Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!udel!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!o.gp.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!vd09+ From: vd09+@andrew.cmu.edu (Vincent M. Del Vecchio) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Oh no ! Yet Another Thread on Mac/NeXT war. Message-ID: Date: 16 Nov 90 22:16:35 GMT References: <15506@imag.imag.fr>, <%0*^YA#@rpi.edu> Distribution: comp.sys.mac.misc Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Lines: 42 In-Reply-To: <%0*^YA#@rpi.edu> > Excerpts from netnews.comp.sys.mac.misc: 16-Nov-90 Re: Oh no ! Yet > Another Thr.. Garance Drosehn@mts.rpi. (1609) > In article <15506@imag.imag.fr> > gourdol@imag.imag.fr (Gourdol Arnaud) writes: > > I probably missed it, and if it is the case, please correct me, > > but NeXT has no vision (or I didn't understood it). > > I'm sad of it. I like visions. It stimulates me. > I believe the vision of Jobs was to raise the lowest- common- > denominator. He wants the "minimum" machine that people pick up to be a much better machine (eg: grey scale, bigger monitors, sound chips, etc). I don't think you can call this a vision. It's more like progress, and it is happening all around us. Maybe Jobs is trying (and succeeding) in doing this a little faster than most other groups; it's still not a vision. So what is the vision? I think it's an interesting question, and, along with the software problem, provides a portion of the reason that Mac people are not immediately abandoning their Macs for NeXTs with much lower price/performance ratios. From my point of view, the Mac software base (both in terms of programs available and programs that I own) is not worth giving up to get the advantages of a NeXT, in large part because there is not very much which is revolutionary, at least from the user's point of view, about the NeXT. There is extremely low price, and there is a decent interface on unix for probably the first time. And there are other advantages over a Mac, like a somewhat more stable OS, protected memory (which contributes to the previous), virtual memory, preemptive multitasking, IPC/IAC, and a reputedly excellent development environment. Some of this we will get in System 7 (virtual and IAC), when it comes out (and it will, eventually); much of it we have lived without for a long time and will continue to live without without missing much. I'm sure that the pro-NeXT people, especially the person who claims to be Raymond group on his "From:" line, but claims to be someone else otherwise, will point out problems with my argument, but I've been at least skimming all of these threads, and used a NeXT a little, and that's the way I see things. Vince Del Vecchio vd09@andrew.cmu.edu Standard Disclaimers Apply