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

[David Froble]

Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> 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
> 

This topic isn't about users.  This topic is about VMS possibly 
providing a better environment for security.  That shirley is a techie 
issue.