Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!shelby!portia.stanford.edu!declan From: declan@portia.Stanford.EDU (Declan McCullagh) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Seeking Answers To Questions Keywords: NeXT purchase Message-ID: <1990Aug18.070526.26405@portia.Stanford.EDU> Date: 18 Aug 90 07:05:26 GMT Sender: declan@portia.Stanford.EDU (Declan McCullagh) Organization: Olympic Technologies Lines: 62 In an earlier article, Chris (cdelay@cie.uoregon.edu) writes... > I'm investigating the possibility of purchasing a NeXT for our >student group, however I'd like to hear back from actual NeXT users on >how well the machine performs at the UNIX level, which is what we'd be >using it primarily for... It's your purchase, so I won't proselytize about the benefits of a graphics interface... But I expect that after you get it and use it for a while, you'll find out that a NeXT is useful as more than a glorified terminal (or UNIX host). >I have heard that the system will slow down considerably if more than >4 users are attempting to use the system at the same time (we would be >taking it as far as it could go for multiple logins). Basically how >well the system works from the UNIX end (only about 2-3 people would >actually ever use the console). As always, it depends on what users are doing. I think you'll find that a user on the console can take up to half of the available processor time - launching programs and running large Mathematica jobs, for instance. As for remote users, I find that the machine only slows down considerably during a compilation or when someone initially logs in. If nobody's on the console, I don't think that you'll find the machine to be unbearably slow, even with four or more users. Of course, you may want to get a faster NeXT when it becomes available... $-) >Any and all information that you might feel is relevant to the >question would be greatly appreciated, as well as any information you >may wish to include regarding dealings with NeXT the company, >maintenance problems/quirks, software problems/quirks/advantages, etc. Umm... I'd love to help, but that's a fairly broad request; after all, that's almost exactly what we've been talking about constantly on comp.sys.next. I think NeXT has a fantastic product and is a great company, but I am - after all - slightly prejudiced. Realistically, there are some less-than-sterling aspects of the current system, such as the serial port problem someone mentioned a few messages back - but I think they're far outnumbered by the positive ones. >Treat me as if I know very little about this machine, because I do >know very little (but would like to know more). If you'd like to know more, I'd suggest _The_NeXT_Book_ by Bruce Webster or _The_NeXT_Bible_. I have found some technical inaccuracies in the latter, and I don't think that most people would benefit from a listing of 'most every file in the v1.0 software distribution, so I'd probably recommend Bruce's book instead. It is a bit dated, though - so you should probably glance through both and pick which one better suits your needs. Good luck... -Declan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Olympic Technologies / Registered NeXT Developers \ declan@portia.stanford.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------