[Info-vax] OT: Elephants Can't Dance

[Neil Rieck]

On Mar 11, 9:27 am, JF Mezei <jfmezei.spam... at vaxination.ca> wrote:
> Phillip Helbig---remove CLOTHES to reply wrote:
>
> > The typical Rdb
> > customer on VMS neither wants nor needs bells-and-whistles features
> > which might exist in some other product---he wants something which will
> > do the job.
>
> It also depends on how many customers are actively developping NEW
> applications on VMS. If the vast majority are just maintaining existing
> apps, then the need for new Rdb features is much less.
>
> My gut tells me that the original goal was to develop Oracle on VMS
> sufficiuently to allow easy move from Rdb to Oracle and then end Rdb
> development. Makes sense from a business point of view to eliminate
> duplicate products.
>
> BUT, when Oracle realised that Digital had no intentions to grow VMS, it
> probably realised that it was more cost effective to just keep on
> maintaining Rdb for the existing customers and not focus so much on
> Oracle for VMS. (hence the Oracle apps went away).

According to this link:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/docs/open-source-biology.html (look
for the yellow text), the amount of money made on Linux is well into
the multiple billions. I guess it goes without saying that pushing
OpenVMS into the open source community probably won't put money into
HP's accounts (at least not initially). It would allow HP to sell more
hardware -AND- it might enable them to sell other stuff like layered
software and compilers etc. Then, like IBM is doing, they could sell
OpenVMS support (after all, isn't that one reasons why they bought
EDS? So they could get their feet in the door of all businesses).

Neil Rieck
Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge,
Ontario, Canada.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/