To Al Kossow at bitsavers

[jwsmobile]

On 11/14/2015 5:32 PM, Paul Koning wrote:
>> On Nov 14, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE> wrote:
>>
>> On 2015-11-15 01:56, Mark J. Blair wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Nov 14, 2015, at 15:56, rod <rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I am of the opinion that RT,RSX M & D etc could be dealt with in exactly the same way as the very successful OpenVMS Hobbyists program.
>>> Has anybody contacted the RT-11 rights holder to see if they might be interested in a program like that? I think it could only work with their blessing and cooperation.
>> Jerome knows very well who owns it, and have tried various ways to put it into the public domain. Unfortunately, him wanting it to happen is not really enough to make it happen.
>>
>> We need HP to release things.
> HP?  I know HP acquired VMS, but I always had the impression that all PDP11 stuff (except IAS???) went to Mentec, not HP.  So it's Mentec or its successors who own it, and who would have to do the licensing.  That might be anything from "no" to a hobbyist license to whatever they want.  Public domain?  I suppose one could imagine that being done, but it's rare for stuff to be released into the public domain.  A generous license of some sort is more common; open source is one good example, hobbyist or "not for profit" licenses are somewhat more restrictive but still not a bad deal.
>
> 	paul
The systems on HP/UX, VMS and the Tandem stuff are now all on Itanium.  
Those markets are the only real ones for that chip I know of.  There may 
be some Linux, but MS dropped all Windows support before any market ever 
developed.

I think all the rest of the DEC stuff went elsewhere like this thread 
says, and I am guessing that people support Three letter agencies, and 
other customers willing to pay a fortune for ancient hardware are making 
it profitable to keep it proprietary or it would be opened and released.

I know that PDP-8 hardware was being serviced and traded on up to 5 
years ago in this area by a vendor, and the above TLA people were the 
main customers.  That fellow retired, as far as I know the systems may 
be being maintained by people who have the means to pay for such old 
hardware wherever it is.

The question of hobbyist or other needs seem to mean nothing to them, or 
there would be word on where that is at.

FWIW the same thing exists for Computer Automation hardware and 
software.  The Syfa software and hardware and certain ancient OS's on 
that hardware are still not releasable.  I got a huge dump of software 
of the stuff what is public and got it to Al a few years ago, but the 
same place had all the software and couldn't and wouldn't release it.

thanks
Jim