In a message dated 10/25/02 11:26:22 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< On yet another piece of software, I disabled any checking and rendered it
 completely free when we decided to no longer support it.  After some
 insistent demands by HP, we even brought it up to date recently and left it
 in the public (but not open) domain, freeware.  I think that is what many on
 this list are asking for.
  >>

Yes, Denys, this is what I'm thinking of.  The scenario I have in mind is a
site
that bought a spare used HP3000, and now it's 2007 and the production HP3000
has died, and they want to put the spare into production in its place.  They
need
all the software to run on the "new" machine, even if some of the vendors are
no
longer around.

Even sites that are planning to migrate may not succeed by the end of 2006.
I think I hear a lot of people saying that they may as well wait a while to
decide
on a migration path, to see if the industry settles down a bit.  There is
also the
problem of getting the necessary millions of dollars, in an economy that isn't
exactly booming.

Cecile