The OS/2 Shareware BBS, home of the world's largest collection of OS/2 shareware, freeware, and public domain programs and information, has exceeded the 10,000 file mark today.
(Fairfax, Virginia -- February 24, 1995)
Started in March 1990, largely to demonstrate the strong following for OS/2 programming, the OS/2 Shareware BBS came online with 300 files. The file collection has been growing at an increasing rate since then.
"We used to see an average of one to two new files a day
through 1990 and 1991," said Pete Norloff, the bulletin board's
originator, "now in the last three weeks alone, we've posted 480
new files."
The continued growth in the file collection and in the traffic through the BBS demonstrates the strong demand for OS/2 programs and information.
Callers from all over the world:
"It used to be that we'd have to go searching for all the new files to post on the BBS. With 1000-1200 calls a day now
from all over the world, hardware manufacturers are coming to us
to ask if they can post their device drivers. The BBS benefits
everyone involved, software distributors and callers alike." said
Norloff.
The OS/2 Shareware BBS is presently distributing 10 gigabytes of data a month in a total of about 50,000 file transfers. The BBS is a powerful resource for shareware authors as well:
"There is only one BBS I need to upload my mail reader
to" says Kurt Westerfeld, author of KWQ Mail/2, the popular
offline mail reader package. "I can reach all of my OS/2
customers from Denmark to Taiwan by uploading KWQ to The OS/2
Shareware BBS."
Programs are available on the BBS to suit every need. OS/2 application programs and utilities are useful to all OS/2 users. A large file area is dedicated to OS/2 programming tools. For multimedia enthusiasts, there are OS/2 movie files, bitmaps and sound clips. A collection of Adobe Type 1 fonts makes a good addition to most OS/2 systems. There is a file area dedicated to OS/2 BBS programs as well as video, printer, and network device drivers.
"Given just the current rate of growth, the next 10,000
files would be posted before Fall 1996," said Norloff, "however
with the exponential growth in activity we've been seeing, the
file collection may double before the end of this year."
For more information about The OS/2 Shareware BBS, contact the BBS directly at 703-242-4482 (28.8 Kbps, n,8,1) or via the Internet at http://www.os2bbs.com.