mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
Tannin, I'm sure you saw this over at The Inquirer.
IBM waves goodbye to OS/2 operating system
- Thread starter mubs
- Start date
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Or Slashdot.
Kind of a sad day. At this point it'll be interesting to see how computing history describes OS/2.
In my classes I end up taking quite a while explaining the impact of OS/2 to my students. It's hard for them to understand... OS/2 was the impetus for the creation of Windows (which started as a technology demonstration for the OS/2 graphical interface), the basis for Windows networking (NetBIOS), the first PC desktop OS to include TCP/IP and useful client tools - 2.1 came with a gopher client in 1994, which is pretty amazing given that Microsoft didn't even start development on IE until late in 1995 OS/2 gave us LAN Manager, the DOS client for Windows networking. OS/2 begat Windows NT, which is for most purposes the only successful general -purpose operating system developed in the last 15 years (Linux, of course, has roots that go back far longer).
But.. it's a history lesson. Almost a footnote at this point. There are plenty of footnotes in computing history. Sperry? Amdahl? Apollo? Be? Anyone? GeCOS? Multics? How 'bout Novell or Spyglass?
OS/2 certainly should be remembered. It's not the punchline to a joke. OS/2 did great things for PCs in general (and, Tannin will argue, even greater things for OS/2 users). The question is, will anyone care in 20 years?
Kind of a sad day. At this point it'll be interesting to see how computing history describes OS/2.
In my classes I end up taking quite a while explaining the impact of OS/2 to my students. It's hard for them to understand... OS/2 was the impetus for the creation of Windows (which started as a technology demonstration for the OS/2 graphical interface), the basis for Windows networking (NetBIOS), the first PC desktop OS to include TCP/IP and useful client tools - 2.1 came with a gopher client in 1994, which is pretty amazing given that Microsoft didn't even start development on IE until late in 1995 OS/2 gave us LAN Manager, the DOS client for Windows networking. OS/2 begat Windows NT, which is for most purposes the only successful general -purpose operating system developed in the last 15 years (Linux, of course, has roots that go back far longer).
But.. it's a history lesson. Almost a footnote at this point. There are plenty of footnotes in computing history. Sperry? Amdahl? Apollo? Be? Anyone? GeCOS? Multics? How 'bout Novell or Spyglass?
OS/2 certainly should be remembered. It's not the punchline to a joke. OS/2 did great things for PCs in general (and, Tannin will argue, even greater things for OS/2 users). The question is, will anyone care in 20 years?
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
will anyone remember windows in 20 years? or microsoft for that matter?
I'm sure we will remember the invertion of the GUI.... but whether it will be windows, MacOS, or OS/2 they remember or not I am less sure of.
I'm sure we will remember the invertion of the GUI.... but whether it will be windows, MacOS, or OS/2 they remember or not I am less sure of.
Tea
Storage? I am Storage!
Excellent summary, Mercutio. I'd add two points to it, one a matter of emphasis, the other of current state of play.On the first, I think it's beyond argument that OS/2 was responsible in very large part for the dramatic improvements in both power and stability that we have seen Windows go through since NT and Win95 replaced the dreadful 3.1.Both would have come along eventually, of course, but neither would have come as quickly or been as well engineered as they were without the serious commercial threat that OS/2 was at that time.
On the second, one should not write off OS/2 as a purely historical operating system now. IBM have finally stopped selling it, but IBM have not been actively selling it for many years now. The OS/2 codebase survives and continues to be enhanced by Serenity Systems, but is now called ECS.
Which reminds me: it's time I checked their website to download the fixpack that I haven't got around to grabbing yet, and to see if 1.1 is out yet - it's nearly due.
On the second, one should not write off OS/2 as a purely historical operating system now. IBM have finally stopped selling it, but IBM have not been actively selling it for many years now. The OS/2 codebase survives and continues to be enhanced by Serenity Systems, but is now called ECS.
Which reminds me: it's time I checked their website to download the fixpack that I haven't got around to grabbing yet, and to see if 1.1 is out yet - it's nearly due.
cas
Learning Storage Performance
You may want to double-check that before your next lesson. Work on Interface Manager(Windows) began in late 1981. The first screen shots made the trade publications in 1983. Microsoft didn’t agree to work on Advanced DOS (OS/2), until 1985. The impetus for the creation of Windows, were the successes at Xerox Parc, the Apple Lisa, and of course, the Apple Macintosh.Mercutio said:
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Got a source for that, cas? I'd really like to know more about the early history of Windows than I do.
My understanding is that Microsoft's first adventure in GUI software was Excel for the Mac (PARC blah blah), and that the success of that product led to a more general interest in a GUI for x86 PCs which led to the commission of the Windows project as part of the efforts of the OS/2 project.
In fact, I really like teaching "history lessons" about computers. Understanding the roots of the technologies we use in my opinion makes the branches that have spread since much easier to understand.
Y'know, I forgot to mention OS/2's other big contribution - long file names. Unix and Macintosh computers had them, but OS/2 was the first mainstream OS in x86-land to provide LFNs.
My understanding is that Microsoft's first adventure in GUI software was Excel for the Mac (PARC blah blah), and that the success of that product led to a more general interest in a GUI for x86 PCs which led to the commission of the Windows project as part of the efforts of the OS/2 project.
In fact, I really like teaching "history lessons" about computers. Understanding the roots of the technologies we use in my opinion makes the branches that have spread since much easier to understand.
Y'know, I forgot to mention OS/2's other big contribution - long file names. Unix and Macintosh computers had them, but OS/2 was the first mainstream OS in x86-land to provide LFNs.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Come on! People have a better memory than that. I still remember King Quest 1 and it is 21 years old. I even remember where I was stuck and that I've never been able to finish it.blakerwry said:
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
CougTek said:
I agree. Microsoft has made a big enough impression on people (bad and good) that I doubt people will forget about windows.
Remember the DOS days will turn into "remember the windows days".
I didn't realize kings quest was that old! It always amazed me what you could type in kings quest and how annoyed I would get with the responses.
According to
http://wesley.stanford.edu/computer_history/WINDOWS.HTM
Windows was announced in 1983 and first shipped in 1985, two years
before the announcement of OS/2.
According to
http://www.granneman.com/techinfo/backgrou/history/
IBM & MS started development of OS/2 in 1983, but
Windows 1.0 was already available (and demoed to IBM in 1984).
Windows 2.0 and OS/2 1.0 released in the same year. (1987)
http://wesley.stanford.edu/computer_history/WINDOWS.HTM
Windows was announced in 1983 and first shipped in 1985, two years
before the announcement of OS/2.
According to
http://www.granneman.com/techinfo/backgrou/history/
IBM & MS started development of OS/2 in 1983, but
Windows 1.0 was already available (and demoed to IBM in 1984).
Windows 2.0 and OS/2 1.0 released in the same year. (1987)
cas
Learning Storage Performance
“In 1985, Gates signed a long-term joint development agreement with IBM to create a new operating system from scratch, known at the time as Advanced DOS. Eventually, it took the name OS/2.”Mercutio said:
All of the dates I quoted are documented in Hard Drive by Wallace and Erickson. Much of the same period is covered by Gates. A view from the other side can be found in Steve Jobs, The Journey Is the Reward.
Since OS/2 was intended to be the successor to DOS, I suppose you could expand the definition of OS/2 to include all projects at Microsoft designed to improve upon DOS. By this broader definition, work on OS/2 began as soon as DOS was shipped. The development of OS/2 as an operating system to support the 286 (which Gates justifiably hated), and fit in to IBM’s SAA/CUA unified vision however, began with the joint development agreement.
As for Xerox, it is important not to underestimate the influence of PARC. The man who built Microsoft’s applications business was Charles Simonyi, formerly of PARC. Microsoft became one of the first companies in the world to buy a Star, when Gates plunked down $100,000 to buy the machine, shortly after hiring Simonyi. If you doubt Simonyi influence, consider that he is the Hungarian of Hugarian Notation.
