Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!oz.cis.ohio-state.edu!jgreely From: jgreely@oz.cis.ohio-state.edu (J Greely) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Student's view of NeXT marketing plan Message-ID: Date: 7 Aug 89 23:07:16 GMT References: <4866@tank.uchicago.edu> Reply-To: J Greely Organization: Ohio State University Computer and Information Science Lines: 52 In-reply-to: barry@zaphod.uchicago.edu's message of 6 Aug 89 06:33:29 GMT In article <4866@tank.uchicago.edu> barry@zaphod.uchicago.edu (Barry Merriman) writes: >The idea is for a University to provide a NeXT cluster, but for each >student user to provide their own $55 optical disk (I _can_ afford >that) which, having 256MB, carries the users entire _computing world_ >---operating system, applications, data, etc. In this way, each user >can totally personalize the machine, as if it were their own. ...and while I'm dreaming, I want a pony. :-) 256 meg makes a nice data disk, but it is sub-optimal as a system disk. The first problem I have with the "world in a pocket" idea is that those NeXTs will of necessity be standalone or minimally networked. The second problem is space: a bootable optical disk under 0.9 has barely 18 meg free, nowhere near enough for my "computing world". I can trim that disk down quite a bit, but it still won't have enough space free to be very useful to me (nor will that stripped-down disk be easy for the average user to create, although BuildDisk should cut down on the effort required). If I were putting together a cluster of NeXTs here, they would be diskless clients of a non-NeXT server, hooked into the department network. A few standalone machines for casual use wouldn't be a bad idea, but they would not be networked to the rest. >And they can transparently and effortlessly compute at different >clusters, even at different universities. Your own computer >(environment) for $55 ---This is a further step towards the ultimate >decentralization of personal computer ownership. You're right, you *have* been reading propaganda :-). It's an interesting dream, but it still needs some polish. In five years, that model may be practical, but I don't think either NeXT or the university market is ready to support it successfully now. I wouldn't be too unhappy if I were proven wrong, though. >It would sure beat the hell of of a Mac II cluster---unless your >world is small enough to fit on a 1.4 MB diskette %-). My world fits on a 256 Meg disk, but it would be more comfortable on two. Between source code, graphics, and sound, I chew up lots of space. >That said, I'll be buyin' my own Cube as soon as I get a few real >paychecks... Have a blast. The few times I've taken mine home for the weekend, it's made a nice PC. A bit loud, but nice. If I had the $13,000 lying loose, I'd consider picking one up myself. -=- J Greely (jgreely@cis.ohio-state.edu; osu-cis!jgreely)