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Keeping the OS/2 Flame Alive

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the burn-baby-burn dept.

nanday writes "Ever wondered what happened to OS/2? With IBM officially abandoning the operating system last year, users are relying on a third party version of OS/2 -- and, increasingly, using free and open source software to keep it alive." From the article: "According to Haverblad, the main reason that users stay with OS/2 is for 'features that Windows and Linux don't have yet.' He singles out the REstructured eXtended eXecutor (REXX), an interpreted programming language known for its ease of use, a 'rock solid kernel,' 'excellent multitasking,' and low system requirements. Haverblad also claims a lack of viruses and spyware and, referencing a report on OS/2 Warp Server by Secunia, fewer security vulnerabilities." Newsforge is also an OSTG site.

4 of 316 comments (clear)

  1. Obligatory Bill Gates Quote by ribuck · · Score: 5, Informative
    "I believe OS/2 is destined to be the most important operating system, and possibly program, of all time. As the successor to DOS, which has over 10,000,000 systems in use, it creates incredible opportunities for everyone involved with PCs."

    -- Bill Gates, from "OS/2 Programmer's Guide" (forward by Bill Gates)

    --
    Paid Q&A/Research
  2. OS/2 died on August 17, 1995 by mr_majestyk · · Score: 5, Informative

    On that day, OS/2's architect, Gordon Letwin, posted USENET message explaining why the system was doomed in the market. After that, it was all downhill.

  3. Re:The problem is... by AaronLawrence · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, those old versions of browsers are really painful.

    --
    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
  4. ATM machines & OS/2 by harshmanrob · · Score: 5, Informative

    80% of the ATM machines in North America are running OS/2 right now. I'd call that one hell of an install base. I know this becuase my company does remote IT support for several banks, including one that plans to be the largest financial institution by the end of 2007. In that bank, a civil war is being fought between the Wintel and Unix/Linux side to decide what these ATM machines will run when IBM drops support. I do not know about you, but it scares the crap out of me to put in my ATM card and the next thing I see is a blue screen. That is when Mr. Crowbar will have to take over.