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Arca Noae - just got my business!!!

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Lewis Rosenthal:

--- Quote from: Dariusz Piatkowski on November 21, 2014, 08:26:53 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!!!

--- End quote ---
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.


--- Quote from: Andreas Schnellbacher on November 21, 2014, 11:05:46 pm ---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.

--- End quote ---
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.


--- Quote from: Martin Iturbide on November 22, 2014, 04:21:33 pm ---I think it is a good start. But let's see how things move, of course it needs to keep moving.

--- End quote ---
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.


--- Quote from: Barbara 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...

--- End quote ---
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!

Sigurd Fastenrath:

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 ยด"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!


--- Quote from: Martin Iturbide on November 22, 2014, 04:21:33 pm ---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.

--- End quote ---

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  ;)






muffetta:

--- Quote from: Lewis Rosenthal on November 22, 2014, 09:54:54 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...

--- End quote ---
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....

Lewis Rosenthal:

--- Quote from: Barbara on November 22, 2014, 10:24:39 pm ---
--- Quote from: Lewis Rosenthal on November 22, 2014, 09:54:54 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...

--- End quote ---
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....

--- End quote ---
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

guzzi:
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.

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