Category Archives: ArcaOS

ArcaOS

ArcaOS 5.0.8 now available

In our continuing commitment to ArcaOS 5.0 (Blue Lion), Arca Noae is pleased to announce the general availability of ArcaOS 5.0.8, the eighth maintenance release of the 5.0 line.

It should be noted that ArcaOS 5.1.0, the successor to the 5.0 line, is nearing availability. While ArcaOS 5.1.0 itself is ready, the production system which manages, builds, and distributes the new ISO images is not. However, the final testing of our updated production system is underway and nearing completion. In the interim, we are releasing ArcaOS 5.0.8 which can be distributed using the old production and distribution system.

ArcaOS 5.0.8 includes refreshed driver content, updated kernel and included software, as well as installation boot fixes since 5.0.7 was released at the end of 2021. It also rolls in a few fixes that come from our 5.1.0 development work. ArcaOS 5.0.8 can be used for new installs or to update any prior version of ArcaOS 5. If you have experienced difficulty installing previous releases of ArcaOS on your hardware, 5.0.8 may address your issue(s). If installing from USB stick, the USB install stick may be created using any major operating system at hand (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and of course, OS/2, eComStation, and ArcaOS). Once built, the USB stick can be inserted into any USB port in the target system to boot into the ArcaOS installer/updater.

For a complete list of updates in this release, see the ArcaOS wiki. Be sure to review the README.TXT, as well, as this contains critical information to ensure that you get up and running fast, and includes tips for getting things adjusted right away.

This update is included with your valid ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription at no additional charge. To download your fresh ISO, simply visit your customer portal page and select the ArcaOS Download Center link on the navigation panel to the left. From there, click the “Request ISO build” button, select English language (ArcaOS 5.0.x is only available in English), and wait for your notification email.

If your ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription has already expired, and you missed your window of opportunity to renew at regular rates, you may still renew at less than the cost of a new ArcaOS license. Also, your active ArcaOS 5.0 subscription will entitle you to a discount on your ArcaOS 5.1 upgrade purchase, when available.

ArcaOS

I want ArcaOS 5.1!

TO CLARIFY: ArcaOS 5.1 HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED. Please read this post all the way to the end to get all information.

ArcaOS 5.1 is complete and waiting for release. The holdup is really related to our distribution system, which is based on the WooCommerce platform.

Until we can produce multiple versions of ArcaOS ISOs, in multiple languages, WE MUST HOLD UP THE ArcaOS 5.1 RELEASE.

While WooCommerce is a capable ecommerce solution, Arca Noae’s requirements to be able to allow ordering of a personalized ISO have now become considerably more complicated than they were for the 5.0 release in 2017. Instead of only spinning the same ISO with personalization data for each customer, we now must continue to have 5.0 ISOs available, and offer 5.1 ISOs in several languages. In addition, instead of maintaining one subscription channel for ArcaOS, we now must maintain two separate channels, one for 5.0 and one for 5.1. Upgraders will also need to change subscription channels when they upgrade ArcaOS. This work has proven more complicated than we had anticipated.

In the meantime, we have taken steps to upgrade our infrastructure to expand our capacity to build and warehouse more ISOs, and we are now at a point where the missing pieces of the puzzle are just the software enhancements for the website to bring everything together.

We have always avoided stating narrow windows for anticipated delivery dates, and take great efforts to avoid the appearance of vaporware. ArcaOS 5.1 is real, and it is coming…soon.

In the interim (and after the release of ArcaOS 5.1), ArcaOS 5.0 will continue to receive critical updates and support, and from time to time, we may even release new bugfix ISOs for ArcaOS 5.0 (generally when an update impacts the installation experience).

It is also important to note that not all languages for ArcaOS 5.1 will be made available when English is released, nor will all non-English languages be released at the same time. Translations of German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, and others are in varying states of completion. As we deem a certain language ready for release, we will make it available.

We appreciate everyone’s continued patience. We want to bring you ArcaOS 5.1 as much as you want it!

Arca Noae PNG Icon Set version 2022-12-14 released

Dynamic IconsArca Noae is pleased to announce a minor update to our PNG Icon Set included with ArcaOS, which is now available as part of the Support & Maintenance subscription for your ArcaOS product. Please log into your account and see your ArcaOS order details page to access your software.

Version 2022-12-14 includes a full set of Apache OpenOffice 4 icons, as well as the OS/2-specific QuickStart icon.

Icons in this set are released under LGPLv3, and include original and derived images from several sources.

If you are still running OS/2 and/or eComStation systems and haven’t yet moved up to ArcaOS, this is a great reason to do so now. If you’ve already made the switch, but haven’t renewed renewed your support subscription, this is also a good time. Not sure what’s coming next? Have a look at our product roadmap pages.

Dynamic Icons version 2.5.2.2 for ArcaOS released

Dynamic IconsDynamic Icons, the latest spin on Sunny Icons from eCo Software, specifically enhanced and built for ArcaOS, has been updated to version 2.5.2.2, and is now available as part of the Support & Maintenance subscription for your ArcaOS product. Please log into your account and see your ArcaOS order details page to access your software.

Version 2.5.2.2 allows for dynamic text sizing in its dialogs and fixes folder details view settings.

If you are still running OS/2 and/or eComStation systems and haven’t yet moved up to ArcaOS, this is a great reason to do so now. If you’ve already made the switch, but haven’t renewed renewed your support subscription, this is also a good time. Not sure what’s coming next? Have a look at our product roadmap pages.

Resolving issues with GMail and OAuth 2.0 requirements

At the end of May, 2022, GMail discontinued use of standard authentication methods for POP3, IMAP, and SMTP connections. The available OAuth2 authentication mechanism in the latest SeaMonkey and Thunderbird for the OS/2 platform is unable to properly complete the authentication procedure with GMail, and will leave the application in a hung state.

There are several methods to work around this, but perhaps the easiest is simply to generate what Google calls an app password, which is, quite simply, a 16-digit passcode which gives a non-Google application or device permission to access your Google Account.

To generate the app password, follow the directions available here. Remember, that in order to do this, you must have 2-Step-Verification enabled for your account.

Once you have generated the app password, copy it to your clipboard. Open SeaMonkey Mail or Thunderbird, and access the server settings for your GMail account. Ensure that the authentication method is set for Normal password (Google will not accept encrypted passwords for this). Make the same change for the GMail SMTP server. Note that in both cases, SSL/TLS should be selected for the connection security, and specifically not STARTTLS. Close the settings dialog and attempt to access the account. You should be prompted for a new password. Paste the app password into the prompt.

To configure a second system to access the same account, simply paste (or type) the same app password. This technique should work for other mail clients, as well.

For questions, there is an informative discussion in the OS/2 World forum on this very topic.

 

GPT usability in ArcaOS 5.1.0

In our last post we discussed that the upcoming ArcaOS 5.1.0 release will be able to make use of laptops and desktops that only support booting in so-called UEFI mode.

When booting ArcaOS in UEFI mode, the disk partitioning scheme may use the traditional Master Boot Record (MBR) or the newer GUID Partition Table (GPT). Although MBR has been extended to support disks up to 2TB, with ever-growing disk sizes, this may be too limiting for devices which could otherwise support handling more data than this. Also, if installing to a disk which is already configured using GPT, releases of ArcaOS prior to 5.1.0 require a full wipe and repartition of the disk. This inconvenience should no longer be an issue in ArcaOS 5.1.

Thus, ArcaOS 5.1.0 will be able to utilize GPT disk layouts with the following benefits:

  • Support for hard disks and solid state drives larger than 2TB attached to AHCI or NVMe storage controllers.
  • On systems equipped with a single drive and Windows pre-installed using a GPT layout, there should be no need to wipe and repartition, as long as there is room for ArcaOS to create at least one partition for itself.
  • GPT eliminates many of the LVM issues you may have encountered in the past when preparing a disk to install ArcaOS next to other operating systems, such as Linux and Windows because ArcaOS will use the same LBA partition alignment method (for GPT disk layouts) as these other operating systems.

GPT usage has been integrated into the ArcaOS installation partitioning tool (Logical Volume Manager), giving you a seamless experience while installing and maintaining ArcaOS.

Of course, ArcaOS 5.1.0. will continue to support your existing hard disks that have been partitioned using an MBR disk layout, too. In fact, a mix of GPT and MBR disks is also possible, and you will also be able to install ArcaOS in a UEFI environment on an MBR disk (GPT is completely optional, and never a requirement).

It is also important to remember that while ArcaOS 5.1.0 will support hard disks and SSDs larger than 2TB, OS/2 filesystems are currently limited to 2TB per partition. Thus, in order to fully utilize, say, a 12TB device for ArcaOS, you would need to partition this into multiple volumes, each no more than 2TB in size. (Also, for volumes in excess of 64GB, you must select JFS as the filesystem.)

ArcaOS Desktop updated to 1.0.15

Dynamic Icons

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of ArcaOS Desktop (ANXWP) 1.0.15 in English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Russian. This is a maintenance release containing bug-fixes and updates that have accumulated since the last release. The primary improvements include:

Desktop Properties notebooks

  • XFolder: Prevent doubled entries in the Background page’s File dropdown.
  • WPPgm/WPPgmFile: Prevent <Esc> from dismissing the Language tab dialog.

XCenter Widgets

  • Pulse: Fix spurious 100% CPU usage after a WPS restart.
  • Window List: Refactor/simplify button positioning and drawing.

Menus

  • Trash Can: Ensure the Open As default is correct.
  • XView: Display correct whitespace menus for root folders.

Startup and Shutdown

  • XStartup: Restart automatically after fixing the order of class-replacements.
  • XShutdown: Added an optional “XWP_ACPIDELAY=xxx” environment variable to change the default shutdown delay of 250ms.

Localization

Add translated strings in Font Folder and in a folder’s Details dialog.

See the Version Information topic of the ArcaOS Desktop Users Guide and Reference located in the Help Center for more details about this release.

Arca Noae would like to thank Rich Walsh for his work on maintaining and improving XWorkplace and ArcaOS Desktop.

If you have ArcaOS, this software is available for download from the Arca Noae website as part of the Support & Maintenance subscription for your ArcaOS product. Please log into your account and see your ArcaOS order details page to access your software.

If you are still running OS/2 and/or eComStation this is a great reason to consider moving up to ArcaOS. This update includes reserved features licensed for use exclusively with ArcaOS.

 

UEFI support in ArcaOS 5.1 – update for February, 2022

Development and testing of Arca Noae’s support for UEFI continues. Here’s a brief recap of how this will work in ArcaOS 5.1:

When the installation media boots, if the system is determined to be in “UEFI mode” as opposed to “Legacy mode” (“Legacy” here refers to the configuration which presents a traditional PC BIOS), ArcaOS will begin the preboot process using its compatibility system. Essentially, this is a 64-bit environment which will provide a rather complete BIOS emulation for the ArcaOS kernel, including VGA services for video display.

If the user selects to use his own settings for installation (the preboot menu), the screens will look and act just like a traditional installer boot, but will, in fact, be provided by this new compatibility system.

Once control is handed off to the ArcaOS kernel, the OS itself is exactly the same as a traditional ArcaOS boot. That is to say, the kernel is identical. The goal of the Arca Noae Compatibility System (ANCS) is to provide a standard environment for ArcaOS, without the need to actually maintain different versions of ArcaOS files for each environment. Another benefit of ANCS is that because the video BIOS emulation is generally more complete than that provided by the CSM in many systems built in the past decade, DOS and Win-OS/2 sessions tend to run much better.

ArcaOS 5.1 should support booting in UEFI mode on a range of systems which provide a recent UEFI implementation, from either GPT or MBR partitioned disks. In the next post in this series, we’ll discuss GPT and MBR and how the boot process differs between the two partition layouts.