Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!psuvax1!news From: melling@cs.psu.edu (Michael D Mellinger) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Not another NeXT defector???!!! Message-ID: Date: 4 Nov 90 22:46:42 GMT References: <3818@idunno.Princeton.EDU> <1990Nov4.161502.5342@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <1990Nov4.201838.26983@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Sender: news@cs.psu.edu (Usenet) Organization: Penn State Computer Science Lines: 69 In-Reply-To: khcg0492@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu's message of 4 Nov 90 20:18:38 GMT Nntp-Posting-Host: client1.cs.psu.edu In article <1990Nov4.201838.26983@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> khcg0492@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kenneth Holden Chang) writes: Whoops. Forget out that. However, one should still check to make sure that the software one needs *is* available. I'm still not sure I could write scientific papers in WriteNow or WordPerfect on a Next because of the lack of an easy way to create equations. I think WordPerfect does do equations. Doesn't WP 5.0? Anyway, for a large percentage of the population, equations aren't important. By not having them in a mid-range word processor does not make word processing on the NeXT unbearable. FrameMaker does do them and it has an eductational price of $450. There is always TeX as you have mentioned. I don't know much TeX, but I do know that equations are easy --I have tried them. Just write them in TeX and paste them into WriteNow(both of these come with the NeXT). Again, I don't think one program fills a gap. If for some reason you don't like WordPerfect or if it doesn't do something you need it to (perhaps Word-like tables), then you don't have a choice. This will probably change in time, but one should realize that one is on the frontier with the pitfalls thereof. WP 5.1 does do tables. The big question here is which version of Word Perfect has been ported to the NeXT? I think that WordPerfect is still the most feature laden word processor out there(although I do prefer Word 4.0:-)) At least 80% of the PC market is IBM, and Word Perfect owns that market because they had a good product when the PC market was young, just as Microsoft owns the Mac market. Hopefully, a couple of Mac companies will realize the opportunity the NeXT represents: a strangle-hold on a market for being first and good. If one wishes to make parallels between the Mac & Next, 128K Mac <-> original cube (neat ideas, somewhat underpowered, no software) MacPlus <-> '040 workstations (hopefully will enervate the market) MacWrite <-> WriteNow (simple, but not feature laden; bundled) Word 1.0 <-> WordPerfect (first real alternative to bundled word processor) The original cube is quite usable(I'm on one now). It's just slower than I would like it to be(soon to be remedied for $1000). It is expandle(128K Mac's problem). The machine that I am typing on has more horsepower than a Mac IIci. There is just a price that must be paid for bringing Postscript to the screen. Your comparisons are somewhat accurate though, but they should be taken to mean that there is great stuff yet to come, not that the NeXT is lacking as a computer. The cube in its infancy(040) has more horsepower than Apple's top of the line IIfx. The software that is coming and here(WP, FrameMaker, Improv, Wingz, PowerStep, Oracle, Quark) rivals the best on the Mac. When the software companies release 2.0 of their software, you will see some great stuff(Have to settle for good at the moment). I have all of these features now: pre-emptive multitasking, interprocess communication, Ethernet, memory protection, virtual memory(4GB), expandable to 64MB RAM, hardware support for sound(DSP). And yet to come(soooon): real time animiation, 68040, 12 and 24 bit color, and a 2.88 Meg floppy. I think Next is approximately where the Mac was in 1985 when, despite its advantages over PCs in terms of interface, it wasn't clear at all whether it (or Apple) was going to survive. The Mac Plus finally provided enough horsepower to convince people it was a real computer and just not a cute toy. Hopefully, the new Nexts will do the same, but it's not a forgone conclusion simply because it has not happened yet. -- In its life cycle, the new NeXT might be back with the Mac Plus, but in capabilities the machine beats Apple's best. When it comes time to spend $5000 on a machine, at least look at a new NeXT. -Mike