Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Is the NeXT Slow?
Message-ID: <8752@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 29 Nov 89 10:25:49 GMT
References: <770002@hpvcfs1.HP.COM>
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 25

in article <770002@hpvcfs1.HP.COM>, stevem@hpvcfs1.HP.COM (Steve Miller) says:

> Is word processing really this slow on the NeXT, or is WriteNow just a slow
> word processor?  I'm used to a Mac II, and even when running Adode Type
> Manager (their screen font scaling technology), text editing and program
> launching is quite fast.  Does anyone have a good idea of why the NeXT was
> so slow?

My guess would be that it's mainly either WriteNow, Display PostScript, or the
combination that's the slowdown.  Don't know what kind of screen you're driving
on the Mac II (the size is certainly a factor), but I'm regularly using a DTP 
program with it's own scaled fonts (Gold Disk's Professional Page, which uses
Agfa/Compugraphic outline fonts) on an Amiga 2500/30 (25MHz 68030 system, a
little slower on memory reads than the NeXT) with a Moniterm Viking monitor
(1000x800 or 1000x1000, with 2 bitplanes), and everything is really nice and 
fast.  The NeXT hardware should be capable of the same speeds, so it's gotta be
something obvious in the software.

> Steven Miller
> Vancouver Division
> Hewlett Packard
-- 
Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Systems Engineering) "The Crew That Never Rests"
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                    Too much of everything is just enough