Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Path: utzoo!utstat!philip
From: philip@utstat.uucp (Philip McDunnough)
Subject: Re: Commodore at FCC
Message-ID: <1990Sep30.214206.18776@utstat.uucp>
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 90 21:42:06 GMT
References: <22107@grebyn.com> <1990Sep28.055905.9056@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Statistics, U. of Toronto

In article <1990Sep28.055905.9056@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> jeffo@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Jeffrey B Nicholson) writes:
[in response to the pricing of the new NeXT's]

>Lowering the price of CBM's Unix would help!  Also, lowering the price
>of the 3000 would be nice...but I agree that the NeXT is looking good,
>now only if it had some software...hmmm...

The NeXT has plenty of software. Apart from the public domain stuff, it
comes with Mathematica, Write Now, TeX, Lotus Improv,etc...

Furthermore SoftPC will be available with support for the floppy and run
as a very fast AT with 287 support and EGA. SAS will be out at the
beginning of 1991 or so and FrameMaker 2.0 is already available, as is
Wingz. You've very much mistaken re the availability of software.

Even if you were to purchase the NeXT as a PostScript printer( computer
+ NeXT printer) for other computers, you'd find the price very
competitive. In fact, not much less than an Apple LaserWriter NT! The
low-end NeXT is an outstanding value, especially to academics, for which
we can all thank Steve Jobs et al. If nothing else it will bring the
micro computer makers( especially Apple) down to earth in their pricing
and encourage less commercial software which can only be classified as
junk. From an Amiga perspective, it provides Commodore with direction.
They should now see just where the future of hardware is heading. Low
cost hardware but higher cost GOOD software. They would do well to cut
the price of the Amiga 3000 by a substantial amount.

Philip McDunnough
Department of Statistics
University of Toronto
philip@utstat.toronto.edu
[my opinions]