OS/2 Software

— I no longer develop this legacy resource —

All trademarks, company names or logos are the property of their respective owners.

Much of the software listed on this page is very old and may no longer be available.

Hobbes OS/2 Archive

The Hobbes OS/2 Archive is gone.

The Hobbes archive at hobbes.nmsu.edu was a central repository of OS/2 information for decades. On January 11, 2024, they made available [a] tar file of their entire archive, expecting it to be shut down on April 15, 2024. This also contains DOS and Windows tools relevant to OS/2.
— hobbes-os2-archive

The Hobbes OS/2 Archive New Home provides for quick search and quick browse options.
The hobbes-os2-archive is a tar file hosted on the Internet Archive, a non-profit library.

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Internet and Communications

Browsers

Firefox version 45.9.0.
Warpzilla—Mozilla for OS/2 is now archived and probably too old to be useful.
Warpzilla Wiki.
Hobbes OS/2 Archive contained a listing of OS/2 Web browsers.

E-mail

Innoval PostRoad Mailer (OS/2 native). Innoval's OS/2 software has been discontinued, but their mail and web utilities are available at no charge. You will need the license code "31571728" posted there to unlock PostRoad Mailer 3.
MR/2 ICE - Internet Cruiser Edition for OS/2.
Hobbes OS/2 Archive contained a listing of OS/2 e-mail programs.

Other

InJoy Firewall is a complete Internet gateway and firewall security system in one.
Hilgraeve KopyKat, HyperACCESS Pro for OS/2 with HyperHost and HyperACCESS/5. (OS/2 products are available upon request. There is no support provided for these products.)

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Java Applications

Java is Native to OS/2. OS/2 Warp 4 was the first commercial operating system that natively incorporated Java—that is, OS/2 didn't require a browser or other program to interface between a Java program and the operating system.

DZone has extensive links to Java sites and applications.
Russ Harvey Consulting Services Java Resources has other links to Java information sites, programs and Java Virtual Machines for various operating systems.

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Productivity and Office Applications

OpenOffice for OS/2.
Lotus SmartSuite for OS/2 Warp 4.
Sundial Systems Relish, Mesa, Clearlook, DBExpert.

Adobe Reader for OS/2

Some information downloads, particularly for eComStation, require that you have Adobe Reader installed and are marked with (PDF).

Adobe® Reader® for OS/2 is no longer available on the Adobe site.
Hobbes OS/2 Archive contained Adobe® Reader® 3 for OS/2 (aro2e30.exe).

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Graphics

PMView 2000 is an excellent graphics browser and image converter. Cost is US$49.95 which includes all version 2 upgrades.
PMJPEG (shareware — $20).
Hobbes OS/2 Archive contained an aging list of OS/2 graphics apps and support programs. Perhaps the more interesting are those currently being ported to OS/2.

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Utilities

Power Quest Partition Magic (V.3 includes OS/2 , DOS, Windows 3.1x, Windows 95, and Windows NT support) and DriveCopy. You need to use a DOS partition or boot from diskettes to use more recent versions. Partition Magic is now owned by Symantec.
DragText v3.3 basic features are free but the extended features are shareware and available for only 6 weeks. By registering DragText you encourage the author to improve this program.

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Games

Stardock produced a number of excellent OS/2 games at one time.
The OS/2 Games List.
Wikipedia List of OS/2 games.
OS/2 Games Setting Archive.

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Ported Applications

Greg Boyko's OS/2 Petition Page gives you a chance to ask for OS/2 native versions of the current Windows 95 applications that you'd like to own. If you can't find an OS/2 program to do what you want, sign Greg's petition and e-mail the vendor requesting the OS/2 version. If enough of us request and buy ported products with current features other vendors will respond in kind.
The XFree86 Project includes the free and optimized X11R6 implementation to OS/2 - an entire window management environment that usually runs in Unix and Linux environments. This page references version 4.3.0 but doesn't directly report on OS/2. Major OS/2 support updates are noted in the OS support update section.
Odin is a Windows 32-bit API library which is comparable with WINE on Linux. It allows you to run 32-bit Windows programs on OS/2 and eComStation. PE2LX converts binaries (EXE and DLL files) but on-the-fly conversion (via PE.EXE loader) is much more powerful.
- Odin alternative.
WarpIN is intended to become the new general-purpose installer for OS/2 to overcome the current lack of a both flexible and user-friendly installer.
- WarpIN general purpose installer for OS/2.

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Other Sources

OS/2 Vendors

eComStation resellers.
Finnegan Software, Inc. (Toronto, Canada).
Mensys Belgium.
M.I.T. OS/2 list of OS/2 software vendors.

Shareware & Freeware Archives

Norloff's OS/2 Shareware BBS straddles the old BBS world and the newer Internet world. An excellent site.
Hobbes OS/2 Archive was one of the most comprehensive sites for downloading software.

Other OS/2 Software Lists

eCSoft/2 the complete OS/2 software encyclopedia.
os2.org.

OS/2 ISVs

OS/2 had a significant number of Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) developing for it over the years considering the number of users compared to Windows.

I think a large part of this was the recognition of the superiority of the operating system and the sophisticated end-user. While they have abandoned shrink-wrap products, this is a trend wasn't limited to OS/2.

Electronic commerce on the Web offers cheaper delivery systems with more profit remaining in the hands of the developer, making it easier to justify developing for an ever decreasing market. Support these ISVs with your dollars. Their enthusiasm can only go so far.

Your best bet might be cross-platform and open source programs:

Netlabs.org was founded in 1997 with the goal of creating a center for free OpenSource Software for OS/2 and also eComStation (eCS). Netlabs.org was one of the largest developers of OS/2 software. Some links to projects remain.
Other ported applications and projects.

OS/2 Resources Pages

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