{"id":344492,"date":"2021-09-26T15:00:45","date_gmt":"2021-09-26T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ibm-os-2-warp-4-turns-25\/"},"modified":"2023-10-07T12:59:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T09:59:00","slug":"ibm-os-2-warp-4-turns-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ibm-os-2-warp-4-turns-25\/","title":{"rendered":"#OS\/2&#8217;s Last Stand: IBM OS\/2 Warp 4 Turns 25"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a256c14cd042\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a256c14cd042\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ibm-os-2-warp-4-turns-25\/#OS2_IBMs_Alternative_to_Windows\" >OS\/2: IBM&#8217;s Alternative to Windows<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ibm-os-2-warp-4-turns-25\/#OS2_Warp_4_Requirements_and_Features\" >OS\/2 Warp 4 Requirements and Features<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ibm-os-2-warp-4-turns-25\/#OS2_Warp_4_Facts_and_Trivia\" >OS\/2 Warp 4 Facts and Trivia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ibm-os-2-warp-4-turns-25\/#OS2s_Legacy\" >OS\/2&#8217;s Legacy<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>27 years ago&#8212;on September 26, 1996&#8212;IBM launched OS\/2 Warp Version 4, its last major attempt to compete with Microsoft Windows in desktop operating systems. While a competent and highly regarded OS, it didn&#8217;t take the OS crown. Here&#8217;s a look at why Warp 4 was special&#8212;and how it lives on in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"os-2-ibm-s-alternative-to-windows\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"OS2_IBMs_Alternative_to_Windows\"><\/span>OS\/2: IBM&#8217;s Alternative to Windows<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>IBM OS\/2 is a computer operating system that\u00a0originated in 1987 as a successor of IBM PC-DOS\u00a0(also known as MS-DOS when released by its developer, Microsoft). OS\/2 began as a partnership between IBM and Microsoft, but the pair split up around 1990 after the\u00a0release of Windows 3.0&#8212;the two companies wanted to go in different directions. In the years following, OS\/2 grew in sophistication while competing head-to-head with Microsoft for control of the PC-operating system space.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static1.howtogeekimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/warp4_desktop.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In 1994, IBM released OS\/2 Warp (version 3), its first major version of OS\/2 developed after its partnership with Microsoft imploded, with IBM developers doing the heavy lifting on the development front. As a result, OS\/2 Warp 3 included a distinctive flavor to its interface while introducing internet features and maintaining rock-solid stability and backward compatibility with MS-DOS and Windows 3.x programs.<\/p>\n<p>With the launch of OS\/2 Warp 3, IBM made a huge marketing push in a strong attempt to unseat Microsoft&#8217;s control of the PC-operating system market. Depending on who you ask, Warp didn&#8217;t catch on due to\u00a0expensive requirements for developers, limited hardware support,\u00a0monopolistic tricks from Microsoft, or\u00a0IBM&#8217;s marketing blunders. Windows was also an entrenched standard with a relatively low cost, wide hardware support, and plenty of developers on its side.<\/p>\n<p>All that being said, OS\/2 Warp won its share of die-hard fans, and when IBM released OS\/2 Warp Version 4 in 1996, they found a mature, stable, fully featured 32-bit operating system that could easily hold its own against Windows 95, and the fact that Microsoft won anyway with &#8220;inferior&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> was one of the most frustrating tech tales of the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static1.howtogeekimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ibm_os2_warp4_retail_box.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At launch, OS\/2 Warp 4 retailed for $249 or $149 for an upgrade (that&#8217;s about $431 and $258 when adjusted to today&#8217;s dollars). That was more expensive than\u00a0Windows 95&#8217;s\u00a0retail price of\u00a0$209.95\u00a0at launch, but it was still competitive for a consumer OS at the time.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"os-2-warp-4-requirements-and-features\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"OS2_Warp_4_Requirements_and_Features\"><\/span>OS\/2 Warp 4 Requirements and Features<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>IBM released OS\/2 Warp 4 in several different configurations, including a consumer version and a server version (&#8220;OS\/2 Warp Server&#8221;) designed largely for hosting local area networks. The regular Warp Version 4 required a 33 MHz Intel 486 CPU or higher (but IBM recommended a Pentium 100 for its voice navigation features), 12-16 MB of memory, and a video card that could display 640&#215;480 with 256 colors.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static1.howtogeekimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/warp_features_box.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Among Warp 4&#8217;s many new features, IBM most often touted the following in its marketing and advertising materials.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>VoiceType:<\/strong>\u00a0A\u00a0voice recognition and dictation system\u00a0that allows speed-to-text input and voice navigation of the OS. For example, you can tell OS\/2 to &#8220;go to sleep&#8221; to put your PC to sleep or &#8220;open <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s&#8221; to open your games folder. With training, it can recognize over 70,000 words and can potentially replace typing with a keyboard&#8212;if you&#8217;re patient enough.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Java Integration:<\/strong>\u00a0Warp 4 includes a fully integrated\u00a0Java\u00a0virtual machine that allowed you to run Java programs\u00a0directly from OS\/2&#8217;s Workplace Shell\u00a0without a browser. That was pretty cutting-edge in 1996.<\/li>\n<li><strong>WarpCenter:<\/strong>\u00a0Similar to\u00a0Windows 95&#8217;s taskbar, OS\/2 Warp 4 includes WarpCenter, a toolbar (based on\u00a0Lotus SmartCenter) positioned at the top or bottom of the screen that can manage tasks and launch <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>s. Special containers called &#8220;trays&#8221; can hold app or document shortcuts and file system locations for easy access.<\/li>\n<li><strong>WarpGuide:<\/strong>\u00a0For helping users through complex OS operations, IBM introduced WarpGuide, an interactive help system that turned dialog boxes into a multi-step color-coded process that was intended to make things more user-friendly. Whether IBM succeeded or just\u00a0made things more confusing\u00a0in the process is up for debate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>OpenDoc Support:<\/strong>\u00a0For a time, Apple, Motorola, and IBM hyped the\u00a0OpenDoc\u00a0software framework as a better way to make document-centric applications using components rather than monolithic applications. OpenDoc is, frankly, an inscrutable concept to anyone outside of software development, which is likely one of the reasons it failed and Apple abandoned work on it in 1997. IBM OS\/2 Warp 4 supported OpenDoc, but\u00a0never for any useful purpose.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some other minor features touted on the back of the OS\/2 Warp 4 retail box include support for OpenGL (the 2D\/3D graphics API) and TrueType fonts, Lotus Notes Mail (a messaging system), the inclusion of the\u00a0IBM WebExplorer\u00a0browser, and access to Netscape Navigator for OS\/2 (a free download).<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"os-2-warp-4-facts-and-trivia\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"OS2_Warp_4_Facts_and_Trivia\"><\/span>OS\/2 Warp 4 Facts and Trivia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static1.howtogeekimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/os2_warp4_mahjongg.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Compared to Windows or macOS that many people are familiar with, OS\/2 Warp 4 seems a little quirky. Here are some unique and interesting bits of info and trivia about the OS.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Like previous versions of OS\/2, Warp 4 could run 16-bit Windows 3.x apps through a special environment called &#8220;Win-OS\/2&#8221; that ran inside a window within OS\/2. When run, you see a Windows 3.x like environment with Program Manager and basic Windows apps licensed from Microsoft.<\/li>\n<li>Certain early copies of Warp 4\u00a0included a microphone headset\u00a0for use with OS\/2&#8217;s VoiceType speech recognition software.<\/li>\n<li>During development, OS\/2 Warp 4&#8217;s code name was &#8220;Merlin.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>OS\/2 calls its shortcuts\u00a0&#8220;shadows,&#8221;\u00a0which are similar to shortcuts in Windows or aliases on macOS but slightly different because they aren&#8217;t file system objects.<\/li>\n<li>Instead of a trash can or recycle bin, OS\/2 Warp 4 includes a &#8220;Shredder&#8221; on the desktop for deleting files. It features an icon of an office paper shredder.<\/li>\n<li>Warp 4 included three built-in games: Mahjongg Solitaire (tile matching), Klondike Solitaire, and OS\/2 Chess.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"os-2-s-legacy\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"OS2s_Legacy\"><\/span>OS\/2&#8217;s Legacy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>OS\/2 Warp 4 received <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly great reviews from the computer press at launch, but it didn&#8217;t turn the tide against Microsoft&#8217;s lock on the PC operating system market. Still, IBM continued to sell Warp 4 and Warp Server until\u00a0December 23, 2005, releasing patches (called\u00a0&#8220;Fix Packs&#8221;) for it along the way. IBM&#8217;s customer support for OS\/2 officially ended on December 31, 2006. In a sign of just how bitter the\u00a0Microsoft\/IBM OS feud\u00a0had become, IBM\u00a0encouraged vendors to switch to Linux\u00a0instead of Windows when choosing a path away from OS\/2.<\/p>\n<p>Due to its stability, vendors used OS\/2 Warp 4 frequently for embedded applications (such as bank ATMs) where a crash would be embarrassing or costly. By the mid-2000s, more stable versions of Windows\u00a0began to catch up\u00a0with OS\/2&#8217;s installed base for embedded applications. Some ATMs likely still run OS\/2 or one of its licensed derivatives such as\u00a0eComStation\u00a0and\u00a0ArcaOS\u00a0today. As late as 2019, the New York subway system\u00a0still used OS\/2\u00a0because of its stability and the cost of migrating to a new system.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static1.howtogeekimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ecomstation_shot.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Another advantage of the latest OS\/2 derivatives is that they can run multiple instances of legacy DOS or Windows programs (16 or 32-bit) each in their own sandboxed instance, side-by-side, so if one app crashes, it won&#8217;t take down the whole system. So it&#8217;s likely that even though most people consider OS\/2 a dead OS, it will likely\u00a0still be powering important industrial, commercial, and embedded systems\u00a0for decades to come. If it ain&#8217;t broke, why fix it?<\/p>\n<p>Happy birthday, Warp 4!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/755650\/os2s-last-stand-ibm-os2-warp-4-turns-25\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>27 years ago&#8212;on September 26, 1996&#8212;IBM launched OS\/2 Warp Version 4, its last major attempt to compete with Microsoft Windows in desktop operating systems. While a competent and highly regarded OS, it didn&#8217;t take the OS crown. Here&#8217;s a look at why Warp 4 was special&#8212;and how it lives on in unexpected ways. OS\/2: IBM&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":344493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static1.howtogeekimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/os2_warp4_hero.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=1140&h=&dpr=1.5","fifu_image_alt":"#OS\/2&#8217;s Last Stand: IBM OS\/2 Warp 4 Turns 25","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1570,145843,5378,146282,146283,133812],"class_list":["post-344492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-features","tag-google-news-features","tag-history","tag-ibm-2","tag-os-2","tag-web"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}