I think one of the biggest OS/2 problems was that the DOS and Windows
boxes weren't 100% compatible at all times and management was an issue
between OS/2 and winders.
OS/2 Warp had one of the best Internet systems I've used. Seemed very
fast for the 14.4Kbps modem I was using at the time.
There is still much sharware and freeware out there, as well as some
programs (many high end supporting OS/2 - mainframe connectivity)
-Mike
Hotze wrote:
BTW What is Warp? Is it the OS/2 windowing
system? If so, why would I
want to use it at all, let alone on a 286? ;-)
Yes, it is. Actually, if I
remember, it came out in 1994, but it could have
been early 1995, but definately PRE WINDOWS '95! You might want to use it
for several reasons: If you've got software for it. There's WordPerfect for
Warp, Netscape Navigator for Warp, amongst others. Actually, if you ask me,
Warp's more of a competitor to NT than '95, as it's definately not
consumer-oriented. It features a *nice* plug and play system. Actually,
the interface on the older Warp's looks AMAZINGLY like Windows '95, which
makes me wonder if it was copied, and who copied who.
Theoretically, IBM's designing a completely new version of OS/2 Warp,
called 'Bluebird' or something. This is a guess, but it's probably going to
be NT as well as '95 compatible, plus rock-solid stability, much better than
NT.
The reason that we're using Windows as opposed to OS/2 is (in my
opinion) because IBM did two things: With Windows 3.0 and 3.1, they waited
until AFTER the MS release, and made it Windows compatible. They had
relatively high success, but they weren't happy with it. So, with the 32
bit version, they released BEFORE Windows, but ruined all their success.
The advantage is that if you want to run Windows 3.x apps with the current
version of OS/2, you get 32 bit performance, compatiblity, and many of the
features of a "next-generation" operating system.
It's a good alternitive for people who want a Windows look and feel, but
without the "Microsoft" beofore the name.
I could be wrong on most/all of this, so please feel free to correct me.
Hope that his helps,
Tim D. Hotze