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From: knrgroup@garnet.berkeley.edu (Raymond group)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Not another NeXT defector???!!!
Message-ID: <1990Nov5.064724.16646@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: 5 Nov 90 06:47:24 GMT
References: <1990Nov4.230955.4323@midway.uchicago.edu> <1990Nov5.042826.28732@world.std.com>
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sado@quads.uchicago.edu (robert anthony sadowski) quotes the President of
Symantec in Macworld, October 1990.
>"We don't think NeXT will have a big market share, and we allocate our
>market resources based on market share ...We think that the NeXT computer
>is an incredibly innovative machine, but our resources are committed to 
>other players.  Besides, NeXT doesn't make it easy for you to develop for
>that platform."

First, this statement was made before the September 18th rollout of the 
new NeXTs.  Yes, the market for the NeXT looked small before then, with
only about 7,000 machines sold in a year. However, it was announced on
Sept. 18th that 15,000 2.0 machines had been sold in the two months
prior to the public showing of NeXT 2.0.  NeXT is gaining momentum in 
both the academic and business world.  

Secondly, the statement that "NeXT doesn't make it easy for you to develop
for that platform" seems incredibly uninformed.  The NeXT is the easiest
and most powerful development platform around, period.  Lotus says that
all of their new software will appear on the NeXT before it appears  
on any other platform.  WordPerfect allotted 18 mos. for WP on the NeXT
and had their product ready for beta in 6 mos.!  Programmers who've used
both NeXT and Mac development tools (MacApps, Prototyper, Think C)
are almost unanimous in their strong preference for the NeXT.  In
general, software developers say that they realize 50% to 75% time 
savings when they write software on the NeXT.  And they end up with
nicer user interfaces to boot (because of NeXT's Interface Builder).

Symantec's "resources are committed to other players."  Lotus, Ashton-Tate,
WordPerfect, et al, are ignoring Symantec's lead.  Symantec needs to 
re-examine the NeXT market, or it will miss the boat completely.

Interesting that this quote was made by the President of Symantec.  I
believe Symantec makes Think C.  NeXT has Objective-C, which may be a
serious contender to overthrow Think C on GUI platforms.  Take words
from Symantec and Microsoft (makers of OS/2, a competitor of NeXTStep)
with a large grain of salt.  These companies see NeXT as a threat, and
precisely because NeXT does provide a more attractive alternative to 
their products and because NeXT now seems to be a legitimate contender
against high-end PCs and Macs.

sado@quads.uchicago.edu (robert anthony sadowski) also writes:
>Look at the only authorized dealer ... Businessland.

This is very old and, now, incorrect news.  NeXT has recruited VARs and is
now entering the direct marketing game.  

>As for the idea that Jobs is 'carrying the torch' and Apple hasn't been
>innovative without him, he was running the company into the ground!!!!!!!
>I think that anyone who has this idea needs to stop listening to the
>media hype about how great Jobs is and actually get the facts.  Try
>reading "West of Eden-The End of the Innocence at Apple Computer",
>"Accidental Millionaire" or Sculley's own "Odyssey".

I've read West of Eden and Odyssey.  The picture they paint of Jobs is a
immature man lacking what it takes to make it in a business world     
dominated by men in blue suits.  However, they also paint Jobs as a 
technological visionary, a man who places innovation and quality above
the bottom line.  He was the soul of the Mac.  And I think Sculley and
the author of West of Eden would wholeheartedly agree.