 27 to 29. The nearest airport is in Rostock: There are some suitable direct connections to Rostock for Vienna and London Stansted. Mostly, you have to fly via Cologne or Munich. An alternative would of course be to fly to Berlin and then take the train. There is a suitable train station not too far from the event location. This bid is currently being evaluated, so any comments, or objections would be very welcome! More information when it becomes available... Source: Peter Koller URL: http://www.warpevents.eu Java 7 for eComStation Project Launched(Saturday, 7 February 2009 -- 11:11pm)The Java 7 OS/2-eComStation Project: We want all the community to be aware of this project, in order not just to create a new port of Java 7, which is interesting just for the complexity of it, but to give OS/2 the tool that will bring a new shine again! The OS/2 port has to have a WPS integration at the end of the road, so every Java development that could be aware of OS/2, should have Object-Oriented(WPS aware) options for printing, adding contextual menus and other WPS facilities. WPS is based on CORBA, so the integration of SOM objects (WPS) and Java should be quite "natural", but without a good framework that joins both of them, that integration could be a complete mess. If you have ideas or want to collaborate you are welcome. Just send an email and you will be in. Greetings! Carlos de Luna Saenz Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: https://java7os2.dev.java.net/ Going Back To OS/2(Saturday, 7 February 2009 -- 2:24am)Well I've been locked inside from some stupid ice storm, so I was cleaning up and I came across my old OS/2 2.0 diskettes. I figured what the hell I have nothing else to do so I'll give it a shot. The PC I use for stating some ancient stuff for work is one of those cool P4 motherboards with PCI and ISA slots. Yes, that's right in the real world I still get called on some shit that requires a custom built ISA card. Anyways my point being this is not an average P4 computer. It's more like the older machines than the newer ones. Don't expect this to work on your average P4. I already have a 320gb western digital hard disk jumpered into `compatibility' mode so that things like MS-DOS can run on it without issues. I figured OS/2 wouldn't notice the difference, nor care. I also wanted to setup OS/2 to dual boot between OS/2 and MS-DOS. Since the version of OS/2 I have is 2.0 that means it comes with WinOS/2 built in, even though it's built around Windows 3.0. However, like in the good old days (were they?) I remember OS/2 being a better place to be doing DOS work, So I took my floppies, started the boot and it seemed like it was working until some random CONTRY.SYS error popped up. Well I know this is a super weird issue, as I don't see how this file could be causing a crash. I did however remember that almost all PC's then required you to not only disable the cpu cache's (internal and external) and to additionally comment out the PS/2 device drivers. Now I know some people would think their PS/2 mouse that they are using is a PS/2 device, it is not, in the sense that these drivers are for micro channel peripherals. So I removed the following lines from the config.sys on diskette #1: basedev=ibm2flpy.add basedev=ibm2adsk.add basedev=ibm2scsi.add I rebooted, and lo, it saw my C drive! So I figured I'd partition the disk later as I recall HPFS not being the fastest thing in the world to format. One word of warning floppies are SLOW and CUMBERSOME... Loading the OS took a while. Once the text mode of the install was complete it did have to remind me that I needed to fix the config.dos & autoexec.dos files for dual boot. I had to simply add shell=c:doscommand.com p To the config.sys and: comspec=c:doscommand.com To the autoexec.bat So I took note of it, and let it reboot for the GUI portion of the install. The first thing that really surprised me is that once the BIOS had done it's reboot I was at the GUI install in a flash. Anyways as fast as that may have been time to shuffle MORE floppies.. It's slow. It's painful. Just as it was in 1992. Once the install is finished it's time to reboot. And again I'm just amazed at how fast this thing boots! I timed it at 3 seconds. But in all fairness it's a 3Ghz P4, with 1gb of ram. It's just a virgin install with nothing in the way of modern functionality. But is it ever FAST. I even checked the syslevel command to verify that 2.0 did indeed have a 16bit graphical subsystem, but it's just so.. responsive. Ok time to fix that. The OS may have been from 1992, but in 2009 anything that isn't networked isn't worth much. I have an Intel Pro/100E network card (PCI) and I was hoping it would work. I dug back into my floppy collection and pulled out my TCP/IP for OS/2 2.0 & 2.1. Naturally this meant MORE floppy shuffling, and after starting the install the LAPS install (some IBM network card abstraction thing that we kind of take for granted today) comes with some predefined IBM network cards, but naturally no Intel PCI network cards. And much to my disappointment there is no option to `add' a new network driver into the mix. Shame on IBM here. I imagine that they later did improve that major shortcoming. In the interim I selected the 3COM Etherlink II card, bound TCP/IP to it, and let the install finish. Afterwards I was able to simply put in my Ethernet driver floppy and copy off the driver & nif file into the C:IBMCOMMACS directory. Then it was a matter of modifying the config.sys to point to the correct NIC, and massaging the protocol.ini .. Certainly NOT for the faint of heart. IBM really did drop the ball here, and while it's as cumbersome as the MS Lanman for dos client, it's so behind the Windows for Workgroups networking. After loading TCP/IP I was saddened to see it easily adding a few seconds to the boot time. For some reason it was vital for OS/2 to display the fact that it's loading the network drivers. I have to admit at this point networking feels as integrated as it was in MS-DOS. Clearly IBM and Microsoft failed it here, and it's no surprise when Microsoft divorced IBM, they took control and made sure that OS components felt like they belonged. One nice thing to say is the telnet client does work great, even if it is from IBM. The tn3270 seems functional but I don't have that much anymore in the way of a mainframe environment to worry about. Much to my amazement I was able to quickly find an IRC client. EzIRC ( http://ftp.undernet.org/clients/os2/ezirc/ ), and I even found service pack 2 for OS/2 2.0 still lovingly kept at IBM's old ftp site ps.boulder.ibm.com. (ps/products/os2/fixes/v2.00/xr06100a) The sad thing about the fixpack was that it required MORE FLOPPIES AGAIN. What was it with the early 1990's? Why couldn't we service pack from a network directory? What if I didn't want to make 19 floppies? It was after the floppy shuffle to bring the release level up to something just prior to OS/2 2.1 when disaster struck. It seems the disk drives were reading the hard disk all wrong, and couldn't read my extended partition.. chkdsk even said it was unable to find the filesytem marker.. Luckily I just quickly booted off floppy (after disabling the cpu cache) and copied the disk driver from the 2.0 #1 diskette, and rebooted and all was well. Very strange. At this point I was hoping for some web action. Sadly every browser thing is for OS/2 3.0 and above. The best I could come up with was lynx 2.8. What is more sad is that it its support for gzip'd pages is screwed up. It's enough to navigate google and some ftp sites, but not good enough for anything more. I feel bad for blind people on this, as it's got to be a major chore to figure out what's wrong with it. It's worth noting that my Word for Windows 2.0 works under this setup. Its good to have the old thing going, as the 64bit windows editions have removed the old WOW 16bit compatibility. My conclusion from the whole exercise is that it's amazing how FAST an assembly written x86 operating system is. You know it's funny how Microsoft sold us down the road of operating systems needing to be portable, the end of CISC, and the need for all this vaporware bullshit... And in the end it's only x86 cpus being sold (I guess nobody except NexGEN could have thought about a RISC cpu doing x86 in hardware...) in any number, and that for the most part, PCs have remained fundamentally unchanged. Although I have to admit that over the years, WindowsNT has grown on me, in that I prefer its dynamic base for device drivers, and I actually like the idea behind the registry. This is where OS/2 is clearly derived from the concepts of MS-DOS with its archaic config.sys & startup.cmd files. It is interesting to think that OS/2 could have been kept mainstream, but of course there was the OEM issue. The bottom line was that as Windows 3.1 shifted to Windows 95, and IBM's source licensing was ending there was no way to guarantee compatibility with win32 applications. I'm sure that even if IBM had relinquished control of the OS/2 GUI to Microsoft, and allowed the WLO project to move forward, Microsoft would have still dumped IBM. But all this doesn't matter. For what it is worth, in early 1990's (was it 1993?) I somehow managed to buy a 486/sx-20 for $20. The job was typical of even today, where the guy's PC was fucked up with a bad load of windows, and all this shitty software dragging it down. He had already "upgraded" to some AMD 486-40Mhz thing, and all I had to do was install Windows 3.1 and setup a printer.... Oh and the board came with 4mb of ram! But I must admit, I ran OS/2 1.3 on it, 4mb of ram just wasn't enough for 2.0... I had just thought it was super cool to download shit @ 2400 baud, and play X-Wing at the same time. Well there was that & and to run `large' programs with Microsoft Fortran 5.1 to do some work for school.. But truth be told, 16bit protected wasn't that much better then 16bit real.. Sure you get more segments, but they are all 64kb. In the end it's always the same though, back to windows. Its too bad I never did get a copy of VirtualPC for OS/2... then I may have kept it around. But with no ability to get email, and the lack of a NetBIOS/TCPIP client working just shows how... lacking OS/2 was. I guess the IBM people used tn3270 to talk to PROFFS. Who knows. I'm sure it was something weird before they absorbed Lotus. Source: Del Griffith URL: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2009/1/29/17948/3078 VOICE WebSite is Moving to a New Location(Friday, 30 January 2009 -- 4:07pm)Dear VOICE members/ eComStation/OS2 users, Over the next couple of days we will move the OS/2 Voice website to a new home. In the coming days you could experience not reaching the website for a couple of days as its moved. Best regards, Roderick Klein President VOICE Source: Roderick Klein URL: http://www.os2voice.org That's how OS/2 was killed...(Friday, 30 January 2009 -- 4:06am)In reply to: That's how OS/2 was killed... by khim Parent article: Obama Inauguration shines on Linux too with Moonlight (ars technica) Your comment is insightful, however IMHO the analogy is flawed, like comparing apples and oranges. I try to explain... The first mistake is comparing OS/2 with both Mono and Moonlight. Mono and Moonlight, while sharing pieces of technologies (the .NET runtime in the case of Silverlight 2), are very different "products" with very different targets, so the idea of "success" and "failure" is different for each of them. Read More Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://lwn.net/Articles/316618/ MPlayer Patch For Internal Dvdread Support for OS/2(Friday, 30 January 2009 -- 4:03am)Index: configure =================================================================== --- configure (revision 28306) +++ configure (working copy) @@ -5620,7 +5676,7 @@ if (linux || freebsd || netbsd || openbsd || dragonfly || sunos || hpux) \ && (test "$_dvd" = yes || test "$_cdrom" = yes || test "$_cdio" = yes || \ test "$_dvdio" = yes || test "$_bsdi_dvd" = yes) \ - || darwin || win32; then + || darwin || win32 || os2; then _dvdread_internal=yes _dvdread=yes _inc_extra="$_inc_extra -Ilibdvdread4" Source: KO Myung-Hun URL: http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.video.mplayer.devel/51405 Ubersoft's Latest Help Desk Comic(Friday, 30 January 2009 -- 3:50am)Ubersoft's Christopher Wright unveils his latest comic discussing Beta software...hmm..could this be about eComStation's betas? Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.ubersoft.net/node?page=8 New Release of UniAud32 (ALSA 1.0.19)(Tuesday, 27 January 2009 -- 5:58pm)Paul Smedley has released (1/25/2009) a build of UniAud32 where the driver code has been updated to ALSA 1.0.19. This build features better support for HDA than earlier versions of UniAud, and will eventually become UniAud version 2.0. Early reports suggest big improvements on some HDA chipsets, but also some that don't work as well as the previous test release.(1.9.11). Source: http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/ URL: http://download.smedley.info/uniaud32-20090125.zip GCC v4.3.3 (GNU Compiler Collection) Available(Tuesday, 27 January 2009 -- 2:07pm)The latest release of the GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) is available now in v4.3.3 binary. No OS/2 fixes have been incorporated into this release. Specific changes in this release can be viewed here: New Changes Source: Paul Smedley URL: http://www.smedley.info/os2ports/index.php?page=gcc PMMail 3.03 released(Monday, 26 January 2009 -- 11:09pm)New features in PMMail 3.03 =============================================================================== Fixed in this release: * PMMail may crash when first started after a fresh reboot. * While the "Msg-as-Html-01.html" pseudo-attachment may be suppressed, the Message list still shows the message has an attachment (the paper clip icon). URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/INCOMING/PMMAIL-3-03-08-1277.WPI ExifTool v7.62 Available(Monday, 26 January 2009 -- 10:56pm)ExifTool is a platform-independent Perl library plus a command-line application for reading, writing and editing meta information in image, audio and video files. ExifTool supports many different types of metadata including EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, JFIF, GeoTIFF, ICC Profile, Photoshop IRB, FlashPix, AFCP and ID3, as well as the maker notes of many digital cameras by Canon, Casio, FujiFilm, HP, JVC/Victor, Kodak, Leaf, Minolta/Konica-Minolta, Nikon, Olympus/Epson, Panasonic/Leica, Pentax/Asahi, Ricoh, Sanyo, Sigma/Foveon and Sony. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/ Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/090123/214/iemga.html Microsoft looking over shoulder at Google(Monday, 26 January 2009 -- 1:30am)Microsoft has been regarded as the 800lb gorilla of the computing world ever since it reportedly mugged IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) over the joint development of the OS/2 operating system at the turn of the nineties. Many industry observers reckon there is a new alpha ape in town, and its name is Google. Microsoft is still dominant in the desktop software market, with its omnipresent Windows operating system (the success of which probably caused it to go lukewarm on the collaboration with IBM on OS/2) and its cash cow Office suite but, apart from its strangling of internet browser developer Netscape, it has had only limited success in its quest to be the dominant internet brand. Read More The OS2eCS eZine is Accepting Articles for its February Issue!(Sunday, 25 January 2009 -- 11:52am)The OS2eCS eZine is now accepting articles for its next issue to be published in February 2009. Article submissions must be received by midnight January 31st. 2009 (CST). A publishing schedule is available. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://os2ecs.org/ezine/writers.html EMCFiltr for OS/2 v4.00(Saturday, 24 January 2009 -- 9:34pm)EMCFiltr is an electronic circuit simulator for EMC/RFI Filters. EMCFiltr uses Real-Time capacitor and inductor models for realistic simulation. Provides unique correction for frequency dependent losses and frequency dependent value changes found using practical components. Requires no prior knowledge of simulators, filters or components. Uses pre-drawn schematic circuits for ease of use, no Net List entry needed. Automatically simulates Insertion Loss, Return Loss, and Group Delay, using your chosen source and load impedances. Now with 'Cubic Spline' interpolation engine for more accurate derivation of the component models intermediate frequency characteristics. Free Trial:> C. Bateman Engineering EMCFiltr for OS/2 Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.reg.net/Product.asp?sessid=%7B6FD16A32-410D-491F-8A11-1E93D8E2CB38%7D&ID=1225&TemplateID= Battle for Wesnoth Available for OS/2 & eComStation!(Saturday, 24 January 2009 -- 8:59pm)The Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game with a fantasy theme. Build up a great army, gradually turning raw recruits into hardened veterans. In later games, recall your toughest warriors and form a deadly host against whom none can stand! Choose units from a large pool of specialists, and hand-pick a force with the right strengths to fight well on different terrains against all manner of opposition. Wesnoth has many different sagas waiting to be played out. Fight to regain the throne of Wesnoth, of which you are the legitimate heir... step into the boots of a young officer sent to guard a not-so-sleepy frontier outpost... vanquish a horde of undead warriors unleashed by a foul necromancer, who also happens to have taken your brother hostage... guide a band of elvish survivors in an epic quest to find a new home. 200+ unit types. 16 races. 6 major factions. Hundreds of years of history. The world of Wesnoth is absolutely huge and limited only by your creativity - make your own custom units, compose your own maps, and write your own scenarios or even full-blown campaigns. You can also challenge up to 8 friends - or strangers - and fight in epic multi-player fantasy battles. Current version for OS/2 and eComStation is v1.4.5 More can be found out about this exciting adventure game at: www.wesnoth.org Many thanks to Paul Smedley for porting this application to OS/2-eComStation! Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://download.smedley.info/wesnoth-1.4.5-os2-20080828.zip IBM Content Manager ImagePlus v2.3 for OS/2(Saturday, 24 January 2009 -- 8:42pm)IBM Content Manager is a first-of-its-kind content management solution designed to help customers manage the full spectrum of digital information generated in today's e-business world. With Content Manager, you can create, capture, store, manage, distribute, and integrate digital content for your entire enterprise - from e-commerce and vertical line of business applications to customer service, enterprise resource planning, and supply chain management. Requires OS/2 Warp 4, Warp Server for e-business, or eComStation. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://shopper.cnet.com/illustration/content-manager-imageplus-2/4014-3633_9-4071158.html?orderBy=st How to Install LimeSurvey on OS/2 and eComStation Guide(Saturday, 24 January 2009 -- 8:33pm)LimeSurvey is an open source survey application that is easy to setup and use. www.limesurvey.org LimeSurvey 1.80RC3 release! Saturday, 10 January 2009 New features are: * Support of ORed questions in conditions (adapted from Ron L.J. van den Burg's patch). * New condition designer interface: no more popup, separated Add/Edit, quick question navigation dropdown. New functions: condition edit, delete all conditions for this question, delete all conditions in a scenario, edit a scenario. New layout and simplification for the Add condition form, new layout for the copy condition form. * Default initial value for slider question by using the slider_default question attribute. * New feature 'public statistics' with link appearing at the end of a survey when 'public settings' is switched on, Question. In addition to a setting in the survey settings each question needs to have the attribute "public_stats" activate to show that question statistic publicly * Added min_answer feature for the following question types: Multiple options, multiple options with comments and ranking question - patch was kindly provided by F.Markham * Added translations for question attributes Source: Lorne Tyndale URL: http://www.docs.limesurvey.org/tiki-index.php?page=Installation%20on%20OS%2F2%20Warp&structure= IBM Ultra320 SCSI Controller Driver on New Hobbes(Saturday, 24 January 2009 -- 8:23pm)IBM Ultra320 SCSI Controller 2 p/n 13N2249, FRU p/n 13N2250 IBM OS/2 Warp Server for e-Business IBM eServer xSeries Supported Adaptec Host Adapters Ultra320 Adapters Description ---------------------------------------------------------------- AIC-7901 H2A Single Channel PCI-to-Ultra320 SCSI ASIC AIC-7901 H1B Single Channel PCI-to-Ultra320 SCSI ASIC AIC-7902 H2B Dual Channel PCI-to-Ultra320 SCSI ASIC ASC29320LP H1A Single Channel 64-bit Low Profile PCI-to-Ultra320 SCSI Host Adapter ASC29320ALP H1B Single Channel 64-bit Low Profile PCI-to-Ultra320 SCSI Host Adapter ASC39320A H2B Dual Channel 64-bit Low Profile PCI-to-Ultra320 SCSI Host Adapter 1.2 Supported Servers x225, 8647 x226, 8648 x235, 8671 2.0 Change History ------------------ v1.0 This is the first Ultra320 driver release for OS/2 Warp Server for e-Business. v1.1 Modified timing in the driver to make it processor independent. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/OS2DDPAK/DASD/IBM_DD_AIC79XX_1.10_OS2.ZIP How To Install eComStation on the Mac With VMware Fusion(Saturday, 24 January 2009 -- 8:00pm)David van Enckevort has written an article on how to install eComStation on the Mac operating system. David provides some background on his foundation in OS/2 and provides an easy to follow guide with screenshots of the process. Source: David van Enckevort URL: http://www.vanenckevort.net/random_thoughts/files/ecomstation_on_the_mac.html eCo Software is going to participate in eComStation Multimedia Development(Friday, 23 January 2009 -- 11:41pm)eCo Software is going to partipate in eComStation multimedia development. Kosarev Timofey has created some I/O proceedures and players already. *eCo Tunes--eCo Tunes Internet radio (pipe-version supported by Central Remote Control). *mmioCast I/O Proc--Internet radio integrated to WPS(WorkPlace Shell). *Monkey's audio--compressed lossles audio format. Multimedia support in eComStation can help productivity in office environments, by helping to provide a positive mood. Multimedia support is crucial in providing rich content for users. Source: Kosarev Timofey URL: http://ecomstation.ru/la-la-la MPlayer cddb Support on OS/2(Friday, 23 January 2009 -- 4:46pm)This patch enables cddb support on OS/2 for MPlayer. Index: stream/stream_cddb.c =================================================================== --- stream/stream_cddb.c (revision 28306) +++ stream/stream_cddb.c (working copy) @@ -52,6 +52,10 @@ #include #include #include "mpbswap.h" +#elif defined(__OS2__) +#define INCL_DOS +#define INCL_DOSDEVIOCTL +#include #endif #include "cdd.h" @@ -94,6 +98,87 @@ } CloseHandle(drive); +#elif defined(__OS2__) +#pragma pack(push, 1) + UCHAR auchParamDisk[4] = {'C', 'D', '0', '1'}; + + struct { + BYTE bFirstTrack; + BYTE bLastTrack; + BYTE bLeadOutF; + BYTE bLeadOutS; + BYTE bLeadOutM; + BYTE bLeadOutReserved; + } sDataDisk; + + struct { + UCHAR auchSign[4]; + BYTE bTrack; + } sParamTrack = {{'C', 'D', '0', '1'},}; + + struct { + BYTE bStartF; + BYTE bStartS; + BYTE bStartM; + BYTE bStartReserved; + BYTE bControlInfo; + } sDataTrack; +#pragma pack(pop) + + HFILE hcd; + ULONG ulAction; + ULONG ulParamLen; + ULONG ulDataLen; + ULONG rc; + + rc = DosOpen(dev, &hcd, &ulAction, 0, FILE_NORMAL, + OPEN_ACTION_OPEN_IF_EXISTS | OPEN_ACTION_FAIL_IF_NEW, + OPEN_ACCESS_READONLY | OPEN_SHARE_DENYNONE | OPEN_FLAGS_DASD, + NULL); + if (rc) { + mp_msg(MSGT_OPEN, MSGL_ERR, MSGTR_MPDEMUX_CDDB_FailedToReadTOC); + + return -1; + } + + rc = DosDevIOCtl(hcd, IOCTL_CDROMAUDIO, CDROMAUDIO_GETAUDIODISK, + auchParamDisk, sizeof(auchParamDisk), &ulParamLen, + &sDataDisk, sizeof(sDataDisk), &ulDataLen); + + if (!rc) { + first = sDataDisk.bFirstTrack - 1; + last = sDataDisk.bLastTrack; + + for (i = first; i <= last; i++) { + if (i == last) { + sDataTrack.bStartM = sDataDisk.bLeadOutM; + sDataTrack.bStartS = sDataDisk.bLeadOutS; + sDataTrack.bStartF = sDataDisk.bLeadOutF; + } + else { + sParamTrack.bTrack = i + 1; + + rc = DosDevIOCtl(hcd, IOCTL_CDROMAUDIO, CDROMAUDIO_GETAUDIOTRACK, + &sParamTrack, sizeof(sParamTrack), &ulParamLen, + &sDataTrack, sizeof(sDataTrack), &ulDataLen); + + if (rc) + break; + } + + cdtoc[i].min = sDataTrack.bStartM; + cdtoc[i].sec = sDataTrack.bStartS; + cdtoc[i].frame = sDataTrack.bStartF; + } + } + + DosClose(hcd); + + if (rc) { + mp_msg(MSGT_OPEN, MSGL_ERR, MSGTR_MPDEMUX_CDDB_FailedToReadTOC); + + return -1; + } #else int drive; drive = open(dev, O_RDONLY | O_NONBLOCK); @@ -326,7 +411,7 @@ sprintf( file_name, "%s%08lx", cddb_data->cache_dir, cddb_data->disc_id); file_fd = open(file_name, O_RDONLY -#if defined(__MINGW32__) || defined(__CYGWIN__) +#if defined(__MINGW32__) || defined(__CYGWIN__) || defined(__OS2__) | O_BINARY #endif ); Source: KO Myung-Hun URL: http://www.ecomstation.co.kr/ecs.php Latest Linux and AIX JFS Based on OS/2 JFS Technology!(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 11:21pm)OSNEWS has an informative article with an interview of Steve Best from IBM. Discussed are differences (or lack of) between the Linux version of JFS and the one found on OS/2. Steve mentions that the JFS for Linux and AIX is a port from OS/2. JFS used in OS/2 was a "ground-up" scalable design that originated in 1995. Source: Jeramie Samphere URL: http://www.osnews.com/story/69 IPSpool updated to v1.0.4(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 10:25pm)Manglais (www.manglais.com) has updated their IPSpool to v1.0.4. IPSpool is a Spooler that stores and forwards raw printer data to an IP address (via port 9100 printing) *This spooler supports printing using the 'raw' print spooling mechanism, on port 9100 for example. *Creates and deletes printer ports using command line options or dialog. *Inbuilt traffic monitor and popup spooler messages. *Provides error file logging for more information when things go wrong. *Postscript pre-filter to remove header information that makes some printers stall. Source: Peter Koller URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/INCOMING/IPSPOOL104.ZIP PBZIP2 a SMP Capable Compression Utility(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 10:13pm)PBZIP2 is a parallel version of bzip2 for use on shared memory machines. It provides near-linear speedup when used on true multi-processor machines and 5-10% improvement on Hyper-threaded machines (as OS/2 and eComStation). The output is fully compatible with the regular bzip2 data, so any files created with pbzip2 can be uncompressed by bzip2 and vice-versa. The default settings for pbzip2 will work well in most cases. The only switch you will likely need to use is -d to decompress files and -p to set the # of processors for pbzip2 to use if autodetect is not supported on your system, or you want to use a specific # of cpus. Source: Elbert Pol URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/INCOMING/PBZIP2-1.0.5-OS2.ZIP PMRaw v2.2 for DCRAW(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 10:02pm)PMRaw provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for DCRaw (A utility for processing and conversion of digital images in RAW format.) Requires VRObj.dll from PMRaw homepage: http://os2.zworks.de/PMRaw/ Source: Lutz Wagner URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/INCOMING/PMRAW_2.2.ZIP USB Configuration Utility for eComStation(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 9:41pm)USB Configuration Utility for eComStation is a WorkPlace Shell Notebook object (GUI) that is designed to allow easy re-configuration of USB drivers and devices. The utility application is available in a Warpin archive format for easy installation or de-installation with eComStation. This tool does not install USB drivers that are not already on your system, but is very useful for reconfiguring existing USB support that comes standard on eComStation. Requries IBM USB support be installed for OS/2 machines. The non-Warpin package is available here: http://os2ecs.org:5000/INCOMING/USBCFGB071.ZIP Source: Peter Brown URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/INCOMING/USBCFGB071-ECS-ONLY.WPI NewLISP v10.0 for OS/2 & eComStation(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 9:09pm)NewLISP is a fun small daily use or serious use LISP based scripting language for developing web applications or general purpose programs in the domains of artificial intelligence (AI) and statistics. Requires libc063.dll and tcpip32.dll (Which are already included in recent eComStation releases.) http://newlisp2.nodep.nl Source: Norman URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/OS2/DEV/LISP/NEWLISP2-10000.ZIP DCRAW "Digital Camera RAW" VCD v37 Available(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 8:53pm)DCRAW VCD "Digital Camera RAW" v37 is a modified version of DCRAW (http://www.cybercom.net/%7Edcoffin/dcraw/) that utilizes "hybrid CFA demosaicking" to prototype variance of color differences. This is the prototype of a version of DCRAW to provide a superior interpolation algorithm over AHD (used in the original DCRAW framework). This version is tested on eComStation v1.2 http://sites.google.com/site/demosaicalgorithms/modified-dcraw Source: Bill Nau URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/OS2/APPS/GRAPHICS/DCRAW_VCD_V37.ZIP eSchemes is updated, v1.49 released(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 10:22am)eSchemes replaces the original eComStation Scheme editor and gathers the functionality of Window Themes, eStylerLite, Icon Themes, Sound Schemes, Pointer scheme, and other system look & feel related settings into one place. *Better control over system decoration; integrates features of IconThemes, WindowThemes, eStyler, Sound scheme, Mouse pointers scheme & system colors scheme. *Full WPS integration; eSchemes is fully integrated into WPS. This means that scheme files can be managed via the WPS. (User can access the integrated scheme editor by dbl-ckick on scheme icon.) *Schemes can be easily moved across computers; Schemes are placed into one file which can be easily copied and moved to any place. *Full WPS control; eSchemes can contain any settings of any WPS object. So not only icons can be changed (like IconThemes does), but also fonts, colors, default view, etc. David Graser created -- TWENTY new schemes for eSchemes -- http://ecomstation.ru/projects/eschemes/?action=down Source: Eugen URL: http://ecomstation.ru/eschemes EmperoarTV v2.02a Released(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 9:36am)EmperoarTV v2.02a was released on 1/5/2009. This is a multimedia application which supports many DVB cards and the popular Hauppauge PVR150/250/350/500 TV cards on the OS/2 and eComStation platforms. EmperoarTV allows high quality MPEG2 hard disk recording and playback. You can listen to FM radio stations in stereo, or watch TV broadcasts. Also available is DVDFront which is a front-end program that allows easy creation of video DVDs from the recordings of EmperoarTV. Among the support options is an online forum for discussion as well: http://www.shspvr.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=48 Source: OS/2 Warp News and Rumors URL: http://www.s-t.de/emperoar/ eComStation ArcView v2.02 Available(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 9:22am)eComStation ArcView v2.02 has been released. This is a utility program for eComStation that allows for simple viewing and extracting of archive files of different types. ArcView provides a convienent GUI interface and is intuitive and easy to use, making working with archived files in eComStation natural. Here are the updates included in this release: (01/05/2009) v2.02 *Extracting a tarball to the root directory should now work correctly when arcview.exe is on the same drive. *Added support for the latest tar.exe version (uses different syntax for bzip2). *Pushbuttons on secondary dialogs now use the correct language. ArcViewer is available to anyone with an account to the eComStation Betazone. (http://www.ecomstation.com) Another nice contribution to the eComStation community from Alex Taylor. You can find more of Alex's OS/2 & eComStation projects at: http://users.socis.ca/~ataylo00/os2/index.html Source: Alex Taylor URL: http://www.ecomstation.com/ OS2eCS Org. Back Online After Flood(Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- 9:08am)In June 2008, the OS2eCS Organization's office and facilities were flooded. There was extensive damage done requiring relocating. We are now back-online and working to restore all services. We are also working to roll-out a new website. We are glad to be back and involved in the OS/2 community! Source: Jeramie URL: http://www.os2ecs.org OpenOffice.org 3.1.0 Beta Available(Wednesday, 21 January 2009 -- 8:47pm)Serenity Systems International and Mensys BV are pleased to announce the first public beta of OpenOffice.org 3.1 for eComStation and OS/2. It is available to anyone with an active OpenOffice.org Support Agreement for eComStation and OS/2, via their download-area at the Mensys Online Shop. This release is a developer build based on the current DEV300 m38 milestone trunk. ** Features ** Support for Microsoft Office Open XML (OOXML/DOCX) file format. Support for XWP/eWPS sliding menu hilite (requires XWorkPlace 1.0.8 or eCS 2.0 RC4) Support for clipboard bitmap formats and unicode text. Support for mouse wheel. Support for WPS integration via seperate package (OOoWPS102.WPI) Support for the FreeType2 (FT2) font engine for improved text rendering. QUICKSTART: quickstart has been implemented for eComStation and OS/2; when enabled in OOo option dialogs, a shadow of your quickstart WPS icon object will be created in the startup folder. NLS: This beta version is only released in the English language. EMAIL: e-mail related settings are now supported, you can email your current document, but only ThunderBird is supported. To enable this feature, the Internet Application Integration tool must be installed and configured for your email client. In OOo options, Internet settings, set email program field to 'thunderbird'; full path for executable and directories will be taken from your INI files (IAI settings). WEB: the default OS/2 browser will be used for opening web pages. To enable this feature, the Internet Application Integration tool must be installed and configured for your browser. More information on the official OpenOffice.org development roadmap can be found at: http://development.openoffice.org/releases/index.html ** Installation Requirements ** - WarpIn 1.0.18 - UniClip - LibC 0.6.3 - Innotek Font Engine - this installation will not overwrite existing installations, you can use it alongside OpenOffice.org 1.1.5 and OpenOffice.org 2.x - installation should preferably be done on a JFS volume, as it may run slow otherwise. The installation target volume must support long filenames. - installation takes around 400 MB of drivespace. ** Optional Requirements ** - For better rendering of the GUI font, it is suggested to install Workplace Sans TrueType font. You can download the Workplace Sans font from the following website: http://users.socis.ca/~ataylo00/creative/fonts/index.html - WPS integration package for OpenOffice.org 3.1 for eComStation and OS/2: - Extends the WPS data file class to recognize OpenOffice.org document files - Integrated support for WPS-Wizard hint and folder info area - REXX hooks for reading document properties - When documents are saved, the proper Extended Attribute Type is added to the file, this allows recognizing OOo documents even if the extension is not added. If you are updating from an earlier release, the WPS integration is already enabled and working; if WPS integration was enabled for beta releases, you need to install the OOoWPS102.WPI package (if not already installed) and run ?:OpenOffice.org.3.1.0.Betaprogramooodoc.cmd This script will activate the WPS integration for this release of OpenOffice.org 3.1 and remove it from other beta releases. ** Support ** Support specific to the eComStation and OS/2 version can be obtained through the ticketing system at: http://www.ecomstation.com/support/ooo2/ A newsgroup is available for community support at: news://news.ecomstation.com/ecomstation.support.openoffice or http://news.ecomstation.com/thread.php?group=ecomstation.support.openoffice ** Enjoy! ** Best regards, Serenity Systems International Source: Joachim Benjamins URL: http://www.mensys.net/login/ Scribus 1.3.3.12 for OS/2 & eComStation Available(Wednesday, 21 January 2009 -- 8:39pm)Scribus is powerful software that helps you create great looking documents of all kinds. It also comes with a lot of support options to help you achieve the best result. There is an enthusiastic and friendly community around Scribus that assists beginner and pro alike through our mailing list, IRC channel, wiki, contracted support, and the bugtracker.Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of "press-ready" output and new approaches to page layout. Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation. Source: Steven Douglas Taylor URL: http://www.scribus.net/?q=node/133 OpenWatcom v1.8 RC2 Released for OS/2(Wednesday, 21 January 2009 -- 5:37pm)"Open Watcom is a project of the open source community to maintain and enhance the Watcom C, C++, and Fortran cross compilers and tools." "Open Watcom 1.8 RC2 (January 2009) The second release candidate of the next version of Open Watcom is ready for evaluation by the user community. It can be downloaded from the same places as the official 1.7a release. See the list of release changes for information about how 1.8 differs from the previous release." http://www.openwatcom.org http://www.openwatcom.org/index.php/C_Compilers_Release_Changes Source: Mark Dodel URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/OS2/DEV/C/OPEN-WATCOM-F77-OS2-1.8RC2.EXE FM/2 3.15 Released(Wednesday, 21 January 2009 -- 5:23pm)FM/2, in addition to being a file manager, is a handy utility package in the likes of PC-Tools or Norton Utilities. You can access all of its functions from a main interface, a command line or a WPS object. Changes for this current release are listed below: o Added the option to turn write verify off on a per drive basis; it is turned off on nonfloppy removables by default to address reports of hangs with FAT32 usb drives and of FAT USB drives behaving as read only devices. Ticket 318/323 (Gregg) o Seek and scan can now be started from the drives or directories contextmenus. Doing so will use the drive/directory as the root for the search. Ticket 167 (Gregg) o Added "DataBar" menu item to utilities menu. Ticket 280 (Gregg) o Eliminated the need for archiver list to have start and end list strings; this allows it to work with tar for example. Ticket 284 (John) o Add setup for using latest tar including for .tar.gz and .tar.bz files (gzip and/or bzip must also be in your path) to archiver.tmp (John) o Added check for protectonly systems will gray out dos/win command line menu items and causes Dos/Win executables to be opened in a viewer since they will fail anyway. Ticket 325 (Gregg) o Added the option to rescan the drive tree on media eject (see scanning page of config notebook) Ticket 48 (Gregg) o Added Refresh removable media item to tree container menus Ticket 54(Gregg) o Grayed out partition tool menu item where the tool is not avalable in the path; removed partition submenu default selection. Ticket 36 (Gregg o Added option to recursively scan selected drives at startup Ticket 322(Gregg) o Moved toggle word wrap in the MLE editor to "View" menu from a "Config" submenu Ticket 160 (Gregg) o Added option to create extract directory from archive name Ticket 22 (Gregg) o Added drop help to the tree container; fixed drop help to show the correct action on DO_DEFAULT Ticket 320, 324 o Fixed seek and scan drive selection code so nonexistant drives aren't selected Ticket 301, 303 (Gregg) o Several interface appearence/behavior issues were addressed Ticket 283,305, 306, 311, 312 313, 316, 321, 328, 329, 330, 332 (Gregg) o Fixed traps associated with deleting directories; closing a container after its associated drive had been ejected and trying to execute a dll. Ticket 304, 317, 331 (Gregg) o Added exceptq and process dump functionality to simplify defect reporting Ticket 26, 307 (Steven) Thanks Gregg Source: Gregg Young URL: http://os2ecs.org:5000/OS2/UTIL/BROWSER/FM2-3-15-0.WPI
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