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Poll Information and Notes
Emerald Project Poll
Revive Emerald Poll
Affordable License Benefit Poll
Affordable License Interest Poll
A.S.A.P. Program Poll
The following are some polls in which you can participate and make your opinion count. No personal information is requested - your vote is strictly anonymous.
Subject matter for these polls was gleaned from discussions in the comp.os.vms newsgroup and from the FreeVMS mailing list. Your suggestions for additional polls are welcome and are invited.
Compaq/DEC marketing is invited to e-mail DJE Systems with any questions or comments pertaining to these polls and the results.
Note:
The "Emerald" project (as it was known within Digital) was an effort to port OpenVMS to the Intel/x86 architecture just as was done for the Alpha architecture. Only folks within Digital (now Compaq) know why the project died. Even today, the world-wide ratio of Intel/x86 servers to Alpha servers stands at more than 200 to 1. (Many Alpha servers run non-VMS operating systems.)
With the advent of OpenVMS-IPF, OpenVMS Engineering has stated that in order to solve certain problems, functions previously performed in PALcode will now be done in operating system code instead. Further, it has been stated that this will lend a new level of portability to OpenVMS as new processor technologies evolve.
Of course, this does not address the many tens of millions of IA32-based servers already in service around the globe. While a commercial VAX CPU emulation product called Charon VAX is available for Windows, Linux and OpenVMS-Alpha, this adds cost and complexity to an already difficult to afford OpenVMS-VAX.
DJE Systems is of the opinion that the sheer number of IA32-based servers out there makes OpenVMS-IA32 a viable and potentially highly profitable proposition. So, we're asking your opinion in this poll.
Affordable License Benefit Poll
Pricing for OpenVMS, even on VAXstations and Alpha Workstations still remains well beyond the reach of most small office and home office users (end users, not developers). This makes NT/Server and freeware operating systems even more attractive to such small businesses (businesses whose impact on the marketplace can far outstrip the size of the business).
Affordable License Interest Poll
If an affordable OpenVMS license plan were in place, many small businesses could benefit from the robustness and stability of OpenVMS, as compared to NT/Server, Linux, *BSD, etc. The number of licenses sold could more than offset any perceived losses due to lowered pricing (narrower profit margins).
Digital's(Compaq's) standard come-back when the question of an affordable OpenVMS license is raised has to do with their "A.S.A.P" Program (sometimes also referred to as the "I.S.V." program - that is, the A.S.A.P. program is for developers, not end users).
A.S.A.P. members must renew their licenses on an annual basis. Should Compaq's OpenVMS fortunes change, or should Compaq ever sell off OpenVMS to another company, A.S.A.P. members face the risk of losing on-going support for their development capabilities should their current licenses expire when no renewals are available.
"DJE Systems" is a service mark of David J. Dachtera, doing
business as DJE Systems.
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