Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!convex!ewright
From: ewright@convex.com (Edward V. Wright)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Not another NeXT defector???!!!
Message-ID: <108304@convex.convex.com>
Date: 6 Nov 90 18:29:31 GMT
References: <1990Nov4.230955.4323@midway.uchicago.edu> <1990Nov5.042826.28732@world.std.com> <1990Nov5.064724.16646@agate.berkeley.edu>
Sender: usenet@convex.com
Organization: Convex Computer Corporation; Richardson, TX
Lines: 30

In article <1990Nov5.064724.16646@agate.berkeley.edu> knrgroup@garnet.berkeley.edu (Raymond group) writes:

>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.  

>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.  

Interesting how you are so skeptical of what the President of Symantec
says, but treat press releases from NeXT as if they were the word of God. 


>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.

Attractive to whom?  I don't know anyone outside of academia who has
ever bought a NeXT!  All these messages keep comparing the NeXT to the
Mac IIfx, but the IIfx is hardly Apple's most successful product. How
does the "low-end" NeXT compare to the Mac LC or the IIsi?  Without a
true low-end machine, no company is going to attract the number of
users it needs to survive.  Even Apple finally realized that.