Topics on this page:

Hobbyist's License for OpenVMS
Information for non-Hobbyists
What Can You Do With Your Hobbyist's License?
Another License Proposal
Alternative Operating Systems
Other Hobbyist / Non-hobbyist Links

Do you already have a small VAX (or Alpha!) at home? Think you can maybe get your hands on a MicroVAX,  VAXstation or DECstation that your company is getting rid of? Thinking of shopping the aftermarket  for something "good used"? Check this out:

Digital has empowered the U.S. Chapter of DECUS and the Dallas/Fort Worth LUG to offer a "hobbyist" license for OpenVMS - for VAX and Alpha, for ALL VMS versions (even those which pre-date the LMF) and for over 100 selected Layered Products, for non-commercial use only (that means you cannot legally develop software for profit under the terms of this license), support is from your fellow OpenVMS enthusiasts via mailing lists, newsgroups, etc., and you must currently be a member of DECUS (U.S., Canada and some other countries, more may come "on line" soon - stay tuned or see the "hobbyist" license "home" site for more current information).

Now, for the small, home-based software developer, web-page author, web site host, ISP, etc., that may not be what you wanted to hear. Take a look on Digital's web site under the "partners" link and see what they have. Also, take a look at this link which appears to be the "ISV" program you've heard tell about. (If you can confirm that, please let us know! We'll pass the word along! It looks like the real name is not "ISV", but "C.S.A.", Compaq Solutions Alliance (previously known as "A.S.A.P.", Association of Software and Application Partners.)

BUT: Note that these programs are for DEVELOPERS ONLY - NOT for end-users. End users looking for an affordable openVMS are still more or less out of luck. See the Unofficial Affordable OpenVMS Home Page for more information.

What Can You Do With Your Hobbyist's License?

We've posted a list of some projects that we think would be useful to the OpenVMS community at large including your fellow hobbyists, to The FreeVMS Project, as well as to the hobbyist or entrepreneur. Feel free to peruse the list. Any suggestions you might have for additions to the list are, of course VERY welcome! Our e-mail address is found on our contact page.

We've made a proposal that we think will be highly profitable, both to Digital and to our fellow OpenVMS Entrepreneurs around the world. See the Unofficial Affordable OpenVMS Home Page for more information.

Here are some other links of interest to the hobbyist and non-hobbyist alike...

• DJE Systems OpenVMS Freeware Page
• Samba for OpenVMS (offer File and Print Services to Windows clients)
• Gnu-C and Gnu-C++ for Alpha: ftp://ftp.progis.de/pub/vms/gcc/
• Hunter Goatley's FILESERV Site (OpenVMS Freeware for VAX and Alpha): http://www2.wku.edu/www/fileserv/fileserv.html
• ZIP and UNZIP for OpenVMS, Linux, FreeBSD, DOS, Windows or any supported platform: ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/
• The Gnu on VMS Project: http://vms.gnu.org/
• The Gnu program sources: ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/gnu/
• Getting started with NetBSD - VAX
• Getting started with NetBSD - Alpha

Other OpenVMS-related pages:

OpenVMS Page
OpenVMS Hobbyist Page
OpenVMS Freeware Page
ZIP and UNZIP for OpenVMS
The REAL Story about "tarballs" (GZIP and TAR for OpenVMS)

"Vaporware"

Free VMS (for Intel)
VAX Linux

"DJE Systems" is a service mark of David J. Dachtera, doing business as DJE Systems.
This page Copyright ©1998, 1999 by David J. Dachtera, All Rights Reserved.