About Arca Noae

Arca Noae, LLC consists of a core group of people dedicated to maintaining and developing new and existing software, drivers, and services for the OS/2 operating system, including all OS/2 derivatives, such as ArcaOS and eComStation (or eCS, for short). IBM stopped supporting OS/2 at the end of 2006, however many companies and individuals are still using OS/2, eCS, and now, ArcaOS.

Arca Noae works closely with the OS/2 community of private users, developers, and enterprises. Our developers, consultants, and business partners have used OS/2 for years and continue to do so. Arca Noae is an integral part of the OS/2 community; our primary focus is on products and services for OS/2-based operating systems, so you are assured that you are getting the best possible service and expertise for OS/2 from Arca Noae. In addition, we use other operating systems because we know how important it is to connect OS/2 to other operating systems, under the theory of “using the right tool for the job.”

The vast majority of the net proceeds from Arca Noae sales are put right back into further development and support for the OS/2 platform.

Arca Noae was founded in July, 2014 when several of the developers who previously worked on the eComStation project felt that the future for the platform looked bleak, a feeling which came about due to lack of progress (or any work being done at all), therefore demonstrating a distinct lack of commitment on the part of the project’s new owner. The result was a new, better, supported project and product called Blue Lion, which was ultimately released as ArcaOS.

Some of the familiar names working under the auspices of Arca Noae are:

  • Lewis Rosenthal, the Managing Member of Arca Noae, LLC, who has worked with OS/2 for many years and also provides consulting services to several small and medium-sized OS/2 customers;
  • David Azarewicz, another principal of Arca Noae, LLC, who has contributed to many critical device drivers for ArcaOS (and before that, eComStation) including ACPI, Panorama, USB, OS2AHCI, DaniS506, and Multimac NIC drivers, as well as Uniaud;
  • Alex Taylor, who has developed many tools and components for OS/2, eComStation, and ArcaOS and worked extensively on OS/2 and eComStation as a volunteer for more than a decade, and whose keen eye for graphical user interfaces brought about the familiar eComStation installer, and the ArcaOS installer in use today as well as (to name a few) MiniLVM (the Installation Volume Manager), DiskUtil (the Disk Utility used during ArcaOS installation), NAPS (Network Adapters and Protocol Services), Printer Manager, and ANPM (Arca Noae Package Manager);
  • Steven Levine, an accomplished OS/2 consultant, maintainer, and developer, who has contributed to countless projects over the years, such as maintaining Open Watcom, troubleshooting often obscure issues, and guiding numerous projects along their paths to completion;
  • Andy Willis, support and sales.  Extensive experience in troubleshooting and problem determination.  Began using OS/2 with 2.11.

In addition to the core personnel listed above, many of the ports of Linux components included in ArcaOS (and available elsewhere) are maintained by strategic partners Paul Smedley in Australia, and still others by bww bitwise works GmbH, from Austria. bww bitwise works GmbH maintains Java, Qt, and the Apache OpenOffice port for OS/2, to name but a few. Arca Noae also works in concert with other major OS/2 software developers such as eCo Software from Russia and we maintain close relations with our core group of volunteers from around the world who help translate and test our software. Arca has also worked hard to develop a reseller and affiliate program to ensure that our software and drivers are available through third parties, and offered to people more comfortable in non-English languages.

It is these strong bonds with the developers, independent software vendors and consultants, and dedicated power users who essentially comprise “Team Arca Noae,” the same names and faces many of you have known for years, who have come together to continue their excellent work for our favored platform.

Historically, the emphasis of development for the platform has been on the community being the major contributor to the future of the operating system and indeed, the operating environment, overall. Now, that future for OS/2 continues with ArcaOS, renewed, refreshed, and revitalized by Arca Noae, LLC and our team.

Some of the enterprises to whom Arca Noae and our partners have provided services include Fortune 500 companies and other major entities from around the globe. Let us know how we may help you.