Category Archives: General

Temporary workaround for PDF invoice/receipt

Update 2023-03-06: Selecting the Invoice button will currently generate an HTML version of the invoice without having to modify the URL.

Original post:

We are aware of an issue impacting our ability to generate PDF invoices (receipts) for new purchases, and working to resolve the problem. In the interim, it should be possible to generate an HTML invoice, and then use your browser’s print or save capability to either print a hard copy or save the HTML version to disk.

To generate the HTML version of the invoice, after receiving the error message or blank page when requesting the PDF invoice, simply append the following to the URL in the browser:

&output=html

and press <Enter>. The invoice should render in the browser window like any other page.

We appreciate your continued patience while we investigate the matter more fully and address the problem.

Beware of used ArcaOS licenses offered for sale

Happy New Year!

Recently, we’ve become aware of several ArcaOS licenses being offered for sale on various platforms. This post is a reminder to check the validity of any used license before paying for it.

All ArcaOS licenses are generated by Arca Noae. If you order through one of our authorized resellers, that reseller places an order for your software with us, and we provide the custom ISO for you, registered to an account in your name.

While it is entirely permissible to transfer a license (see paragraph 9 of the ArcaOS End User License Agreement ), such a transfer must include a hard copy of the license and proof of entitlement. Proof of entitlement means some documentation to prove that the company or individual transferring the license does indeed have the right to do so (it must indeed be registered to that company or individual).

Upon transfer, the transferor must notify Arca Noae of the transfer and provide contact information for the transferee. Without this, it will not be possible to renew support for that ArcaOS license – including a late renewal.

It is worth noting also that only the ArcaOS license is transferable. Support is not. Thus, when an unsuspecting user purchases an existing ArcaOS license and he or she wants to access related downloads for updates or even request an updated ISO, a new ArcaOS Support & Maintenance subscription will be required. The cost of the used license plus new support may be far more than a new license with included support and the ability to renew that support at a discount.

If you are considering the purchase of a used ArcaOS license, be sure to ask for a copy of the registrant’s name, email address, and serial number, and contact us first so that we may be able to determine whether the license is, in fact, legitimate. If it’s not, it will not be valid for purchasing a Support & Maintenance subscription, so technical support, updates, discounted upgrades, and bug fixes will never be available.

Cryptocurrency acceptance temporarily suspended

Pursuant to CoinPayment Inc’s recent decision to withdraw from the US market, we are temporarily unable to accept cryptocurrency for any store purchases while we evaluate a replacement platform. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause, and want to assure everyone that we are working hard to get our crypto gateway back up and running as soon as possible.

Resolving issues with GMail and OAuth 2.0 requirements

At the end of May, 2022, GMail discontinued use of standard authentication methods for POP3, IMAP, and SMTP connections. The available OAuth2 authentication mechanism in the latest SeaMonkey and Thunderbird for the OS/2 platform is unable to properly complete the authentication procedure with GMail, and will leave the application in a hung state.

There are several methods to work around this, but perhaps the easiest is simply to generate what Google calls an app password, which is, quite simply, a 16-digit passcode which gives a non-Google application or device permission to access your Google Account.

To generate the app password, follow the directions available here. Remember, that in order to do this, you must have 2-Step-Verification enabled for your account.

Once you have generated the app password, copy it to your clipboard. Open SeaMonkey Mail or Thunderbird, and access the server settings for your GMail account. Ensure that the authentication method is set for Normal password (Google will not accept encrypted passwords for this). Make the same change for the GMail SMTP server. Note that in both cases, SSL/TLS should be selected for the connection security, and specifically not STARTTLS. Close the settings dialog and attempt to access the account. You should be prompted for a new password. Paste the app password into the prompt.

To configure a second system to access the same account, simply paste (or type) the same app password. This technique should work for other mail clients, as well.

For questions, there is an informative discussion in the OS/2 World forum on this very topic.

Announcement concerning recently discovered vulnerabilities in the SolarWinds Orion platform

There have been multiple news reports about the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirming that malicious threat actors have been and are actively exploiting vulnerabilities in SolarWinds Orion products, primarily by leveraging the SUNBURST malware.

SolarWinds Orion is an IT monitoring solution.

Arca Noae does not now, nor have we ever used any SolarWinds products. As a result, our customers’ information is not vulnerable to these exploits.

We strongly advise our enterprise clients who may be using the Orion platform to review available firewall updates to keep your internal systems secure. As always, Arca Noae stands ready to assist in assessing the overall security of your OS/2 infrastructure.

More information (including CVE links) may be found on the CISA page.

Have a question? Be sure to read our FAQs

We’ve discussed the wealth of specific information available in our wiki pages in previous blog posts here and here, but there is still another resource available to get quick answers to “how do I…” and other questions: the Arca Noae FAQ.

Searching the FAQ is easy: just type one or more terms into the search box at the top. To browse questions and answers by category, select one of the available categories from the list, and scroll. Another way to search the entire Arca Noae website is to just use the site search box to the right of most pages.

If a FAQ answer has been helpful, please be sure to let us know by clicking the appropriate feedback link at the bottom.

If you happen to find something which doesn’t seem quite right (outdated or perhaps in need of further explanation), please drop us a note to let us know. If you have a suggestion for something to add, please tell us. We continually add questions as they are asked more frequently (hey, it’s a FAQ, after all), and we’ll be sure to consider any suggestions.

Just as the links to the wiki and the ticket system, the FAQ is available from the Support dropdown on the main menu.

Visited the Arca Noae wiki pages recently?

A few months ago, in another blog post, we discussed some things to do before opening a support ticket, including visiting the wiki pages to check for the latest technical and how-to information for your product.

These pages are regularly updated, so even if you’ve looked over them before, they’re worth a re-read.

Web searches are fine, but unfortunately, much of the available information pertaining to OS/2 is either dated or more specifically related to non-ArcaOS distributions or non-Arca Noae drivers. Your first, best place for information on Arca Noae products is right here.

If you happen to find something which doesn’t seem quite right (screenshots or directions outdated), please drop us a note to let us know. If you have a suggestion for something to add (a tip, how-to, or even a missing wiki), please tell us. We keep a running list of pages to update and add, and we’ll be sure to consider any requests we receive.

As always, and as frequently mentioned here, before opening a trouble ticket, be sure to check the wiki pages (self-help is often the best help).

Extended service outage due to Tropical Storm Isaias

All systems are back online as of 5:00am EDT, following a blackout which began at approximately 2:25pm EDT, yesterday.

Power, fiber optic broadband, and even wireless communications were impacted by yesterday’s passing of Isaias, rendering even the best of contingency plans inadequate. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

About requests for support

Whenever you encounter a problem with Arca Noae software which you cannot resolve on your own, you should consider opening a trouble ticket. If you have a current ArcaOS Support & Maintenance subscription or a current OS/2 & eCS Drivers & Software subscription, we’re here to help in any way we can. You paid for professional support with your software license and/or subscription, and you are entitled to it. To provide that level of service, however, we need a little help from you.

Before opening your ticket, please consider whether the issue is really in Arca Noae software or perhaps in a third-party component bundled with ArcaOS. Third-party software is not produced or directly supported by Arca Noae. Look at the program’s documentation. Where does it say support requests should be directed? If it is third-party software, you should probably start there. On the other hand, if it is a third-party component but your problem seems to have stemmed from the manner in which it was installed during an ArcaOS installation or update, that would be a problem for us to at least review first, because it may involve our installation software (which is our component).

Please don’t take offense if we refer you to the program’s developer or distributor for support. Those entities are probably closer to the source code than we are, and thus in a better position to assist you with your problem. We’re not passing the buck, just trying to direct you to the best place for the help you need.

If your issue is with an Arca Noae component, please review that component’s wiki pages for information on supported configurations as well as debugging instructions. The more you do ahead of time, the more you will know and the more information you will have available when we request it in your ticket. Be sure you’re using the right driver for your hardware. Be sure your system is in a supported configuration.

As a general rule when opening tickets, you should familiarize yourself with our Reporting Problems – Best Practices and Ticket Guidelines wiki pages. While these pages don’t change often, they document the framework within which we process tickets, give you an overview of what to expect from us, and likewise, what we expect from you (see mention above of “a little help from you”).

When a technician or engineer has been assigned to your ticket, consider that person your concierge to a solution for the duration of your problem. He or she is there to help. If that technician or engineer requests logging information, that’s not a suggestion. He or she requests that information in order to resolve the problem.

Always bear in mind that not all problems are reproducible by the technician or engineer, or your problem could be a configuration or usage issue. Often the only objective information the technician or engineer has to work with is contained in the log file(s) requested. If the log file(s) contain what you consider to be sensitive information (usernames, IP addresses, etc.), simply ask the ticket assignee to set your ticket to private status. When private, only you, Arca Noae staff, and developers have access to the information. You also have the option of sanitizing your log info to your satisfaction, as long as such anonymizing does not obscure the underlying data (your ticket assignee can provide more guidance, here; just ask).

If you fail to provide requested information or log files, your ticket assignee may very well resolve the ticket as “reporter unresponsive.” You may reopen the ticket within 30 days of resolution if you provide the requested information. See this FAQ item for information on reopening resolved tickets.

When you attach files to a ticket, please also post a comment. File attachments do not trigger email notifications, and do not change ticket status from Feedback, so without a comment added, the technician or engineer will have no idea that you have provided the requested information, and this may delay the ticket resolution process.

Please do not provide extra, not-requested attachments, such as configuration files and screenshots. If your ticket assignee has need of this information, he or she will ask for it.

Our goal is to resolve your issue as quickly as possible. Some issues may require more time than others. Some issues require group input, and thus, there may be some delays in responding to your ticket. Please be patient.

Above all, our goal is to provide quality software and attentive, professional support. All we ask in return is that you follow the procedures we have put in place so that we may work as efficiently as possible, and you may get back to the business of enjoying your Arca Noae products.

A brief, but very heartfelt thank-you to all of our friends

I don’t often post personal notes on the Arca Noae blog, but as I have been spending some time reviewing our sales over the past couple of months, I noticed something important, and I didn’t want this to go unmentioned.

While the world has been turned upside down for many of us, and for still others, finding new and different ways to work and to put food on the table has been challenging (not to mention staying healthy and well-distanced from COVID-19). Yet somehow, some way, quite a few ArcaOS, eCS, and OS/2 users have managed to not only renew support but to purchase additional licenses and – perhaps most importantly – purchase sponsoring units for our friends and hard-working developers.

Make no mistake, the whole Arca Noae team will come through this just fine. However, we’ll come through just a little better off, though, with friends like you out there. I — we — greatly appreciate everything you do for our hard-working developers, customer service staff, and admins striving to make our computing platform of choice even better.

So, from all of us, THANK YOU. Stay safe and healthy as we continue to weather this storm together. There truly are better days ahead, and we have some great things in store for 2020 (and we’re still working hard on them).

Lewis Rosenthal
Managing Member
Arca Noae, LLC