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From: mdeale@mira.acs.calpoly.edu (Myron Deale)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: What NeXT *should* do next.
Message-ID: <260d50a2.19ff@petunia.CalPoly.EDU>
Date: 25 Mar 90 23:13:38 GMT
References: <1378@shelby.Stanford.EDU> <9967@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> <424@toaster.SFSU.EDU> <Eqe#zm3@cs.psu.edu> <35@isl.stanford.edu> <Emg0qn3@cs.psu.edu>
Reply-To: mdeale@mira.acs.calpoly.edu.UUCP (Myron Deale)
Organization: ACS, Cal Poly, San Luis
Lines: 40


In article <Emg0qn3@cs.psu.edu> melling@cs.psu.edu (Michael D Mellinger) writes:
>
[R4000 stuff deleted ...]
>
>Steve, and company, got to throw away the Mac(old technology) and
>start over again to come up with something pretty great.  You can do
>this if you don't have to worry about compatibility.  The 68040 must
>also be compatible so it had to be evolutionary.

   I won't argue one way or tother about using RISC or CISC micro's. I
don't particularly want to tether myself to the technology. Who knows,
in another couple years the argument might include barrel processors!?
[just thinking of executing threads efficiently ... ]

>  Also, this means that NeXT can change micro. every couple of
>years without having to worry about losing its software base; it can
>ported in days instead of months.  Software, software and software are
>the three biggest problems for any new platform.  OS/2, NeXT,
>Unix(that old new standard(s)) are in a race.  Whoever wins this
>software race wins the big bucks and survives the next five years.

>-Mike

   Yes, software is important. Thus I'm swayed to think NeXT should
stick it out with the 68000 series, i.e. upgrade to the 68040, etc.
That "RISC stuff" goes like the blazes, very desirable for my computing
style, but what DTP type person needs a 50 Mips word processor?

   My two cents then; how about going with those IPI drives, and using
one of those laser-printer-accelerator chips that handles PostScript
directly, like from Cirrus Logic. Frees the CPU from a lot of screen
update crud. And some of the lp chips can pump out 45 pages a minute.
The fly in the ointment is, you're left with a color problem.


-Myron
[You can throw in a 96000 DSP or i860 too :]
// "Heavy iron, with a CPU pasted on." -- J. Mashey.
// disclaimer: I barely speak for me, let alone a corporation.