> > that way.  But, at least the DS2100/3100 and 5000/25 and 5000/xxx and VAX
> > lines would be appropriate.  The operating manuals aren't really all that
> > helpful.  Perhaps also some of the hardware spec manuals might be, for
> > development work.
> 
> the technical manuals are the ones worth having. They can all still be
> bought from DECompaq for some outrageous amount of money (generally under
> $50 apiece) but when you consider that there are 5 major lines of
> DECstation and over 30 different VAX processors which you'd want manuals
> for, and 63 different VAX processors in total, youre talking serious $$
> for the docs. AFAIK almost none of the VAX stuff is in electronic form.
> What you get when you order them is printed material. Someone could make
> postscript files out of it or something, but there are copyright questions
> there. I dont think anybody cares about the DECstations isnce they only
> run ultrix which has only 3 months of support left, and DECompaq makes
> just about nothing form old DECstations still on service or whatever.
> however, the VAX line is still alive and kicking, though theyre trying to
> strangle it. They make a _ton_ of money on it and they probably will be
> unhappy to say the least of someone publishing their technical manuals
> eletronically :) 
> Most of this info isnt even in the consolidated documentation set that
> shipped with Ultrix. Some of it is inthe VMS documentation (for VAX, of
> course).. 

What I was thinking primarily were the dead-end legacy things that we
tend to use in NetBSD.  IFF the DECstation things are going essentially'
orphan, in 3 months, then, perhaps, we should collectively see about
obtaining use permission for the docs, before such things get into
the vaporware category.

Gee, do things like my uVAX 3100 still make someone a lot of money?
Gads.... I am in the wrong biz, then......(:+}}...

I was thinking VAX was out the door by 2002.  I was thinking I read
something to that effect on one of the DEC or Compaq pages.  That
is why I was thinking VAX docs, too, if possible.

I would not want to ursurp there moneymaker.   But, on the deadend
things, it would be a nice PR thing for DEC to do, to release such
things for the historical preservation of it, etc.

Bob