JLP’s Blog

I still remember the excitement when we were getting our very first PC in 1996. One of the things we also had to do was to choose an operating system for it. The two main options were IBM OS/2 Warp 4 and Microsoft Windows 95. After reading a couple of articles in Slovenian computer magazines we decided to go with OS/2 Warp 4 as it appeared to be quite a bit more advanced (about one year later we installed Windows 95 and I could experience for myself how much better OS/2 Warp 4 was). I spent countless hours playing the game Galactic Civilisations 2 on OS/2. My first attempt at programming was also on OS/2, using a programming language REXX. So you see, I liked OS/2 Warp 4 a lot.

Here’s a nice video about OS/2 Warp:
Computer Chronicles: OS/2 Warp

This April I’ve read an article on The Inquirer about OS/2 being 20 years old. My nostalgic memories of OS/2 have woken up and I started digging for more information about OS/2 on the internet. I’ve found out that OS/2 community is still alive and kicking and it looks like free and open source software is bringing fresh new life into the venerable operating system. There is even a company Serenity Systems International which has licensed the OS/2 code from IBM. They are still developing and advancing OS/2 in the form of their eComStation operating system (version 2.0 is about to be released). You can also download a demo version of eComStation which is a nice Live CD. I’ll have to try it out soon.

Two weeks ago I tried to find our OS/2 Warp 4 CDs and the box. But unfortunately it looks like we threw all that into the trash can. So the only option was that I download a copy from the internet. Luckily I found it on ED2K network, together with Galactic Civilizations for OS/2. I’ve also started a little hunt to find and collect various OS/2 items, starting with the operating system itself. Let’s see how much of the OS/2 part of computer history I can build up. The first piece of the puzzle has just found its way into my hands. It’s a brand new box of IBM OS/2 Warp 3, the red edition with bonus pack, still wrapped in plastic foil.

Some more videos of OS/2 Warp:
Opening OS/2 Warp 3 for the 1st time…
Upgrade to Win95? Upgrade to Vista? It hurts again!

What’s next. First I’ll check out the eComStation live CD. Then I’ll try to install OS/2 Warp 4.52 in a virtual machine or maybe even build a special computer for it from old parts. I’ll try to recreate the computer desktop from the days when I was younger and again play some Galactic Civilizations. Oh, if you have (or know someone who has) some OS/2 software or other item and you don’t know what to do with it, leave a comment or send me an e-mail, just don’t throw it into the trash can.

Go Team OS/2!

Tags: os/2, os2, warp, os/2 warp, os2 warp, ibm, operating systems, ecomstation, rexx, computer history