[HECnet] HPE OpenVMS Hobbyist license program is closing

Yes, there are a number of ways to get around a license check for just about anything if you try long enough and find the points to stub out the checks.? This is probably not a great idea.? Just because you've stubbed out a call for local validation doesn't mean you've gotten everything, such as reporting (covert or not) to a central site.? At a minimum, you'd probably be put on the spot to pony up. I'm not surprised if VSI wouldn't attempt to extract some amount of money from the older licenses.? They are currently in the middle of a port to X86_64 and, speaking from experience, ports between architectures can wind up taking an unexpected amount of time.? Once booting on the x86_64 platform (which they have done), they will likely need to expend resources addressing which device drivers to write or port.? Such human resources are expensive and during all these time, the x86_64 product isn't generating any revenue. That can put a young company into a cash crunch.? In other words, all R&D and no sales = chapter 11.? Once the port is fully operational, one assumes that a certain amount of expenditure will need to be done to enter new markets, perhaps regain lost customers.? That could be tough.? Linux is increasingly difficult to compete against, Windows (data center addition) shows consistent improvement and well, IBM.? I do think that VMS has some desirable market differentiators in the data center; besides Tops-10, Tops-20 and z/OS, it is one of the few operating systems I know of with an actual functional unified operator interface, a working batch system and tape management. But either way, I wouldn't bet against it being a slog for VSI for some time.? With regard to the licenses themselves, I think the following language from the VSI website appears relevant: October 24, 2019 - As part of its exiting the OpenVMS market, Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) has sold the rights to all its support contract renewals to VMS Software, Inc. (VSI). Both HPE OpenVMS (V8.4 and /*earlier*/) and VSI OpenVMS (V8.4-1h1 and higher) contract renewals were sold to VSI.? When combined with news earlier this year that HPE had stopped selling all new VSI upgraded license products and new VSI support contracts, this means that HPE has divested the controlling rights of the OpenVMS operating system solely to VSI. I think the word 'earlier' may be operative, perhaps meaning 'all licenses, now, in the past and forever'.