OS2 World Community Forum

Public Discussions => General Discussion => Topic started by: Dariusz Piatkowski on November 21, 2014, 08:26:53 pm

Title: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Dariusz Piatkowski on November 21, 2014, 08:26:53 pm
Folks...just thought I'd let everyone know that these guys got my business for a product that I (and perhaps others) have been wanting for quite some time now without having to purchase/dedicate themselves to a complete migration.

Namely, this is the "Drivers Package"...and for OS/2 users like myself who did not wish to pursue the eCS move but wanted to update the OS to handle the newer hardware this was badly needed. Never understood why the folks behind eCS didn't seriously consider that option, even when inquiries were being sent it regarding it.

Arca Noae, great job you guys...keep up the effort!!!
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Martin Iturbide on November 21, 2014, 09:31:33 pm
Hi.

Just to give more detail your post, Dariusz is referring to this product "OS/2 & eCS drivers and software package – personal edition $49.00 (https://www.arcanoae.com/shop/os2-ecs-drivers-software-package-personal/)"

Regards
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Andreas Schnellbacher on November 21, 2014, 11:05:46 pm
Namely, this is the "Drivers Package"...and for OS/2 users like myself who did not wish to pursue the eCS move but wanted to update the OS to handle the newer hardware this was badly needed. Never understood why the folks behind eCS didn't seriously consider that option, even when inquiries were being sent it regarding it.

Arca Noae, great job you guys...keep up the effort!!!
Apparently there was nothing added as yet, compared to the Mensys Software Subscription. This release has nothing to do with migration. It's an option to provide experienced users with installable updates. That's surely not for the end user.

Mensys and co-programmers tried a real migration, which bases on the original IBM installation. That's a quite different approach, which can't be compared with the Arca Noae packages. In details you'll find that even the Mensys distributions contain separately installable packages. Most of them are placed in DVD:\CID\SERVER\ECSPKG.
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Martin Iturbide on November 22, 2014, 04:21:33 pm
Hi

I think it is a good start. But let's see how things move, of course it needs to keep moving.

What makes me wonder is if Mensys is finally going to signed the deal with Arca Noae (it was told at WarpStock that the agreement was not signed yet). Just notice that what is used to be power of eComStation Software subscription product is now on the hands of Arca Noae, while the OS/2 licenses and the full installer is on hands of Mensys. So, if they don't reach an agreement it might slow the things for the platform. (more slow....it does not mean that things was moving fast in the past :) )

If the agreement does not turns into a reality, we can have the option of grabbing OS/2 Warp 4.52 CD ISO and make a custom, UpdCD like, distribution of OS/2. But we will lost ability to get new license to new users since only Mensys has the OEM agreement with IBM.

...just some thoughts.

Regards
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: muffetta on November 22, 2014, 09:39:42 pm
Exactly, this is the problem now, they need an agreement. Surely most of eCS users will not pay for a double subscription, old OS/2 users instead will pay.
This is the situation now:
OS/2 Warp users: Very happy..the final solution now is here..
eCS users: Now we need to buy a piece here and one somewhere else  :-\
...comforting...
Regards
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Lewis Rosenthal on November 22, 2014, 09:54:54 pm
Namely, this is the "Drivers Package"...and for OS/2 users like myself who did not wish to pursue the eCS move but wanted to update the OS to handle the newer hardware this was badly needed. Never understood why the folks behind eCS didn't seriously consider that option, even when inquiries were being sent it regarding it.

Arca Noae, great job you guys...keep up the effort!!!
Thanks, Dariusz!

It has been a truly busy week, and the response to our store opening has been outstanding.

Indeed, our current approach is quite different from releasing an entirely new installable OS. Let's face it, OS/2 is a fairly mature, yet extensible, operating platform. By updating some of the core functionality, it is possible to keep even older installations usable on newer hardware.

Apparently there was nothing added as yet, compared to the Mensys Software Subscription. This release has nothing to do with migration. It's an option to provide experienced users with installable updates. That's surely not for the end user.

Mensys and co-programmers tried a real migration, which bases on the original IBM installation. That's a quite different approach, which can't be compared with the Arca Noae packages. In details you'll find that even the Mensys distributions contain separately installable packages. Most of them are placed in DVD:\CID\SERVER\ECSPKG.
Andreas, I'm not quite sure I follow your point.

Our software subscription is not just for experienced users. In the very near future, our YUM GUI will be available, taking the pain out of package management for even the average user. That's surely better than directing someone to the \CID\SERVER\ECSPKG directory on the CD or DVD and having him or her unzip and manually apply those packages which are not bundled as WPIs.

In addition, our package (as of right now) provides a newer (citing just one example) ACPI than eCS 2.2 beta II, and this package is not available from Mensys or XEU. In short, the Arca Noae offering is separate and apart from Mensys/XEU's software subscription service.

I think it is a good start. But let's see how things move, of course it needs to keep moving.
Well, Martin, things are progressing for us at a good pace. We anticipate offering our updated USB driver package shortly, as well as the YUM GUI. We will also be repackaging some of Paul Smedley's ports for distribution as RPM packages (easily installable from the YUM GUI), and hope soon to also have some of KO Myung-Hun's ports packaged and distributed the same way.

Exactly, this is the problem now, they need an agreement. Surely most of eCS users will not pay for a double subscription, old OS/2 users instead will pay.
This is the situation now:
OS/2 Warp users: Very happy..the final solution now is here..
eCS users: Now we need to buy a piece here and one somewhere else  :-\
...comforting...
Barbara, I understand your concern. eCS users need not buy both subscriptions, though they surely may do so (we do not provide direct defect support for OS/2 or eCS in our subscription, only for the components we provide).

Our subscription service further differs from Mensys/XEU. It applies across operating system versions (OS/2 Warp 4.52, eCS 1.x, eCS 2.x) and where components cross over and are available in Mensys/XEU's product, currently, our components are either at the same level or newer (and our goal is to continue updates). We also include access to components from our other strategic partners, like bww bitwise works GmbH.

We think our subscription offers a good value and can even be used to complement an existing Mensys software subscription, so there's no "either/or" choice to be made.

Finally, we are committed to investing as much of our revenue stream as possible back into further development. As much as we are OS/2-focused, we are community-focused.

Cheers, and thanks everyone for your support, good wishes, and your business!
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Sigurd Fastenrath on November 22, 2014, 10:14:06 pm

Hi,

in my opinion Arca Noae took the right, best and last opportunity to give Users the Chance to use OS/2 for some more years.
Personally I would ´"only" need to have an wireless Intel Driver,an updated Uniaud and a new Amouse driver to get the trackpad (when will Amouse 3.X will be availiable?)to run - to perfectly use my custom, with UPDCD build (please see my other postings) Version of OS/2 Warp 4.52 on the one year old top Model of the Sony Vaio Pro 13 Laptops....
And I think this Company and everything I have read about their plans, their Partners and what they have done so far gives me some realistic hope to do so in less than one year. I am really looking forward to see what will come! I wish them good luck and will try to help as much as I can!

If the agreement does not turns into a reality, we can have the option of grabbing OS/2 Warp 4.52 CD ISO and make a custom, UpdCD like, distribution of OS/2.

Yes, I am at a Point now where I "just" would have to figure out what files I have to place where and what entries I have to make in configuration files to add the last part of my modern OS/2 Warp 4.52 DVD - the ACPI Drivers und Subsystem - that it will be availiable during the DVD boot process.....

Just an Experiment  ;)






Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: muffetta on November 22, 2014, 10:24:39 pm
..In addition, our package (as of right now) provides a newer (citing just one example) ACPI than eCS 2.2 beta II, and this package is not available from Mensys or XEU. In short, the Arca Noae offering is separate and apart from Mensys/XEU's software subscription service...
Exactly as I said, Lewis: I'm running eCS 2.2b2 now, if I were to need the latest ACPI, how can I get it? .. simple, that question!!..buy also an Arca Noe subscription..  ;D
Regards....
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Lewis Rosenthal on November 22, 2014, 10:49:59 pm
..In addition, our package (as of right now) provides a newer (citing just one example) ACPI than eCS 2.2 beta II, and this package is not available from Mensys or XEU. In short, the Arca Noae offering is separate and apart from Mensys/XEU's software subscription service...
Exactly as I said, Lewis: I'm running eCS 2.2b2 now, if I were to need the latest ACPI, how can I get it? .. simple, that question!!..buy also an Arca Noe subscription..  ;D
Regards....
But, Barbara, you got your eCS 2.2b2 because you already had a software subscription for a previous eCS version, not because you purchased a license for eCS 2.2 (which does not currently exist). That subscription will expire at some point in time. Renewing that subscription may or may not provide you in the future with a newer ACPI. Ours will update eCS 2.2b2, eCS 2.1GA, eCS 2.0, etc, down the line to Warp 4.52, so it's really the same upgrade/support for eCS licensees as for OS/2 Warp 4 licensees. Of course, like any other software package, you may find applications from one vendor which you don't find from another. In this way, the two subscriptions complement each other, but should not cause any type of one-or-the-other choice.

An OS/2 licensee could purchase a license for eCS, which includes a software subscription of some sort. He or she is not obligated to install eCS in order to take advantage of the subscription entitlements, though some of those pieces may be restricted to installing on eCS alone (which is not the case with our subscription, of course). The point is that our subscription should bring excellent value to all OS/2 and eCS licensees, regardless whether they have a Mensys/XEU software subscription or not. Now, renewing the Mensys/XEU software subscription may be something to consider, based upon what they may offer in the future which we may not, but I can't speculate on that aspect.

I do see your point about subscribers to both, but then again, you get multiple magazine subscriptions, too. You don't get all of your information and entertainment from one channel, be it print, radio, or multimedia. We don't see the price of our subscription as a barrier to entry. In fact, we intentionally considered the impact of our pricing on the community, so that we could make it attractive. So, we don't see an absolute need to provide our content in some offering by Mensys/XEU (or anyone else's for that matter). (And to be clear, I am not stating whether we will or will not be entering into an agreement to provide our content to anyone else.)

Cheers
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: guzzi on November 23, 2014, 02:00:24 am
There is another point to consider. There have been -no- updates from Mensys for a long time. So what is the value of their software subscription? As far as I can see, all they do now is sell eCS licenses. For maintenance, we have to look elsewhere. I might, if I need an additional licence, buy one at Mensys. I will not renew my software subscription there because basically Arca Noae now provides what mensys used to provide plus some additional things. No double subscription needed. The only thing apart from licences that Mensys still has, afak, is SNAP and possibly the licence to Flash, but since BWW announced they would update Flash, it looks like Mensys doesn't own the rights to that port. It looks to me that apart from selling additional licences to corporate customers Mensys doesn't have much to offer.
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Andreas Schnellbacher on November 23, 2014, 02:24:24 am
David made the ReadMe files available for his projects on the Wiki pages (https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/).

There are new versions with a few changes of ACPI (https://www.arcanoae.com/wp-content/uploads/wiki/ReadMe-ACPI.txt), USB (https://www.arcanoae.com/wp-content/uploads/wiki/ReadMe-USB.txt), Multimac (NVETH) (https://www.arcanoae.com/wp-content/uploads/wiki/readMe-nveth.txt) and Multimac (E1000E) (https://www.arcanoae.com/wp-content/uploads/wiki/readMe-e1000e.txt).

Packages use either WarpIN or scripts (IIRC) to install on all OS/2 4.5 versions, not only on eCS. Additional update packages are available, according to the ReadMes.
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: muffetta on November 23, 2014, 08:15:12 am
But, Barbara, you got your eCS 2.2b2 because you already had a software subscription for a previous eCS version, not because you purchased a license for eCS 2.2 (which does not currently exist). That subscription will expire at some point in time....
Thanks for the explanation, Lewis,  :) !
There is another point to consider. There have been -no- updates from Mensys for a long time. So what is the value of their software subscription? As far as I can see, all they do now is sell eCS licenses. For maintenance, we have to look elsewhere. I might, if I need an additional licence, buy one at Mensys. I will not renew my software subscription there because basically Arca Noae now provides what mensys used to provide plus some additional things. No double subscription needed. The only thing apart from licences that Mensys still has, afak, is SNAP and possibly the licence to Flash, but since BWW announced they would update Flash, it looks like Mensys doesn't own the rights to that port. It looks to me that apart from selling additional licences to corporate customers Mensys doesn't have much to offer.
In fact, this might sound better: stop the Mensys's subscription and choose the Arca Noae one:
I basically have all eCS (from 1.0 to 2.0 and even the old OS/2 Warp 4:52) licenses. It is not officially said, but it is now evident that eCS is dead.
Shame, because it was a good logo and an excellent slogan for the old OS/2 Warp..do you remember? the first one in 2000 was "electronic Communication Station".
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Doug Bissett on November 24, 2014, 05:06:39 am
Quote
There are new versions with a few changes of ACPI, USB, Multimac (NVETH) and Multimac (E1000E).

There are, and they all seem to work well, but the USB update has broken support for video cameras, that Wim Brule created (it is supposed to be included). You can use his usbres01.zip package to restore it to working order. (Reported).

Good looking web site, with a simple interface and no clutter. That makes it MUCH better than about 99% of web sites, anywhere. I am sure there are still a few things to work out, but it is an excellent start.

Well done, to all involved.
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Lewis Rosenthal on November 25, 2014, 12:11:15 am
Thanks for the compliment, Doug!

I'm sorry to hear about the webcam issue with the USB driver package. I did note your ticket, and I'm sure that David will follow up in due course. We are working closely with all of the known people involved in the USB stack, and do appreciate Wim's excellent contributions. I can't say whether this was merely a packaging thing or something else, but as I say, I'm sure David will address it.

The site development was a lot of fun. Much of the latest stuff on the net these days uses these (blasted, IMO) icon fonts, which we don't (usually) render on OS/2 (yet). Arca Noae's main site is built on WordPress, of course, and it was no exception. We pushed hard to get rid of all non-backward-compatible UI components, as we realize that our main audience likely consists of people accessing the site from OS/2-based devices (though it's nice to know that the theme seems to be fairly well behaved for mobile devices, too).

Anyway, I finally killed off the last of the icon fonts which were bugging me on the home page, and adjusted the text on the (somewhat obscure) "hero" button (under the graphic of the hand with the wrench, which used to read, "BE THE FIRST TO TRY" followed by an icon font for a ">"). The text is now more apropos, I think (and I'm personally leaving that tease in this post so that folks will become curious enough to have a look (http://www.arcanoae.com/)). Yes, that is really a button. Click it!

The last one on the home page was down below, in the blog section. Commonly called the "read more" tag by WordPress designers, ours read "Read on >" with the ">" another of those annoying little buggers. I just tweaked it to the more traditional, "Read more" link.

If anyone finds any more non-rendering images (or broken links), please use the contact page to send us a note.

Meanwhile, we at Arca Noae really do appreciate your business and your feedback!

Cheers
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Doug Bissett on November 25, 2014, 04:32:59 am
Quote
Thanks for the compliment, Doug!

When you do something right, people notice. Maybe not as much as when you do it wrong, but it gets you more compliments.   ;D

Quote
I'm sorry to hear about the webcam issue with the USB driver package. I did note your ticket, and I'm sure that David will follow up in due course.

David does wonderful work. I suspect that he just doesn't have a web cam to play with.
Title: Re: Arca Noae - just got my business!!!
Post by: Doug Bissett on November 26, 2014, 06:57:56 am
Quote
I'm sorry to hear about the webcam issue with the USB driver package.

Well, it took two tries, but it works now. Apparently the fix will be in the next release.