Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!hybrid!scifi!bywater!uunet!wang!ice From: ice@wang.com (Fredrik Nyman) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Basic questions from a potential Next customer Keywords: next Message-ID: Date: 1 Feb 91 14:09:20 GMT References: <813@sdrc.UUCP> Organization: Wang Labs, Lowell MA, USA Lines: 53 I thought this might be of general interest, so... > - How much is the 340mb disk option ? Is it an internal replacement > for the 105mb disk or an external peripheral ? It's internal, replacing the 105MB disk. I have a vague memory of having read here that NeXT now ships 400 MB disks for the same price since they had an unacceptably high failure rate of the 340 MB drives. The price difference between an 105MB and a 400MB configuration is around $2,500 by the way. You may want to get the 105MB configuration *and* an external SCSI drive. People have had (mostly) good things to say about Fujitsu 2263's and CDC Wren's, both of which cost less than $2,000 for *660* MB. This would give you 765MB disk space for less than $7,000. > - The NeXT ad said that the NeXTstep development environment was > available for the asking on the NeXTstation. Does this mean that > its free ? Since the O/S takes up around 70mb (according to the > article) how much does the development environment take ? You have to pay for the "Extended OS" floppy disk set, which costs about $100. The full OS 2.0 takes up ~200 MB. > - Is Mathematica bundled only with academic purposes ? Yes. > - Can you print to PostScript printers connected via Ethernet or > over Appletalk such as DEC LPS20s or Laserwriters ? I'll let someone with more knowledge than me reply to that. :) > - Does WriteNow have the option to output PostScript to a file rather > than a printer ? This would allow me to upload the output to work > for printing rather than having to buy a laser printer at home. > - I've seem several horror stories about Businessland. Is there any > other source for the NeXTstation in the Cincinnati area ? Although NeXT doesn't sell exclusively to OutofBusinessLand anymore, to my knowledge they have only signed resale agreements with a small number of Calif. dealers. You may want to check with a campus bookstore. They *may* be allowed to sell to non-students as long as they don't give educational discounts. :) Finally, you may want to call NEXT at 1-800-848-NEXT to get a products data sheet and a suggested retail price list. They can hopefully help you to find a good dealer. -- Disclaimer: Wang doesn't care about my opinions, so why should you? Internet: BITNET: (in order of preference) USnail: Wang Labs, Inc., M/S 019-490, One Industrial Ave., Lowell, MA 01851