Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!aplcomm!capd.jhuapl.edu!waltrip From: waltrip@capd.jhuapl.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Help! Cube boots only to single user mode... Message-ID: <1991Feb4.131821.1@capd.jhuapl.edu> Date: 4 Feb 91 18:18:21 GMT References: <1991Feb1.154516.5275@sctc.com> Sender: news@aplcomm.JHUAPL.EDU Organization: CAPVAX, JHU/APL Lines: 65 In article <1991Feb1.154516.5275@sctc.com>, herndon@sctc.com (William R. Herndon) writes: [...background material in which he describes a particular problem deleted...] > FLAMES ON: > > Businessland, where I bought my machine, has no idea what the problem > might be. NeXT won't let me talk to their technical support people > because I bought my machine at Businessland. Yeah, this is a real bind. I remember seeing a NeXT User Journal article by a developer who decided to go into Businessland and see what kind of sales attention he received. He complained bitterly that he was steered towards Macs and PCs and found that the sales people didn't even know how to log on to a NeXT. This was some time ago (in the days of the 030 cubes), the situation may have improved and the experience related may not have been typical anyway. But it would hardly be surprising if it is still a typical situation. Much has been done by NeXT to make it possible for developers to put together "commodity" applications. That is, applications which almost any user can install and interface with without requiring technical support. Much has also been done to make UNIX(tm) more of a commodity operating system...but much more needs to be done. One possible approach: NeXT has put together pre-configured systems. Probably you should be able to take them out of the box, plug the pieces together, power it on and find yourself at some generic user desktop from which you could access all installed applications. NeXT could also furnish an install application utility that developers could write to and this application could be accessed from this "commodity" interface so a naive user could install applications without knowing anything about the underlying operating system. This same "commodity" mode could be used by sales people at retail stores to run demos (a whiz-bang multi-media sales pitch could start running at boot-up). In environments where support is available, the NeXT could be set up in true multi-user and network mode by a system administrator. For in-between users, NeXT should offer a support contract at a compensatory rate and also offer support services on a "charge-by-the-minute" basis (a "900" number). This would not co-opt dealers from offering their own support services but would provide a price umbrella that should keep charges at a reasonable level. There are major advantages to offering ones own support, however. You can quickly get a feel for what needs to be fixed or improved. This includes documentation and the intuitiveness of various interfaces. In summary (since this has gotten somewhat longer than I intended), NeXT may want to consider providing: 1. a naive user interface that completely hides Unix from the user (including the sales people). 2. some canned multi-media sales presentations hosted on the NeXT (maybe they already do...I've just never seen one). 3. technical support services...both contract and "metered". c.f.waltrip Internet: Opinions expressed are my own.