From:	MERC::"uunet!CRVAX.SRI.COM!RELAY-INFO-VAX"  4-FEB-1993 21:08:23.40
To:	ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU!agate!spool.mu.edu!yale.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!cs.utexas.edu!geraldo.cc.utexas.edu!slcs.slb.com!BRYDON@128.58.42.3
CC:	info-vax@sri.com, brydon@dsn.SINet.slb.com
Subj:	Re: OpenVMS vs VMS ?

	Harvey Brydon <brydon@dsn.SINet.slb.com> writes:
>
>In article <01GU7RPZAWXC0003YZ@Venus.YCC.Yale.Edu>, LEYDON%BRUCE@Venus.YCC.Yale.Edu ("Internet LEYDON%BRUCE.DECNET@VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU") writes:
>>Greetings,
>>	What is the difference between OpenVMS and VMS ? Has Dec just
>>changed the name or are they 2 different Operating systems ? I'm currently
>>running VMS 5-5 and would like to try out some things that say they
>>require OpenVMS.
>
>Everything up to VMS V5.5-1 is "VMS" or "VAX/VMS".  Starting with V5.5-2, it
>is now called "OpenVMS VAX".  The first release of VMS for Alpha is "OpenVMS
>AXP" V1.0.
>
>I would like to propose stringing up the guy that decided to inflict this
>garbage on the world, along with the other hall of shame candidates that are
>responsible for:
>
>(1) Whomever decided to put "standard unibus" and "modified unibus" slots in a
>backplane with the same connector type. (am I showing my age here?)
>(2) Whomever decided to call it "modified unibus".
>(3) Whomever decided to (a) put the unibus NPR connection on a different finger
>from the BR lines and (b) make it a jumper instead of using a different grant
>card.
>(4) Whomever invented the ethernet thickwire "locking clip".
>(5) Whomever decided to rename SYSTARTUP.COM to SYSTARTUP_V5.
>(6) The IEEE party that changed the location of the protocol/size fields in
>ethernet packets (for 802.3).
>(7) Whomever changed the definition of ethernet repeaters so that the '2
>repeater rule' is now the '3-' or '4-repeater' rule.
>(8) Whomever decided that AXP images should have the extension of ".EXE"
>(hmmm, so is this a directory of VAX images or Alpha?).
>

(9) Whomever decided to use the TU58 as a load device for various early 
VAXen and the HSC-50.
(10) Whomever decided that the TK50 and TK70 should never read past an 
uncorrectable error on the tape.
(11) Whomever decided that Unix should be case sensitive.
(12) Whomever decided that the VAXStation 3100 should not support MODEM 
control.

	Somehow I don't think that "OpenVMS" is quite in the same league 
with some of the foregoing.

*************************************************************************
*                                                                       *
*                        Here, there be dragons!                        *
*                      dragon@nscvax.princeton.edu                      *
*                                                                       *
*                                                Richard B. Gilbert     *
*************************************************************************