[Info-vax] OpenVMS in the future, Open sourced or Closed? Intent is to keep it...

[David Froble]

seasoned_geek wrote:
> On Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 12:17:10 PM UTC-5, JF Mezei wrote:
>> On 15-05-05 08:04, Neil Rieck wrote:
>>> The number one reason why people want Open-Source software is because its free. 
>> Having lived through Digital abandonning VMS (and worse with Compaq/HP),
>> PSION getting out of business, and Apple pulling out of the server
>> business,  one of the main attractions of Open-Sourced software is that
>> it is much harder for a product to go away as no single CEO can decide
>> to pull the plug on it and cease to make it available.
> 
> You left off a tiny but crucial detail.
> 
> This fantasy you believe in only works if a single individual can and does posses _ALL_ of the hardware and environment to build from source _AND_ deploy raw to target. This is why wanna-be dutifully disrespected platforms "thrive" as OpenSource and no serious platform does.
> 
> As was pointed out by Hoff. Building VMS from source requires phenomenal setup and significant resources.

But once all the requirements are set up and available, many would be 
capable of doing the build.  Not that I'm advocating such.  As I've 
written more than once, the reason I wanted to see VMS open sourced was 
to insure someone at HP could not decide to just delete everything.

Don't kid yourself, that was a very real possibility.

I'd like to think that those who now have the code would not let that 
happen.  Ever.