Yeah, it was pretty freaking cool at the time. There are even things
about ArcaOS desktop that work pretty well. It ran the sh$t out of DOS, and was 32-Bit!

I installed once ArcaOS on a VM, curious about OS/2 experience which I never had in the past. But it was slacky and a bit clunky to me. I could not find myself in that environment. I believe if a lot of time was dedicated to the setup, I'd most likely experience it different, I feel that.. but I lacked that dedication and abandoned experimenting with it, eventually.

-h1

... Xerox Alto was the thing. Anything after we use is just a mere copy.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

I installed once ArcaOS on a VM, curious about OS/2 experience which I neve had in the past. But it was slacky and a bit clunky to me. I could not find myself in that environment. I believe if a lot of time was dedicated to the

Compared to what we have today, yes, it is a bit clunky, but in the 90sit was 20 years a head of it's time.

... There is no wealth but life. -- John Ruskin

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
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Compared to what we have today, yes, it is a bit clunky, but in the
90sit was 20 years a head of it's time.

You mean working like up to 2010 expectations? Bold assumption considering we had quite matured up OSX and Windows 7 back then :)

I'm pretty sure it could kick some Win95 ass maybe if UI was polished and more mainstream software available... that could make it 3 years ahead.

Not criticizing ;) just being precise and on point of being ahead.. I'd say Amiga OS was 20 years ahead of Windows too but I'd be equally romanticizing my own naiveness ;)

-h1

... Xerox Alto was the thing. Anything after we use is just a mere copy.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

Compared to what we have today, yes, it is a bit clunky, but in the 90sit was 20 years a head of it's time.

You mean working like up to 2010 expectations? Bold assumption considering we had quite matured up OSX and Windows 7 back then :)

In the US, "# of years ahead of its time" is usually a turn-of-phrase and
not meant literally.

That said, at the time OS/2 came out, it probably did seem futuristic, much like the first black-and-white MACs did. ;)


* SLMR 2.1a * I could prove God statistically. - George Gallup
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In the US, "# of years ahead of its time" is usually a turn-of-phrase and not meant literally.

We say light years ahead ;) to keep it even more abstract.

and to call something retarded/backward we used to say "100 years behind Blacks in Africa"

Second, obviously less politically correct but we culturally never cared to keep our wording balanced.

-h1

... Xerox Alto was the thing. Anything after we use is just a mere copy.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

Dumas Walker wrote to HOLLOWONE <=-

That said, at the time OS/2 came out, it probably did seem futuristic, much like the first black-and-white MACs did. ;)

I remember solid multitasking on OS/2 1.2 when Windows 3.0 was crashing constantly. Connecting to a PBX at work over a modem while connected via
Twinax to an AS/400 and serving files over MS Lan Manager over token
ring on a 386/25 - Windows was essentially just a single-tasking window
manager at that point.

Presentation Manager on OS/2 2.0 was pretty wild, too - a
context-based, object-oriented UI was ahead of the pack at the time.



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Re: Re: OS/2
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dumas Walker on Thu Jun 19 2025 07:21 am

Presentation Manager on OS/2 2.0 was pretty wild, too - a context-based, object-oriented UI was ahead of the pack at the time.

Sometimes I wonder where we'd be today if OS/2 had become the dominant OS for PCs. Or maybe even BeOS, though they initially started with their own PowerPC-based computers, and by the time they ported BeOS to x86, it was probably too late. I thought BeOS had some crazy multi-tasking though, and I liked its UI - it was simple and looked like a piece of art.

Nightfox
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Sometimes I wonder where we'd be today if OS/2 had become the dominant OS PCs. Or maybe even BeOS, though they initially started with their own PowerPC-based computers, and by the time they ported BeOS to x86, it was probably too late. I thought BeOS had some crazy multi-tasking though, an liked its UI - it was simple and looked like a piece of art.

I wonder these things too. I think that it would have accelerated the world of computing a couple of years at least, and we wouldn't be hamstrung by Microsoft as much as we are. If BeOS won out (which was never really gonna happen), then the world would have been a nicer place (probably), if Big Blue won out then goodness only knows how it would have looked. Probably more reliable, but they were EviLCorp. Never relly knew which was the lesser of the two evils, MS or IBM. I want to say IBM was the lesser, but tbh I will probably never know.

Cheers,Al


hyjinx // Alistair Ross
Author of 'Back to the BBS' Documentary: https://bit.ly/3tRINeL (YouTube) alsgeeklab.com

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
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Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Sometimes I wonder where we'd be today if OS/2 had become the dominant
OS for PCs. Or maybe even BeOS, though they initially started with
their own PowerPC-based computers, and by the time they ported BeOS to x86, it was probably too late. I thought BeOS had some crazy multi-tasking though, and I liked its UI - it was simple and looked
like a piece of art.

I liked both OSes, I think Macromedia tried to port some of their apps
to Be, the tech support guys had a BeBox to play with.

The problem with OS/2 was that it had a full services arm behind it. I
often wondered if it wasn't as easy to use/install because IBM was
expecting to have the customer to have a service contract with IBM.

When I used OS/2 at work the first time, we had S/38 midrange
computers, a couple of AS/400s, all PS/2 desktops and IBM token ring
networking. I could call in a tech to assist if we ran into OS/2
issues.

I don't think it was until the internet came out that people really
cared about multi-tasking; before that, Windows was really more of a UI
for most people to run one GUI app at a time.

Nightfox
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Re: Re: OS/2
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Fri Jun 20 2025 07:28 am

The problem with OS/2 was that it had a full services arm behind it. I often wondered if it wasn't as easy to use/install because IBM was expecting to have the customer to have a service contract with IBM.

Did they? I remember buying a boxed copy of OS/2 at my local Egghead Software and installing it and using it on my PC without a problem. I didn't need to have a service contract with IBM.

I don't think it was until the internet came out that people really cared about multi-tasking; before that, Windows was really more of a UI for most people to run one GUI app at a time.

Still, there could be software running in the background, and without good multi-tasking, the system could be unstable.

Nightfox
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

Did they? I remember buying a boxed copy of OS/2 at my local Egghead Software and installing it and using it on my PC without a problem. I didn't need to have a service contract with IBM.

I don't think it was until the internet came out that people really ca

about multi-tasking; before that, Windows was really more of a UI for

people to run one GUI app at a time.

I bought OS/2 Warp to run my Wildcat v4 bbs on. It ran great. My problem was when I tried to upgrade to OS/2 v4, my mouse wouldn't work. I called IBM and they wanted to charge me to get it working. I dropped OS/2 and went to Desqview. Ran that until the internet took over. BTW, I still have both
OS/2 v3 and v4 in there original boxes. I may try to resurrect them.

|11ogg
|11SysOp, Altair IV BBS
|11altairiv.ddns.net:2323

... Press any key to continue or any other key to quit...

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Windows/64)
* Origin: Altair IV BBS (21:2/147)

Re: OS/2
By: ogg to Nightfox on Fri Jun 20 2025 11:57 am

I bought OS/2 Warp to run my Wildcat v4 bbs on. It ran great. My problem was when I tried to upgrade to OS/2 v4, my mouse wouldn't work. I called IBM and they wanted to charge me to get it working. I dropped OS/2 and went to Desqview.

Weird that they wanted to charge you for that.. IBM may have shot themselves in the foot charging for that kind of thing. Also, if someone wanted to develop software for OS/2, I heard IBM also made the developer kit fairly expensive, which probably didn't help make it popular..

Nightfox
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Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Re: Re: OS/2
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Fri Jun 20 2025 07:28 am

The problem with OS/2 was that it had a full services arm behind it. I often wondered if it wasn't as easy to use/install because IBM was expecting to have the customer to have a service contract with IBM.

Did they? I remember buying a boxed copy of OS/2 at my local Egghead Software and installing it and using it on my PC without a problem. I didn't need to have a service contract with IBM.

Not that you'd need the contract, but if you were a business customer
and ran into an issue, you'd have a couple of guys in dark suits and
white shirts offering to help. In a way, I wonder if that hampered the
user-friendly aspects of OS/2, as they didn't know how to sell to
home/personal users back then.

Not that I minded, the guys in dark suits usually ended up taking us to
lunch at a much nicer place than I could have afforded back then.

I don't think it was until the internet came out that people really cared about multi-tasking; before that, Windows was really more of a UI for most people to run one GUI app at a time.

Still, there could be software running in the background, and without
good multi-tasking, the system could be unstable.

Nightfox
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--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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ogg wrote to Nightfox <=-

I bought OS/2 Warp to run my Wildcat v4 bbs on. It ran great. My
problem was when I tried to upgrade to OS/2 v4, my mouse wouldn't work.
I called IBM and they wanted to charge me to get it working. I
dropped OS/2 and went to Desqview.

I could never get TCP/IP, NETBIOS and IPX working on Warp, much to my
chagrin, being the network guy and all. Not soon after, Windows 3.11
came around with an IP stack, and it was good enough - plus they had
all the apps.

But, OS/2 had its moment. Loved the multitasking, and running OS/2 BBS
binaries (Maximus, Squish and BinkleyTerm) was amazing. They ran in a
minimized window on my OS/2 desktop and I barely noticed they were
running.




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But, OS/2 had its moment. Loved the multitasking, and running OS/2 BBS
binaries (Maximus, Squish and BinkleyTerm) was amazing. They ran in a
minimized window on my OS/2 desktop and I barely noticed they were
running.

It was the multitasking that attracted me to it. Once I was using dos and Desqview, I never looked back.

|11ogg
|11SysOp, Altair IV BBS
|11altairiv.ddns.net:2323

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Windows/64)
* Origin: Altair IV BBS (21:2/147)

It was the multitasking that attracted me to it. Once I was using dos and Desqview, I never looked back.

I don't see how .... the BBS always bled thru DESQview. Couldn't really do what I needed in another window with it, which led me to OS/2 2.1, the OS/2 v3 WARP which allowed me to be telnetable back in 1995.

... Ever meet a Sysop who would admit the problem was his?

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (21:1/144)

I don't see how .... the BBS always bled thru DESQview. Couldn't really do what I needed in another window with it, which led me to OS/2 2.1,
the OS/2 v3 WARP which allowed me to be telnetable back in 1995.

I ran my bbs on OS/2 v3 without an issue. The problem came in with OS/2 v4. That's when I move backed to DOS and DESQ/view.

|11ogg
|11SysOp, Altair IV BBS
|11altairiv.ddns.net:2323

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Windows/64)
* Origin: Altair IV BBS (21:2/147)

I ran my bbs on OS/2 v3 without an issue. The problem came in with OS/2 v4 That's when I move backed to DOS and DESQ/view.

I ran on Warp V3 Connect for years. When I moved into my 1st apartment, I saw on egghead.com they have OS/2 Warp v4.0 for $1.88 .... it was an obvious mistype on te webpage, but they sent it. Best deal I ever got. Warp v4 was a different breed. It never did want to install correctly.

... He's not dead, Jim. He's just considering moving to Seattle.

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (21:1/144)

I ran on Warp V3 Connect for years. When I moved into my 1st apartment,
I saw on egghead.com they have OS/2 Warp v4.0 for $1.88 .... it was an obvious mistype on te webpage, but they sent it. Best deal I ever got. Warp v4 was a different breed. It never did want to install correctly.

So maybe it wasn't me after all! For 30 years, I thought it was me and my mouse that created my problems. That makes me rethink my decision to try and get it back up and running. I've got a full box set of v3 and v4 still on my book shelf. What to do....

|11ogg
|11SysOp, Altair IV BBS
|11altairiv.ddns.net:2323

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Windows/64)
* Origin: Altair IV BBS (21:2/147)

It was the multitasking that attracted me to it. Once I was using dos Desqview, I never looked back.

I don't see how .... the BBS always bled thru DESQview. Couldn't really d what I needed in another window with it, which led me to OS/2 2.1, the OS/ WARP which allowed me to be telnetable back in 1995.

When you say 'bled thru' do you mean the video bled through?

If yes, then that sounds like the virtual terminal settings in advanced settings, you could switch this off easily. I experienced the same issue the other day, I just fiddled with the options and all went well after that. DesqView is really good for my needs in 2025. I have multi-tasking pretty much for whatever I want, runs fast and I don't have any bugs that I notice in protected mode.

-Al


hyjinx // Alistair Ross
Author of 'Back to the BBS' Documentary: https://bit.ly/3tRINeL (YouTube) alsgeeklab.com

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
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back up and running. I've got a full box set of v3 and v4 still on my boo shelf. What to do....

If you're installing on real hardware it might be fun for a laugh, but AFAIR, install time was a real drag. It would probably be interesting to install in 86box or whatever its called and seeing how well it performs there.


hyjinx // Alistair Ross
Author of 'Back to the BBS' Documentary: https://bit.ly/3tRINeL (YouTube) alsgeeklab.com

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Al's Geek Lab -=- bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)

When you say 'bled thru' do you mean the video bled through?

If yes, then that sounds like the virtual terminal settings in advanced

Nahh, sometimes it would just crash the program from the background to the foreground nd crash both windows ... just wasn't stable enough to run the BBS from and do something else.

... Truth is shorter than fiction. -Irving Cohen

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (21:1/144)

Re: Re: OS/2
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Utopian Galt on Wed Jun 11 2025 07:08:40

...and used LANTastic networking.

There's a blast from the past. LANtastic was my introduction to networking. One of my college instructors was using it for his home network and I helped him set it up. Made me wish I had my own network, just so I could use it more.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
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If I did buy Arca Noae, is there any faqs on how to setup sio/vmodem?

Perhaps running a dos based bbs software might be the way to enjoy the hobby for the next 12 years when the 2038 crisis happens.

+ KO6GVD - Ontario, California - Winserver and WWIV BBS Operator

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

On 09 Jun 2026, Utopian Galt said the following...

If I did buy Arca Noae, is there any faqs on how to setup sio/vmodem?

Perhaps running a dos based bbs software might be the way to enjoy the hobby for the next 12 years when the 2038 crisis happens.

there's some, like this one:

https://proboardbbs.com/wiki/doku.php?id=installing_sio

i can help you with it if you need it. the sio manual is also pretty good though.

the example only shows up to COM4 but the manual lists other COM3 to COM8 settings from the PS/2 that should also work if you mark them INTERNET too.

past COM8 (sio should support up to 16..) i don't know what the i/o addresses it expects are.

back in the day we all just ran 3 nodes, COM2-4, and COM1 was for our modem/internet connection

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)

If I did buy Arca Noae, is there any faqs on how to setup sio/vmodem?

Download FULLOS2.ZIP or FULLPACK.ZIP .... the settings and such should be the same in that great text file.

... Nothing is so smiple that it can't get screwed up.

--- Renegade v1.44/Exp
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If I did buy Arca Noae, is there any faqs on how to setup sio/vmodem?

You could download it at your favorite FTW BBS...



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
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Hello fusion,

10 Jun 26 00:38, you wrote to Utopian Galt:

On 09 Jun 2026, Utopian Galt said the following...

If I did buy Arca Noae, is there any faqs on how to setup
sio/vmodem?

Perhaps running a dos based bbs software might be the way to
enjoy the hobby for the next 12 years when the 2038 crisis
happens.

there's some, like this one:

https://proboardbbs.com/wiki/doku.php?id=installing_sio

i can help you with it if you need it. the sio manual is also pretty
good though.

the example only shows up to COM4 but the manual lists other COM3 to
COM8 settings from the PS/2 that should also work if you mark them
INTERNET too.

past COM8 (sio should support up to 16..) i don't know what the i/o addresses it expects are.

back in the day we all just ran 3 nodes, COM2-4, and COM1 was for our modem/internet connection

my only advice is just use 1.60d and not sio2k, it has some issues.
if you have any question i can help tough :)

ByEbYe
--
Daniel

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

... Uptime: 12d 6h 3m 14s
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fusion wrote to Utopian Galt <=-

back in the day we all just ran 3 nodes, COM2-4, and COM1 was for our modem/internet connection

I had a serial mouse and a serial printer, which made IRQs a mess. :)



... "The swift blade penetrates the salad."
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