Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!helios!tamuts!n177ac
From: n177ac@tamuts.tamu.edu (Daryl Biberdorf)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: A3000UX at UniForum?
Summary: why people would buy a 3000UX over a NeXT or SPARC.
Message-ID: <12013@helios.TAMU.EDU>
Date: 11 Feb 91 15:24:49 GMT
References: <1991Feb9.053102.2263@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1991Feb9.164339.12035@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> <1991Feb11.005426.24174@sugar.hackercorp.com>
Sender: usenet@helios.TAMU.EDU
Organization: Texas A&M University
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In article <1991Feb11.005426.24174@sugar.hackercorp.com> peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
>
>That's fine for getting Amiga users to buy them, but that isn't going to
>get them any new market. For someone who wants a UNIX box, why would they
>get an A3000UX instead of a NeXT (or for that matter a SPARCstation)?
>-- 

3000UX over the NeXT:
- slots.  the only NeXT models with slots cost at least $2k more than
  the base 3000UX.  The base 3000UX is only $500 more than the base  
  NeXTstation.  Compare this with $1.5 - $2k for the base cube over
  the 3000UX.  You can do some things with NeXT's SCSI, but a lot of
  it isn't possible without really bad kludges.

  I also think that many people will still be using UNIX machines in
  'traditional' ways, i.e. in TEXT mode.  The 3000UX would probably
  work fairly well to support 3 or 4 students or administrative people
  at a time.  It'd also allow you to run a database on it while providing
  terminals to everyone who needs them.  The NeXT is limited in this
  regard because it has no provision for multiple serial ports.

- System V UNIX.  You have old System V code and want to run it on the new
  machine.

- You *have* to have X or you don't like NextStep.  (I do, but some
  don't.)

3000UX over SPARC.
- price.  who are we kidding.  SPARC machines at the same price
  point as the 3000UX are diskless.  By the time you add them, the
  price jumps substantially.

- you want a 680x0 box, because you think SPARC is a really icky
  RISC implementation (which I've heard it is).  

just some thoughts.

--Daryl Biberdorf,  n177ac@tamuts.tamu.edu