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Messages - David Kiley

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Web applications / Re: QT5 simplebrowser
« on: June 09, 2021, 08:37:29 am »
The way I read your response I am not 100% certain you understand what Lewis wrote.

What Lewis his opinion is that some people purchased a license of ArcaOS 5.0 and when half a year later the 6 month the subscription expired and did not renew the subscription. Doing that is a user his right. The included OS/2 license remains always valid.

What Lewis mentioned is that he thinks its not far if people to renew the ArcaOS subscription after not having paid for it for 3 years. The customer then buys a new subscription and would access to version 5.0.6.  It seems BTW recently Arca Noae modified the policy and when you let the subscription expire for a long time you pay an extra fee for getting access again.

Well like I said I might have been too sensitive about it.
I understand that the license is still valid. I just don't like painting users who opt not to upgrade as somehow being unfair to others.
I don't have a problem with him opting to charge a larger fee if they decide to upgrade later - it's his business to price as he sees fit.
Just don't like the way he said it, is all.

Web applications / Re: QT5 simplebrowser
« on: June 07, 2021, 09:34:47 am »
If we indeed have a few thousand users in the community and 100 people are donating
well that is pretty low if you ask me...

But do you guys want to see the development for OS/2 by BWW stop yes or no ?
And if you guys do not want to stop how do we collect money then ?
I get were you are coming from.
Unless I am blind :).
I did find it on one of your posts here:

Web applications / Re: QT5 simplebrowser
« on: June 07, 2021, 08:59:19 am »
Where did LewisRosenthal write that then ?

Hi Roderick, I'm refering to this thread:,2452.0.html

Specifically this part:
Ivan: If your subscription is in force, then you have no rush. The point was for the folks who let their subscriptions lapse (think: early adopters, who purchased ArcaOS 5.0 in May of 2017 with six months included subscription and then never renewed). It's simply not fair to everyone who does renew on time to have people go three years and then re-up for another year at a fraction of the cost of a new license. Everyone else is funding development in the meantime. (And frankly, the vast majority of ArcaOS licensees do renew early or on time, probably because we continue to crank out new stuff and we work tirelessly to address trouble tickets. </shameless plug>)

The part about painting those opting to buy a subscription license later is somehow being "unfair" to others doesn't sit well with me.
I don't think someone who uses their ECS license or their early ArcaOS license owes other people anything.
They paid for the product in the first place. A person that is using something they purchased legally are not a leech.
But maybe i'm being too sensitive about that.

Web applications / Re: QT5 simplebrowser
« on: June 06, 2021, 07:10:05 pm »
David, since this is getting repetitive, I suggest you should remain posting this kind of comments on your "Well ArcaOS 5.0 is probably the last version for me." thread, since your latest posts where not related to the "QT5 simplebrowser".

Um.. actually it was related to the simple browser. There was an implication that more people downloading the browser then donating was somehow bad - and I connected it to the attitude that people who previously purchased arcaos licenses are also being painted as somehow "bad".
AKA A negative tone that very much is relevant to the thread.. I'm just saying that tone is getting tiresome. Like stop counting chickens before you get the eggs. And if you get the eggs than have enough grace to be thankful not resentful.

But on the positive side if/when I plan to get anther ArcaOS license it will be from Neil Waldhauer :).. and I recommend others do the same.

Web applications / Re: QT5 simplebrowser
« on: June 06, 2021, 07:02:42 pm »
Then they have a subscription and they let it expire and then 2 or 3 years later want to buy a subscription when they need support.

As for your point about RSJ I can comment on RSJ to some extend. eComStation came with a limited version of RSJ and it had to tied to eComStation somehow. I know because I made the deal with RSJ uears ago. That said the full license of RSJ you can/could buy should just work on ArcaOS. Its the version that came with eComStation that only runs on eCS. Did you accidently somehow install the version from RSJ for eCS ? Or was there update version that was also tied to eCS ? I can not remember 100% for certain. Its about 15 years ago.

Yeah I get that funding is needed. But I don't get the attitude that a previous paying customer is "bad". I mean they made money on that original transaction. Could they have made more from that same customer.. yeah but on the other hand it's not their money to decide how it should be spent until they earn it.

Regarding RSJ - I have a key file and it didn't work with ArcaOS. I looked at the text of the file and it specifically references ECS so I think my license was limited to ECS. Which kind of bothers me since I purchased it for the full price.
To be fair I haven't contacted the developer yet - maybe they would work something out with me.

Web applications / Re: QT5 simplebrowser
« on: June 06, 2021, 09:52:47 am »
But, will ArcaOS be the only future for OS/2? I am still very happy to use the AN Software Subscription for Drivers to have an up to date Warp 4.52 without ANPM (this is my special vision of using OS/2).
I agree that I also don't think legacy OS/2 users & ecomstation users should be "locked out" of the castle like criminals.
Unfortunately the os/2 community seems to be taking a bit of a dark tone as of recently from what i've seen.

While I appreciate all the great work Arca Noae has done - Lewis Rosenthal has strongly implied on this forum in the past that he considers people that don't keep their subscriptions "active" bad customers.and that kind of attitude is being displayed here as well.

I get that the platform needs resources but it's definitely getting old - since the only thing keeping me using the OS is my interest in it :) which could disappear rather quickly. I've spent more money on the platform then I really even have gotten back.. for example I purchased access to openoffice not once but twice and haven't even really used it yet at all.
I purchased my arcaos iso and then forgot to download it on time and ended up "updating" just to get access to my iso again.
I purchased RJ CD writer when I was using ecomstation but the license apparently doesn't work on Arcaos... since it was locked to ECS... so that money was just down the drain.
If anything people owe me money back from the return on investment i've gotten as of lately:). (I jest there lol since I don't expect money back from my own decisions)

It would be better to motivate people with positivity from the way I see it..... or I could start sending people a bill to punish all the companies that iv'e foolishly spent money on :D :D :D :D :D.

Oh ye of little faith...

I'd say AN has delivered (or is about to deliver) on its promise of OS/2 on modern hardware.
Well to be fair I haven't tried installing the latest version on bare metal since I decided to go emulation - so from what you guys have said I stand corrected on that.

I'm not saying AN hasn't delivered on what they promised - they have done an amazing job. I'm just not sure "os/2 on modern hardware" should be the goal.
But, it seems that most people here think otherwise, which is fine :).

I think AN do well the way they do.
An OS that only works in a virtual box is not really an "OS" anymore.
It would be just an interim solution for its own death.
I guess I don't see an OS loaded into a VM as not an OS. How do you see it so?
I have windows vista in a VM for some windows programs I have. If anything it's keeping the OS alive for me :).

I could care less if the OS is 64bit per say, but my understanding is it might eventually make web browser compiling impossible - and hence that will/could kill the OS at least for people running it on bare metal and wanting to use the internet. Unless I am wrong about that?

Applications / Re: Interest in Dr. Web Antivirus?
« on: May 27, 2021, 12:23:12 pm »
As for Dr. Web, I would need a lot more information about exactly how it works, and the cost, to make any decisions. One option would be for somebody to buy 5 (or more) licenses, and sub license them (depends on how that goes over with the owners). It would probably mean that whoever does it, would need to do front end problem resolution. Overall, I can't see that it would be a popular item.
Yeah not sure how popular the idea is either :) lol.
It looks like as of now it is just a console scanner. Here is some documentation of the features:

If a computer has already been infected and doesn't respond to system calls, Dr.Web Anti-virus scanner for DOS OS/2 could bring the machine back to life. Exceptional resistance to viruses and supported installation in an infected system distinguish Dr.Web products from its competitors. Dr.Web scanners can even be run without installation - from a CD or a removable drive, for instance.
Default settings

By default, the main memory, startup files, boot sectors, archives and packed files, mail programs' files and files in sub-directories of directories set to be checked are scanned. The heuristic analysis is performed as well, unless this option is disabled by a user upon launchingt the scanner. However, the default scanner settings do not contain curing jobs and no actions are specified for infected or suspicious files.
Command line options

Command line keys are used to manage program setting. If no keys are specified, scanning is performed using default settings, unless the latter were changed after the launch. Dr.Web console scanners have a lot of options determining the program performance, which can be divided into several groups: scanning, diagnostics, actions and interface settings. Being run, the scanner can be tuned for the current session with a list of targets to be scanned. All hard discs, one disc only, or files in directories or sub-directories can be scanned.
Flexible configuration

The default settings provided by our developers are optimal, however sometimes they can fail to meet particular user's demands. Dr.Web console scanners allow modifying the settings stored in the configuration file. Some parameters can be specified in the program's configuration file only. If you skip some parameter, which often happens while tuning, the default one will be used.
Scanning statistics

After the scanning is done, a report is generated on all checked, cured, moved, deleted and suspicious objects, as well as on time and speed of the scanning.
Set up options

The default settings designed by our developers are optimal, but they can sometimes fail to meet particular user’s demands. Dr.Web console scanners allow to flexibly modify the settings stored in the configuration file. Some settings can be specified in the program’s configuration file only. If you skip some parameter, which often happens while tuning, the default one will be used.

One thing I like about their linux program, even though there are only a few linux viruses in the wild at the moment, is their SpIDer Gate/Guard web filtesr. It scans traffic as you surf and detects bad sites and stops you from going there. So personally that would be a great feature if it could be added at some future time.

Anyways if there was sufficient interest in the community for a product then i'm wondering if they might be willing to develop it further.
Probably it would be up to the community to push that forward by purchasing licenses to the existing product, since otherwise I don't think they would likely invest resources into developing it further.

Another thought I had is maybe it could be bundled with other licenses - like if you could buy 3 seats.. One for Linux, one for Windows, and one for os/2.
In that case your getting more from the "investment" then just the os/2 product.

Anyways just some more thoughts on it.

Applications / Interest in Dr. Web Antivirus?
« on: May 26, 2021, 12:47:08 pm »
I'm a certified reseller of Dr. Web (first reseller from the USA I think) mostly i'm selling for Linux & Winddows right now.
But when reviewing their products as part as my certification "education" process I noticed they are one of the few companies still offering anti virus protection for os/2 (I assume a command line scanner, but with with modern antivirus databases).
But they currently require you to buy 5 licenses minimum and are obviously just focused on enterprise with that.

But it made me think I could talk to my contact there about if they would consider selling single licenses to the os/2 community.
So just curious if that was an option would people (on the forum) be interested in that - or not.
I see there is ClamAV so maybe not a huge demand for that kind of thing.

If there is any interested I could find out more about the product, features etc.
Just curios.

I don't think anyone here's getting worked up, David.
The points you make shows that you don't understand the philosophy behind ArcaOS, much less all that has actually been achieved. None of this is anyone's prerogative to explain to you however and I hope you understand that. Arca OS was never intended to be a competitor to mainstream operating systems, it was designed to serve it's niche of modern OS/2 users and does it remarkably well.
Glad to see I didn't ruffle too many feathers :).
Yeah iv'e definitely seen from these responses that there are a lot of people that care about running on modern hardware.
It just seems to me a lot more could be done with the OS if that wasn't the focus, which I guess was my point.
OS/2 has always been a 32 bit platform, for the sake of compatibility with the vast majority of the software (and hardware at times) we use, it ought to stay this way. Not to mention the plethora of other issues that would come with a 64 bit release.
My understanding, if i'm not wrong, is that based on source code limitations it can't be more than a 32bit os, and that is putting a strain on the future especially in web browsers. But, if the focus is on creating the best emulated environment, then things like the web browser wouldn't be so important and could be let go - since the host would already have a suitable browser.

Iv'e decided to jettison the idea of installing on bare metal and instead decided emulating in virtualbox is the best bet (for me),
Since, I can run arcaos 5 indefinitely inside virtualbox on my suse linux host.
I don't have to worry about future hardware support or getting the right hardware.
I don't have to care about a lack of functional web browser, since I have endless options on suse.

All of my old favorite os/2 apps will continue to work in my virtualbox window, and I can share files with the host computer.

I can already hear you guys already getting worked up that I am not supporting the future of os/2 in that case..
But iv'e already spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars supporting os/2 :).
Supporting Suse, which is my favorite linux distro, which is 64 bit and hence has a more viable future, would be a better return on investment for me at this point.

The only way I can see myself buying another license is maybe if I decide I also want another os/2 instance running on virtualbox on my laptop as well as my desktop.

Which brings up another topic - that I don't really agree with the general direction of os/2 development at this point.
There is no solving the OS being stuck in 32bit- which is a ticking time bomb.
All the resources being spent developing new hardware drivers is a waste, as well as the web browser development.
It would be better to just accept emulation as the best future course of the OS for all the pros I just described.
Instead of spending endless resources trying to get the OS again functioning on yet another motherboard and developing yet another web browser just to have it get obsolete again -
Instead Arca Noa could be spending time adding new features to the OS like GUI enhancements and new productivity features, if people just accept that emulation is the best route. I mean I could probably think of all kinds of cool things Arca Noa might be doing if they were not spending time getting the os working on yet another motherboard - like maybe integrating the OS with cloud services like Google Drive.
And then, maybe I would have a reason to upgrade to future version :).

And I like messing around with older stuff !


Hi Greggory,
I like old stuff too :).
When I was going to install os/2 on an old rig I read good compatibility reports for  the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L which would work with your CPU. That motherboard has all solid caps too.. good for durability.
As I remember everything was reported to work except for the nic - but it is easy to get a pci nic to throw in there.
You would also need a graphics card for it since that motherboard doesn't have a built in integrated video.

I ended up deciding emulating arcaos is the best bet for me though so I didn't end up using the board myself and ended up donating the board to a friend - just passing along what I had read about it though.

David Kiley

Web applications / Re: browsers shutting down
« on: February 12, 2021, 11:11:29 am »
Some websites work OK, some eventually make the browser or the operating system to hang or crash, some crash the browser instantly.
It usually is the more involved sites, like news sites, that seem to crash and burn the browser. If I browse with abandon it seems to happen about every 10-15 minutes when i'm busy. If I stay on just os2world it seems to be A-OK though :)!

Have not tried the noscript plugins yet - maybe worth a try next.

So it sounds like it is a bit normal at this point, from your description. I wonder how things will work with the new otter browser, when it comes out. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Web applications / Re: browsers shutting down
« on: February 12, 2021, 11:06:19 am »
Hi David, I guess you are using the NSPR4 and NSS packages from Netlabs-exp. This is a known issue with those versions. Its a weird problem that we can't figure out, especially since the browser just vanishes without a trace.
Fix is to downgrade those packages, not easy and needs to be done on the cmd line (unless the newer ANPM has fixes for downgrading multiple packages).
Another fix, that I haven't tested, but should work would be to have the Netlabs-rel versions of those packages in the programs directory or elsewhere and use BEGINLIBPATH and LIBPATHSTRICT to make sure you are loading the older versions.
Hi Dave,
I'm using the firefox that came installed with arcaos 5.06, and then I installed (following the yum package requirements in the text file for seamonkey) as well as libvpx-legacy-4.
Not sure if doing those changes would have installed those exp packages or not.

I was planning to reinstall my arcaos installation anyways so I will be curious to know if it happens with just firefox on a plain install.. IE is it something i'm doing while installing seamonkey.

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