[Info-vax] VMS on a PC

[Phillip Helbig---remove CLOTHES to reply]

In article
<e39bba91-cb8a-4740-a03a-d441e787e772 at t3g2000yqa.googlegroups.com>,
"faceman28208 at yahoo.com" <faceman28208 at yahoo.com> writes: 

> As you can see from starting this topic, I am surprised that after all
> this time, HP never:
> 
> 1. Ported VMS to the PC/Intel Server platform;

And lose out on hardware sales?

> 2. Made the code available for the community to do the same (a la
> Netscape).

And lose out on software sales?

> I just searched here in NYC for VMS jobs on DICE and found 2 (TWO)
> listed. I just get the impression from my peek of interest that HP is
> just content to let VMS wither and die on the vine.

Maybe it's because those folks who have a VMS job stay at it until they 
retire.  No need for new folks if no old folks leave.  OK, it's not 
growing, but it's holding it's own (compared to 5 or 10 years ago, if 
not to 15 or 20).  Also, with VMS one doesn't need as many employees per 
machine.

Do I detect the same mentality here as in the "all music must be free"
crowd?  Many folks legitimately complained that music in electronic form
made it difficult or impossible for them to make legal digital copies
(backups, a CD for the car, loading it into an MP3 player etc).  My
suspicion is that 90% of these lodge this complaint, but really want no
copying restrictions so that they can get it for free.  So, what did
Apple do?  They got rid of the copy protection, but added a "digital
watermark" to electronic songs, essentially the contact email address of
the person who bought it from Apple.  No problem with legitimate copies, 
but if it is distributed illegally publicly, it will be obvious who did 
so.  Were the folks happy since they could now make private copies?  No.
They were "disappointed" in Apple's behaviour.  Give me a break!

You get what you pay for.  If you try to bend the system so that it is 
no longer necessary to pay, most of the production will dry up.

I read an interview with Gene Simmons a while back where he said that 
his group KISS will no longer release any records, since only a minority 
of those listening to them would buy them.  OK, you might not care for 
his music, and he personally has enough money (Interviewer: How much is 
it?  Simmons: A few hundred.  Interviewer: Million dollars?  Simmons: 
What else?), but this is a dangerous trend.  Selling more T-shirts and 
charging more for concerts is one option, but for various reasons many 
musicians cannot play live.  What a shame to destroy an industry which 
has brought so much good to the world.

The same goes for software (and hardware).  If your primary goal is to
make it cheap, then you have to be VERY CAREFUL not to dry up the
revenue stream which makes it possible in the first place.