Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!uwvax!oka.cs.wisc.edu!jcargill
From: jcargill@oka.cs.wisc.edu (Jon Cargille)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Who will buy the NeXT
Keywords: NeXT
Message-ID: <9270@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 1 Dec 89 01:01:45 GMT
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jcargill@oka.cs.wisc.edu (Jon Cargille) writes:

>$6500 is a bogus price, and schools
>tack on a "service" or "support" fee.  ($300 - $1000) Even if you
>don't want/need support...

Ok, Ok......  I've received a couple of well written and rather
convincing semi-flames, and I take it all back...  Thanks for being
gentle.  :)  I guess I feel that I need a lot less support than a
"typical" user.  But now that you mention it, receiving software
updates, ROM upgrades, 40M accelerators, and bus driver chips does
sound good.... :)

Not that I couldn't install any of these myself, but I guess it was
NeXT that made the decision to establish this distribution channel to
keep their own costs down, and that's the way it's gonna be for a
while. Universities can't help but incur some overhead in acquiring
and selling the machines, and they can't be expected to hire personnel
and buy machines without recouping their losses somehow.

>Why did NeXT announce wholesale prices to the world?  Inquiring minds
>want to know....

I think this is the real problem....  As a student who has been saving
for about a year toward buying a NeXT, I was not happy to learn that I
needed to find another $400-$500 somewhere.  And when I'm ready to
buy, they'll probably announce the next NeXT, and then I'll want it
and have to start saving again!

Apologies to anyone I offended....  I think I just needed to gripe. :)

Jon Cargille
jcargill@cs.wisc.edu