OS/2, eCS & ArcaOS - General > Events
Warpstock 2024: Coming? Not Coming? Why?
MPJ:
I can't afford it, unfortunately I don't have the time. I generally prefer to take part online.
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For "young" people, OS/2 may only be interesting for retro computing / gaming. This requires, among other things, a modern and stable browser and better DOS/multimedia support than Dosbox. If Odin were on the same level as Wine, OS/2 would certainly be a very good alternative to 32-bit Linux.
Ultimately the question is: Why should I use OS/2 or ArcaOS for DOS/Windows gaming when everything is available under Windows itself and Linux. For DOS games you can easily use STEAM or GoG. The games are already packed into a Dosbox environment and you just have to start them and they also have sound :)
Neil Waldhauer:
I try to make it to most Warpstock events, but this year, I'm unable to attend. It is a significant amount to time and money to attend Warpstock -- airfare, hotel, etc.
I think the attraction is to have a bunch of OS/2 users in one room. There is also some sense of announcements and future plans, but that has dwindled over the years.
I helped to put on some virtual Warpstocks, but the limitations of our platform constrain that to an insufficiently engaging experience. I also run BayWarp, a local OS/2 user group that also struggles to find attendees.
Doug Bissett:
--- Quote ---So, if you are coming to Warpstock this year, please mention why. If not, please go into some detail as to your reasons for not making the trip (travel cost, hassle of getting there, registration cost, bad timing, lack of enthusiasm for the location, etc.). We want to know.
--- End quote ---
I can't fly, due to ear problems (and other things). I would consider driving, but I neglected to get a passport. I should have gone to Calgary, a few years ago, but something came up, and I didn't get there. Oh well...
I see the biggest problem as nobody is actually writing new software for OS/2. All efforts seem to be put into porting software written for other platforms. Since most of them have 64 bit support, there is little (or no) thought put into writing efficient code (and that shows, on other platforms, but modern computer are fast enough to make up for it). Then there are the restrictions, put in place to stop the bad guys, that are mostly useless, but still stop our platform because we cannot possibly keep up to what they are doing.
Getting post secondary software classes involved would seem to be one answer, but I don't have any contacts.
Looking forward to the results of the meeting.
Sigurd Fastenrath:
Well, America is long way, I did not even attend Warpstock Europe this year, even when it took place in Germany.
During the last 2 or 3 Years I did only watch part of the Videos, it was nice to have a crross meeting Warptock US /Europe last year.
Most of the German users faded out.
Even though ArcaOS is for at least 5 years out, every important thing for me did not came, even if there was allways and anytime told
"It is on our List", "We are very close".
- WLAN support (I guees this is not even on the List anymore)
- German NLS
- Browser
- ...
I really appriciate was has been done to ArcaOS, thats why I still experiment with it, GPT, UEFI Support, Panorama, USB 3, these are all really big effort, considering the few developers and the long time outclassed Kernel.
But on the other hand together with others we spent a reasonalbe amount of money for the browser, the ongoing subscriptions, but did never get, what we wanted. ArcaOS did never really commit to the Browser Initiative, as far as I know.
And more important to me: the RAM problem on modern hardware will prevent ArcaOS to use a new browser, even if it will ever see the light of day.
So, for me instead of having GPT, UEFI and this stuff, I would have been more happy having a browser on older hardware, like an Thinkpad X250, but where I can access the full 4 GB and do not need UEFI nor GPT.
ArcaOS is focussed on industrial customers, that is understandable for money reasons, but the death to the private comunity.
In the end - who cares?
Attracting young users is a kind of, well "Nice dream" when one look at generation Z. I do really not know anyone new to OS/2 since the last 15 Years, and if, as mentioned, in cas of using it as a retro plattform. But even this is some kind of false, if you want to have a really good retro platform, you take Linux free of charge, use DOSBOX, SCUMVM and Virtualbox to operate what you want.
I wish all a good Warpstock but expect nothing new from it, besides what I have heard for years regarding my targets. "It is on the List, We hear you." I do not listen that much anymore.
All the Best!
Lewis Rosenthal:
Thanks to everyone who has already posted.
My initial question - and the one which is still not fully answered - is why are people coming or not coming to Warpstock?
I get that Arca Noae still has work to do, that there is currently no latest-Chrome-equivalent browser for the platform (and that many think that it is Arca Noae's responsibility to "grow one"), that there are 64-bit platforms which can virtualize the OS, that our only modern office suite is OpenOffice and not LibreOffice...
However, if all these things existed, would you come to Warpstock this year? If not, would sessions on browser functionality make the difference? Would sessions on how to use the platform for daily computing make the difference?
This thread is specific to coming to Warpstock or not. If people here aren't using the platform, and Warpstock content is irrelevant, I get that. But people here are (still) using OS/2 in one form or another for one thing or another. So, what would make the trip worthwhile vs watching a live stream? What topics aren't getting covered which would pique interest? What locations (other than "in my home town," please - we get that one all the time) or venues (other than hotels) would be better suited to attracting attendees?
I haven't heard yet that the registration fee is out of reason or that - for those who have attended in the past - the experience wasn't worthwhile, so I'm curious as to why some still hold back. I get that travel is a hassle, particularly from Europe, but we used to get a whole "European contingent" (as I was wont to call them). Perhaps they came because IBM picked up the tab for most of them.
We can have a different thread regarding Arca Noae's priorities and why Arca Noae can't bring every application to the platform (including a browser), and why NLVs for ArcaOS have taken so long to get to market, and yes, there still is a list, and yes, we are still working our way down that list. (Unlike Alphabet, Microsoft, and the global Linux developer community, we do not have thousands of coders at our beckon call; we prioritize driver development and maintenance to at least get the OS booting on newer hardware.) All of that having been said, this thread is about the Warpstock event, its location, its content, its cost, and the experience.
I'll have some more specific responses in the coming days. (Gordon: Swag is coming; I need to find another hour or two to update the shop. It's truly a pain to make that happen, as it's not just swapping one logo for another, but resizing for the best fit for every single product in the store, checking available colors against colors in the logo, and so forth.)
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