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Messages - David Kiley

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1
ArcaOS could embrace the apple strategy when they created OS/X of using an open source base system (in their case Darwin) with thier own commercial propriety system on top of it (keeping the OS/2 UI for example). And, they had created the "classic" mode to allow old os 9 apps to still work.
Would require them embracing a totally new direction though.

Sounds kind of complicated to just replace single parts with open source technology - so at some point it makes more sense to fundamentally change the rules of the game like Apple did I think.
I mean, I know it takes less resources to just keep going with what they have.
But at the same time, at some point it makes more sense to jump onto a whole new ship if the old barge is starting to rust and getting holes and taking on water, as much as I love the 90's OS/2 :).

2
Internet / Re: Mypal68: A possible alternative browser?
« on: Today at 11:40:36 am »
Wow.. thanks for all of your (and others) work. It's fascinating to read everything that happened. And yes impressive what was achieved for so long on a 90s operating system. When I was actively using ecomstation as my primary desktop, the browsers sure kept up for a long time. I had no trouble with any sites back then.

I wonder how many sales Arcaos gets compared to the eCs days. I assume the numbers have gone down as enterprise companies might retire or upgrade their aging equipment eventually.

3
General Discussion / Re: What happened to Paul?
« on: Today at 08:44:33 am »
Thanks folks, it's brought me some comfort reading these messages. I'm on a good path now, maybe I'll be back porting some day (If I remember what to do lol)

Hi Paul, I fondly remember using your ports throughout the ecomstation era. You've done such great work and it kept my computer going.
So I do hope you just hang out with us here regardless if you decide to port more stuff or not:).

4
Internet / Re: Mypal68: A possible alternative browser?
« on: Today at 03:45:45 am »
they could have found a skilled developer to update our existing browser years ago, before we fell so far behind.

Did Ecomstation contribute to the browser? Or something changed that they didn't need to?

5
And yes there are definite limitations like YouTube as you mentioned. So we will see if I can build it with enough value to still make it worth using.

I'm looking into bundling others apps like office suites ftp etc. But Microsoft charges through the nose for a multi user office suite so probably not them

6
Thanks for the feedback. It gave me a lot to think about. Fortunately winflector has a lot of built in security. I'm still testing it but here is a list of built in controls:

Isolated Application View:
Unlike Remote Desktop Services (RDS), which share the entire desktop, Winflector only
presents the windows of the specific application, limiting user interference with the server's environment.
Independent

User Accounts: Winflector allows the creation of user accounts that are independent of Windows user accounts.

Resource and App Access Control: Administrators can define which applications specific users can access.
Virtualization: Winflector uses kernel name virtualization to prevent conflicts between different users running the same application, ensuring that each instance acts as if it is in its own user space.

I have a lot of experience with server hardening.. so I am working on that now.
I purchased a server so it looks like I'm going ahead with it. I will probably only buy limited seats to start though in case no one wants it lol.

7
Internet / Re: Mypal68: A possible alternative browser?
« on: March 14, 2026, 02:49:33 am »
Yeah. I asked them if we achieved 200 virtual users and all 200 users were willing to pay something for the client app..and that was their response. That would have been over 6 thousands of dollars in "seats" plus the client license fees. That would be a pretty high bar and I would think enough financial return.So they are really not interested in developing a native app. in one sense I get it.. coding for os/2 isn't an easy venture. They don't even have a native app for os/x which has a lot more users

 The big question is if we can continue to make the browser compatible enough. Like if they come out with html6 will it be codable with what we have. I would think coding the base might be easier then the whole browser but I don't know.

8
Another innovative use of Winflector, to solve OS/2 problems (no native modern browser, no 64-bit apps, etc) ... nice!

Please keep us posted on your efforts ... they are appreciated!

I use Winflector natively, everything on a single physical box, but perhaps your solution offers benefits to those in need of cloud versions of Winflector, Windows, etc. in an OS/2 environment.

Again, very innovative use of all the tools in the toolbox ...

Thanks for the support. I'm mulling it over. From the lack of replies so far i'm not sure the community is that interested. And it will be a big investment to start it which is why I was hoping people could help with securing "seats" in advance in exchange for the 6 free months.
But.. I might still proceed without that since I can also market it to linux and mac folks.
Thinking it over.

9
Internet / Re: Mypal68: A possible alternative browser?
« on: March 13, 2026, 11:24:32 pm »
Regarding:
"the 4GB/32Bit limit is pretty much a ticking time bomb"

I just meant coding a native web browser, even if achieved now, is going to run up against a memory limit eventually.
Whereas a virtual solution like winflector won't.
So I was saying I think the resources should go into another solution.

I've been in discussion with winflector about partnering with them to offer the hosted solution, and also talked to them about making a native client software for os/2, but it seems they are not interested:

"I'm afraid it's not so easy. To engage in software development for a niche environment, you need hardware, software, and application development tools. In addition, you need to learn a new, unfamiliar environment, and above all, you need to distract the team from the ongoing work of maintaining and developing the core versions of our software. It's probably safe to assume that a dedicated client for OS/2 won't be created, but you can try using the browser version, assuming there are modern versions of Opera, Chrome, or Firefox that work on OS/2."

And the last sentence is interesting.. as in the future it's possible the browser won't be modern enough for winflector to work.
Not sure about that though.

10
Internet / Re: Mypal68: A possible alternative browser?
« on: March 13, 2026, 10:39:26 am »
Maybe I wasn't clear enough, mind English is not my mother tongue, but with crap above I meant windoze. Can't comment on winflector. But the mentioned OS I know long enough and good enough and know how it evolves. So I've a lot of arguments why I know it's crap. At least this days and for serious computer users. But I've already wasted too much time in my life with this OS.

Oh OK I understand you now. I get your feeling but wouldn't it be worth it to use a fraction of Windows if it meant a functional browser?

11
I feel like the forum is down these days as much as it's up.

12
Internet / Re: Mypal68: A possible alternative browser?
« on: March 13, 2026, 09:21:01 am »
Why do you think about winflector? Isn't this another remote access software where the real program runs on another hardware on another OS and only the screen output is mirrored to your machine?

You can do such thing easily with our RDP port. Setup a Linux machine, install xrdp/xvnc and connect to it from your ArcaOS desktop. Either freerdp (much preferred) or vncclient. Works quite good. Probably will work the same with a remote windoze machine. But no need bothering with that crap.

Not sure why you consider it crap honestly. It might not be your preference but it's still a good product.
It has several advantages. Instead of having to login to the whole server as you do with RDP - you can login to just a single app automatically in it's own application window, so it feels like a real application.
It's also much faster and optimized for speed then a standard RDP console.
And if you offered it as a hosted service to others it has better security controls.
But you seem to feel strongly about it :).

13
Internet / Re: Mypal68: A possible alternative browser?
« on: March 13, 2026, 07:15:10 am »
It seems to me from what you guys have all said (that are more knowledgeable than me) that the 4GB/32Bit limit is pretty much a ticking time bomb.

So I'm kind of thinking now it's a waste of resources to try to port any browser at this point since it will be doomed to fail eventually anyways. (And I don't think ArcaOS being made 64bit is an option? Could be wrong)

So i've come over to the side that maybe another solution like winflector or some other form of RDS solution might really be the only future - since that breaks away from the 32bit limitations by thinking out of the box.

Like, for example, maybe providing funding to winflector for them to make a native client app so people can get the full functionality of winflector (if they could be convinced there is enough interests from the os/2 community). That would be a lot more productive since it would actually solve the problem of breaking the 64bit barrier through virtualization.

One question I was wondering about though: So if you are using a solution like winflector, which is letting you virtualize a 64 bit browser while you are still on a 32bit/4gb machine - Does the fact that your machine is 32 bit and limited in ram effect the performance of the virtualized session?
I haven't had a chance to fully test it myself yet.

14
I'm getting ahead of myself but just realized my site only has USA as a country currently. But you can just put USA as the country and leave the actually country in the comments.. or send a PayPal to superservice@syncpedia.com if interested

15
Actually .thinking about it more..it will include 6 months free hosting so it's a clear value to sign up early. Haven't had a chance to update the site yet but consider that the deal.

Let me know your thoughts.

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