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From: melling@cs.psu.edu (Michael D Mellinger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: 68040 for the Mac? (Really Mac vs NeXT Wars)
Message-ID: <1=3G4v!6@cs.psu.edu>
Date: 26 Jan 91 08:07:05 GMT
References: <83414@unix.cis.pitt.edu>
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In-Reply-To: macman@unix.cis.pitt.edu's message of 25 Jan 91 15:55:48 GMT
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In article <83414@unix.cis.pitt.edu> macman@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Dennis H Lippert) writes:


   I have had a chance to spend a bit of time with a NeXT, and frankly find it to
   be too much of a "multi-media blitz" in terms of the interface.  I feel there
   is no need for the 3-D windows, buttons, etc. The 68040 would probably run
   even faster with a simpler interface (if you tell me to run unix on it, I'll
   scream).

You had better get use to it, System 7.0 and Windows 3.0 give you the
same thing.

   Here at the U. of Pitt, the educational price for the '040 flat NeXT is within
   a couple hundred dollars of the baseline Mac IIsi.  (The IIsi is color, 40mb HD,whereas the NeXT is greyscale, 80mb HD).  But we were warned (my friend was the
   one actually interested... I just got up the money for my Classic) by the 
   saleperson/user consultant that the 80mb drive will fool you as you can't get 
   much software on it... "It probably won't hold the stuff you'll usually run.",
   and advised us to get a bigger drive.

I think that you have 25MB-30MB free on a 105MB slab.  Some stuff like
the Improv Demo can be deleted after you see it once.  There is no
80MB NeXT.  Was the guy selling the Mac working for Apple :-)?  Also,
don't forget that you do get a floppy drive with the machine.

   Then there are the other things...
   I have five years worth of Mac files... and software to go with them.
   Who else owns a NeXT?  You apparently have just the dealer (and the net!) to 
   talk to, as our salesperson (the NeXT specialist at the "Faculty Tech Center")
   said that approximately 8 people on the Pitt campus have NeXTs (out of 30,000).
   I personally know of 8 friends or more in the university community who have 
   Macs... from 512-upgrade-to-plus to a IIci. And literally dozens who own PCs.

You should have some degree of computer literacy or know someone that
does before you buy a NeXT.  If not then you should buy the Mac.  It
is more turnkey.  Getting the Mac files to the NeXT shouldn't be too
much trouble.  As for your software investment you always have to
consider that.  NeXT does make it enticing though.  You get WriteNow
and Mathematica free, and Improv is still free if you purchase a NeXT
before March 31.

   Not only do you have to *buy* all new software with your new machine, you also
   have to wait for someone to *produce* it.

What kind of software do you need that isn't available for the NeXT?
I've heard people say things like "What if I want to draw cartoons?  I
can get software to do it on the Mac?"  Listening to Mac owners, it's
amazing that Apple survived selling Macintoshes.  It took a year after
the Mac was first introduced before another word processor was
available for it besides MacWrite.  Apple has only captured 9% of the
market.  From the sounds of most people in this newsgroup, you should
own IBM's.  It's a safer choice, right?


   All in all, I think that in a corporate design setting, the NeXT could make a 
   fairly big dent (the same area where SUNs excel).  But I just can't imagine a 
   unix box as a home computer (nor a DOS machine, either).

A Mac Classic or LC will satisfy most students needs.  However, I do
know some people that have purchased IIci's and other high-end
machines.  These are the students that might consider buying a NeXT.
Someone buying a Mac II(or even IIfx) to run Mathematica is going to
be disappointed when he finds out that a machine that costs less
money, runs the program a lot faster.

-Mike