Hobbes OS/2 is closing: one of the oldest software archives on the Internet has been operating for 32 years
After 32 years of operation, the Hobbes OS/2 software archive is being closed. It will cease to exist on April 15, 2024. This was announced by the New Mexico State University (NMSU), according to Ars Technica.
This marks the end of an era, as this archive was a key resource for users of the IBM OS/2 operating system and its successors, which once competed with Microsoft Windows.
“We have made the difficult decision to no longer host these files on hobbes.nmsu.edu. Although I am unable to go into specifics, we had to evaluate our priorities and had to make the difficult decision to discontinue the service,” NMSU said in a statement to The Register.
The project operates on the basis of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies at the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces. Hobbes OS/2 started as an FTP site. It is now considered to be one of the oldest software archives on the Internet, similar to the University of Michigan Archives and the ibiblio project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“After many years of service, hobbes.nmsu.edu will be decommissioned and will no longer be available. As of April 15th, 2024, this site will no longer exist,” the project’s official announcement says.
However, the files stored on Hobbes OS/2 will not be lost, as there are mirrors of the archive. Despite this, the loss of the project is called a cultural blow.
The archive is called an invaluable digital time capsule. Here you can find the 50 Most Popular Downloads page, which includes sound and image editors, as well as builds of the Thunderbird email client for OS/2.
Hobbes OS/2 contains thousands of games, programs, utilities, software development tools, documentation and server software for OS/2.