In article <[log in to unmask]>, Tracy Johnson
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>
>What would happen if HP "opened" up MPE/?? and let go their copyrights much
>like Unix has been over the last 25 or so years?
>
What would it run on? I guess you are hoping/expecting that MPE will run
on Merced without needing any other MPE-specific hardware, and that
Merced will be widely available on super-PCs that will have a compatible
architecture for MPE?

Or do we buy 9000s and snip the MPE-inhibit wire in them?

It's an interesting idea though. It goes much further than my idea,
which was in the same vein, but only encompassed Image.

A while back, HP were simultaneously developing Image for Unix, and
wondering what to do with it. Image/UX went nowhere - performance
problems, apparently, which is interesting considering they are the same
boxes.

But I said, why not 'donate' it as a free dB to the Unix community? And
then watch the takeup ('free' >> 'non-relational'). And we'd all have
jobs for life, HP3000 or no HP3000.

But, yes, indeed, why stop at Image?
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