Summary: Trying to find a workaround for the 'image association bug' or the fix for the 'fix' of the Communicator Bookmarks?  Or maybe you've decided to finally learn REXX?  Most people turn to the newsgroups for these answers, but where do the answers come from?  Good question.  As with everything on the internet, it is spread randomly across the planet.  What we'll give you here is a 'Guide to the OS/2 Guides' to help you start your search for that illusive information.

Mining Co Guide to OS/2

Following true to their motto 'We mine to net so you don't have to', the Mining Co is one of the largest information and link sites I have seen. Unlike the others, it has a healthy and current OS/2 section.

The Mining Co Guide to OS/2 is split up into two main areas, Spotlight and Netlinks. There Spotlight area is frequently updated with new information such as Diskless Fixpack installation and creating maintenance partitions. The topics are thoroughly researched and well laid out. They seem to be in-touch with the OS/2 Community, providing timely and relevant information. I personally used their method for Diskless Fixpack Installation and haven't look back since.

Their Netlinks area is not just a long list of links, but a categorized list (Editors - HTML, Office Software, Tips & Tricks and so-on) with a short description of the application or site. Some also have links to reviews, mainly OS/2 e-Zine! reviews, so you know the quality is high ;-) I did find, however, that the links where focused mainly on 'best of breed', so if your searching for an obscure app or site, you might want to look elsewhere.

OS/2 Warp on the 'net

With over 2000 links to OS/2 related sites this is an excellent place to look for that 'killer app' you've been meaning to get. Topic areas cover Downloads, Hardware Manufacturers, Help, IBM, News, Retailers, Software Developers and Users. Each of these is broken down into more specific areas (User Groups, User Homepages, etc.) The database is updated frequently and dead links are not completely removed, but annotated with a 'not available since XXXX' notice. This is often useful should a site only be temporarily down.

The thing that sets OS/2 Warp on the 'Net apart is it's search engine. This is especially useful if you can only remember the category, part of the name, or the author.

Electronic Developers Magazine for OS/2

The Electronic Developers Magazine for OS/2 (a.k.a. EDM/2) is focused directly at the programming community, but this is not to say that the average user won't gain something useful out of it too, it just means that they make no attempt to 'dumb it down'.

EDM/2 contains monthly articles on programming tips and hints and they have a section of 'Code Snippets' containing tried and true code for often used functions (rebooting OS/2, painting a dialog, etc). It is also the home of the OS/2 API Project, whose goal is to "document the whole OS/2 API, and to reach all OS/2 programmers world wide with high-quality, free API documentation." EDM/2 maintains complete back issues of their e-zine online. Among topics covered in the past are OpenGL, Java, Building a CD Player, a 13 part article on Programming in C++ and more.

V.O.I.C.E.

Virtual OS/2 International Consumer Education is a group of volunteers who actively provide support and evangelism for the OS/2 platform. Several departments that are of interest to users seeking assistance include the Help Desk Guide, where questions can be e-mailed for a direct reply. Previously successfully answered questions can be browsed on their web site too.

A particularly shining jewel in the V.O.I.C.E. web site is their monthly newsletter. It's unique in that it's not only available in online HTML format, but also in an offline browsable INF format too.

And last but not least are the popular "Speak Up..." sessions, which are sort of like group interviews conducted online. V.O.I.C.E. will pick an OS/2 celebrity each month and bring him or her online to answer questions and offer advice to anyone who joins in the fun. Transcripts of all sessions are kept on the web site, providing a valuable history of solved problems and news of things still yet to come.