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From: rca@cs.brown.edu (Ronald C.F. Antony)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: What NeXT *should* do next.
Message-ID: <34107@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 27 Mar 90 04:02:39 GMT
References: <1385@shelby.Stanford.EDU>
Sender: news@brunix.UUCP
Reply-To: rca@cs.brown.edu (Ronald C.F. Antony)
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
Lines: 34

I disagree that IBM's RISC chip will solve the 3 problems you
mentioned. 
1) NeXTStep is not dependend on the Hardware used, so a re- or
crosscompilation is enough to have an App running on both systems,
regardless of what CPU you use. The IBM chip has no effect on that.
2) NeXT is not becoming more stable just by having an IBM CPU. The
only point this could have, is that people can use the programs on
both machines iff IBM would adapt to MACH. But then why not just buy
an IBM machine... The Chip in this case does nothing for NeXT but a
lot to IBM.
3) Speed can also be solved by 68040

But now the bad news: an IBM rep. I talked to indirectly admited that
IBM will not put as much effort into NeXTStep as in X. They might
change their view if users demand it more and if more Apps are there.
Now IBM is making big efforts to get Software ported, but to X not
NeXTStep ...
This means, IBM will push NeXTStep if the Applications are there, so
it basically is up to NeXT to CREATE this base. How half-hearted IBM
is in regard to NeXTStep can be seen in the statement, that they see
it more as a platform for application development than for end users.
i.e. develop your prototypes on NeXTStep, sell them ported under X...
As far as I know they do not even have the PC-emulator running under
NeXTStep, this shows also a lot...

In short: IBM will take the profit NeXT prepares, NeXT can tell to
scared business people that even IBM sells NeXTStep. So the the
business people are happy, IBM does nothing, NeXT will have to work.

Ronald
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"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists
in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the
unreasonable man."  Bernhard Shaw | rca@cs.brown.edu or antony@browncog.bitnet