Category Archives: Arca Noae

Arca Noae progress report: Bits and Pieces

We continue to explore new ways to make the ArcaOS desktop experience more user-friendly and useful. To that end, we’d like to share some upcoming enhancements which should be available in the near future.

An update to the Arca Noae Removable Media Monitor widget for the XCenter is currently in testing which handles JFS, HPFS, and FAT32 media changes better, avoiding a trap which could otherwise occur when removing one device and inserting another without a proper eject operation.

We also have a component in testing now which transparently switches audio output from the built-in audio device to a USB audio device and back again when the USB device is attached or removed.

If you have a Brother laser printer, and have not been able to print to it, even via CUPS, we have some possibly good news for you: The brlaser CUPS driver package (RPM) has recently been updated to version 6.0.0, and our port should be moving from our experimental repository to the subscription repository very soon.

Don’t have ArcaOS yet? Now is a great time to pick up a license or two and replace that aging Warp 4 or eComStation installation. Better yet, why not upgrade to newer hardware entirely, and install ArcaOS fresh? ArcaOS supports more modern hardware than any other OS/2 distribution available today.

USB driver package version 12.03 released

USB Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of release 12.03 of our USB stack.

This release has some minor but important fixes that primarily affect Isochronous devices and hubs. This update is recommended for everyone. As usual, this release is update only. It will only update an existing installation. It will not install USB support and will not install new drivers. More information about the USB drivers can be found in the wiki.

If you have problems with any of the drivers in this release, please read the Troubleshooting Guide in the wiki first. If your problem cannot be resolved with the Troubleshooting Guide, then the problem should be reported in the ticketing system.

If you have ArcaOS, this driver package 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 have an Arca Noae OS/2 & eCS Drivers and Software Subscription, this driver package is available for download from the Arca Noae website as part of your Arca Noae OS/2 & eCS Drivers and Software Subscription. Please log into your account in order to access your software.

If you are still running OS/2 and/or eComStation systems and haven’t yet purchased a software subscription, this is a great reason to do so now. It may also be a good time to consider moving up to ArcaOS.

Panorama Video Driver Package version 1.15 released

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our Panorama Video Driver Package for OS/2 and eComStation version 1.15.

This is a maintenance release containing some minor changes affecting driver startup. This release contains all the changes that were included in v1.14 but fixes the regressions that were reported. If you previously installed v1.14 you should probably install this update. This update is recommended for everyone, but it is not critical, so it can be installed at your convenience. It should not change the way existing installations operate.

More information about the Panorama Package may be found in the Panorama wiki.

ACPI Driver Package version 3.23.12 released

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our ACPI Driver Package for ArcaOS, OS/2, and eComStation version 3.23.12.

This release includes a few improvements and enhancements to make the PSD run a little more efficiently and also handle some newer hardware better. Please see the ACPI Driver ReadMe for details about this update.

This is a non-critical maintenance update that only contains improvements. This update does not contain any bug fixes, but it is more efficient and uses less memory than previous versions. This update is recommended for everyone.

Panorama Video Driver Package version 1.14 withdrawn

Due to some serious regressions that were not discovered during QA testing, I have withdrawn Panorama version 1.14. It has been removed from the subscription download area. The previous version v1.13 is now the latest version available. Originally I had thought that I would be able to get v1.15 out quickly, but the issues are difficult to address and may take some time to resolve. All of the regressions involve a failure to startup properly on certain systems. If you have already installed v1.14 and it is working OK for you, it is safe to keep using it. You do not need to revert back to v1.13.

Once these regressions are addressed, a new version 1.15 will be released. Watch for that announcement. During this transition time, the on-line wiki and on-line readme file will still reflect version 1.14 even though only v1.13 is available.

More information about the Panorama Package may be found in the Panorama wiki.

If you have an Arca Noae OS/2 & eCS Drivers and Software Subscription, the Panorama package is available for download from the Arca Noae website as part of your Arca Noae OS/2 & eCS Drivers and Software Subscription. Please log into your account in order to access your software.

If you are still running OS/2 and/or eComStation systems and haven’t yet purchased a software subscription, this is a great time to do so now. It may also be a good time to consider moving up to ArcaOS.

Panorama Video Driver Package version 1.14 released

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our Panorama Video Driver Package for OS/2 and eComStation version 1.14.

This is a maintenance release containing some minor changes. The release changes the way that MTRRs are set for Write Combining. A larger aperture is used which may make allocation easier on some systems. National Language Support is also updated and an updated gradd.sys driver is included. This update is not critical and should not change the way existing installations operate.

More information about the Panorama Package may be found in the Panorama wiki.

USB driver package version 12.01 released

USB Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of release 12.01 of our USB stack.

This is the first official release of the 32 bit USB stack. This is a major update with significant changes. Note that this update changes the order of the USB base drivers in your CONFIG.SYS. This update will bring the USB stack in your system up-to-date with the recently released version of ArcaOS. If you have ArcaOS version 5.0.4 then you already have this update.

More information about the USB drivers can be found in the wiki.

Panorama Video Driver Package version 1.13 released

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our Panorama Video Driver Package for OS/2 and eComStation version 1.13.

This is a maintenance release containing a minor change to enhance EDID detection for custom resolutions. This update is not critical but will bring Panorama in your system up-to-date with the recently released version of ArcaOS. If you have ArcaOS version 5.0.4 then you already have this update.

More information about the Panorama Package may be found in the Panorama wiki.

New AMouse driver package (3.01.03) released

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of a new release of our AMouse driver package.

This is a maintenance release containing minor cosmetic changes only. This update is not critical but will bring AMouse in your system up-to-date with the recently released version of ArcaOS. If you have ArcaOS version 5.0.4 then you already have this update.

More information about the AMouse driver may be found in the wiki.

ArcaOS 5.0.4 now available

After nearly a year of development and testing, Arca Noae is proud to announce the general availability of ArcaOS 5.0.4, the fourth maintenance release of ArcaOS 5.0 (Blue Lion).

ArcaOS 5.0.4 introduces a new Updater feature, allowing all previous ArcaOS installations to be brought up to the current codebase by simply booting from the installation medium, selecting the new Update option on the Installation Type page, and finally the target system volume to be updated. The resulting system is essentially what a fresh install would be, without losing settings, other installed programs, application data, and having to reconfigure the environment from scratch.

ArcaOS 5.0.4 includes well over 100 updates and fixes since 5.0.3. The USB stick image package has also been updated to incorporate the latest changes in ArcaOS 5.0.4 and is now personalized, delivered in the same archive as the ISO itself, and may be created using any major operating system at hand (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and of course, OS/2, eComStation, and ArcaOS). Once the image is restored, eject, re-insert, and simply copy your ISO to the stick per the included directions (also detailed in the ArcaOS support wiki). The stick may then be inserted into any USB 2.0-controlled port in the target system, and used to boot into the ArcaOS installer/updater.

Systems originally installed from DVD may be updated using the AltBoot (USB stick) method, and systems originally installed from USB stick may be updated from DVD; the choice is yours.

If you have experienced difficulty installing previous releases of ArcaOS on your hardware, the fixes and updates included in 5.0.4 may address your issue(s). ArcaOS 5.0.4 includes a major update to the installation boot component, making it easier than ever to boot and install on systems with non-standard memory configurations.

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.

To download your fresh ISO, simply visit your customer portal page, select the Orders & Subscriptions link on the navigation panel to the left, then click on the order for your ArcaOS license. Once there, click the download link to request a fresh ISO, and wait for your notification email.