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

[Dave Froble]

On 10/1/2019 8:29 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2019-10-01, kammerer001 at gmail.com <kammerer001 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I know the way we are providing the kit is not very convenient for a
>> hobbyist use, but we can't just simply share the PAKs because nowadays
>> anything that is shared publicly is instantly downloaded and distributed
>> across the Internet which means that the licenses may and will be used to
>> activate production-level systems and that is definitely not our purpose.

This attitude of "you can't use it unless you pay" will hurt VSI much 
more than any potential "non-paying usage".

Consider, if there is an entity that will not pay to use VMS, under any 
conditions, then will VSI ever see any revenue from such an entity?  By 
the proposed statement, "not a chance".

In such a case, what does VSI have to lose, should the entity use VMS? 
Answer, nothing.  All VSI could do is "take their ball and go home". 
What gain is there in such an action?  Answer, nothing.

Now consider what VSI has to gain from such an entity using VMS.  They 
most likely need employees, who will learn VMS, and will expand the pool 
of people who know and can work with VMS.  If the entity is so "cheap", 
what they will pay employees might also be "cheap", and said employees 
might be looking for better jobs.  Even one such person is a "win" for 
VMS and VSI.

I finally see an advantage to PAKs with expiration dates.  Perhaps the 
entity has the "shared" PAKs expire, and production stops.  Such an 
event just might get them to consider "paying" for their commercial use 
of VMS.

Note: when I mention "pay for using VMS", read that as having a support 
contract.  Up front payments don't work so well, and they are a one time 
thing.  Support is a thing that just keeps "paying", year after year.

Don't believe it?  Just consider the sleezebag game producers, who put 
out some "free" game, that people get hooked on, but cannot do well 
unless they pay that $1.99 for hints, more lives, and such.  People have 
ended up paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars to play the stupid game.

> Does this also mean that VSI, if it launches its own hobbyist program,
> will not be comfortable with the HPE approach of issuing PAKs to hobbyists
> after the hobbyists apply for them online ?
>
>> Moreover, as it has been correctly mentioned, the primary purpose of this
>> kit is to give UNIX/Linux and Windows users, system managers, and
>> programmers a way to quickly and easily familiarize themselves with OpenVMS
>> without buying legacy hardware and to provide our students with an
>> environment that they can safely experiment with and not being afraid of
>> breaking anything major.

Understood ...


> Yes, I understand that this isn't a "proper" hobbyist kit and that you
> are instead producing a turnkey style system for student use.
>
>> We don't know when and whether VSI launches its
>> own hobbyist program, but at the moment it's the only free option we were
>> allowed to give access to.
>>
>
> 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 ?

Good question ...

-- 
David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
Dave Froble Enterprises, Inc.      E-Mail: davef at tsoft-inc.com
DFE Ultralights, Inc.
170 Grimplin Road
Vanderbilt, PA  15486