Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ucsd!ucbvax!ziploc!eps From: eps@toaster.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: NeXT's financial position Message-ID: <594@toaster.SFSU.EDU> Date: 3 May 90 01:07:41 GMT References: <9009@tank.uchicago.edu> <579@toaster.SFSU.EDU> <4aDVT9q00WBK42aFEa@andrew.cmu.edu> Reply-To: eps@cs.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) Distribution: comp.sys.next Organization: San Francisco State University Lines: 71 In article <4aDVT9q00WBK42aFEa@andrew.cmu.edu> eb1z+@andrew.cmu.edu (Edward Joseph Bennett) writes: >I think Steve Jobs would take great offense at you implying that his >Next machine is nothing more than cost effective unix box. I didn't say "nothing more." But you have to have solid foundations. >otherwise people will start placing thier orders for Sparc Stations, >etc. before they here what Next has to offer. We're certainly guilty on that count. >That third party Next floppy drive must be incredible expensive, you can >get them for most computers for ~$100-$300. Now I know pc clones are >cheap but let's get serious. That third party NeXT floppy drive is $850. Here in the shadow of Silicon Valley, PC clones are incredibly cheap. Less than half that for brand new, decent quality. >I don't think it is narrow minded to ask Next to have the option of >ordering my cube with a floppy drive. We have some SPARCstation 1s with floppy drives. They're USELESS. We get all our software on cartridge tape. I'd be perfectly happy seeing NeXT OEM Exabytes--a $8 tape holds 2.3 GB. The drives ain't cheap compared to floppies, but they're well worth what they cost. (We paid ~$3300) >Well I'm glad that you are happy. That is probably why you use a >Next.The Simply fact is that regardless of how nice a machine is if it >doesn't have the software you need, it is worthless and there are many >entire potential markets where Next needs software if they are to enter >them. So where are the developers? It's a whole lot easier to port from a Sun to a NeXT than it is from PCs or Macs. Being binary compatible with Sun-3s doesn't hurt. If all that good software is available for "obvious competitors" why aren't commercial developers doing their damndest to ship product? We keep hearing about "no one will buy them because there's no software" and companies that "don't want to invest the effort until it's clear that the machine is going to be a success." This is really silly. Few companies have monopolies on product categories, so whichever one gets their spreadsheet (or whatever) out first is going to capture--and retain--a large piece of the pie. Sure, there will always be people who want "exact" clones of whatever ran on their CP/M system in 1980. So what. >I won't argue that it is good for its price range (for now) but it needs >more horsepower. I guess my point would be meaningless if everyone had >unlimited cray time to network their Next to. But... Funny you should mention that. See a subsequent posting. > If you really think >that Next doesn't need to increase their speed while everybody is you >must be out to lunch. While a 25MHz '030 isn't obsolete it is not >cutting edge these days. The N1000 is a low-end model, got it? Who said it was to be the last in the line? It's positioned as providing the MINIMUM capabilities anyone should expect from a workstation. >Next needs to get out a new machine or hint what their direction is if >they hope to convince people they are viable and a sound investment. >Just having a visionary machine won't cut. They said the same thing about the Lisa/Apple. -=EPS=-