Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!ccwf.cc.utexas.edu From: greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Greg Harp) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: A3000UX - Born to run UNIX SVR4 Message-ID: <44097@ut-emx.uucp> Date: 12 Feb 91 21:12:58 GMT References: <32530@auc.UUCP> <1512@pdxgate.UUCP> <1991Feb9.032953.14709@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <1991Feb11.004357.24009@sugar.hackercorp.com> Sender: news@ut-emx.uucp Reply-To: greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Greg Harp) Organization: The University of Texas at Austin Lines: 81 In article <1991Feb11.004357.24009@sugar.hackercorp.com> peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes: >In article <1991Feb9.032953.14709@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> rjc@geech.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell) writes: >> What makes you think an 040 NeXT will be competitive with an 040 Amiga >> when the inferior NeXT with inferior color and expansion capabilities >> cost the same? > >Color is not an unambiguous win. Monochrome gives superior resolution even >on nominally equivalent displays. Agreed, assuming you don't want or _need_ color. >As for expansion capabilities, what is it that you find missing in the slab >that you might want to install later? I think we've been through this before, but the some things that come to mind are: 1) More serial ports. 2) More than one DSP or just a faster DSP. 3) Thick ethernet (What do thin -> thick transducers go for nowadays? $1K?) 1 and 2 are available for the Amiga and 3 comes with it. >> but chances are, if you buy the cheapest Slab, you'll need to shell out >> another $2000-3000 down the road anyway, > >For what? See above. A couple of people have mentioned this, and I am inclined to agree: There is a reason that the 3000UX shouldn't be compared to the NeXTStation, but it's not speed or price or even video. It's _purpose_ and _market_. The two machines are quite different when it comes down to what they are useful for and which is more cost-effective. If I was putting together a lab full of Unix boxes hooked to a server with a ga-zill-o-byte hard drive, I'd use the NeXTStation. If I was going to have my own system or require a bunch of students to buy them (e.g. Virginia Tech) I'd use the A3000UX. Now you may ask why I would do that. The reason is that the NeXTStation is a nice and damn-fast _workstation_. As standalone Unix boxes go, it's only so-so. As a personal machine, it's too expensive to keep up to date, and literally limits how far the user can go with it. On the other hand, a lab full of A3000UXes with the Ethernet card and the other slots empty would be kind of a waste, although I believe that the price with an 040 will be pretty competitive. The A3000UX is better suited to the single user, who may or may not even have a UUCP connection, much less a twisted pair going to his home. Why do I feel this way? I feel that most home users don't want to replace a machine every 5 years or less, which is what have to be done with the NeXTStation in order to keep up to date. However, in a lab or office situation where you have a whole lot of machines networked together (assuming you don't need some special hardware interfaced to each one) then a workstation is what you need. Now the reason I get so hacked at the NeXT marketing scheme is that Steve Jobs and his buddies see college students as open game for profiteering. They try to sell the NeXTStation as a student's standalone machine, which it simply isn't. They advertise a very low price for a version of the machine that isn't even operable. You see, once they get their "catch" then they can milk them for even more money in the future. That's not honest business, and I expect that NeXT will eventually get sued by someone. >Peter da Silva. `-_-' >. Disclaimer: I'm an Amiga owner and developer. I like the NeXT line. I just hate Steve Jobs and his business practices. Greg -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "I don't know what it is I like about you, but I like it a lot." -- Led Zeppelin, Communication Breakdown -------Greg-Harp-------greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu-------s609@cs.utexas.edu-------