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From: philip@yunexus.yorku.ca (Phil McDunnough)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Not another NeXT defector???!!!
Message-ID: <17363@yunexus.YorkU.CA>
Date: 11 Nov 90 04:51:06 GMT
References: <1990Nov6.222023.8572@midway.uchicago.edu> <1990Nov07.040655.15672@ecst.csuchico.edu> <1990Nov7.071044.21361@agate.berkeley.edu> <1990Nov7.160943.19804@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
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In article <1990Nov7.160943.19804@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> khcg0492@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kenneth Holden Chang) writes:
>In article <1990Nov7.071044.21361@agate.berkeley.edu> 
>knrgroup@garnet.berkeley.edu (Raymond group) writes:
>
>>The NeXT is not explicitly targeted at home computer users.  But this is
>>probably due to price more than any issue of ease-of-use.  At any rate,
>>anyone who can post a note a Usenet has more than enough technical
>>expertise to use a NeXT effectively.
>
>If you have a NeXT at home, you had better know Unix, because you are
>effectively system manager for that computer. When something goes wrong
>you need some clue about Unix to fix it. Also when you add new equipment.
>(Someone earlier said that one of the advantages of the Next was that you
>could add any arbitrary disk drive, but surely that requires modifying some
>files to tell the computer what the drive can/cannot do.) For ease-of-use,
>the Next may equal the Mac. For system maintenance, it's much more complicated.
>It's UNIX! and as nicely hidden as it is, it's still Unix and one shudders
>to think what someone who doesn't know Unix could do to it. (After all, there
>are Mac users who don't understand the concept of having just one system
>folder; what would they do to a Next?)

This is just not true. I have had Mac's, PS/2's, GS's, and now a NeXT cube
at home. The cube was purchased from NeXT with the understanding that the
040, floppy, System2.0,etc...be included in the price. It was an academic
puchase. The system has a 330meg HD and an OD drive. It is currently
running 1.0A.

It took 30 minutes from boxes to my desk and running. This has been the
approximate time with every system I've had. My knowledge of Unix is
next to nothing by design( i.e. I could pick it up of I had to and I
did have an HP Integral for 6 years). The NeXT for me is simply a much
more powerful Mac, at a better price and is exciting. Over time I may
pick up Unix things here and there, but I don't really see the need to
get into systems administration, as I may very well be the only person
on the system( but I did set up 2 other accounts- and built the HD, all
without reading the manual).

You are underestinating people. And also underestimating the problems
involved with the Mac should you set up your system in a way which leads
to init conflicts,etc...

The bottom line is that both the Mac and the NeXT are nice computers. I
used Macs for 6 years. I was never able to do anything really complicated
with them due to the OS, and frankly they just bore me now. The NeXT has
some excitement in it. I guess if you're into Word, Systat, Excel,
FileMaker,etc...and all those wonderful canned programs which put you into
a straightjacket, then stay with the Mac. I have a hard time taking the
Mac as a serious computer( other than a terminal/wp) now after arguing
in favor of it for a long time. I suspect even OS/2 would allow you to
do more things. An OS that does not have piping and preemptive
multitasking should not be the primary OS for $10,000 computers.

Philip McDunnough
University of Toronto->philip@utstat.toronto.edu
[my opinions]