Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!agate!shelby!portia.stanford.edu!azure
From: azure@portia.Stanford.EDU (Lai Heng Chua)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Printer for NeXT
Keywords: help, info, printer
Message-ID: <1990Sep22.013143.5388@portia.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 22 Sep 90 01:31:43 GMT
References: <50712@brunix.UUCP>
Organization: AIR, Stanford University
Lines: 64

My two cents worth.  NeXT has been selling the optional
hardware at a premium.  My suggestion is to get a base
system and get third party stuff.  You have a 105M hard
disk with the base system.  You get a cheap third party
hard disk such as WREN, format it (not a big deal) and
configure the system on it to suit you.  The advantage
as I see it is you can carry your system around with
you too and can use the 105 M drive for moving things
around and for backups.  Well you can put a lot of
trash on it such as GIFs, TIFFs, sound files, manuals
etc.  It is a pity they don't have a carry away screen
because the slab is highly portable but not the monitor.
(Maybe something like some of the flat screen technology
I have seen).  You may want to get a 9600 baud modem
since it is great to be able to FAX from your machine.

Regular SIMMS <100ns would work (pls check).  The 
height of the SIMMS might be important but they are
not only available from NeXT.

If you are not particularly bright you might have to
play $400 for the missing software on an entire stack
of disks.

Someone should get a list of the features and estimated
prices and post not only here but to the IBM PC and Mac
net.  Probably they wont buy NeXT machines but how are
they going to know what they are missing :-|

If you want to help NeXT a bit you guys should be
positive.  I hope they reach 30,000 new machines by year
end.

BTW you guys noticed that you got at least $1500 worth
of free software with the original NeXT?  I wished
NeXT had continued bundling Lisp because poor students
can't afford that kind of money for lisp software although
I know of no computer science degree programs that 
doesn't have some need for Lisp nowadays.  

The optical I think, was worth $1500 but the speed killed
it.  New buyers don't even know what it means to be able
to obtain the entire gnu collection plus some more in one
disk or the ease with which one can back up 40 accounts.
If the speed had improved to 35ms NeXT might have
dispensed with the 105M hard disk and floppy drive.

You are not going to like forking over $500 just for a
floppy..  Find some friends with the new NeXT machines
and have a handy external hard disk.  User groups can
help you with some of these software problems.

People complain that NeXT  was arrogant.. probably
they think that Steve was rather.  But the computer
world need people with vision and guts.  You wanna
trade Steve for some ...er?  Steve gambles on the
future rather than in Las Vegas.  Just as much
seat gripping thrill. Couple of millions a pop.

If you look at some of the software prices by third
parties, don't you feel a little outraged?  But there
are other software vendors who are doing a great job
and offer great prices.  They need support and 
encouragement.  Shareware people need you support too.