23 Jun
2000
23 Jun
'00
12:28 a.m.
This is not a problem. One just has to make sure that
one has a
system in one's collection running Bob Subnik's emulator attached to
one's real PDP-11s. Have the one with the emulator monitoring
something on the real PDP-11 systems, or somesuch, then, you ARE using
the versions of RT-11 on the real PDP-11s with Bob Supnik's emulator.
:-) :-) :-)
Sorry, the current license does NOT impart a right to run the
software on *real hardware*. It only imparts a right to use it
with the DEC pdp-11 emulator products and Bob Supnik's emulator.
This means running it *on* the emulator, not what you mention
above.
Ok, let's not make a big deal out of people using
RT-11 on their
systems. If they don't have a copy, someone will probably clone them
a copy. No big deal, and DEC didn't care. I was actually told, by
someone in customer service at DEC, to go ahead and use it and not
worry about the license, a few years back, and, when a very pleasant
chap from DEC field service came to my house to investigate a melted
mains plug, no questions were asked.
If they said that, they were *wrong*.
There, _in conjunction with the EMULATOR_ - it
doesn't say to only use
it with the emulator, but in conjunction with the emulator.
Maybe in your mind it means you don't have to run it on the emulator,
but now you are properly informed -- it means that you may only run
it on the *emulated machine*.
Also, that bit about the license being revocable;
that's probably as
binding as a contract of ashesion. Let's say you spend a huge amount
of time on writing some software to control various things around your
house that runs under RT-11; you most likely have a right to continue
using your software running under RT-11.
You can continue to use your software, you just can't run it under
RT -- regardless of what it is written for, since you don't have a
valid license for RT.
Please, all this talk of ignoring licenses and the lack of need for
them can only serve to hurt to rest of the community of pdp-11
collectors. Mentec is apparently close to allow us all to use the
real software on the real hardware... *DON'T SCREW IT UP*
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
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