Eventually, I was forced to stop writing OS/2 applications. Around that same time I handed control of EDM/2 to Carsten Whimster, and officially felt like part of my life died.The time was 1996 (or sometime thereabouts). Larry Margolis was known as "Mr. EPM," Bert Moshier and David Barnes were the "everyday man's" OS/2 advocate within IBM. What a time to have been alive. I'm glad to have been part of it all.
It's about 10 years later, and I've of late taken an interest to see where OS/2. I'm happy to have found that it is still alive, complete with the fanatical devotion that spurred the community back in the early 90's when IBM and Microsoft finally decided to go their separate ways (at least as far as this was involved).
I'm going to be presumptuous and trump everyone here. There will undoubtedly be questions about what I've been up to since the end of my involvment with EDM/2 and the release of "The Art of OS/2 Warp Programming". To wit, I've been up to a lot of everything and nothing. I've settled into mediocrity, against my wishes, but when the rest of the world woke up and realized what people like Steve Mastrianni knew back in late 80's - that you could make a lot of money in programming - everyone and their dog wanted to be a programmer. This diluted the market, for sure, and with the expansion of the role of the operating system to include things such as encryption, Internet browsing, etc. (note that I'm not referring to OS/2 here), it literally became impossible to be the "Jack of All Trades and Master of More than a Few" as you once could be.
I'm doing (gasp!) Microsoft development, but I couldn't care if it were BeOS as long as it pays my bills. I've accumulated enough equipment to open a small recording studio and write / record original music when inspiration strikes. I also play in a 7 member dance band, etc. blah etc.
In any case, this posting is part reminiscing, part congratulatory (i.e. it's great to see so much interest still in OS/2), and part encouragement ("keep the faith alive!").
Hopefully, an OS/2 trade show will stop by Manhattan and I'll get a chance to relive the glory days once again. ("Mr. Incredible" anyone? Only if "Mirage" shows up to entice me as well...LOL) Maybe I'll even get a chance to meet some of the ones who started around my time and had the priviledge of being able to stay in the OS/2 realm.
Good luck, and I'll try to pop my head in here from time-to-time. (Now, if I can simply convince the Moderator to allow this post to be born...)
Old skool OS/2 Developer
Former EDM/2 Publisher / Editor-in-chief