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From: sado@quads.uchicago.edu (robert anthony sadowski)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Not another NeXT defector???!!!
Message-ID: <1990Nov5.083738.17066@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 5 Nov 90 08:37:38 GMT
References: <1990Nov4.230955.4323@midway.uchicago.edu> <1990Nov5.042826.28732@world.std.com> <1990Nov5.064724.16646@agate.berkeley.edu>
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In article <1990Nov5.064724.16646@agate.berkeley.edu> knrgroup@garnet.berkeley.edu (Raymond group) writes:
>(pertaining to Symantec Pres. Gordon Eubanks' statement that he will not
develop for the NeXT 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.

7,000 + 15,000 + how many have since been sold since then is still not 
a significant market share.  How many PC's are sold each year ?
Hundreds of thousands.  Until I see some significant figures documented
in some well known publication, I will not concede that NeXT is gaining
momentum in the 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.

I knew someone was going to single this statement out.  I didn't think
I would have to qualify it with the statement that Eubanks is most
probably referring to NeXT's developer support, not the wonderful and 
powerful interface builder.

>Programmers who've used
>both NeXT and Mac development tools (MacApps, Prototyper, Think C)
>are almost unanimous in their strong preference for the NeXT.

Prove it.  Figures please.

>And they end up with
>nicer user interfaces to boot (because of NeXT's Interface Builder).

Opinion.  This point could be debated in this forum for hours.

>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.

I must admit, I took this statement slightly out of context.  These
so-called "other players" means Windows.  Given the choice between devloping
for an environment that had a base of 300,000 the day it shipped and one
that had (more than?) 22,000 which would you choose ?

>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.

I'll take words from Symantec, the leading developer of utilities for the
Mac and if not the leader, number #2 in development environments, and 
Microsoft, the unquestionable landslide leader in the most used business
apps (word p/spreadsheets) over that of Lotus, Ashton-Tate, and WP, three
industry giants who have done absolutely dismal ports of their PC apps to
a graphical environment.  It goes both ways.  You attack the leaders by
virtue of their position. 


>
>NeXT has recruited VARs and is now entering the direct marketing game.

OK, maybe  I'm wrong.  But tell me who they are. 

>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.

I said the guy was great and everything. I agree wholeheartedly with what you
say.  My point still is that the business world is dominated by men in blue
suits.  Find someone to disagree with this statement.  And then apply it
to your own. 8^)

-rs