[Info-vax] Trying to build a case for Benefit of OpenVMS Hobbyist Program being beneficial to HP

[Doug Phillips]

On Nov 16, 11:06 am, "Bill Pedersen" <peder... at ccsscorp.com> wrote:
> I personally believe that the OpenVMS Hobbyist program is a great asset to
> HP and OpenVMS.  But I have been challenged to show the return to OpenVMS
> from this program.

Challenged by whom?

>  My hope in this process we can work toward getting
> access to patches for the OpenVMS Hobbyist community.  No guarantees, but I
> have to try.
>

Some things are of such obvious benefit that to question their worth
is a blatant display of ignorance. HP's management seems to
demonstrate this trait.


> So I am asking you, the OpenVMS Hobbyists, what Open Source applications
> have you ported?  What utilities have you developed?  Where are they
> published?  What have you done as far as possibly participating in field
> test programs?
>
> Thanks for listening and I look forward to getting this information.
>


Why was the Hobbyist program started in the first place? I'm sure
someone saw the benefit and made its case or we would never have had
such a thing. The same arguments that were made then still apply.

Why were patches once freely available to everyone with a valid
license? There must have been some reason. What has changed since
then, other than management?

If more people know about a product, use that product, and the product
is seen to be good, stable and well supported, then that's good for
everyone involved with that product, isn't it?

If that well-known product is easy to buy, competitively priced and
guaranteed to work as advertised, then more people will buy it, won't
they?

If any product has competition that fits the above but is hard to buy,
overpriced and has no guarantee that it will work the way it's
supposed to unless you spend more money, why would anyone buy that
product over its competition?

VMS was never intended (by its owners) to be an OS for the masses
(although it certainly could have been), but someone at some time saw
the benefit of making it available to hobbyists and providing patches
to licensed users that kept it stable and working right. It was
probably those same people who realized that many students in
universities would someday graduate and make buying decisions for
businesses.

I guess those far sighted people with common sense are all gone from
HP and we're left with a group with me-now mentality.