Monthly Archives: January 2024

eCo Software Runtime packages updated to 20240126

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the availability of updated eCo Software Runtime packages, downloadable from our downloadables page.

The eCo Software Runtime packages provide support libraries for several components of ArcaOS and eCS, as well as eCo Software applications. The Base, Net, and Win packages have been updated as of 2024-01-26. The Win update improves compatibility of the File Open Container (FOC) used by default in ArcaOS with the standard system file dialog, while some of the other updates address issues in other applications which utilize these libraries.

The eCo Software Runtime Toolkit has also been updated with this release.

These packages are provided by Arca Noae as a convenience to our customers, clients, and the community at large. Arca Noae does not produce these packages, and the software is provided “as is” without any warranty of any kind. Support for the eCo Software Runtime is provided by eCo Software, in their support forum.

About the future of the Hobbes archive

For over 30 years, the Hobbes repository at New Mexico State University has been a mainstay for OS/2 users to locate software for OS/2, whether freeware, open source, or commercial demos.

This month, Hobbes announced that it would be shutting down as of April 15 of this year. While this truly saddens those of us closely involved with software development for the platform, Arca Noae nevertheless understands the level of resources and commitment required to maintain an ever-growing archive. We applaud the Hobbes archiver and the entire team of faculty, students,  and other volunteers who have come and gone over the years, all the while keeping Hobbes up and running for the benefit of all. We are also grateful to the University for its commitment to the archive, providing hardware, software, power, and bandwidth.

We are aware that discussions are underway in the OS/2 community to find a new home for Hobbes. There is a thread on the Warp mailing list at groups.io and another in the OS/2 World forums. You may also read a public announcement from OS/2 VOICE about this here.

At this time, Arca Noae urges caution and advises against more people volunteering to host the main Hobbes repository (though mirrors of a potential new site would likely be appreciated). We remain hopefully optimistic that Hobbes will indeed find a new long-term home and that the transition from New Mexico State University to that new home (wherever it might be) will be a smooth one.