[Info-vax] VMS Desktop system

[Dirk Munk]

Shark8 wrote:
> In another thread, there was some discussion of how a "modern browser"
> for VMS is needed which, in turn, prompted discussion of VMS as a
> desktop system.
>
> There are apparently a few windowing-managers for VMS (I've seen X and
> DECWindows mentioned); but as an absolute newcomer to VMS I have no
> experience with either and, from the context, it seems that neither of
> these are adequate.
>

What you bring up here are two different things. DECWindows, X-Windows, 
Motif etc. are client-server applications, where the server has the 
screen, and the client is running the applications. Just the other way 
around as you might expect.

A browser is an application that is usually running on a system that has 
a graphical screen. a PC for instance.

VMS did have a browser, Mozilla, and I used it on my VMS workstation. 
These days it is called Seamonkey, and I'm using it on my PC. Originally 
it was called Netscape as you may know.

Now the question is if VMS should have workstation functionality once 
more, which means it's own graphic drivers and applications like a 
browser. I would say NO.

At present there are three manufacturers for graphic cards left, Intel, 
AMD and Nvidia. Intel has the graphics on the CPU, certain AMD CPUs have 
an embedded GPU. It would not be feasible for VSI to produce drivers for 
all GPUs of these three manufacturers. Building a Mozilla version for 
VMS is also quite a job, and then you still don't have all kind of add 
on applications.

It would be much simpler to put a VM system on an x86 desktop, and run 
an instance of VMS on it, combined with an instance of Windows, Linux, 
or even MAC OS. Let those other operating systems do browsing, mailing 
etc. By sing Samba etc. you can exchange data between bot operating 
systems. For instance, download a file with a browser in windows, and 
save the file on a Samba share of VMS.

Every graphics card can also be used with simple a VESA Bios programming 
interface. That is more than enough for a simple graphical VMS boot 
screen etc. , so no need for advanced graphical drivers.

In my view this should be a future VMS workstation, or desktop, or even 
laptop.