[Info-vax] Message from HP.

[David Froble]

Gérard Calliet (pia-sofer) wrote:
> Le 10/12/2013 09:17, David Froble a écrit :
>> JF Mezei wrote:
>>
>>> It is pretty clear to me that NSK customers have told HP in no uncertain
>>> terms that they will not allow HP to kill off NSK.
>>
>> I find this humorous.
>>
>> Just what can customers do to force HP, or anyone else, to do anything?
>>
>> Now, what entities who need a particular capability can do is to create
>> / purchase / support it themselves.  Perhaps some of the NSK customers
>> might make such a decision.  Perhaps not.
>>
>> Look at entities such as Google assembling their own hardware.
>>
>> A VAX 11/780 was I believe 4 large boards just for the CPU, and then a
>> bunch of other boards.  Lots of manufacturing involved.
>>
>> Current x86 processors are commodities.
>>
>> Current motherboards are commodities.
>>
>> Current graphics are commodities.
>>
>> Current disk drives are commodities.
>>
>> Get the idea?
>>
>> What's important these days is software.  With enough will and effort,
>> just about any software can be written.
>>
>> The days of HW vendors writing operating system software to support
>> their HW sales is pretty much in the past.
>>
>> AMD sunk the itanic ...
>>
>> Alpha never had a chance ...
>>
>> If IBM knew then what it knows now, it never would have gotten in bed
>> with MS and Intel.  Where would either of them be without the IBM PC? No
>> where.
>>
>> The explosive use of the PCs gave Intel the volume to wipe out just
>> about every other CPU.
>>
>> Now, if we're going to dream ....
>>
>> What if IBM had made a deal with DEC to use the C-VAX chip and VMS for
>> their offering?  Could have been done.  Not with DEC's business model.
>> ("who would want a computer in their home?")  If DEC would have been
>> able to produce the C-VAX and follow ons in sufficient volume, it could
>> have been cheap and successful.
>>
>> "Windows", stolen from Xerox by Apple and MS.  Could have been different.
>>
>> Ok, now wake up, and embrace reality.
> As you say, what I pointed off, and was continued by JF Mezei is a 
> little bit humorous : what is happening to VMS will happen to NSK, and 
> NSK is funny now for HP, but will not be forever funny, and NSK big 
> bosses would do what we want, at the end of the day "HP don't care".
> 
> I pointed the general trend for specific computers : no more specific 
> HW, specifics going to SF. In this trend VMS has 10 years in advance 
> compared to NSK :=)
> 
> You are wright, I think, about "do it yourselves". Specific needs 
> involves specific organizations, companies, etc doing for themselves 
> what they and creating their little specific market ("niche" in french). 
> Because the major trend cannot address their needs.
> 
> I think the "transition", for vms, whatether form it would take, is 
> converting itself from the high quality general OS for mini-computers, 
> to a specific mission critical ecosystem "niche" market. We need for 
> this "transition" people with a real perception of mission critical 
> specifics, able to restrict their ambition to a specific domain, able to 
> find opportunities in an environment which is realy incompatible.
> 
> To be realist is not deploring an incompatible real for its needs, it is 
> searching in the real interstices where it is possible to hook, take 
> hold, set foot, excavate cavern,... and eat the bear.

Well, step #1 is getting HP to release the VMS product to open source, 
and without step #1, there are no other steps.