I too have watched this thread. The choices if you are lucky enough to have the hardware, are
(1) Run the software - enjoy it - understand that its unlikely that the ghost of DEC (Whatever that is) will pay any attention. (2) Obey DECs commercial wishes and drill a 1/2"hole through the silicon in each individual board on the backplane, and physically mail them one at a time to the haters in this group to demonstrate that you have obeyed the licencing laws explicitly. Easy :-) . Kindest regards, Doug Jackson em: [email protected] ph: 0414 986878 On Fri, 28 Nov 2025 at 18:38, Rod Smallwood via cctalk < [email protected]> wrote: > > On 28/11/2025 04:10, Chris Hanson via cctalk wrote: > > On Nov 27, 2025, at 9:45 AM, Peter Ekstrom via cctalk< > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Ok, so there basically isn't a truly legit and ethical way to run it > as a > >> hobbyist. > > There is not a legal way to run it unless you acquired a perpetual > license to run it on that system before DEC/Compaq/HP stopped selling such > licenses. > > > > Whether it is *moral* or *ethical* to run it is independent of whether > it is *legal* to run it, and a poor analogy such as one likening running it > to stealing a car will not help much in making up your own mind about such > things. > > > > — Chris > > > I worked for DEC for 10 years. They were the best company I ever worked > for or with > > They were altruistic, kind and generous. They loaned out hardware and > > software all the time. > > I am English and to an extent therefore somewhat can claim to have > an indpendant view. > > Here I will make a non-detrimental comment. > > The US is dollar driven and uses its laws for business advantage > when it can. > > The most famous British judge Lord Denning always said. > > "This is not a court of law but a place of justice, fairness and > truth" > > DEC has (sadly) been gone for 25 years. > > So running old VMS versions on old VAX systems for non-profit > personal interest should be fair use. > > Rod Smallwood > >
