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eComStation 1.1 Entry Edition Review

Posted by timothy on from the what-a-name dept.

Gentu writes "OSNews reviews the latest incarnation of the legendary OS/2, eComStation 1.1 Entry Edition. The product was released less than a month ago, after a 1.5 years gap of the original 1.0 eCS version. The Serenity Systems guy seems to have overhaul the installation procedure, but not always with the best results."

1 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. OS/2 Taught me what a true OS was to be. by cybrthng · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I loved OS/2 like no other os. OS/2 truely let me choose what i want out of my os.

    I could rip the gui off and install a 3rd party shell manager, i could install a command line shell/task switcher, i could extend the desktop, i could replace system objects and i could use modular file systems and much much more. It was just a "theme" or hack, it was extending the framework.. something unique even to this day!

    Sure back in the 2.0 and 2.11 days running Windows Apps was an extra bonus, but i didn't bother with it other then saying "cool".

    I was too busy bugging Mustang software to port wildcat! pro over, after they failed i jumped ship to PcBoard 15 and then eventually adopted synchronet all of which ran beautifully under OS/2 and still let me play my Sierra Games, surf the web and listen to my S3M's, MOD's and watch my future crew demos and chat online..

    OS/2 Replaced DESQview 386 & Qemm as a stable and very nice MULTITASKING os. I was sure as hell glad when i finally got a CDROM as pushing floppies during install sucked ass. I had to upgrade to 16 megs of memory, but back then that was alot cheaper then pilling up multiple computers and running netware!!

    But the golden era started when OS/2 Connect Came out. OS/2 connect taught me what networking was about. OS/2 connect gave me my first run into the world of TCP/IP, Netbios, and netware (had to install the OS/2 netware client to join up with my other machines for playing Doom!) I was able to run my BBS and have a 19.2 modem connection to the internet and it all worked through the magic SIO comm driver replacements. Runnning DOS doors, IRC chats, Usenet gateways and UUCP feeds, i was the baddest 15 year old running an BBS/ISP.

    Not to mention i was a part of TeamOS/2, getting free shirts, visiting conferences and getting published in books! Remember those OS/2 unleashed books? I'm there :)

    Everything started to peak at OS/2 warp 3.0.. for a while there was even 3rd party software at the store. Object desktop was showing the power of object oriented desktop and the gui/workplace shell and days were looking good.

    Then came... OS/2 Warp 4.0 with its 179.00+ upgrade and 299.00 base fee.. NT 4.0 was now out and pushing for...uhm.. FREE on any PC you bought that day.. basically putting the nail in the coffin.

    I ran OS/2 warp 4.0 for a while longer and then switched to Linux and NT myself.. Linux was finally coming of age and after being the first BBS in houston to offer linux for download i (12 floppies mang) i chose to convert myself.

    BBS Scene died, had to spend more time in school, got a job and ended up working my way up through the internet world and now work as an oracle guru..

    funny how OS/2 started it all for me. Nice to see some of that still alive. Visit OS2.org and say high! There is even a port of Wine to run windows apps emulated/native on OS/2 and much much more..

    amazingly, driver support is still doing well. IBM *STILL* sells OS/2.. its just called "WorkPlace OS" now.