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From: joe@oregon.uoregon.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: SAS for the NeXT: A brief update after SUGI
Message-ID: <20519.27c921ce@oregon.uoregon.edu>
Date: 25 Feb 91 22:40:14 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Oregon
Lines: 47

For all those of you who've been anxiously awaiting release of the SAS System
for the NeXT, some news "from the front..."

(1) SAS for the NeXT Announced

Jim Goodnight, President of SAS Institute, officially announced during the
SAS Users Group International (SUGI 16) Conference that the SAS System for
the NeXT would be released as part of Family 4 (other SAS Family 4 members
include IBM VSE, OS/2, Windows 3, AIX PS/2, SCO/UNIX for 386 and 486 machines,
and Sequents).

Releases for Family 4 machines are supposed to be shipping by years end, 
although Goodnight said that Quality Assurance may delay those dates if the 
need arises. [Just to give you an idea of comparative timing, Family 1 
releases (for the RS/6000, DECStation 5000, HP 9000/300, MIPS, Apollo, 
and DG Aviion) are scheduled to be shipped in March.]

(2) SAS on the NeXT Demo'd (sort of)

NeXT Inc was showing their machines at the SAS Users Group Conference in New
Orleans last week, but the couple of times I came by they were NOT running
a copy of the SAS system -- the demonstrators seemed interested in showing
everything BUT the current developmental release of SAS. :-(   I suppose that's
only to be expected in some ways given that the demo-ers weren't SAS disciples,
but it was kind of disheartening to see SAS on Suns, SAS on Digital Equipment 
boxes, SAS on Data General boxes, SAS on this, SAS on that, only to see NeXT 
Mail on the cube (or something equally non-SAS-ish).

(3) A Surprising Distribution Media Decision...

A SAS Institute employee told me that SAS will be shipping SAS for the NeXT
*NOT* on floppies, *NOT* on optical disks, but *ONLY* on CD ROM. (Yes, I know
this sounds bizarre, but that's what I was told was planned by a SAS Institute 
employee who should DEFINITELY know what's going to happen...)

Those of you who're thinking about SAS for your machine may want to start 
finding a compatible CD ROM player you can borrow, I guess.

Hope this is of some interest,

Joe St Sauver (JOE@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU or JOE@OREGON)
Statistical Programmer and Consultant
University of Oregon Computing Center

DISCLAIMER: I don't work for NeXT or SAS Institute, and all I know is what I
saw or heard at the conference, which is all probably wrong or outdated or
otherwise flawed.


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