Wirt continues the thread:

>.... the way that I read the chart is: all support for BASIC/V, SPL
>and MPE/V will end on September 1, 1998 for MPE/V machines.

Yes, that was clear to me too.

>"Support" will be ongoing for those people who have previously
>purchased BASIC/V or SPL on MPE/iX boxes, but -- and this is
>the big but -- there is no product number listed for these products
>on MPE/iX, as there are for TRANSACT/V and COBOL II/V, thus
>there would soon seem to be no way of ordering either BASIC or
>SPL after this date, even if you wished to purchase them. I
>consider this state to essentially represent abandonment.

Ooops...  Good point;  I missed that...  Yeah, if that's the case
then the call for HP to make BASIC and SPL freeware seems
even more justified and reasonable to me.

>Secondly, as a practical matter, on-going "support" for BASIC
>and SPL is now down to being able to purchase whatever stock
>of manuals are left. No modifications to either product, to my
>knowledge, have occurred in quite some time.

Or are ever likely to occur again, I expect.... that is, as long as
HP keeps them closely held and controlled....  Hmmm....  Let's
see....  wasn't there something called... what was it....  ah, yes:
SPLash!...  Hmmmm again.... If HP SPL became freeware... who
knows.  ... Our site is not a direct user of either SPL or BASIC/V,
so I leave any further musings on this subject to those that are.

>.....  they can distribute them as freeware and say, "Here they
>are, kid. You're free to use them as you wish. Just don't call
>us for support. Talk to your friends, instead."

Sounds eminently logical to me.....

Ken Sletten