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From: jmaynard@thesis1.hsch.utexas.edu (Jay Maynard)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: In What Sense is Sun the "First" Open Systems Manufacturer?
Message-ID: <4343@lib.tmc.edu>
Date: 22 Nov 90 15:40:33 GMT
References: <2940@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <1990Nov21.194240.28355@Neon.Stanford.EDU> <1990Nov21.205753.13677@portia.Stanford.EDU>
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In article <1990Nov21.205753.13677@portia.Stanford.EDU> dhinds@elaine10.stanford.edu (David Hinds) writes:
>    I believe that IBM OS's are public domain - you can just pick up an MVS
>tape and pop it into an Amdahl clone.  However, I think that some of this
>was forced on IBM as a result of anti-trust suits a long time ago - I don't
>remember the details.

This was true once upon a time, but hasn't been true since the introduction
of MVS/SE (the predecessor to MVS/SP). I don't know if you can still get
MVS 3.8 (the last PD version) all by itself; later versions still contain
MVS 3.8 code, but it would take major surgery to separate it from the
licensed code, especially in later systems such as MVS/ESA (otherwise known
as MVS/SP version 3).

I don't know houw an Amdahl 5990 site would get MVS/ESA - or any other IBM
program product - licensed, but I know it's possible; I do know that Amdahl
users get their support from Amdahl, not IBM.
-- 
Jay Maynard, EMT-P, K5ZC, PP-ASEL | Never ascribe to malice that which can
jmaynard@thesis1.hsch.utexas.edu  | adequately be explained by stupidity.
         "With design like this, who needs bugs?" - Boyd Roberts