[HECnet] Getting openvms going

[Dave Wade]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE <owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE> On Behalf
> Of Bill Cunningham
> Sent: 13 November 2019 23:30
> To: hecnet at Update.UU.SE
> Subject: Re: [HECnet] Getting openvms going
> 
> 
> On 11/13/2019 6:11 PM, Dave McGuire wrote:
> > On 11/13/19 6:07 PM, Bill Cunningham wrote:
> >>>> Back in the day, the license was on a piece of paper, and typing
> >>>> was the only option.
> >>>     Man I've done a whole bunch of those!  That was one thing that
> >>> was hard to get used to in the 4.7->5.0 transition.
> >> The license was on paper. And Dave Cutler designed all this, before
> >> going to Microsoft?
> >    Not the licensing system (LMF), no.
> >
> >> I have been dealing with linux and unix a bit. but I have noticed a
> >> Compiler and TCP/IP for VMS and a GUI. Well they are really cranking
> >> VMS up, anything better than windows.
> >    Of course.  Do you find this surprising?  VMS had a GUI thirty
> > years ago, and TCP/IP even before that.  And compilers for a long list
> > of languages many years before that.
> >
> >> But, that's what people use.
> >    I don't know where you hang out, but I think about 5% of the people
> > I know use Windows, all of whom have plans to dump it.  And certainly
> > none of the hardcore technical people I know use it.  I myself have
> > never used it...I'm not a patient person and I have real work to do.
> >
> >             -Dave

You move in technical circles and perhaps in the US things are different.... 
But at risk of falling out with you again can I say that in the UK almost every local government user desktop is windows.
I don't think I have ever encountered a Linux desktop in the UK in local government. The odd Apple machine where Desktop publishing was needed, but no Linux.
Almost every desktop PC in the UK health Service (the NHS) runs MS Windows. I must admit I have only worked in three schools (and been a governor in one) but again all Windows desktops.
There is some Linux on things like Raspberry PIs for Python but not for admin/teaching

There is a lot more Linux in the back office. So in Stockport Council we had around 250 windows server images (and again most councils are similar) but ran a Linux farm for running MOODLE and a couple of Linux servers for Oracle for some of the social care apps.  I see even Munich has returned to Windows (although that’s old)

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/end-of-an-open-source-era-linux-pioneer-munich-confirms-switch-to-windows-10/

I find this state of affairs very sad. Monocultures like this lead to vulnerable systems. A diversity would be much better. It would be really nice to have some desktop Solaris but SUN seem to have just about killed that.

> 
> It seems when I log on websites are all designed for windows, maybe Apple
> OSes which I have never used. Things like acrobat or Java runtime.

I don't know of any sites which still use Java.  Javascript but that’s nothing to do with Java. Some Acrobat perhaps but not so much.

> The masses that use desktops and not cellphones, I thought used Windows or
> Apple OS. I thought gates told Cutler Windows was going to be the next "big
> thing". Or Cutler might not have left DEC. Maybe I am wrong.

Looking at the Google Analytics for Trafford & Hulme Campaign for Real Ale site (which is Joomla on Linux on Plesk) for October I roughly get
(thcamra.org.uk)

43% Windows,
23% Android
20% IOS
6% Macintosh
6% Didn't tell us
2%  Linux

Plus one session from some poor soul with Windows Phone. So whilst Windows is the biggest, if you combine the Android and IOS to get total mobile/tablet use it’s a little higher
I know that I am of course only surveying beer drinkers which may be warped in other ways and it’s a small sample, but from what I recall the figures for the CAMRA pubs database site
( www.whatpub.com) are in similar proportions, and they gets a lot more hits.

> When I think of VMS I think VAX and PDP-11. Neither of which had GUIs, but
> that's certainly not now I can see. If I master TCP/IP on VMS next is DECnet.
> 

If you have multiple VAX might be better to start with DECNET.

> 
> Bill
> 


Dave
G4UGM