[Info-vax] Should Oracle buy OpenVMS?

[John Smith (not the one @ HP)]

"Richard B. Gilbert" <rgilbert88 at comcast.net> wrote in message 
news:vL-dna9X0JMejnLUnZ2dnUVZ_rednZ2d at giganews.com...
> Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> In article <iIuHl.16569$8_3.14630 at flpi147.ffdc.sbc.com>,
>> Michael Austin <maustin at firstdbasource.com> writes:
>>> Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>> JF Mezei wrote:
>>>>> Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
>>>>>> The last time I looked, there were several levels of support 
>>>>>> available; the cheapest $0.00 being web access to security patches 
>>>>>> only. For some money you get access to a database with patches and 
>>>>>> solutions to common problems.  For more money you get questions and 
>>>>>> answers via e-mail.  For lots more money, you get telephone support 
>>>>>> and, for REALLY big bucks, you get priority telephone support; e.g. 
>>>>>> someone will talk to you right away.
>>>>> But the question is whether outfits like RedHat, IBM etc can provide
>>>>> comparale Linux support for much less than what Sun charges for 
>>>>> Solaris
>>>>> suport or whether they are all more or less the same.
>>>> Good IT people cost what good IT people cost rather independent
>>>> of the OS.
>>>>
>>>> The advantages for Linux are just:
>>>> - competitive market meaning that the vendor can not
>>>>   make an over normal profit
>>>> - some of the providers has support as their core business
>>>>   meaning that it gets priority
>>>>
>>>> The move to Linux are not driven by low support cost but by:
>>>> - cheap HW (x86-64)
>>>> - cheap SW
>>>> - lots of software available
>>>> - lots of people with Linux skills available
>>>>
>>>> Arne
>>>>
>>>>
>>> lots of software available != lots of good software available
>>
>> Maybe so, but the more there is the more likely some of it will be good.
>> The inverse is really bad.  Or have you already forgotten: "It's the
>> applications, not the OS that sells boxes."
>>
>>> lots of people with Linux skills available != lots of good people with 
>>> Linux skills available
>>
>> This I definitely agree with.
>>
>> bill
>>
>
> I haven't heard it lately but it used to be good advice to: find the 
> application(s) you need/want and buy the box and O/S it runs on.

Something the !rocket scientists managing the OpenVMS business at 
DEC/Compaq/Chumpaq chose to forget.