[net.unix] UN*X License Plates

hood@homxa.UUCP (Ron Hood) (04/24/85)

I was wandering through the company parking lot the other day
and came across the following UNIX license plate on a car:
  ______________________________________________
 |						|
 |		Live Free or Die		|
 |						|
 |	 #    #  #    #     #    #    #  *	|
 |	 #    #  ##   #     #     #  #		|
 |	 #    #  # #  #     #      ##		|
 |	 #    #  #  # #     #      ##		|
 |	 #    #  #   ##     #     #  #		|
 |	  ####   #    #     #    #    #		|
 |						|
 |  * UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories	|
 |______________________________________________|

I've never seen this before and immediately had two questions:

	1) What's this supposed to mean?

	2) Who sells them?

Any sage-like insight from the net would be appreciated.

			Ron

avolio@decuac.UUCP (Frederick M. Avolio) (04/26/85)

> I was wandering through the company parking lot the other day
> and came across the following UNIX license plate on a car:
> ...........

   It was the *first* UNIX license from Digital.  It is a model of a
real New Hampshire (home of DEC's UEG) license plate (hence "Live
Free...") which is on decwrl!aps's car (unless he has reregistered it
in California).  It was given out at numerous conventions and trade
shows.

Hey Armando...  I think he found your missing plate...
-- 
Fred Avolio      {decvax,seismo}!decuac!avolio      301/731-4100 x4227

psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (04/26/85)

> I was wandering through the company parking lot the other day
> and came across the following UNIX license plate on a car:
> 
> 	2) Who sells them?
So far as I know, no one sells them.  I got mine from DEC at
the 1983 Usenix in Boston.
>
> 	1) What's this supposed to mean?
It's a Unix license, of course!
("Live free or die" is the state motto of New Hamphire, a hotbed
of DEC Unix activity, I presume.)

	-Paul S. R. Chisholm
	...!{pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc   The above opinions are my own,
	...!{hocsj,ihnp4}!lznv!psc      not necessarily anyone else's,
	...!{pegasus,cbosgd}!lzmi!psc   including my employer's.

-- 
	-Paul S. R. Chisholm
	...!{pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc   The above opinions are my own,
	...!{hocsj,ihnp4}!lznv!psc      not necessarily anyone else's,
	...!{pegasus,cbosgd}!lzmi!psc   including my employer's.

hsw@TYCHO.ARPA (Howard Weiss) (04/26/85)

The license plate you are describing was given away FREE by Digital
Equipment Corporation at a UNIX conference several years ago.  I have
one hanging over my desk.  They were a joke - since DEC did not officially
sell or support UN*X at the time, they thought it would be really neat
to announce the DEC UN*X license availability at the conference - and
for FREE no less.  Anyone who wanted one could obtain a FREE UN*X
license from DEC!!

Howard Weiss
-------

seifert@mako.UUCP (Snoopy) (05/02/85)

In article <113@lzwi.UUCP> psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes:
>> I was wandering through the company parking lot the other day
>> and came across the following UNIX license plate on a car:
>> 
>> 	2) Who sells them?
>So far as I know, no one sells them.  I got mine from DEC at
>the 1983 Usenix in Boston.
>>
>> 	1) What's this supposed to mean?
>It's a Unix license, of course!
>("Live free or die" is the state motto of New Hamphire, a hotbed
>of DEC Unix activity, I presume.)

"Live free or die" is a rather fitting motto for Unix as well.
If you don't like somebody's design decision, modify it!
No reason to put up with something you don't like.  Don't like
the standard command interpreter?  Write your own!  Don't like
the editor?  Write your own!  Don't like the spelling checker?
Write your own!  Unix is freedom!

Snoopy
tektronix!mako!seifert

@hpislx.UUCP (05/08/86)

This message is empty.

larry@fps0.UUCP (Larry Mullen) (05/08/86)

> I was wandering through the company parking lot the other day
> and came across the following UNIX license plate on a car:
>   ______________________________________________
>  |						|
>  |		Live Free or Die		|
>  |						|
>  |	 #    #  #    #     #    #    #  *	|
>  |	 #    #  ##   #     #     #  #		|
>  |	 #    #  # #  #     #      ##		|
>  |	 #    #  #  # #     #      ##		|
>  |	 #    #  #   ##     #     #  #		|
>  |	  ####   #    #     #    #    #		|
>  |						|
>  |  * UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories	|
>  |______________________________________________|
> 
> I've never seen this before and immediately had two questions:
> 
> 	1) What's this supposed to mean?
> 
> 	2) Who sells them?
> 
> Any sage-like insight from the net would be appreciated.
> 
> 			Ron

	I don't know how sage-like this will be, but the plates were being
handed out at trade shows by DEC a couple of years ago. The "Live free or
die" motto is from the New Hampshire Plates, the rest is just advertising.

...and all I got was a cap with blinking LEDs...
							Larry
-- 
						Larry Mullen

UUCP: ...mot!ningaubl!fps0!larry                Phone: 602 4385787

All opinions are my own and will be denied by My employer...

fair@styx.UUCP (Erik E. Fair) (05/16/86)

The way I heard about the UNIX New Hampshire license plate is that at
the San Diego UNICOM Conference in January 1983 (back in the gude old
days when nobody officially supported UNIX), someone working in DEC UEG
(was it you, Armando?) stood before the assembled UNIX hackers present
and announced that DEC had finally purchased UNIX licenses and after a
suitable pause, waved one of these NH plates in the air, to the mirth
of the audience.

	Erik E. Fair	styx!fair	fair@lll-tis-b.arpa

avolio@decuac.DEC.COM (Frederick M. Avolio) (05/22/86)

In article <20658@styx.UUCP>, fair@styx.UUCP (Erik E. Fair) writes:
> the San Diego UNICOM Conference in January 1983 (back in the gude old
> days when nobody officially supported UNIX), someone working in DEC UEG
> (was it you, Armando?) stood before the assembled UNIX hackers present
> and announced that DEC had finally purchased UNIX licenses

It was that *finally* DEC was providing UNIX(r) licenses.  And
they were modelled after aps's real, live, NH plates.  Distinctive.
All the better for Merimack's finest to spot him speeding.  (Or was
that only on DEC grounds?)
-- 
Fred @ DEC Ultrix Applications Center
INET: avolio@decuac.DEC.COM				* Fight the Fight *
UUCP: {decvax,seismo,cbosgd}!decuac!avolio	       * Rescue the Unborn *

shannon@sun.UUCP (05/22/86)

> It was that *finally* DEC was providing UNIX(r) licenses.  And
> they were modelled after aps's real, live, NH plates.  Distinctive.
> All the better for Merimack's finest to spot him speeding.  (Or was
> that only on DEC grounds?)
> -- 
> Fred @ DEC Ultrix Applications Center

Wrong!  They were modelled after MY license plates.  When I left NH
I willed the UNIX plates to APS.

					Bill Shannon

kjd@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (Kevin Dunlap) (05/24/86)

Since we know that both Bill Shannon and Armondo are living in Sunny
Nothern California.  Who's got the Live Free or Die UNIX plate now?

There is also use to be the smaller version of this plate on 
Dave Borman's motor cycle.  The car and motor cycle plates are 
different series.

-Kevin

-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Dunlap					kjd@ucbarpa.Berkeley.Edu
UC Berkeley CSRG    415/643-6449		ucbvax!kjd  (uucp)

matt@oddjob.UUCP (Matt Crawford) (05/30/86)

In article <13968@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> kjd@ucbvax.UUCP writes:
>Since we know that both Bill Shannon and Armondo are living in Sunny
>Nothern California.  Who's got the Live Free or Die UNIX plate now?

Gee, I saw such a plate last week.  It was nailed to Scott
Brim's <swb@devvax> cubicle at Cornell.  Was it real?  (Or
was it memorex?)
_____________________________________________________
Matt		University	crawford@anl-mcs.arpa
Crawford	of Chicago	ihnp4!oddjob!matt

Catsup and Mustard all over the place! It's the Human Hamburger!