[Info-vax] x86-64-based Superdomes on the way (says HP)

[Phillip Helbig---undress to reply]

In article <4ecd861f$0$41491$c3e8da3$fdf4f6af at news.astraweb.com>, JF
Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot at vaxination.ca> writes: 

> Phillip Helbig---undress to reply wrote:
> 
> > Apart from the fact that I actually prefer VMS not to be open source (at 
> > least as long as it is available at all from its owner), why in the 
> > world would HP open-source VMS?
> 
> Once HP announces that VMS will no longer be developped, it can chose to
>  bury VMS and all its patents, IP, source code etc, or it could let it
> out to be open sourced so some of the stuff might survive in the open
> source community.

Yes, of course, and there are other options as well.  The question is 
WHY.

> Perhaps Huff and Guy Peleg could get together and start to develop VMS
> again from that open source feed :-)

With all due respect, it will take a few more than that.

> There might also be some contractual obligations to release the source
> code should HP stop developping VMS so that thsoe major customers would
> be able to fix their own bugs etc.

I'm not a legal expert, but I am pretty sure that this is not the case.  
Has there ever been a similar case where this was the result?

> Having said this, considering that HP still accepts support dollars for
> VAX-VMS, it is likely it wll still accept support dollars for Alpha and
> IA64 VMS long after they have stopped developping VMS.

That is the case for almost everything.  The question is how much more 
income DEVELOPING VMS will bring in and whether it will offset the costs 
of such development.