[Info-vax] Opportunity for VSI?

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 12/13/18 8:42 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
> On 12/13/2018 5:40 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> On 12/13/18 4:17 PM, Milton Baar wrote:
>>> On Friday, December 14, 2018 at 4:40:40 AM UTC+11, Stephen Hoffman 
>>> wrote:
>>>> On 2018-12-13 02:44:23 +0000, Milton Baar said:
>>>>
>>>>> https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/643780/university-canberra-revives-mainframe-degree-course/ 
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> So given that there are quite likely OpenVMS sites that are common, 
>>>>> and
>>>>> I personally know of quite a few that have both OpenVMS and SystemZ,
>>>>> would VSI be interested in partnering with an Australian University?
>>>>
>>>> By "partnering" and "opportunity" here, may I presume that what is
>>>> meant is "granting free software and free hardware, granting free
>>>> hardware and software support and quite probably including on-site
>>>> installation and maintenance, and granting an endowment* sufficient to
>>>> cover staff and incidentals and sundries and the use of the
>>>> University's name and reputation in associated advertising", right?
>>>>
>>>> Most schools are understandably interested in acquiring endowments
>>>> after all, though—being endowments—these often do include terms and
>>>> conditions.
>>>>
>>>> At least for the next several years, VSI would seemingly have a few
>>>> other and higher-priority uses for any cash surfeit they might
>>>> encounter.
>>>>
>>>> *big wads of cash with strings attached, in the vernacular.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -- 
>>>> Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC
>>>
>>> Or perhaps just granting an educational or discounted license...there
>>> is plenty of inexpensive hardware around...and I don't think an
>>> endowment would be either needed or likely.
>>>
>>> This could be a way for OpenVMS to be back in the educational sector
>>> with the possibly positive flow-on effects.  I don't think that the
>>> IBM arrangement is an act of charity on their behalf, they understand
>>> the benefits as DEC once did.
>>>
>>
>> HP had a costless education license. It did not help keep VMS
>> around Universities it was already at and certainly didn't
>> bring it into new locations.  Trust me, I know.  I fought
>> that battle until finally being told the equipment had to be
>> removed.
>>
>> bill
> 
> You're never going to win them all ....
> 
> When you get someone in charge that wants to go a particular direction, 
> it's gonna happen.  Not much you can do, nor is it worth wasting your time.
> 
> But that doesn't mean the entire planet is going to go in that 
> direction.  Nothing is that universal.

Academia is.  That's why even with COBOL being a strong contender
in the business, banking, insurance, credit card, and government
world no one in academia offers courses that utilize COBOL and
the continue to advise students to  not even learn the language.
And then we have OOP.  Once academia grasped this anchor everyone
jumped on the bandwagon.

> 
> I had one customer who had an executive that wanted to go a particular 
> direction.  Didn't matter what worked, and what didn't work.  And if his 
> mistakes were pointed out, well, the pointee got fired.  Lots of people 
> lost jobs, or left, and such, and lots were unhappy, and in the end, 
> that company no longer exists.  After the guy wasted millions of the 
> company's money.  But he came from one of the big 4/6/8/whatever 
> accounting firms.  He could not be wrong, could he?
> 
> If VSI is approached by any education institutions, a license should not 
> be all that hard to grant.

You  have it very backwards.  No one is going to approach VSI. They
would have to do the selling.  And it would likely be a very big
waste of time and money.


bill