[TUHS] VAX System V

[Clem Cole via TUHS]

I obtained (and still have) the the Mass plate about a year before Armand’s
got the NH one.  I I’ve had three. It has been on my Silver Capri, the
Black Jetta, two different Blue Passats, a Silver Passat, my Blue A4 and
since 2018, my Blue Model S.  The original MA plate was green letters in
white (which was similar to the NH plates in those days) and then the red
and blue on white when the state reissued them sometime in the early 90s.
When that one started to fade and thus that car not pass inspection, I had
to get new ones.

When Armando moved to CA, he transferred the NH plate to Jon Hall (who
still has it along with the Linux plate). IIRC originally Joy had the CA
plate on his red Ferrari (that ended up on an island in the Sun pond atone
point).  As Tom points out, Shannon got vmunix  when he moved to CA.  But I
don’t know what happened to it after he died, just as the late Gobble had
the Indiana plate and I don’t know what happened to it.

When the Computer Museum was still in Boston, Armando, Shannon, George and
I had talked to Gwen Bell about displaying them in some manner.  I’m
actually glad that
never happened because so much the BCMs collection was lost when they
closed and the parts weee moved to CA.

WRT to the DEC plates, Armando’s version was the first issue. Over the
course of a few years,  DEC marketing had a number of reissues of the
original and I don’t believe that they are distinct in any way from the
first batch.  After Compaq, they made some others which included things
like the Tru64  such as Greg’s were. They also made some others plates such
the Java plate. I used to have the original plate that Armando gave me (and
I got Dennis to sign) as well as those two all hanging in my Intel office.

I’ll also note that the first USENIX after the original issue where Armando
announced the plates, Masscomp had “Unix Drivers Licenses” blanks printed
on cardboard fan fold with printer holes. If you came to booth and enter
your contact info, the team work print a  customized license for you to
take home.  I think I still have handful of the blanks some where in a box
if Masscomp stuff.


Sent from a handheld expect more typos than usual

On Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 10:16 AM Tom Lyon via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org> wrote:

> Bill Shannon had the real New Hampshire UNIX plates at the time of moving
> to California/Sun in 1982.  He upgraded to VMUNIX in California.
> Photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QSGYnuxhfvBk1ZUc9
>
> But maybe after Armando.  Or did Armando have the Massachusett plate?
>
> On Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 7:02 AM Ron Natalie via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org>
> wrote:
>
> > To my knowledge, there were only two issues of licenses.   The original
> > Armando ones that say UNIX with Live Free or Die and Unix is a
> > Trademark,
> > and the later ULTRIX ones (I have them both).   If there were others, I
> > somehow missed them.
> >
> > Armando related a story that he had the actual NH UNIX vanity plate on
> > the rear of his car and a DEC one on the front (complete with the
> > license expiration tabs).
> > The front one went missing for a while, and when he inquired, many
> > people wrote to him saying they hadn’t seen it in various parts of the
> > country remote from NH.
> > I think he eventually got it back.     Isn’t Armando kicking around
> > here?
> >
> >
>