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From: mcgredo@prism.cs.orst.edu (Don McGregor)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Why is NeXT memory so expensive?
Message-ID: <1991Feb07.053805.26849@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU>
Date: 7 Feb 91 05:38:05 GMT
References: <1057@kaos.MATH.UCLA.EDU>
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Reply-To: mcgredo@prism.CS.ORST.EDU (Don McGregor)
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In article <1057@kaos.MATH.UCLA.EDU> barry@pico.math.ucla.edu (Barry Merriman) writes:
>
>For example: for a 16MB RAM upgrade, NeXT wants $2995!!!.
>Since the current retail RAM price is about $700--$800
>for 16MB (depending on whether you use 1MB or 4MB SIMMs),
>we see that NeXT is charging nearly 4x (!!) the going rate!
>(ignore installation costs, which are a small fraction of that
>markup).
>
  So don't buy from them.  You know other sources and have the
  technical background to do your own upgrades.  

  High markups for such stuff is fairly standard among large computer
  manufacturers.  God, I hate to think what Apple charges for a memory
  upgrade, but as I recall it was even worse.  But they're in the
  business of building and selling computers, not disk drives and
  memory.  High prices 1) encourage a 3rd party market to spring up,
  2) hold down demand for the parts and lets the company concentrate
  on their main business.  

  Some suits don't feel good about calling up chip merchant
  and ordering RAM. NeXT will take care of these guys, for a price;
  worry-free and painless computing is an important element of
  the market NeXT is aiming for, so this is good.
  But I'd rather have NeXT employees working on system software
  than as order takers for disks and RAM.  Small companies
  are better at supplying this market, and NeXT is better at building
  computers.  I think they should both stay in their respective
  fields and keep on doing a good job.
     
Don McGregor             |"Books ask difficult questions, but don't give
mcgredo@prism.cs.orst.edu| cars or Caribean cruises for right answers."