A Brief History of OS/2 
 
OS/2 Version 1.0 was first announced in April of 1987 and included task 
switching and DOS 3.30 compatibility. Since that time, IBM has announced 
Versions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.0, 2.1, 2.11, and 3.0 with many variations. 
Originally, Microsoft Corporation, under contract by IBM, assisted in the 
development of OS/2. The relationship ended when the conflict between the 
development of Windows and OS/2 became too great. The graphical interface 
of Version 1.3 is in Microsoft's Windows NT. 
 
OS/2 Version 1.1 introduced graphics and windowing. OS/2 Version 1.2 was 
the first to incorporate the High Performance File System (HPFS), a dual 
boot mechanism, and the release of a new variation called IBM Extended 
Edition. The Extended Edition package included Communication Manager/2, 
DB2/2, LAN Requester, and Restructured Extended Executor (REXX) language 
support. OS/2 Version 1.3 added Adobe Type Manager (ATM) and the Standard 
Edition eventually included REXX language support. 
 
All versions of OS/2 prior to the release of 2.0 in October of 1991 
required an 80286 based machine for the 16-bit operating system. Version 
2.0 required an 80386SX processor or higher and was the first 32-bit 
version of the operating system. Version 2.0 recognized greater than 16MB 
of ram and introduced the Work Place Shell, System Object Module (SOM), and 
Windows 3.0 compatibility. 
 
OS/2 Version 2.1 was announced in May of 1993. Its major enhancements 
included Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) 
support and Windows 3.1 emulation. Shortly after the release of version 
2.1, IBM announced OS/2 Special Edition (SE). This product installs over 
existing DOS\Windows machines allowing OS/2 to control all functions of the 
system and therefore converting it to a 32-bit operating environment. The 
product was marketed largely to the existing 17 million Windows users. The 
only difference between OS/2 version 2.1 and OS/2 Special Edition is the 
lack of DOS and Windows emulation. Special Edition was priced accordingly. 
 
OS/2 Version 2.11 is a manufacturer refresh because it contains all 
Corrective Service Disk (CSD) fixes to date that should be applied to OS/2 
Version 2.1. IBM did not change the part number for OS/2 2.11 so it carried 
the same part number as its predecessor. Once the manufacturer's refresh 
was available, copies sold from the shelf and preloaded into new PCs. Many 
users did not realize there was a difference. If you are not sure which 
version of OS/2 that you are running, you may use the SYSLEVEL command at a 
command prompt to view the version. 
 
OS/2 Version 3.0 is the first version named for its commonly known code 
name, Warp. The first release was an update for those users who have been 
using Special Edition or want to improve their existing DOS\Windows 
machine. This version is the "red pack" because of the red spined shrink-
wrapped box. Later, OS/2 version 3.0 with DOS and Windows emulation became 
generally available. This version is the most recent version for those 
users who wish to upgrade their existing OS/2 version 2.1 machine or want 
to switch to OS/2 entirely. It is the "blue pack" because of the blue 
spined shrink-wrapped box. Major enhancements to the latest versions of 
OS/2 include the launchpad, bonuspak and SOM II. 
 
If you have any questions, please post a note in the OS/2 topic area in 
INFO EXCHANGE. Be sure to include your version and your model number (i.e., 
2155-G82).