Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!cs.umn.edu!uc!noc.MR.NET!gacvx2.gac.edu!gacvx2.gac.edu!scott From: scott@mcs-server.gac.edu (Scott Hess) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: NeXT to go with 88K (?) Message-ID: Date: 13 Apr 91 03:14:22 GMT Article-I.D.: mcs-serv.SCOTT.91Apr12221422 References: <151480@pyramid.pyramid.com><1991Apr10.215125.28932@neon.Stanford.EDU> <2473@fornax.UUCP> Organization: Gustavus Adolphus College Lines: 70 Nntp-Posting-Host: mcs-server.gac.edu In-reply-to: oneill@fornax.UUCP's message of 11 Apr 91 17:29:06 GMTLines: 70 In article <2473@fornax.UUCP> oneill@fornax.UUCP (Richard Oneill) writes: In article <151480@pyramid.pyramid.com>, tsych@pyrthoth.pyramid.com (terry sych @ pyramid technology corp.) writes: >from san jose (ca) mercury news (bits & bytes) 4/10/91: > >[...] a next source said company engineers are hard at work >on the new next machine, which will be based on motorola's >yet unannounced 88110 risc microprocessor. i'm probably opening a can of worms here, but anyone care to comment on the ramifications of this decision. not with regard to *what* risc processor they have chosen, but just the fact that they are going to be changing processor architecture at all. First, consider the time-frame we are talking about here - realistically, the processor has not even been truly announced, yet (or so they're saying), meaning that any machine based on it is probably 18 to 24 months out. By that time, there had darn well better be at least one more generate of NeXT out there - else, I'm very worried for the market. That one, of course, will be a 68040, probably running faster, maybe with more graphics support - but basically the same machine we all know and love. But, obsolesence? What do we want? When my mother was asking me if I'd really make good use of the machine I bought, or would I have stopped using it within 9 months (like the previous machine I bought - an Apple II, if you must know), my answer was that I'd be surprised if I even have the same machine by then - I'll probably have already upgraded. It depends on what you want the machine to do, I guess. If you want to do secretarial work on it, well, there will be enough 68000-based machines out there before a RISC machine gets out to make it well worth publishers time to support it. Beyond any differences in cost between the RISC machines and the CISC machines. But, seriously, there will certainly be another processor after the next one used, be it CISC or RISC. The 68000 class of machines is over ten years old, and though it's not a bad architecture, it can't hurt to open some windows and let in some fresh air. After all, ten years is about 12 hardware generations or so . . . I'd bet that any RISC machine NeXT comes out with is going to be a prime opportunity for them to recoup some of the profit margins they are missing now - after all, you've gotta charge more for the fast machine than you do for the slow one, else no one'll buy the slow one! So, don't expect the 88110 (was that the right number) based NeXT, should it ever exist, to cost $3300 educational pricing . . . rather, it will cost $8000, while the 40Mhz '040 version that's sold in the same time-frame will probably be $3000 . . . In a more global sense, I think that a port of NextStep, by NeXT, to any non-68000 architecture is a great leap forward. With two architectures under their belt, the third would be quite a bit simpler (unless the first two were extrememly similar). That would mean that NextStep could start to propagate to other machines, which is a Good Thing. For NeXT to really succeed, I think they need to interoperate well with DEC machines, Sun machines, and other established workstation vendors - what better way than to actually be running NextStep on them? I have no doubts about whether NeXT is working with some of the RISC hardware out there. The only thing that remains to be seen is What, When, and How Much . . . Later, -- scott hess scott@gac.edu Independent NeXT Developer GAC Undergrad "Simply press Control-right-Shift while click-dragging the mouse . . ." "I smoke the nose Lucifer . . . Banana, banana."