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

[Bill Gunshannon]

In article <mailman.24.1427128765.2736.info-vax_info-vax.com at info-vax.com>,
	Kerry Main <kerry.main at backtothefutureit.com> writes:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Info-vax [mailto:info-vax-bounces at info-vax.com] On Behalf Of
>> Stephen Hoffman
>> Sent: 23-Mar-15 11:09 AM
>> To: info-vax at info-vax.com
>> Subject: Re: [New Info-vax] One possible market for VMS: secure credit
>> card
>>=20
>> On 2015-03-23 13:23:16 +0000, Bob Koehler said:
>>=20
>> > In article <memjti$o5s$1 at news.albasani.net>, Jan-Erik Soderholm
>> > <jan-erik.soderholm at telia.com> writes:
>> >>
>> >> Right. And then we'd have the same situation there as with any other
>> OS
>> >> used today, of course.
>> >>
>> >> I do not think these problems with go away simply by changing the
>> OS...
>> >
>> >    Everytimte I hear this I wonder how it was then, that back when just
>> > about everyone solved computer problems with "get a VAX" (running
>> VMS),
>> > and everybody knew it, we had so few of these problems.
>>=20
>> True.  But then that was also before the internet, and before the brief
>> time of the open internet and open networks (the Morris worm, WANK),
>> and before ubiquitous connectivity, and before the era of volumes of
>> digital cash sloshing around that has made computers into such
>> profitable targets.
>>=20
>> >    It's not as if VMS always had the small volumes that it has now.
>>=20
>> True.  Though what were considered large volumes back then, are no
>> longer, too.
>>=20
>> The VMS advertising referenced 450,000 users
>> (<http://www.computerworld.com/article/2580716/computer-
>> hardware/q-a--hp-s-peter-blackmore-on-rivals--postmerger-
>> strategy.html>),
>> versus a billion systems (and how many users?) of what are now
>> considered the major client platforms, plus the additional systems that
>> are the back-ends for those client systems.  In this area, VMS is
>> either a back-end system for a few of these clients and associated
>> applications, or is a back-office system.
>>=20
> 
> That was an incorrect quote - the generally accepted number back then=20
> was 450,000 systems not users.
> 
> Heck, one Canadian ISP Cust has an OpenVMS cluster on its own today=20
> that supports 4M+ Customers/end users.
> 

I would love to see more information (facts, not myth) on this as I
very seriously doubt there are 4M VMS "Users" worldwide.

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>