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Is This The End For VMS Hobbyists?

I assume the basic VMS will continue to run one user off the OPA0: port

Yes. You would have one user, only OPA0: terminal/console access. MACRO-32, EDT, TPU Not sure what else useful. No other languages. No Networking - DECnet and TCP/IP are licensed.
 
Was VMS ever cracked along with the add-ons?

The format for the PAK information for the LMF (License Management Facility) was cracked. You can find a PAK generator out on the internet if you know where to look. That said, it's better to get the Hobbyist PAKs from HPE for now. It's free so no cost anywhere. They will be good until 1-JAN-2022 so there is quite a bit of time left for VSI to take up the program.
 
New today on the VSI News Page:
VSI announces community license

You may be aware that HPE have announced they are “concluding the HPE OpenVMS Hobbyist license program in alignment with the HPE OpenVMS support roadmap” which essentially means that the Hobbyist program as you know it ceases at the end of 2020.

GOOD NEWS: There has been speculation that VMS Software, Inc. would take over this program, so let us end the speculation and say categorically that VMS Software, Inc. is bringing out a replacement program for the HPE Hobbyist license program. It will be called the “OpenVMS Community License Program”, and we are currently in the process of working out all the details, which will be available well before the end of the HPE Hobbyist license program.

https://vmssoftware.com/about/news/

Things are looking better for the OpenVMS Hobbyist. Access to VSI's versions of OpenVMS for Alpha will be nice. Hopefully they find a way to address the Hobbyist PAKS for VAX systems as well.
 
I saw some discussion/speculation that the likelihood of a future OpenVMS/VAX Hobbyist program under VSI might depend on the number of registrations from the last year of the HPE program. So if you care whether such a thing happens and haven't already requested hobbyist VAX license keys, why not do so now?

As a reminder, you need to sign up with a user group - I suggest DECUServe (aka DECUS, telnet://eisner.decuserve.org, follow the prompts), don't seem to have any geographic restrictions. Then this URL should suffice: https://www.hpe.com/h41268/live/index_e.aspx?qid=24548
 
Figured I'd update this.

During the last VSI webinar they confirmed that they will not be providing VAX licenses. Only Alpha, Integrity, and x86. No word was made on terms.
 
That is really a shame, I’d have thought that the number of hobbyist Vax users would exceed any of the others but I suppose the issue is VSI’s licensing terms from HP. Of course an illicit PAK generator is a trivial solution, but I wonder why HP didn’t just generate indefinite hobbyist licence PAKs rather than let it die - no loss to them I’d have supposed.
 
VSI was very responsive!

I applied to VSI for community licensing this week and was declined, no reason given. They had the nerve to suggest that I contact Sales or ISV to obtain commercial licensing for home use. I am sure that I can't justify yet another subscription at commercial rates (they are only selling subscriptions), and I am not about to misappropriate corporate ISV licensing for my hobby. I am very strict about not mixing work and hobby computing licenses.

I cannot in good conscience continue with this platform, so Jan 1, 2026 is the end of what will then be 45 years.

Luckily I kept my DEC permanent VAX licenses, but my PWS and the rest of my Alphas will become boat anchors or start doing the time warp. I also cannot in good conscience remain an advocate if this is the kind of behavior we can expect.
 
I assume you went here --> https://vmssoftware.com/community/community-license/ for the VSI Community License?

May I ask what you put as the "Intended use of the hobbyist license"? Did you put something reasonable like you have used OpenVMS for 45 yeas and want to continue on?

Please note that a real person looks over the application so any frivolous answers or skipped answers may result in a declined application.
 
Does anyone else see the absurdity of requiring a license for a product that was code-complete so many years ago? Especially for a non-commercial use case?

None of the solutions that anyone here runs are for profit. What would be the harm in just letting a free perpetual license for VAX and Alpha (at least!) go, since virtually nobody has them in production? This is borne out by VSI’s own lack of interest in even bothering to issue license for VAX VMS.

- Alex
 
Does anyone else see the absurdity of requiring a license for a product that was code-complete so many years ago? Especially for a non-commercial use case?

None of the solutions that anyone here runs are for profit. What would be the harm in just letting a free perpetual license for VAX and Alpha (at least!) go, since virtually nobody has them in production? This is borne out by VSI’s own lack of interest in even bothering to issue license for VAX VMS.

- Alex

What are your source for "nobody has them in production"? I've only the other day just heard of new VMS licenses for VAXen being bought only a couple of years ago...
And I know of one site who only turned off their VAXen a couple of months ago.
 
We still use VAXes (and will be for a number of years to come)...

But (of course) we have commercial licences.

Dave
 
Realistically there’s no revenue for VSI from Vaxes, the commercial ones still running will be licensed already and no one will be buying more. No doubt they thought of this when they arranged the license deal with HP. So they’ve no incentive to worry about hobbyist Vaxes. The hassle has really come from HP who could easily have issued (and still could issue) perpetual hobbyist VAX licenses instead of the final time-limited ones. I for one will just move to the well-known bootleg alternative next year and carry on regardless.
 
Realistically there’s no revenue for VSI from Vaxes, the commercial ones still running will be licensed already and no one will be buying more. No doubt they thought of this when they arranged the license deal with HP. So they’ve no incentive to worry about hobbyist Vaxes. The hassle has really come from HP who could easily have issued (and still could issue) perpetual hobbyist VAX licenses instead of the final time-limited ones. I for one will just move to the well-known bootleg alternative next year and carry on regardless.

I think the biggest problem is that HP supposedly didn't pass on the rights to the VAX version to VSI, so they can't legally make any licenses, or new releases for VAXen. It's still with HP(E).
However, the page https://vmssoftware.com/about/roadmap/ makes you start wonder. There it claims that VSI now provides prior version support of VMS also for VAXen.

Weird... Anyone know anything about this?
 
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