[Info-vax] OpenVMS graphics - once more

[MG]

Op 23-aug-2015 om 22:40 schreef David Froble:
>> Get VMS to run on reasonably cheap hardware, offer a license somewhere
>> between hobbyist and commercial, and there could be an additional
>> revenue stream.
>
> Well, we're back to this again.  My opinion, (we all are allowed at
> least one), is do away with license fees.  Allow commercial usage only
> with a support contract.

Preferably completely doing away with the very tedious and cumbersome 
LMF and "PAKs", too.  (Especially in its current form, with no 
functioning TCP/IP stack without valid licenses loaded...)

Unrestricted and unlimited access to the development toolchain for 
developers, _all_ developers for that matter (thus including those who 
develop and port F/OSS), would probably also be a wise move...


> I doubt that.

Likewise, especially for the near-total lack of an end user software 
library (already since I64 and which will probably be even more the case 
for early x86-64 releases).  By end user software I mean the type of 
software that normally speaks to the imagination of new and potentially 
interested people.

And, on this thread's original subject, DECwindows should probably be 
retired, too.  Maybe it can be kept for 'legacy' purposes (unless anyone 
has the time and energy to keep it up to date, like using the modern 
open source Motif and CDE code), but hopefully hidden from sight (so 
that VMS 'veterans' could still either way start it from a DCL prompt, 
if needed) like at a GUI login prompt, or whatever.

Instead of depleting precious time and resources on CDE prolonged 
existence (which I frankly doubt VSI is planning, unless there's a lot 
of customer demand for it), maybe a port of X.Org and a potent window 
manager would be a good replacement instead, or ought to be considered. 
  Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce or whatever Linux Mint usually goes for (they 
have good and sensible 'taste' in windowing managers, in my opinion). 
It would be so interesting to see one of those handle a VMS filesystem, 
with the fileSpec, file versioning and such.  Like it was even 
interesting for me originally (when I first began exploring and using 
VMS) to see how CDE, which I usually associated with Solaris, HP-UX, 
AIX, IRIX and other UNIX operating systems, to handle it and under a 
non-UNIX operating system even.

  - MG