[Info-vax] VSI Hobbyist plans ?, was: Re: VSI OpenVMS Hobbyist Program Announced.

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <qmvgqv$8bn$1 at dont-email.me>, Simon Clubley
<clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP> writes: 

> If HPE terminates the hobbyist program at the same time it exits the
> VMS world, that means there's a little over a year for VSI to get
> a hobbyist program up and running.
> 
> Does anyone from VSI know what state the plans for any VSI controlled
> hobbyist program are in and any constraints that VSI may apply in
> addition to the HPE constraints ?

I've heard from people who want to stay with VMS, and have faith that 
VSI will be successful with the port, and believe that it will be able 
to run on commodity hardware, but are moving away because it isn't 
possible to hire enough young people with VMS experience.  This is due 
mainly to the fact that DEC, HP, and Compaq watched the once massive 
DEC-Campus presence decline, and did too little to stop it.  Hobbyist 
licenses might not attract that many newbies, but are a way for people 
with VMS experience to keep up.  If that goes as well, VSI might be left 
with a wonderful product but no-one who knows enough to want to use it, 
much less buy it.  Also, hobbyists will install bleeding-edge software 
if available, and in the past have found and reported bugs which saved 
commercial customers a lot of trouble.