ecs 2.2

[Greg Pringle]

What's with all the complaining. There is steady, dry, tedious, boring work being done to keep ecs current. The people doing this have better things to do than hold your hand.

[ivan]

Greg, you have first hand knowledge of this or is it wishful thinking.  People are getting upset because of the complete lack of any official information.

[melf]

//--- People are getting upset because of the complete lack of any official information.

That's the crucial point!

[Greg Pringle]

I have spoken with Bob St. John who was with Serenity Systems. He originally was the IBM executive who sold OS/2 internationally. Later he attempted to use OS/2 as a cloud platform based on Desktop On Demand. That effort failed when the development team was purchased by another company and tasked to other duties.  He said the intellectual rights to eComstation were sold to Mensys a few years ago. Mensys announced a new agreement with IBM last year which makes them in charge of future development. Bob St. John has no concerns about the development efforts of Mensys.

[jdeb]

I am a little annoyed as I renewed my subscription with them. Not that I can't afford it but they sold me on the upcoming release of eCS2.2, so I renewed. Too me that is not ethical but that is pretty typically these days as morals and ethics are precarious. My box is perfectly stable and I am satisfied but I was hoping to offer another alternative on modern hardware. In my opinion, I would say 2.1 is the last we will see as the 2.2 Beta was horrible. Maybe they are embarrassed? 

[eirik]

Most users currently using eCS do so because they like it.  And we are talking about version 2.1.  Which means most things people need actually work.  Admittedly, there are problems with some modern hardware, but ...

So what is it current users really need? And how to attract new users and hence build a stronger financial platform?  My guesses include:

• Net access, wired and preferably also wireless.
• Well working key software in an increasingly connected world = well working web browsers and email clients (which we have, but where the age of the current Gecko platform is starting to show).
• Working VPN/remote computer access (which we really do not have)
• With JAVA becoming increasingly important (despite some security issues), an updated JAVA (where work is on the way)

With this perspective it could be that scarce developer resources could be better spent not focusing on the operating system itself (i.e., getting eCS 2.2 up and running in a stable way).  In brief - how often do people use suspend and resume compared to accessing some web page with JAVA or Flash?

Or is my lack of computer knowledge revealed by these questions?  Without an updated (and up to date) platform, the tasks of maintaining and developing what most users really need become too large?  And in that case, the current Mensys focus on the platform is well placed.

Let me change gears and talk about something I know more about than computers: economics and strategy.  For worried  current eCS users and for future users, it would be nice if Mensys could share their current thinking with us.  That would make current and prospective users more informed. Some would decide to end their use of eCS.  Others would gradually start using eCS.  We like open source.  But even more, we like transparent strategies.  So Mensys, please end your silence and invite us on your journey.  Without us, I struggle to find a good future for eCS.

Eirik

[Martin Iturbide]

Thanks Greg for letting us know this.

In that case I don't know why the eComStation.com page is still associated with Serenity Systems. Maybe they never updated the page. 

[R.M. Klippstein]

Am I the only person that can't access either the "Bug Tracker" or the "Beta Zone"?

klipp

[Doug Bissett]

Am I the only person that can't access either the "Bug Tracker" or the "Beta Zone"?

klipp

No. I can't get there either, in the eCS web site, or through Software Subscription. That is probably a good sign. At least something is happening at Mensys.   

[eirik]

Dough and others,

I can get in on the Beta zone, and apparently things are working the way it should there.  I see no reason that should not be working even if Mensys devote all their resources on something else.  On the other side, I am still somewhat worried about the future and Mensys' lack of communication.  It would take much to calm down our nerves (or in the case the "game is over", tell us so that we can start to explore alternatives.

Eirik

[Martin Iturbide]

Everything is working as usual from my side with Mensys and eComStation sites.

I also saw yesterday a Roderick's email about some other eComStation related subject. So I think that show that we had not been left "High n' Dry" 

I think that they are just very busy this days.

[Doug Bissett]

I see that the betazone is back online. Obviously, something crashed, or somebody was doing some updates. In any case, it is running again, which indicates that somebody is doing something behind the scenes.

Those who seem to think that Mensys should be commenting, fail to realize that Roderick is the only guy who ever pops up here, and Roderick is not the best communicator on earth. He is also VERY busy trying to manage eCS, and there is a lot more to it than just getting eCS 2.2 out the door. I expect that he is putting in a lot of long hours, and doesn't even think about trying to keep people informed. At least this time, they seem to be doing a lot more testing, to be sure that it is right.

As for exploring alternatives, I don't see that the end is at hand, but the end is a distinct possibility, sometime in the not too distant future. It would probably be smart for all users to investigate alternatives, especially if eCS has become a limitation for them. ECS will continue to run until there is no longer hardware that it can run on. Depending on what the developers can accomplish, that may take a while, or it may happen soon. Then, it seems that virtual machines will keep it going for some time after that.

Those who wish to keep eCS (OS/2) alive had better step up, and help the cause. Whether that is by donating money to various projects, buying eCS, buying Software Subscription, doing software testing, or any number of other things, doesn't matter. At the moment, eCS needs "all hands on deck", or it will sink. Find a way to help out.

[Ben]

I have no idea why people think that Mensys has abandoned eCS... just because there has been a lull in texting activity.

There has been many such lulls before and it means... nothing!

It makes for idle chitchat, but can hardly be taken seriously.

Unless there is some significant reason that has emerged and fully formed to cause us to believe that something strange has happened, it is safe to assume that all is... normal.

I have heard nothing here or elsewhere to indicate anything otherwise.

When they have something to say and the time in which to say it... they will!

Just like always...

Rumour mongering and fear mongering has never lead to anything, but trouble. Sh*t disturbing, it is often called.

[melf]

Well Ben, communication is never wrong either, it counteracts rumours. I don't Think that anyone expects that much. It would suffice with a row now and then on an official place. News.ecomstation.com would be suitable.

[Sigurd Fastenrath]

Rumour mongering and fear mongering has never lead to anything, but trouble. Sh*t disturbing, it is often called.
[/color]

To be honest: I totally disagree with that point. We are talking about business, investing money - and for me it is important to know if there is something going on or not - before I invest more money - and if it comes that far that rumours are the one and only informations one does have - that speaks for itself I guess.

And I would like to stress it again: How much time does it take to give a small statement? 10 Minutes? 15? That must be a joking if the reason for giving no state might be: "not enough time, to busy".... Boring.

But, in the end it does not matter at all as this discussion leads to nowhere.

I took the easy way and made a telefon call yesterday with Mensys, speaking both with Joachim and Roderick to get answers regarding my "serious questions". It was all in all a short call and the informations I got are:

- Roderick has been ill since a while, but back at work and recovering now - All the best to him!
- Joachim confirms that "we are working on eCS 2.2"
- there have been problems with the data engine, therefore beta zone etc. have not been availiable, solved now

After my questions I have allways been parked in the waiting loop for a while before I got the answers.

As mentioned it was a short call, I did not get any information about fixed dates, dates at all, the current state and so on. The answers have been very short.

I did as well ask why there is no respone in the forums and the answer was "We know the problem".

So, that was what I was able to get straight from the horse mouth and that's all.

One has to conclude for himself what that all might mean, facts or rumours.