IBM is finally ending support of OS/2, and recommending users go to Linux.
How do the two compare? I have some Linux experience, but pretty much zero OS/2 experience.
I would imagine that since OS/2 is older than Linux, that Linux is more advanced. is this true?
Not really. I once used OS/2 Warp on an old Pentium. Here is some background. aBasically, Os/2 is supperior in terms of areas no longer seen as important, and was once superior to linux, but Linux has caught up with it, and is superior in a number of ways.
I would still use it, if it wasn’t for hardware incompatibility. In fact, while Linux is far superior to Windows, Os/2 is/was superior to both. At least, back in it’s heyday. For example, it has far better compatibility with Windows 95, a superior gui, and is pretty much the default choice for ATMs. However, Linux is quickly gaining ground on Windows compatibility, and Linux works with a much further range of hardware, and the Gui is more adaptable in some, but not all ways. The thing is, however, since Linux is Open Source, while Os/2 is not, anyone (smart and dedicated enough) can decide to reverse engineer OS/2’s advantages, and integrate them into Linux. The same can tot be said for OS/2.
In fact, as I recall, the process has already started.
OS/2 has very few advantages over Linux. The chief one of these being, as Scott Plaid mentioned, better default Windows 95 compatibility. But, since wine comes standard on most Linux distributions, it’s not that big of an advantage.
Ten years ago, I definitely would have chosen OS/2 over Linux. But even then, OS/2 had some problems of its own. I had to make modifications to the installation disc to even install it…things like that don’t leave the average user with a good taste in his mouth.
Having worked at IBM, I have a certain fondness for OS/2. But it seems to me that they were just not committed enough to make it a truly viable world-class OS. I read that they haven’t had a major release of OS/2 in over 9 years…seems to me that it had really been abandoned long ago, but they’re just now making it official.
SiouxChief, you are quite right. However, this is no problem to those who still use it. See here to find out why.