Tag Archives: update

USB driver package version 11.09 released

Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our updated USB stack. This interim release (11.09) addresses the following issues:

  • USBCALLS: Fixed a compatibility problem which made the most recent version of USBCALLS.DLL incompatible with USBRESMG.SYS.
  • USBRESMGR: Incorporated a small change from Wim Brul.
  • EHCI: Fixed a queue management problem which would cause some USB transactions to be lost. This was mostly noticed because it would randomly cause keyboards and/or mice to not work depending
    on which one got initialized first. Any USB device could be affected, though.
  • EHCI: Reworked the code that handles BIOS/OS ownership change. No one should notice any difference because of this, but it will help some obscure systems initialize properly.
  • USBKBD: Fixed a problem with shared devices. In some situations when the mouse and keyboard both were part of the same USB device, the USB keyboard driver would stomp on the mouse interface causing the mouse to stop working.
  • Some of the USB drivers are not compatible with different versions of other USB drivers. Previously, no checking was done. So if the user mixed incompatible versions, he or she could get a partially working or non-working USB stack, system hangs, or other strange, random problems. Code has now been added to check for compatible versions of certain critical drivers so that they will not blindly try to connect with each other and cause problems.
  • Reworked and enhanced tracing capability for better debugging support.

This driver package is available for download from the Arca Noae website as part of your Arca Noae OS/2 & eCS drivers and software package subscription. Please log into your account in order to access your software.

There are still a couple of outstanding issues to be addressed, but we felt this interim release was important as some major problems have been fixed.

If you haven’t yet purchased a software subscription, this is a great reason to do so now.

Updated roadmap and anticipated changes

We have updated our roadmap to reflect some recent changes in project status, namely the beginning of the beta testing phase of our graphical package management tool, our participation in some very exciting USB development, and our initial investigation of support for some SATA RAID and SAS controllers.

Also of note are some upcoming changes to our store checkout which will soon allow for credit card processing through Authorize.net, a recognized world leader in payment processing. We know that this will be a welcome option for those who prefer not to transact business through PayPal. We anticipate this capability early next year.

Our online store has been open for exactly one month today. The response has been overwhelming, and customer feedback has been of immense help. We continue to work hard to address some lingering issues with server performance and website compatibility across browsers and platforms, and appreciate the valuable input from all reporters.

Commercial Edition of Arca Noae’s OS/2 & eCS drivers and software package now available

Remember these?Arca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our popular OS/2 & eCS drivers and software subscription service for commercial enterprises, non-profits, and government agencies.

The Commercial Edition is priced per-system (one physical workstation or server, or one active virtual machine), with volume discounts available. In addition, the commercial edition entitles the subscribing entity to prioritized support and elevated consideration of feature and enhancement requests, as well as requests for new packages.

Subscriptions up to 100 seats can be bought directly from our webstore; please contact sales@arcanoae.com for price quotations of 100 seats or more.

So, what would you like to see next?

Our mission at Arca Noae is to do what we can to ensure the longest term of usefulness of the OS/2 platform, for both individuals and enterprises. Part of that mission is addressed by updates to existing drivers and applications, part by adding new functionality to those softwares, and part by adding new drivers and/or applications entirely.

What we’d like to know is: What do you need to be able to stay on OS/2?

Other platforms (both closed and open source) tend to follow their own path. A large software developer in the state of Washington in the US decided a couple of years ago that the entire desktop interface was somehow no longer useful, and needed to be scrapped in favor of something completely different, taking a one-size-fits-all approach across desktops and mobiles. Linux has had desktop wars waging for decades between Gnome and KDE, and once Unity appeared, it seemed to draw almost universal scorn from both camps (and somehow, the steering groups of various distros tend to make unilateral decisions insofar as which desktops to include by default in their distros).

Arca Noae is different in that our direction should always be guided by the needs of the community. As we have pledged to reinvest as much of our earnings as possible into further development, we need to regularly solicit input from you, so that we may be assured we are heading in the right direction.

So please drop us a note on our contact page and let us know what you need. We’re listening, we care, and we’re not going away anytime soon.

[solved] Trouble registering for an account?

This is just a quick note to confirm that several hours ago we did indeed fix the issue causing the blank page on user registration.

If you continue to experience difficulties with your account, please do not hesitate to use our contact form or email us directly at webmeister [at] arcanoae [dot] com.

We apologize for any inconvenience which this may have caused.

Thanks again for visiting Arca Noae!

USB Stack update now available

A sort of USB stackArca Noae is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our updated USB stack. This update (11.08) contains fixes for many reported problems and addresses many of the regressions which have occured in recent updates. Specifically:

  • A problem that caused some devices to not be attached was fixed.
  • A problem where USB printers would suddenly stop working has been fixed.
  • A problem with USB drivers sharing an interrupt with other devices was fixed.
  • Resource manager entries are now created for USB keyboards and mice.
  • The USBCALLS DLL was updated.
  • Some changes were implemented to help with the problems detecting keyboards and mice.
  • Fixed a problem where the driver would not work on some UHCI hardware.
  • The ability to do Isochronous transfers was fixed.
  • The USB software is now distributed as a Warpin package.

If you haven’t yet purchased a software subscription, this is a great reason to do so now.

 

Trouble registering for an account?

We are aware of an issue on the site when registering for an account. Upon clicking the Register button on the My Account page, the user is greeted with a blank page. Rest assured, your account has been created, but a minor internal error has occurred, preventing the acknowledgment from displaying.

Simply click the Back button in your browser, and if prompted to re-send your previous post, click Yes or OK. The My Account page should redisplay, with a message that the account already exists. That indicates that the account has been created successfully (attempting to create an account which really does exist will immediately return the error and not a blank page).

If you continue to experience difficulties, please do not hesitate to use our contact form or email us directly at webmeister [at] arcanoae [dot] com.

We apologize for any inconvenience which this may cause, and are working to correct the problem.

Thanks again for visiting Arca Noae!

Online Store Opening Pains

We never knew how much work it would be to get an online store like this operational! From custom components for the site to back-end scripts to entering descriptions and uploading content, everyone at Arca Noae has been working very hard to get things working. We have some things available now, with more coming in the days and weeks ahead.

If you experience problems, please be patient with us, we are working as hard as we can. Also if you see some things missing, again, please be patient. We are adding items as quickly as we possibly can.

Privacy Policy Update

In response to visitor feedback, we have clarified the portion of our Privacy Policy concerning use of Google technologies.

To summarize, while we have not knowingly enabled any Google technologies on our site, such technologies may be enabled by third-party components which we employ and of which we may be unaware. If we do choose to employ any such technologies, or if we become aware of a third-party component which utilizes them, we will take reasonable steps to provide advance notification.

We invite you to revisit our Privacy Policy and provide us with your comments.