[HECnet] discontinuance of VMS

[Paul_Koning at Dell.com]

On Jun 6, 2013, at 11:54 AM, Ian McLaughlin wrote:

Now that HP have effectively discontinued VMS and associated hardware (I know - a few years out, but once you announce a sunset date, it's basically over) are we going to see hoarding of harware?   Are Ebay prices going to start going up?

Has anyone talked to HP as to their intentions with the hobbyist program?   It would be nice to see them hand over an officially-sanctioned PAK generator to the community - do you think we will ever see that day?

It's certainly worth asking.   I've seen some other examples where, with persistence, "crown jewels" were peeled loose.   An example that comes to mind is CDC mainframe software, and in fact the initial loosening happened when the product was still (slightly) alive.   Persistence and diplomacy is needed for this -- remember that there isn't really anything in it for the owner company, so you have to understand that such releases are a gesture of good will (perhaps with some modest PR benefits) on their part.   Those of you who have the interest and the diplomatic skill may want to start working on this.

	paul