[Info-vax] One possible market for VMS: secure credit card

[Bill Gunshannon]

In article <meq4oq$21v$1 at dont-email.me>,
	David Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
> Bob Koehler wrote:
>> In article <mep7iv$63u$1 at news.albasani.net>, Jan-Erik Soderholm <jan-erik.soderholm at telia.com> writes:
>>> Back then, the VMS volumes was extremely low compared to the IT-world
>>> of today. Even if everyone "got a VAX" back then.
>>>
>>> Of course there was less of these problems 30 years ago.
>>> That is just as interesting as the fact that no one got
>>> their iPhone stolen 30 years ago. Weird, isn't it? Must
>>> have been becuse everyone had a VAX instead...
>> 
>>    I don't buy it.
>> 
>>    Back then Mac OS had a virus problem.  Everyone knew it.  And back
>>    then UNIX came with that reputation even before we saw it. Even though
>>    RISC wasn't out yet so a great many people were doing UNIX on VAXen.
>> 
> 
> I'm with Bob.  (Does that make him my uncle?)
> 
> Back in the day, when VAX/VMS was a more significant part of the market,
> it had a good reputation.  It was seen as superior with respect to it's 
> peers of the day.  Why was that?

Sorry Dave, I don't buy it.  I came into contact with VMS at about
the same time I came into contact with Unix.  The only reason the
VMS system was there (and there was only one even while Unix boxes
were sprouting up all over, even in administrative locations) was
for one particular application that was not available on anything
else there.  A Validated ADA Compiler.  That was VAX 11/750 days.

Move forward 10 years.  I come to work at a place that is all IBM
on the administrative side (4331) and VMS (on a VAX) for the
academic side.  I a DECStation (Mips) for my workstation as it had
the tools I needed for network installation, monitoring and mainten-
ance.  Shortly afterwards the CS Department got a grant from Sun
and Unix machines descended  on the University.  People in all
departments started asking for accounts on the Suns.  Why?  Because
they ran Unix and all these people who had been using VMS for years
almost immediately wanted to jump ship.

And, as has been said here numerous times, the primary reason was
the applications available.  Just like VMS in my first contact was
there for one particular application, Unix's strength has always
been the wide range of applications available for it.

And the lesson learned?  If people want to see VMS succeed you need
to start building up that portfolio.  No one buys an OS because of
the OS.  

> 
> Granted, the market and environment today is much different.  But 
> quality is quality, and while VMS needs some serious work, it has that 
> history of quality, and if the work gets done, then why not consider it 
> perhaps a better solution, from the perspective of security?

Techie talk.  Users don't know what the difference in quality is from one
OS to another.  What they know is what they can get done on one system as
compared to another.

bill

-- 
Bill Gunshannon          |  de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n.  Three wolves
billg999 at cs.scranton.edu |  and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
University of Scranton   |
Scranton, Pennsylvania   |         #include <std.disclaimer.h>