Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!agate!monsoon.Berkeley.EDU!dubman
From: dubman@ocf.berkeley.edu (Jonathan Dubman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Getting machines to students
Keywords: slow costly inefficient
Message-ID: <1989Oct25.042130.13037@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: 25 Oct 89 04:21:30 GMT
Sender: usenet@agate.berkeley.edu (USENET Administrator;;;;ZU44)
Organization: ucb
Lines: 52


I think NeXT is the best-run computer manufacturer in the U.S., but the
method of getting machines to students appears slow and chaotic.

Over a year past the introduction of a machine targeted at academia, I can't
buy one at one of the largest academic institutions in the world.  However, I
am allowed to drive to UC Davis, where delivery supposedly takes 30 days and
there is, I believe, a 15% fee, which exceeds the price of a Mac Plus at our
local academic outlet.  With tax, this brings the price of the entry-level
machine to over eight thousand dollars.  Reportedly UC Davis has sold but ten
machines over the past year.  With those terms, I'm not surprised.

Unfortunately, with these exclusive distribution agreements we don't have the
advantages of competition.  It is a struggle for most students to come up with
$6500, so a 15% fee cuts into sales and yet generates no extra revenue for
NeXT.

And thirty days is a long time.  If I were running sales, I wouldn't be pleased
with anything but immediate pickup in the usual case, and a week in the
extreme.  If the normal distribution channels can't live up to that standard,
they need to be replaced or supplemented with direct sales.

Q: If I walk into a Businessland with a Cashier's check for the amount of the
machine, how long does it take before I have it on my desk?  I'll bet it's
less than thirty days.  And what do they pay for it themselves?

PROPOSAL:
Maybe an agreement could be reached with Businessland whereby students offer
proof of school registration and Businessland gets a $3500 or so rebate.
Maybe Businessland needs to charge a $500 fee for support, but at least
students will know what to expect and we won't have these large
price discrepancies between schools.  If a school is capable of offering the
machine at a reduced fee or more quickly or with better support, so be it,
but the student - especially those at smaller schools - should have the
option of going to a retail outlet.  This means that Businessland might have
a bunch of poorly-dressed knapsack-bearing long-haired students coming into
their respectable establishment, but I'd be willing to dress for the occasion
if I could get my hands on a machine. :-)  What do you think?

As I and many other students are future developers, it would be prudent for
NeXT to reevaluate its academic distribution policy without delay.

On a positive note, I think the decision to include a 40Mb SCSI drive with all
OD-only machines is highly commendable, as it reduces the entry cost of a
usable system by $2000.  For college students, entry cost is the key.

If I had my machine right now, I'd be able to write about more substantive
issues.  I'm a big proponent of the machine; my complaints with NeXT are
confined to this issue.

Jonathan Dubman
UC Berkeley