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International Business Machines Corp.

IBM Launches OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 with New Features and Price

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

At the launch of IBM's OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 at Dallas Brooks Hall, more than a thousand people gathered in Sydney and Melbourne to witness the unveiling of this highly anticipated operating system. The event was marked by a display of high technology and witty commentary, with IBM chairman Lou Gerstner pushing the company to adopt a more imaginative approach to its products and image.

Key Takeaways:

  • The new OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 is available in Australia at a recommended retail price of $179 for both the 3.5-inch diskette and CD-ROM versions, with no 5.25-inch diskette version available.
  • Additional licenses, allowing users to copy existing code, will be available at a recommended retail price of $169.
  • The product will be manufactured in Australia and available on dealers' shelves within the next two weeks.
  • The operating system contains enhancements over V2.1, including the removal of virtually all remaining 16-bit code and the replacement of 16-bit code with 32-bit code for better performance.
  • Multi-threaded code is used wherever possible, improving the loading speed of the operating system and reducing the delay of loading the first Windows application.
  • New capabilities, such as animated icons and a floating launchpad, have been added to the OS/2 Workplace Shell, making the product easier to use than previous versions.
  • OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 supports all the same devices as its predecessor, with the added advantage of having the support available at the time of release.
  • New devices supported include a host of new video drivers, and PCMCIA plug-and-play support for mobile users.
  • The multimedia support provided with OS/2 V2.1 has been preserved in Warp and extended with the inclusion of Kodak's Photo-CD technology, licensing deal between Kodak and IBM.
  • Photo-CD allows users to take pictures and have them developed onto a CD-ROM platter, which can be read and displayed on the OS/2 system or sent to friends or family electronically using Warp's built-in Internet and Compuserve support.

Statistics:

  • Over 1,000 people attended the OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 launch in Sydney and Melbourne.
  • The recommended retail price of OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 is $179 for both the 3.5-inch diskette and CD-ROM versions.
  • Additional licenses will be available at a recommended retail price of $169.
  • OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 will be available on dealers' shelves within the next two weeks.

Sources:

  • IBM Press Release: OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 Launch
  • PC'94: IBM Showcases New Image and Products
  • IBM Support Line: OS/2 V2.1 Device Drivers
  • The Age: OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 Review

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