RE: VMS, etc. (was Proprietary Systems... from midrange-l)

>  Leif:
>In a thermodynamical sense when something is stable it is also dead.
>To be alive means to be evolving.

So, those of us who aren't dead are unstable.  I'll go along with that. :)

I'm all for evolution -- see?
>  Jim:
>VMS has roots in Unix, but with enhancement and growth

In medicine a stable patient is one who is expected to survive.  Stability
can mean different things in different contexts.  A stable business computer
system is not a dead one.

What I like about proprietary systems is compatibility.  Right now I'm
struggling with a third party spooler for Unix that is not fully compatible
with either HP/UX or AIX, and which does not work on any one implementation
standard for Telnet.  I'm fighting with Oracle over a bug or WAD that does
not allow us to read our data while we are updating it.  And don't ever ask
me to tell you about our experiences with marginally compatible "open
storage" SAN solutions.

I'm not sure how seriously I should take your response.  You've used the
word "evolving".  To me, evolution implies growth through eras -- where
species persist and eventually fall as others rise.  I'd prefer my systems
evolve from era to era than be in a perpetual, thermodynamic state of flux.

-Jim

James P. Damato
Manager - Technical Administration
Dollar General Corporation
<mailto:jdamato@dollargeneral.com>