Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!apple!vsi1!zorch!xanthian From: xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: The NeXT competition Re: Commodore at FCC Message-ID: <1990Oct2.222545.5475@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> Date: 2 Oct 90 22:25:45 GMT References: <4d104ad7.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM> <1990Sep28.235557.29347@hoss.unl.edu> <8731@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> Organization: SF-Bay Public-Access Unix Lines: 19 In re: lack of a NeXT software base If the NeXT's MACH is reasonably Unix-clonish at the applications programming level, software could show up in a deluge of ports from Suns, 3B1's, Apollo's, 386 Xenix boxes, etc. I wouldn't get too comfortable assuming lack of software will hold the NeXT back for long. Steven Job's past track record makes software development venture capital predicated upon the likely success of the NeXT look like a pretty safe way to earn a big return on investment, too, so new development could be sparked in a hurry. Remember, most of software development targeting is a gamble on the likely success of the target hardware, and the NeXT probably looks pretty good to the Wall Street money for the same kinds of reasons that the Amiga doesn't: a past history of bringing in substantial profits to investors. Kent, the man from xanth.