EComStation
Encyclopedia
eComStation or eCS is a PC operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

 based on OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...

, published by Serenity Systems. It includes several additions and accompanying software not present in the IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 version of the system.

Differences between eComStation and OS/2

Version 1 of eComStation, released in 2001, was based around the integrated OS/2 version 4.5 client Convenience Package for OS/2 Warp version 4, which was released by IBM in 2000. The latter had been made available only to holders of existing OS/2 support contracts; it included the following new features (among others) compared to the final retail version of OS/2 (1996's OS/2 Warp version 4):
  • IBM-supplied updates of software and components that had shipped with the 1999 release of OS'2 Warp Server for e-business, but had not been made available to users of the client version. Key among these were the JFS file system
    File system
    A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...

     and the Logical Volume Manager
    Logical Volume Manager
    Logical Volume Manager may refer to:*Logical Volume Manager *Logical Volume Manager...

    .

  • Operating system features and enhancements that had been made available as updates but never offered as an install-time option. These included an updated kernel
    Kernel (computing)
    In computing, the kernel is the main component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources...

    , a 32-bit TCP/IP
    Internet protocol suite
    The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks. It is commonly known as TCP/IP from its most important protocols: Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol , which were the first networking protocols defined in this...

     stack and associated networking utilities, a firewall
    Firewall (computing)
    A firewall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass....

    , updated drivers and other system components, newer versions of Java, SciTech
    SciTech Software
    SciTech Software, Inc. is a privately held software company based in Chico, CA.Founded by Kendall Bennett in 1996, SciTech Software, Inc. developed many popular graphics device driver programs for the PC, ranging from UniVESA to SciTech Display Doctor and SciTech SNAP Graphics and SciTech SNAP...

     SNAP Graphics video support, and more.

  • IBM-supplied updates that had previously only been offered to customers with maintenance contracts, such as UDF support and a new USB
    Universal Serial Bus
    USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....

     stack.


eComStation provided a retail channel for end users to obtain these updates. In addition, from the beginning it bundled a number of additional features and enhancements, including (but not limited to):
  • Value-added applications, including the Lotus Smartsuite office suite, IBM's Desktop On-call remote-control software, and more.

  • Utilities and drivers licensed from third parties including scanner support and drivers for multiple serial cards, as well as enhanced storage drivers developed by Daniela Engert.

  • A number of features from OS/2 Warp 4 which IBM had omitted from the Convenience Package release, such as voice navigation and dictation,

  • System improvements developed by Serenity itself including a new installer, various user interface enhancements, system configuration changes, and a rapid deployment system based on Serenity Managed Client.

  • Open source utilities from the Unix world.

  • A number of small utilities and drivers developed by various third parties.


As IBM began to wind down OS/2 development, Serenity and its partners began to take up the slack (though a combination of in-house, contract, and community/open source development efforts) in terms of keeping the operating system usable on current hardware. The results of many of these efforts are included in version 2 of eComStation; among others:
  • ACPI
    Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
    In computing, the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface specification provides an open standard for device configuration and power management by the operating system....

     support.
  • A new generic graphic card driver called Panorama.
  • A bootable version of JFS.
  • A 'universal' sound card driver based on ALSA
    ALSA
    ALSA or alsa can refer to:* Advanced Linux Sound Architecture, a Linux kernel component* Airline Stewardess Association, a trade union* ALSA , a bus company based in Spain...

    .
  • AHCI
    Advanced Host Controller Interface
    The Advanced Host Controller Interface is a technical standard defined by Intel that specifies the operation of Serial ATA host bus adapters in a non-implementation-specific manner....

     support (introduced in version 2.1).
  • On-the-fly resizing of hard drive partitions.
  • A new client to access CIFS/SMB
    Server Message Block
    In computer networking, Server Message Block , also known as Common Internet File System operates as an application-layer network protocol mainly used to provide shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. It also provides an...

     (Windows-style) LAN resources (supporting both files and printers) based upon Samba
    Samba (software)
    Samba is a free software re-implementation, originally developed by Andrew Tridgell, of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol. As of version 3, Samba provides file and print services for various Microsoft Windows clients and can integrate with a Windows Server domain, either as a Primary Domain...

    .
  • Ports of current Mozilla Firefox
    Mozilla Firefox
    Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...

     and Mozilla Thunderbird
    Mozilla Thunderbird
    Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...

     for browsing and email.
  • A port of the OpenOffice.org
    OpenOffice.org
    OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

     office suite.

Origins

When it became clear that IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 would not release any new retail version of the OS/2 Warp client operating system after version 4 in 1996, users began to consider other alternatives. IBM released a final version of its server edition, IBM OS/2 Warp Server for e-Business or WSeB, internally called version 4.5. IBM also continued updating the client and merged parts of it with the server, so it was proposed by Bob St. John of Serenity Systems, that an OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...

 company could and should create its own client, using the existing OS/2 client with IBM enhancements and adding its own improvements where needed. But Serenity as an IBM business partner had done a similar thing with OS/2-based vertical applications like the Serenity Managed Client, a rapid deployment OS based on Workspace On-Demand, and Ecomstation Server, a managed server based on WSeB. The OS/2 software vendor Stardock
Stardock
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Windows due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998...

 made such a proposal to IBM in 1999, but it was not followed through by the company.

On April 29, 2000, Serenity itself in conjunction with Kim Cheung of Touchvoice Systems created a discussion group for the purpose of discussing the OS/2 community's interest in a "new Managed Client for eBusiness using components of WSeB" called eComStation to replace the one based on WoD, the idea was brought up to also create a new non-remote boot client — in effect an OEM version of the OS/2 client. Although Serenity's initial response to a suggestion of a thick client was negative, the response was positive enough from the community and from IBM to get things moving, and just a few months later the first eCS preview was shipped.

Version 1.0

Notwithstanding Cheung's fairly simple initial concept, community input was actively solicited from the beginning, and feature requests quickly began coming in. The final GA release of eComStation 1.0 (US English) was not released until July of 2001, and was significantly different from the original preview in many respects.

Most obviously, the IBM OS/2 install routine was no longer used; instead, a rapid-deployment system based on Cheung's WiseManager product was utilized to install the operating system components. In addition, a number of enhancements to the OS/2 user interface had been integrated, including a revamped desktop layout with entirely new icons, customizable graphic effects in a number of windowing components, redesigned system dialogs, and an enhanced, user-extensible system shutdown.

eComStation 1.0 was built on the 2000 release of IBM's Convenience Package for OS/2 Warp version 4 (commonly referred to as MCP or MCP1). Additionally, several commercial applications were bundled with the operating system package, most notably Lotus SmartSuite for OS/2 and IBM Desktop On-Call.

Once the English edition was released, efforts turned to making other language editions (called National Language Versions, or NLVs) available. However, the first non-English NLV targeted, German, was not released until the end of 2001, due in large part to the greater-than-anticipated effort of localizing the redesigned installer and other new materials. Ultimately, no further non-English NLVs were released for eComStation 1.0; other languages would not become available until eComStation 1.1 or 1.2.

Version 1.1

eComStation 1.1 included several major new features compared to version 1.0. The largest change to the operating system as installed was a package of wide-ranging functional enhancements to the desktop environment (Workplace Shell), based on the open source XWorkplace project from NetLabs.org. These included desktop folder enhancements such as status bars and improved sorting options, a new virtual desktop feature, a customizable desktop toolbar with support for programmable "widgets", and expanded configuration options. Various other enhancements such as built-in support for PPPoE and PPtP Internet connections were also provided.

In addition, a completely new install process was designed. The bootable code on the installation CD was rewritten to improve compatibility with modern BIOSes, and a "pre-boot menu" was introduced which allowed the user to select various drivers and kernel options to use in booting from the CD. The graphical installer from eComStation 1.0 was replaced with a new, more streamlined interface.

eComStation 1.1 was based on the 2001 release of IBM's Convenience Package 2 for OS/2 Warp version 4 (also known as MCP2), with subsequent IBM service updates integrated.

With this version, Serenity Systems separated the base operating system product from the major commercial applications that were bundled with it in eComStation 1.0. The base eComStation 1.1 product was sold under the title "eComStation Entry"; and the applications, including Lotus SmartSuite 1.7 and HOBlink X11 Server, were packaged separately in the eComStation Application Pack.

Multi-processor support was not included in eComStation Entry, due to the additional license fees required by IBM at the time. Instead, an SMP package was available from eComStation retailers as a paid extra.

With the release of eComStation 1.1, an eComStation Server Edition was also made available, based on the OS/2 Warp Server for e-business product.

Besides English, there were also German and Russian NLVs released for eComStation 1.1.

Version 1.2

The principal new feature of eComStation 1.2, as advertised, was revamped desktop multimedia support. Updated versions of various bundled components, both IBM and non-IBM, were also included.

eComStation 1.2 was released in English, German and Dutch NLVs.

Version 1.2 Media Refresh (1.2R)

Serenity Systems announced its intention to provide a "media refresh" incorporating a number of fixes and updates which had been made available after the release of eComStation 1.2. This was released as version 1.2R, initially on 12 November 2005, but subsequently withdrawn and re-released (due to a last-minute bug fix) on 17 November 2005.

The principal new feature of eComStation 1.2R was support for installation on Athlon 64
Athlon 64
The Athlon 64 is an eighth-generation, AMD64-architecture microprocessor produced by AMD, released on September 23, 2003. It is the third processor to bear the name Athlon, and the immediate successor to the Athlon XP...

 systems, which had previously been possible only through awkward work-arounds.

eComStation 1.2R was released in English, German, and Italian NLVs. Additionally, a beta release of a Traditional Chinese NLV was made available via download for registered customers.

Version 2.0

eComStation 2.0 had a longer-than-usual development cycle. The first beta was released on 21 December 2005, with the first self-styled "release candidate" being announced on 18 June 2007; the final GA release was not available until May of 2010.

The biggest change in eComStation 2.0 was the addition of ACPI
ACPI
ACPI may refer to:*Advanced Configuration and Power Interface for computer configuration and management*Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc....

 support, which represented the first major update to the core operating system to be developed specifically for eComStation (and not by IBM). The benefits of ACPI included support for modern hardware, including advanced power-management features, as well as support for IRQs above 15. In addition, the new ACPI driver allowed access to OS/2's symmetric multi-processing support, obviating the need for IBM's proprietary SMP-enablement driver. Consequently, starting with eComStation 2.0, SMP support was included in the base product at no additional cost.

The other major feature introduced in version 2.0 was an enhanced version of the Journaled File System which allowed the operating system to be booted directly from JFS-formatted partitions. (Previous versions of JFS had only been usable on non-bootable data partitions.) Installing the operating system onto JFS allowed a significant performance improvement, due to the much larger cache sizes supported by JFS, as well as reduced CHKDSK times in the event of a non-clean shutdown.

The eComStation pricing model was revamped significantly with version 2.0. The standard consumer version was the Home & Student Edition. This edition had a lower recommended retail price than previous versions of eComStation; however, one customer was limited to five purchases. The Business Edition was targeted at commercial customers, with no limit on the number of purchases. The Business Edition also came with telephone support, whereas Home & Student Edition customers were limited to e-mail and online assistance. Software-wise, the two products were identical; only the license terms differed, as noted above.

Both editions of eComStation 2.0 included the OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

 office suite (provided on a separate CD). The Application Pack which had been available for previous versions was discontinued.

eComStation 2.0 was available in English only; the release of all other language versions was deferred until version 2.1.

Version 2.1

The current version of eComStation, 2.1, was released only a year after version 2.0, in May of 2011.

Version 2.1 has two significant new features. The first is support for AHCI disk controllers, via a newly-developed device driver. The second is the replacement of the old IBM Boot Manager with the open-source Air-Boot software, which does not require a primary partition and is therefore easier to install on disks with pre-existing operating systems.

eComStation 2.1 also updates some of the included applications, notably Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...

, and has some minor improvements to the installer.

As of version 2.1, much of the former branding by Serenity Systems has been removed from the released product, and replaced by that of Mensys BV.

eComStation 2.1 is currently available in English and German NLVs. A preview release of a Japanese NLV is also available to certain customers. Other NLVs, including Dutch and Italian, are reportedly under development.

Current status

eComStation is currently developed by IBM, Serenity, Mensys, various third party companies and individuals. Although OS/2 is no longer sold by IBM, eComStation will be developed and sold as long as it remains profitable, according to Serenity. The most recent major release, version 2, was released during Warpstock Europe which was held 14–16 May 2010. An updated version 2.1 followed a year later in May 2011.

Summary of Releases

Date of last edition taken from the installation CDs, the official release dates may be different. Release dates refer to the US English editions unless otherwise noted.
  • 2000-09-29 - eComStation Preview
  • 2001-07-10 - eComStation 1.0
  • 2003-04-18 - eComStation 1.1
  • 2004-08-12 - eComStation 1.2
  • 2005-11-04 - eComStation 1.2R (media refresh)
  • 2007-06-18 - eComStation 2.0 RC1
  • 2007-12-25 - eComStation 2.0 RC4
  • 2008-07-04 - eComStation 2.0 RC5
  • 2008-12-06 - eComStation 2.0 RC6
  • 2009-08-11 - eComStation 2.0 RC7 Silver
  • 2010-05-15 - eComStation 2.0 GA
  • 2011-05-07 - eComStation 2.1 GA

Open source software

eComStation is also complemented by several open source applications that are included in the Installer:
  • XWorkplace which is Workplace Shell
    Workplace Shell
    The Workplace Shell is a object-oriented desktop shell produced by IBM's Boca Raton development lab for OS/2 2.0. It is based on Common User Access and made a radical shift away from the Program Manager type interface that earlier versions of OS/2 shared with Windows 3.x or the...

     enhancement software under GNU GPL License
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Mozilla Thunderbird
  • WarpIn, an open source general-purpose installer under GNU GPL license.
  • PM VNC server, a remote control software.
  • Doodle Screen Saver, a Workplace Shell
    Workplace Shell
    The Workplace Shell is a object-oriented desktop shell produced by IBM's Boca Raton development lab for OS/2 2.0. It is based on Common User Access and made a radical shift away from the Program Manager type interface that earlier versions of OS/2 shared with Windows 3.x or the...

     screen saver under GNU GPL license.
  • NewView, a documentation reader for .inf files that replaces view.exe.

A selection of FOSS software for eComStation

The following open-source packages are available for eComStation and are actively maintained:
  • GCC
    GNU Compiler Collection
    The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...

  • Open Watcom
    Watcom
    Watcom International Corporation was founded in 1981 by three former employees of the Computer Systems Group at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...

  • Harbour
    Harbour compiler
    Harbour is a modern computer programming language. It is a Clipper-compatible compiler which is cross-platform, running on many operating systems using the same source code and databases.Although it is a...

    , a Clipper-compatible compiler for the xBase
    XBase
    xBase is the generic term for all programming languages that derive from the original dBASE programming language and database formats. These are sometimes informally known as dBASE "clones"...

     family of programming languages
  • Qt
  • A palette of Mozilla
    Mozilla
    Mozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....

     products (collectively called Warpzilla):
    • Firefox
    • Seamonkey
      Seamonkey
      Seamonkey may refer to:* Sea-Monkeys, a certain hybrid of brine shrimps* SeaMonkey, a web browser suite** Mozilla Application Suite or Seamonkey, a web browser suite and predecessor to SeaMonkey* The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys, a television series...

    • Thunderbird
      Thunderbird
      -Creatures:* Thunderbird , a legendary creature in Native American culture* Dromornithidae, an extinct Australian family of birds* Thunderbird , a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures-Computing:...

  • Samba
    Samba (software)
    Samba is a free software re-implementation, originally developed by Andrew Tridgell, of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol. As of version 3, Samba provides file and print services for various Microsoft Windows clients and can integrate with a Windows Server domain, either as a Primary Domain...

  • GhostScript
    Ghostscript
    Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format page description languages.- Features :...

  • CUPS
  • OpenOffice
  • MPlayer
    MPlayer
    MPlayer is a free and open source media player. The program is available for all major operating systems, including Linux and other Unix-like systems, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Versions for OS/2, Syllable, AmigaOS and MorphOS are also available. The Windows version works, with some minor...

     (including the Qt-based SMplayer frontend)
  • VLC media player
    VLC media player
    VLC media player is a free and open source media player and multimedia framework written by the VideoLAN project.VLC is a portable multimedia player, encoder, and streamer supporting many audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It is able to...


See Unix Ports for OS/2 & eCS and netlabs for more ported packages.

Hardware requirements

The minimum specifications for a system running eComStation is listed on the following table.

Minimum hardware requirements for eComStation 1.0 to 2.0 RC
Processor
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...

Intel Pentium 133 MHz or equivalent (including Intel Celeron, PIII, P4 and AMD K6, Athlon and Duron processors)
Memory (RAM) 48 MB (absolute minimum required for installation from CD)
Graphics Card VGA video card with at least 512 kB memory.
HDD free space 500 MB of available disk space
Optical drive CD-ROM Drive - SATA, IDE or SCSI CD-ROM drive
Mouse
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...

Any PS/2, serial or USB mouse

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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