IBM S/390 on ebay

[jim s]

The LIC for the r/390's and the pc/390's was at one time freely 
downloadable.

It is the OS Licensed material that is not transferable to another 
entity.  The firmware is not a problem.  Most of the peripherals have 
LIC code and you only need to call  IBM to get copies if you supply the 
model number.

I have two 3174's that have "LIC" and IBM's support number supplied the 
code at IBM's cost to fix me up.  I have to say that I was impressed 
with that.  I also ordered 3290 support as well as the latest rev of the 
Token Ring support on 2mb floppies.

I also believe that the firmware for the 9370's is not a problem to 
transfer, just the OS.  Linux is not a problem.

I will ask a friend who has two of these running what if any issues he 
has, as he may have transferred a license I don't know about for one of 
the smaller 390's he has.  Based on his use, I would almost (but for  
that detail) say there is no problem as long as you have the hardware.

On 10/24/2010 11:25 AM, Patrick Finnegan wrote:
> On Sunday, October 24, 2010, Daniel Seagraves wrote:
>> On Oct 24, 2010, at 7:53 AM, Stéphane Tsacas
> <stephane.tsacas at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220685200658
>>> <http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220685200658>
>>> http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/mainframe/mainframe_PP39
>>> 0G1.html
>> Do be advised that if you should obtain one of these, it is illegal
>> for you to operate it in any way. The microcode, which IBM calls the
>> LIC or Licensed Internal Code, is licensed only for the use of the
>> original purchaser and only on the specific machine and
>> configuration as IBM delivered it. Any other usage by any other
>> party is unlicensed and illegal.
> This isn't true at all. The last time I read the license agreement that
> popped up booting my S/390's service element, it required you to
> transfer the LIC with the machine.  It certainly didn't allow you to
> keep the LIC if you got rid of the machine, nor did it require you to
> destroy the copy of the LIC if you transferred the machine to someone
> else.
>
> Pat