[Info-vax] State of the OpenVMS hobbyist program?

[Dave Froble]

On 11/20/2019 1:52 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2019-11-20, Dave Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
>> On 11/20/2019 9:10 AM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>>>
>>> Welcome to the same world as PDP-11 "Hobbyists".  :-)
>>
>> Maybe, but, I don't think it's the same world.
>>
>> I'm not aware of any LMF type of thing on PDP-11 OSs.  Does such exist?
>>
>> There is plenty of VAX/VMS media available.  Not sure it's the same with
>> PDP-11 OSs.
>>
>> Probably the biggest problem for PDP-11 stuff is media.  At least media
>> for which there still exists devices which can access such media.
>> Haven't seen a 9-track tape drive for quite a long time.
>>
>> Another issue would be documentation.  Back in the day it was all on paper.
>>
>
> As Bill says, there are various media kits and documentation sets available
> (and the media kits are compatible with SimH).

Guess I haven't noticed, mostly because I have no interest.

> The main issue is whether you are still legally allowed to run the PDP-11
> operating systems under SimH. Mentec created a hobbyist licence which
> allowed people to run older versions of the various PDP-11 operating
> systems for hobbyist purposes.

"Legally".  An interesting word.  Just what does it mean.  Various 
people can have varying opinions.  Everyone is entitled to an opinion. 
No one is guaranteed their opinion has any meaning.  When multiple 
entities do not agree, that is when lawyers live off other people's money.

> However, the catch is that the licence specifies you can only run them
> on an emulator owned by DEC (I forget the exact wording but that is the
> meaning of the wording used).

But, as you mentioned, the stuff is readily available to the public, 
AND, I don't see anyone attempting to prevent that.  So, an opinion 
might be that it's allowable to use what's readily available.  And if no 
entity attempts to stop them, might it be both morally and legally Ok?

> However, DEC no longer own SimH and so the argument made by some people
> is that the Mentec hobbyist licence is now invalid because there is no
> longer any DEC owned emulator.

Is there still a Mentec?  If so, kind of hard to see.

If one still wants to argue legality and morals, first be prepared to 
show "harm done".  That is usually what must be demonstrated in a court 
of law.


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