Installing software on ArcaOS as on Windows/Linux/mobile phone
- Details
- Written by Roderick Klein
- Category: Software
For a long I had the dream that OS/2/ArcaOS users would be able to install software in more easy way on OS/2.
More in a way as can do in the app store on your mobile phone or a Linux package manager. ArcaOS already
comes with ANPM (Arca Noae Package Manager). But a lot of files in rpm.netlabs.org are DLL's and tools such
as GCC/OpenSSL, SSH. A lot of the software is for developers/tech people.
I have mentioned the GCC factory project in my OS/2 VOICE presentations Warpstock presentations for longer time.
Its a project where developers who port software from Linux to OS/2 are together on mailing list.
Some of the people help make WPI/RPM packages that you can install on ArcaOS.
All packaged software can be found at https://rpm.os2voice.org. We both have RPM and Warpin files repository.
You should not download the files with your browser from any of the repositories, but add the repository in ANPM.
Doing so is not that difficult:
- Goto your ArcaOS "System Setup folder".Click on thge "Computer" folder on
your ArcaOS Desktop, then click on "System System" folder and click on Arca Noae Package Manager icon. - In he ANPM click on the menu option Repositories.
- Click in the new window that is shown Repository.
Click on Add->WPI repository
4. In the Name and Description field you can enter anything you want. In the URI window add: https://rpm.os2voice.org/warpin/release/
You can go in the main screen on ANPM and in the left hand window where it says Available: click on Warpin.Here you can select a Warpin package. The following files exists currently:
- ArcaOS_MMOS2updater-1-0-0-01.wpi
This will update install Mplayer, SMPlayer, suppport to play MIDI files (Timidity)
and MP3 and FLAG audio codecs. It will also install update Multimedia classes.
If you are running ArcaOS 5.1.0. or 5.1.1. install: CWMM-0-3-1-0.wpi first (this is not needed on the upcoming ArcaOS 5.1.2),
After reboot you can just about play any audio or video file on ArcaOS. - TAME_SANE_SCANNER_105.WPI: Tame is program for USB scanners, install TAME for ArcaOS and SANE
backend drivers for USB scanners. - PMPDF_PRINTERPORT_105.WPI: PMPDF is a printer port driver you can print anything to this printerport driver
and its turned into a PDF file. - Open_Transport_Tyccoon_141.WPI: OpenTTD is the open source Transport Tycoon game, Installs out of the box
with audio and all the graphics. - embellish_photo_editor_v202.wpi: is the old OS/2 Embelish graphics program repackaged in Warpin format.
- If you have any technical questions or issues please send an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Feel free to also contact us via email if you want to see other software packaged in Warpin format. - We only support ArcaOS 5.1.x versions and higher. This because we have limited human resources
to test on eCS and older versions of OS/2. - The benefit of installing these packages via ANPM is when they are updated you can just select in ANPM the
option: "update all". That way ANPM will check if any of the packages are updated and offer you with the choice
if you want to download the updated packages and install them.About the GCC factory
The GCC factory is project setup by the Dutch OS/2 VOICE foundation. The following people have contributed to the ports of and packages:
Gregg Young, Steve Levine, Paul Smedley, Silvan Scherrer, Dmitriy Kuminov, Jan Erik Larka, Alex Taylor, Andrey aka Digi, Maartin Iturbide,
Andy Willis, Elbert Pol. Thank you all for your contributions!
The innovative part is next to RPM packages we also have a Warpin repository with Warpin files. And from Warpin packages developers
can check if files are needed from RPM files yes or no. This has been made easier with the code written by Alex Taylor.
Secure Boot tools for ArcaOS
- Details
- Written by Super User
- Category: Software
The Dutch OS/2 VOICE foundation is pleased to announce the release of a tool to install the ArcaOS Secure Boot certificate on your system. In the ZIP file you will find a PDF which explains how the tool can be used and when it's needed. The sources are also included, the tool is published under the GPL 2 license. This tool can only be used a computer running ArcaOS 5.1.0. or higher and ArcaOS should be installed in UEFI mode. This tool does not work with OS/2 or eComStation as these OS'es do not support UEFI. If you have any issues please send an email to helpdesk at os2voice.org.This tool might not work on all computers, especially older laptops. Some computers might not have a so called user mode in the UEFI setup (please check PDF file in the ZIP file for details).
Enabling Secure boot on your PC might be required if you have Windows 11 installed next to ArcaOS. You can read some details here: Can You Disable TPM and Secure Boot After Installing Windows 11? What Happens…
There are indications that Windows 12 will have Bitlocker (disc encryption) enabled by default, then secure boot must always been enabled.
When you unzip the file make certain the files end up in the subdirectories under directory SBOOT. On ArcaOS you can use the Archive Tool to unzip the ZIP file.
You can download the tool here: Secure Boot tool for ArcaOS (version 1.0).
Browser status update from OS/2 VOICE and BWW Bitwise Works, update 14
- Details
- Written by Roderick Klein
- Category: Software
The last written OS/2 VOICE update about the new web browser for OS/2 and ArcaOS on https://articles.os2voice.org was published on the 13th of February 2022. The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February and war that followed has sadly delayed the development of the new browser by months.
The development of the Otter browser port has been delayed by months for the time being because the developer Dmitriy Kuminov from Bitwise Works GmbH lived in Russia. Dmitriy opposes the illegal invasion and the war by Russia in Ukraine. Like other Russians Dmitriy has decided to leave Russia as soon as possible after the war started. Over the last couple of months Dmitriy moved to another country outside the E.U. for the short term. And now moved to a country inside the EU. This has all taken a lot of time. This made it mostly impossible to work on the Otter or Dooble Browser.
In April OS/2 VOICE and BWW released the Dooble browser preview as an RPM file you can install via ANPM (Arca Noae Package Manager). For more information visit this page:
https://www.os2world.com/cms/index.php/past-news/80-news/software/23292-dooble-browser-preview-version-rpm
It was orginally promised that the Otter Browser port would be used. We however put this on hold because we wanted to release something sooner (with the limited human resources we had). It was unknown how long Dmitriy would be busy moving to the European Union. The Dooble browser was also picked because it was faster at loading pages then the Otter Browser port. We also found it to be more stable then the Otter Browser port. BTW a big thanks is extended to Elbert Pol, Stevene Levine and Gregg Young for helping Dmitriy getting the Dooble browse out in an RPM package.
Writing this update on the 5th of August, Dmitriy will get settled in an appartement in the European Union in the coming days. So the development of the new browser port will resume. We also there for want to receive donations from you:
Please make your donation via https://donation.os2voice.org
The plan is to resolve the most frequent crashes and issue's with the Webkit browser engine. The Dooble browser will be used for this.
This is currently *expected* to take 1 month to 6 weeks of development.
After the Dooble browser works stable enough the plan is to return to Otter Browse port as this browser support more features.
Best regards,
Roderick Klein
President OS/2 VOICE
Browser status update from OS/2 VOICE and BWW Bitwise Works, update 13
- Details
- Written by Roderick Klein
- Category: Software
Why Otter Browser status updates were not published over the last couple of months
Let me first of all say that it has taken too long to send the OS/2 community an update informing you what the status is of the new Qt WebKit based Otter browser.
Updates to the OS/2 community have not been sent out for a number of reasons.
The first is because only three people work at bww bitwise works. Silvan Scherrer runs 2 other companies next to bww bitwise works and does the OS/2 work as a labour of love. Herwig has not been able to contribute for personal reasons for a long time. Dmitriy is employed full time and does just about all the development. Silvan Scherrer helps where possible, but has limited time.
The second is that at OS/2 VOICE the funding campaign and writing the newsletters is done by me (Roderick). I perform all OS/2 VOICE work next to my full time job. I have had things happening in my personal life over the last couple of months in 2021 that have prevented me from putting in the time needed to send out timely updates.
When it comes to the development of new Otter Browser, since about August 2021 all funding had dried up at bww bitwise works and OS/2 VOICE. As a result development of the browser stalled in September 2021.
Current status of the Otter Browser
The current Otter Browser build has been distributed to a limited group of testers. The current build is not sufficiently stable to allow it to be more widely distributed.
A small group of testers got access to the Otter Browser and are collecting the crashes reports. These are being reported to bww bitwise works via the otter-os2 issues tracker at github.
I have collected some funding from a few loyal sponsors to get the development going again. But we will need more funding to fully stabilize the browser.
Testing indicates that the Otter Browser can access a number of websites that can no longer be accessed with the available Firefox and Seamonkey builds for OS/2 and ArcaOS.
Current expectation is that we will need 1 to 2 months to stabilize the browser so that it is stable enough to release to community. This is an estimate based on the known issues. We will have better estimates once debugging resumes.
Development Assistance
I would like to thank everybody who has donated to make the Otter Browser reality. However I would also like to thank Steven Levine for his assistance with providing me and Dmitriy with his advise (Steven is BTW not paid for this work). Steven works for example on the Open Watcom compiler for OS/2 and helps other people to analyze complex OS/2 issues. I have worked with Steven now for close to 20 years. Steven has over 50 years experience in the ICT sector.
People have asked why the development browser has taken so long. Here is his viewpoint on how the development of Qt 5.15 and the new Otter Browser has gone so far:
"Like everyone else, I would have liked for the Otter browser to be available sooner. However, the Qt5 and Otter browser ports have basically been a one man project, with help other bww bitwise works employees and from the community. What Dmitriy is doing is porting two large, complex projects that were never designed to run on a 32-bit platform and were never designed to run on OS/2. IMO, there are few developers that could have accomplished what he has done in the same timeframe. From what I can see, the browser is close to being usable on a daily basis. There are already a number of sites, that matter to me, that I can now access with Otter, rather than having to work on another platform."
Dmitriy Kuminov has some comments on the size of the project.
"I would also mention here that Chromium, the web engine used by Otter which is a part of Qt5, contains around 75,000 C++ source files and around 35 million lines of source code. Then there is the rest of Qt5 which is comparable in size."
The good news is that a lot of this code builds without modifications on OS/2. The rest needs to be adapted and this takes time to get right.
Need for more sponsorship
Please consider making a contribution on our donation page
https://donation.os2voice.org.
Please note currently credit cards are not accepted. Paypal has stopped offering this service in the Netherlands.
Access to the Otter Browser when it's released for public usage
The current plan is that once the Otter Browser is sufficiently stable, it will be released in two versions - a Donation version and a Public version.
The Public version of the browser will display a nag screen on startup and for each tab you open, requesting that you consider making a donation and upgrading to the Donation version. The Donation version will have no nag screen or other limitations.
Updates to the Donation version will be accessible when they are released by bww bitwise works. Updates to the Public version may be delayed, depending on available resources.
Until such time as the Donation version of the browser is considered sufficiently stable, the browser will be released as a Preview version. The first available Preview version will include a variant of the nag screen and it will be set to stop working on May 31, 2022. Updated versions of the Preview version may change the timeout date. It is expected that this Preview version will be released the general public the in last week of February of the first week of March.
Bug reports will be accepted for the Preview, Donation or Public version until the Donation version is considered sufficiently stable.
Once the Donation version is considered sufficiently stable, bug reports will only be accepted for the Donation version. This is similar to how bug reporting is handled for other bww bitwise work's ports, such as Apache Open Office.
The Otter Browser port and Qt5 are Open Source projects. The source code will be publicly available under the terms of the applicable licenses. The donation pays for access to the Donation version binary or any other available versions of the binary. The donation funds bww bitwise works continued support of the port.
The donation amount determines how long access will be available.
The current plan is that a 30 Euro donation will provide 12 months of access. This is subject to change. The goal is for the donations to provide sufficient funding for ongoing development and support.
People who have donated in the past will get immediate access to any available version. Since the donation amounts have varied, a table will be published indicating how long a given donation will provide access.
Future enhancements to the browser
Currently bww bitwise works is working on porting and enhancing webcam support libraries. Once these libraries are available and working, if sufficient funding available, it's possible that OS/2 users might get to to use some of the popular web meeting services with audio and video.
Acknowledgements
This text has been written in cooperation with Dmitriy Kuminov from bww bitwise works and Steven Levine.
If you have any questions please send email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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