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Article Discussions / Re: Adding an extra thing to the ArcaOS strategy ?
« Last post by Mathias on March 18, 2026, 08:42:41 pm »
Dear Martin,

I think .. in theory yes, it is an interesting idea to replace as many components as possible with opensource alternatives, BUT.. besides all the porting work, this will kill the OS one day.

Reason why? - Imagine you have replaced a good chunk of tools and maybe even main components.
Next day the open source community decides ProjectX (or some dependencies) move on to Rust or some other compiler, that we are not able to compile for OS/2 with.
Now you're operating system is busted, if you can't move back to the old closed source components. (maybe due to dependencies)

Of course you'd say the components are old anyway; Why would it hurt being unable to update the newly replaced elements also.
Well.. opensource software usually comes with loads of dependencies. In the end it's very well possible to end up at a point where you can't update anything anymore since everything depends on anything else.

These dependencies are fine as long as you can satisfy them. But which each dependency failing the risk raises that the whole thing is breaking apart.

So.. I'd strongely suggest to remain in the own environment, and NOT to depend on opensource too much.
It is a nice idea in a world, where the are no 32bit barriers and where you could move along with all the requirements the opensource platform has and will have, and in a world where there are enough developers for the platform. Could work out then : )


--> On the other hand, I do understand the need to chance "something" in order to become more modern. And somewhere we need to start.
OpenSource has lots of developers and OS/2 only has a few. - So shouldn't hurt to move to OpenSource more. Correct. But the world spins faster than we could replace components. (Currently we realise environment is aging by the day, and we need to get creative to overcome the next obstacle and again and again..)
Somewhere you'd always hit the 32bit barrier, and with even more linux distributions moving to 64bit only, dropping 32bit completely, air is getting thinner for 32bit ports. (Yes up2date 32bit software won't be around forever..)

Since OS/2 is closed source, logic dictates, to cut the ropes at a certain moment in time. The future might be an OS/2-look-alike operating system that 100% is opensource, and therefore is compliant with all the changes opensource brings in the future.
An operating system that is 64bit, that is at the pulse of the current time and updated to current software versions available in the opensource world.
An operating system that looks and feels like OS/2 (if I could wish for Warp 3 style), but actually is native linux.
For me, there would NOT even need to be compatibility with native OS/2 applications. Who needs that may buy ArcaOS please.

The main focus of that opensource-compliant OS/2-look-alike would just to have the look and feel of OS/2 that we all love so much. Same dialogs, same shortcuts, same window decorations, etc. All the settings need to be at equal places.
Since it is current opensource, you could have an up2date dosbox, qemu, vbox, etc to run your retro stuff.

Everything would work out-of-the-box since basically it IS linux and no longer OS/2. (but feels like OS/2)

For the OS/2 community, this argument is invalid though, since the OS/2 folks want their native OS/2.... which we can only have either one or the other.
Mixing up the two worlds is only possible to a specific extent. At some point in the future you just need to cut the ropes and recreate the whole thing. Just you won't get the under-the-hood-functionality.. lilke natively run OS/2 stuff.. or Windows 3.x or DOS, since we do lack the code.
But you would get an up2date operating system, that feels like OS/2 and which you could ACTUALLY use on a daily basis for EVERYTHING that comes to your mind. Like in the old days..

For ME, OS/2 and ArcaOS is NOT for daily use. I see it as an enthusiast operating system. Retro is the top thing at the moment, and it is wonderful to NATIVELY run ArcaOS (OS/2) on a current machine you can buy in a store. ArcaNoae does an excellent job with that, and I cannot thank them enough for their time and effort!

What do I do with OS/2 and ArcaOS?
- Mainly retro stuff like running old games
- trying out old development environment
- trying out CoBOL
- feeling young again when I run (and change) my own QuickBasic code from back in the day
- doing disk forensics
- text work like translations
- listening to CDs (yes compact discs) like I did in the 90ies with the native OS/2 CD player (yes feeling younger right at the spot. :D)
- trying to keep an ssh client working in order to connect to  linux machines
- connecting to Windows VMs and physical machines on the network via RDP

So.. as you can see. no browsing needed in my case. Also I do not need OS/2 to run my current favourite games (just the old games from the 90ies need to run fine! (I need DTA and joystick/pad translators please :D)
For all the above stuff I will always keep a native ArcaOS (current machine) and OS/2 Warp 3 (486 DX2-66) running.

Wouldn't hurt though to have an up2date 64bit OS/2-look-and-feel-like linux distribution which's window manager comes as close to the WPS as possible (including all the well known settings folders and so on).

Mathias
32
Applications / Re: Java applications
« Last post by P.R. on March 18, 2026, 07:24:54 pm »
I did try connecting OS/2 xterm to it, both with 127.0.0.1:0 and :1 and using my IP address. Couldn't connect in all cases. Same with xman, which is pretty simple.
While the exact software configuration is unclear, the "xhost +" line in the props file is likely commented out by default. This must be enabled to allow external access. On the Linux system, you need to point the DISPLAY variable to the OS/2 machine's IP address using the terminal:

export DISPLAY=[IP-Address]:0
Afterward, running xterm will redirect the output as intended.

If you are working from an active XFree86 session on OS/2, set weirdx.displaynum=1 in the props file, as display 0 is already occupied. Even in this case, the DISPLAY variable must be initialized in the terminal first.
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Utilities / Re: SYSLOGD - stopped working...SYSxxxx, but why?
« Last post by Lars on March 18, 2026, 04:23:45 pm »
The 0005 is the low order 16-bits of the c0000005 exception code.  The truncation is probably a side effect of the fact that cmd.exe is antique 16-bit code.

Bit of a smartass answer: the Control Programming Guide actually states that the exception code is only the lower 16 bits of the 32-bit word.
The upper 2 bits of the 32-bit word is the exception "severity code". With the two bits being set meaning "error". Whatever that would be useful for. Aditionally, for the remaining bits there is a "customer code" flag and a "facility code".
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Programming / Re: cross-os2emx
« Last post by Dave Yeo on March 18, 2026, 06:18:37 am »
Docview perhaps should be added to cross-os2emx to view inf files. Can you test if it works on your dist.
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Programming / Re: cross-os2emx
« Last post by Dave Yeo on March 18, 2026, 06:05:25 am »
Running ./cmake --version results in,
Code: [Select]
dave@dave-ThinkCentre-M910s:~/opt/os2emx/bin$ cmake --version
CMake Error: Could not find CMAKE_ROOT !!!
CMake has most likely not been installed correctly.
Modules directory not found in
/home/dave/opt/os2emx/share/cmake-3.28
cmake version 3.28.3

CMake suite maintained and supported by Kitware (kitware.com/cmake).

And sure enough, there is only ~/opt/os2emx/share/cmake-3.31, along with sibling cmake directory.
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Programming / Re: Please test os2emx-cross-toolchain
« Last post by Dave Yeo on March 18, 2026, 05:33:52 am »
Hi Myung-Hun,

Thank you very much for this, it is ideal for me as I do most of my stuff under Ubuntu now, with OS/2 in a VirtualPC.
Will set it up and give it a try over the next week.

If you get a chance, try to build PMMail with this environment.

Where is the source?
37
Applications / Re: Java applications
« Last post by Dave Yeo on March 17, 2026, 11:54:36 pm »
I did try connecting OS/2 xterm to it, both with 127.0.0.1:0 and :1 and using my IP address. Couldn't connect in all cases. Same with xman, which is pretty simple.
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Applications / Re: Java applications
« Last post by P.R. on March 17, 2026, 10:05:49 pm »
I run it here with "java -jar weirdx-1.0.32.jar" but it just gives me a white screen.

This behavior is actually quite normal for the program. Similar to HOBX11 or PMX, it simply provides an X server to display X11 software within the WPS. Essentially, there are two ways to fill the empty program window: you can either run XFree86 software locally on your PC or redirect the program output from a Linux system to be displayed on the WPS.

A key advantage is that WeirdX is 'EFI-safe,' meaning it runs on ArcaOS under EFI. In contrast, XFree86 and HOBX11 do not work on EFI-based systems. Correction: HOBX works

Despite what the readme suggests, it actually runs well on more recent Java versions, including those on ArcaOS. However, there is a catch: its capabilities are limited to the X11R6 standard. Consequently, it cannot handle the requirements of modern, up-to-date Linux systems, so you will have to test individual applications to see if they are compatible.

You can find further information and a screenshot on this archived page:https://web.archive.org/web/20120503060039/http://www.jcraft.com/weirdx/

There are three display modes available: InBrowser, Rootless, and RootlessWM (which can be configured in the 'props' file). RootlessWM is theoretically the most elegant option because it integrates the application window directly into the WPS. Unfortunately, this mode suffers from a significant bug that makes it almost unusable: all menu pop-ups appear behind the main window, making them very difficult to access. While there are workarounds, they aren't practical for daily use.

I have attached screenshots of both modes from an old virtual environment (eCS). In these examples, Firefox is being streamed from a Raspberry Pi 3 to the system.

39
Article Discussions / Re: Adding an extra thing to the ArcaOS strategy ?
« Last post by JTA on March 17, 2026, 07:42:32 pm »
David Kiley's comments:  "I mean, do I need yet another version of os/2 warp that works on a 2026 motherboard? Not at all. Do I need a functional browser? Yes. They are already spending a ton of resources but just in the wrong direction. I think it's time to relegate the old IBM license to a virtualized session inside a totally new OS, while keeping WPS on top of it, which is where the user has always spent 99% of their time anyways."

We all want a "functional browser", and most want it within OS/2 (ArcaOS). But, no need to beat up on AN, because it's their ball (their OS), and they've chosen not to do apps. This probably makes sense, if you assume their primary focus is all the business users of OS/2 licenses.

So, the problem is ours (the community of retail OS/2 or ArcaOS users) ... we just need a solution, and it isn't to wait on developers to develop the "os/2 browser", or move "os/2 to x64", as discussed in too many threads. That will either never happen, or will take many more years/decades ...

IMHO, for "right now", the quickest solution here is to AToF your new hardware (which does put OS/2 or ArcaOS into a vm) ... AToF can happen now, if you choose to do it. It doesn't require AN to do anything for us, so, we should stop beating up on them (for things they've already stated "they aren't doing").

AToF does everything you describe in your last sentence of the commented text above. You'll have a modern browser on your PM desktop. And, any other x64 and/or modern app (mostly written for windows) on your PM desktop.

(detailed threads of AToF in the virtualization sub-forum ... and yes, I'm working on a simplified version of it. I might've presented it at Warpstock 2025, but they still don't have a good "remote attendee" solution, among other problems)
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Hello

I have an issue here with the SMF forum script. It is getting old, and I can not update it because Firefox / Seamonkey for OS/2 will not work on the newer version.
But I don't know if the newer version of SMF will be better for mobile. You can check it here: https://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php

I still don't know if the forum script should be updated yet.

Regards
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