Blonde Guy expert consulting for OS/2

08/15/2025

Suntan Special 0.69 has been released

The newest release of Suntan Special, version 0.69, is available. Suntan Special is a system configuration tool that installs and maintains a collection of useful fixes, applications and development tools to ArcaOS, OS/2 or eComStation systems.

http://www.blondeguy.com/suntan6.html

Current Suntan Special users are entitled to upgrade to 0.69. The upgrade may be downloaded using the application refresh feature of Suntan Special.

Suntan Special may be downloaded at no charge. The price for a Suntan Special CD or DVD is $24.95 including shipping to USA and $39.95 for shipping outside USA.

The first release of Suntan Special since 2019. This release fixes a few bugs, and adds support for HobbesArchive and its mirrors. Version 0.69 adds better support for installations under VirtualBox. A new feature, MasterSequence, detects the operating system creates and executes a sequence designed to install all available fixes and applications. Thanks to current users whose suggestions have been incorporated in the new version of Suntan Special.

Support is also restored for OS/2 Warp 4 and for OS/2 Warp 4 Convenience Pack. These concentrate on support inside a VirtualBox session. If you got OS/2 running, and wonder what it is good for, Suntan Special will install a suite of software that will answer that question.

06/10/2025

I recently installed ArcaOS on a brand new computer.

https://www.blondeguy.com/computer/argon.html

The Lenovo M90t tower computer is compatible with ArcaOS. Built-in video, sound, network, and USB all function under ArcaOS 5.1. The computer features M.2 NVMe drive support on the motherboard, tool-free installation of SATA hard drives and an assortment of PCIe slots.

The computer features 20 processing cores with hypertheading turned off.

06/06/2025

Blonde Guy will be present at Vintage Computer Festival, West at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. The VCF, West is scheduled for Friday, August 1 through Saturday, August 2, 2025

https://www.blondeguy.com/VCF.html

05/26/2025

Blonde Guy will be present at Warpstock 2025 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Warpstock is the largest gathering of OS/2 users in North America. Warpstock is scheduled for Friday, November 7 through Sunday, November 9, 2025, in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. Early registration is now open, providing a generous discount for those who register for the full conference before August 1.

If you’ve never attended a Warpstock event, the experience is unique. You get to spend time one-on-one with not only like-minded users, but with the developers shaping the OS/2 landscape and the engineers supporting it. There is plenty of time outside of actual classroom sessions to relax and exchange ideas, request improvements and new features, and to break out into smaller groups for ad hoc discussions.

The location we have selected is the Holiday Inn Little Rock Airport Conference Center, located at 3201 Bankhead Drive, Little Rock, AR 72206.

07/21/2024

The Warpstock Board of Directors is pleased to announce Warpstock 2024. The annual conference for ArcaOS, OS/2, and eComStation users, administrators, and developers, will be held September 27-29 at the Marriott Pittsburgh Airport in Pittsburgh.

Warpstock is the annual conference for ArcaOS, OS/2, and eComStation users, administrators, and developers. Warpstock provides the unique experience of being in a room full of ArcaOS, OS/2 and eComStation users.

Warpstock lasts three days, from Friday, September 27 9:00 AM to Sunday, September 29 12:00 Noon. The meeting is at a hotel near the Pittsburgh airport. There is a free shuttle to the hotel from the airport. Warpstock will provide lunch and snacks. There are restaurants in walking distance from the hotel. The conference is designed to be easy to attend.

Registration for on-line viewing will not be required. On-line viewing will be via YouTube stream, and questions may be posed via YouTube Chat as well as IRC. YouTube and IRC access details will be posted at a later date.

Visit the Warpstock homepage at http://www.warpstock.org and on the left side of the page, click on the Warpstock 2024 link.

07/04/2024

Laptop Computer with ArcaOS
https://www.blondeguy.com/computer/carbon.html
The Lenovo T550 laptop computer is configured to boot either ArcaOS 5.1 or Windows 10. Built-in video, sound, network, USB and Lenovo Ultrabase dock all function under ArcaOS 5.1. The 15 inch screen has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, also known as FHD, and the IPS technology provides a display that is bright and clear.
Dual Boot to Windows 10 is configured, and the operating system is selectable from the rEFInd boot menu.

05/28/2024

Desktop Computer with ArcaOS
https://www.blondeguy.com/computer/aluminum.html
The Lenovo M920 tower computer is compatible with ArcaOS. Built-in video, sound, network, USB, serial port all function under ArcaOS 5.1. The computer features M.2 NVMe drive support on the motherboard, tool-free installation of SATA hard drives and an assortment of PCIe slots.

I added the Icy Dock 2 to my M920 Tower system. The custom front panel bezels to make it look like a professionally built computer are expensive and have long lead times. I also added a number of SATA cables to make the dock function. And it does function well. With no drives plugged in, it is a powerful ArcaOS computer, but with a drive plugged into drive bay 1, it can boot Windows, Linux and possibly other operating systems that I have not yet tried.

03/18/2024

ArcaOS 5.1 Media Pack

https://www.blondeguy.com/computer/ArcaOS51MediaPack.html

An ArcaOS media pack is a spiral-bound, 46 page version of the ArcaOS 5.1 Installation Guide. Adhesive clear plastic pockets hold a custom-printed ArcaOS installation DVD and a custom-printed ArcaOS installation USB thumb drive. The manual is USA letter size is US English only.

ArcaOS media are always personalized with the buyer's information. The manual with media is available four ways.

Personal License: with 6 months subscription for support and maintenance.
Commercial License: with 12 months subscription for support and maintenance.
No License: (media will be blank)
Customer License: Blonde Guy prepares media using customer ISO; customer to provide link

03/04/2024

True🤣

02/18/2024

Thinkpad T490

This IBM Thinkpad model is a portable computer, with powerful CPU and graphics. The built-in screen has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768, also known as HD, and The IPS technology provides a display that is bright and clear. The computer can boot Windows 11 or ArcaOS 5.1.

Manufacturer: Lenovo
Model: Thinkpad T490
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-8265U CPU @ 1.60GHz 4 cores
Screen: 14.0 inch Color LCD, 1366 x 768 pixels
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 256 GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 x 4 NVMe SSD
Weight: 3.22 lbs
WiFi: Travel Router
Hostname: Nitrogen
Status: In stock

01/30/2024

https://www.os2world.com/forum/index.php?topic=3572

IBM APL2 for OS/2

01/14/2024

ArcaOS Virtual Machine

Blonde Guy sells a virtual hard drive that has ArcaOS installed and configured to run under Virtual Box. The applications that Blonde Guy usually installs on an ArcaOS preloaded computer are installed in the virtual machine. If you have decided to go virtual for ArcaOS, this is a way to get there quickly.

OS/2 compatible virtual machine