OS/2

[cocokrisp]

What exactly is OS/2 like? Is it like Windows? DOS? Linux?. I heard it was about 10 years old too, why do people still use it? Thanks for any info.

[Bligg]

I believe it is similar to Windows, in that it has GUI, but I think it came out before Win95.
Top reason to keep it around is legacy support for older software (that would only run on OS/2)

BLIGG

[Xenon]

OS2 and Win NT were the same thing at one time, then IBM and MS renigged on their "pact". MS came out with there own operating system called "NT" for New Technology. After that Windows was developed and was also a takeoff on OS2 to a certain extent.

IBM tried to make a go of it by itself but it never materialized into anything and it retains its hasbeen status.

(This is thought to be correct but not guaranteed)

[gaffo]

sorry - that is not right. i bought and used OS/2 ver-3 (warp) in 94, and ver-4. in 96. Firstoff OS/2 first came out in 1987, the second version 90? had a GUI desktop that was as functional as windows-95 ("shadows" were used (same as "Shortcuts" in windows). more stable than NT. The first windows NT came out about 5 years after OS/2 (around 1993?92?). IBM and micro were both working together on OS/2 from 85-87?, then micro left to work on windows 3.1. Windows came out 3 years after OS/2 and was pathetic and unstable (some things never change). OS/2 Warp (version-3) was out one full year before Windows-95, was faster and as stable as Linux - IBM could have beaten Windows IF they promoted it for home users (CompUSA had software/and some promotion), but IBM was too big to move on it and stayed with the use for "server" thinking. this doomed os/2 to obscurtiy. OS/2er's are/were a lot like Apple/Amiga people (fanatical about a better product/ and angry with IBM's incompetince).