The Hawai'i Users Group for OS/2

Who we are and what we do ...

The Hawai'i Users Group for OS/2 (HUGOS/2) is an informal group of OS/2 enthusiasts whose primary purpose for getting together is to lend a helping hand. It's no secret that OS/2 support is very hard to find in the common PC channels -- we hope to fill this void for the OS/2 community in Hawai'i.

The group focuses on sharing experiences with OS/2, OS/2 software, "tips and tricks", and anything else relevant to using OS/2. We hope to assist others in getting over hurdles in making full use of their PCs by sharing our collective knowledge and experience.

Why we use OS/2 and why you may want to also ...

• If you run DOS programs or have a lot of 16-bit Windows programs, OS/2 is for you. OS/2 is compatible with more DOS and 16-bit Windows programs than Windows 95 and Windows NT. Upgrading to OS/2 allows you to take advantage of all the new hardware features available on today's PCs without having to upgrade all of your programs to 32-bit Windows versions.
  
  
• If you need Internet support or access to existing networks, OS/2 has a lot of built-in features for you. OS/2 comes with a full set of TCP/IP services that provides you with everything you need to get onto the Internet. It has built-in support for connecting to OS/2 Warp Servers, Novell NetWare servers, Windows NT servers, and for doing "peer" networking with Windows NT and Windows 95 systems on a LAN. If you need to share files, printers, or just about any other resource, OS/2 will easily plug into your LAN.
  
  
• One of the best features of OS/2 is it's object-oriented interface (a.k.a. the WorkPlace Shell or WPS). It takes a bit of work to get used to the paradigm but once you've invested the time you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.
  
  
• Industry standards. If you have to work with a lot of different kinds of systems, this feature will appeal to you. OS/2 supports a lot of industry standards and has integrated them into the operating system. OS/2 has integrated many open industry standards into the operating system like JAVA, TCP/IP, OpenGL, CORBA, etc. instead of proprietary interfaces as other desktop operating systems have.
  
  
• True, preemptive multitasking and multithreading. A lot of people ask "why would I need that?" Well, if you're the type that wants to download a file from the Internet while formatting a diskette while reading your e-mail while printing a report while recalculating a spreadsheet then, OS/2 is probably your only real alternative in the PC world. Otherwise, you'd probably be happy with just about any other operating system.

How to contact us ...