Moving from CP/M -> Intel -> OS/2 will be less of a curve than going to linux... the prompt is based on the same general principles and commands as DOS, which gets a lot of its feel from CP/M.

Personally, I've gotten quite a bit of satisfaction out of my accumulated OS/2 lore... the desktop is fully scriptable, which means that you get to have complete control after learning some basic calls in REXX (SysSetObjectData being a biggie...). eComStation is using the WPS as its base; however, we've reorganised it in light of current practice (ie- the Internet is a lot more of a Big Deal now than it was in 1996;). Also, eComStation is adding a lot of software to make dealing with more arcane methods of connection (arcane to those of us who remember when slip was how you got connected, anyway:) easier... setting up a DSL connection should be very easy to do, and while you said you don't want to do a home network, if you change your mind putting it on the Internet will be pretty easy too. We've also updated a lot of system resources, for things like icons and so on, to help make the interface nicer to look at.

One thing to note... when OS/2 moved from version 4.0 to 4.5x, it actually became faster and more efficient in its use of system resources, not slower and fatter... and upgrade that was really an upgrade! ;)

As for IBMs plan for single users... well, their plan is to farm them out to us. If you're into usenet, you can take a look at news.ecomstation.nl (or news.ecomstation.ca... that's the Canadian mirror that I run) to take a look at our online fora and see what's going on.

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me.