[Info-vax] free shell accounts?

[glen herrmannsfeldt]

Stan Radford <sradford at noemail.net> wrote:
 
> I have been lurking on this newsgroup for awhile and would like to try my
> hand at VMS but I don't have any hardware. I realize I could run a version
> on SIMH but I want to try to see what I am getting into before I do that and
> running on real hardware is always the best way to go. I ordered a few books
> that will hopefully arrive soon and would like to ask: are there any free
> shell providers for VMS so I could see what this is all about?

http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org/TemplateRequestLogin.aspx?eid=2&contentid=15

allows you to sign up for an account on a VAX 11/785 running VMS, 
likely the appropriate version for the hardware.

That should be enough to get the feel for it. 

I think there is still real hardware affordable for hobby use.
MicroVAX tend to be a little more expensive now, Alpha might not be
so bad.  Some years ago, RX2600 (Integrity) systems were available
on eBay for a good price. If you look, you might still find some.

-- glen