DECnet and other dead technologies (was: Linux for "cloud computing")

Jon 'maddog' Hall maddog at li.org
Sat Mar 6 21:02:05 EST 2010


Ben,

>  That seems more like it was due to a total lack of interest.  Could
>it simply be that most everyone has moved to Internet Protocol now?

I agree to a point that the current orphaning of the code in the kernel
is probably due to a "total lack of interest", and that there is a good
possibility that everyone has moved to something else.

But in walking back to my house from breakfast today, it occurred to me
that the average "user" of DECnet Linux probably does not read the
DECnet Linux mailing lists.  It has worked, and worked for a long time.

If people are using it, they probably just install it, read the HowTos,
etc.  Someday the code will be ripped from the kernel and it will stop
working....then (as the poster said), people may just user older
kernels.

In any case, my point of writing was that FOSS had extended the life of
this older protocol and hardware for about the last ten years, not that
anyone should keep it alive for the one or two people who *might* still
be using it.

md



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