OS/2
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Even though the first version of OS/2 I ever used was Warp 3, I found a copy of 2.1 in a computer "junk" store a few years ago. IBM introduced a fully 32 bit graphics subsystem with this version. The Presentation Manager also made its debut, including things like TrueType fonts, limited PCMCIA support, advanced power management, and so on.
OS/2 2.1 comes on 23 floppies: a boot floppy, 17 numbered installation diskettes, 3 for printer drivers and 2 for display drivers. Fortunately, installation is not as much of a chore on an emulator (using floppy images) as it would be if one were doing this with real floppies - ah, brings back memories of frustration and "bad" diskettes.
OS/2 (stands for Operating System/2, unsurprisingly) was originally developed as a joint product by IBM and Microsoft. "A Short History of OS/2" is a good place to learn more about OS/2.
I first used OS/2 in early 1995, shortly after OS/2 Warp Version 3 was released. I later acquired Warp Connect, that combined all the features of Warp 3 with network connectivity and tools.
Warp Connect 3 installs and runs under Virtual PC out-of-the-box, with the only caveat being that you have to create a fixed size disk that is not too large, say 500 MB.
IBM made a press release on September 25, 1996 announcing availability of OS/2 Warp 4. The tag line was "The Easiest Way to a Connected World". Warp 4 incorporated features like Sun's Java technology and IBM VoiceType dictation software. It had remote access capabilities, Mobile File Synchronization and Advanced Power Management. IBM claimed that Warp 4 had a cleaner and more logical user interface with visual enhancements like 3-D shadowed icons, 256 color exploitation, new fonts and so on. Consider the system requirements for OS/2 Warp 4:
- Minimum: Intel 486/33 or higher with 12 to 16 MB of memory.
- For speech navigation: Intel Pentium/75 or higher with 16 to 20 MB of memory.
- For speech navigation and dictation: Intel Pentium/100 or higher with 24 to 32 MB of memory.
When released, Warp 4 was $249 for first-time customers in the United States. Upgrade price was $149. The OS package included OS/2 Warp 4, Lotus Notes Mail 4.1, an application sampler CD-ROM with light versions of approximately 80 OS/2 applications, and a CD-ROM with access to hundreds of OS/2 device drivers.
Warp 4 installs and runs under Virtual PC without much ado.
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