Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!amdcad!sono!miklg From: miklg@sono.uucp (Michael Goldman ) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Will NeXT survive? Grow with the times? Message-ID: <1991May1.160128.1367@sono.uucp> Date: 1 May 91 16:01:28 GMT References: <11399@uwm.edu> <1991Apr29.144421.19819@oakhill.sps.mot.com> Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California Lines: 46 jtr@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Jim Reinhart) writes: >In article peter@ficc.ferranti.com (peter da silva) writes: >>In article <11399@uwm.edu>, jonas@convex.csd.uwm.edu (Jonas K Manske) writes: >>> I am just wondering,..... I am considering buying one, it has a few nice >>> features that interest me, but then again so does the Amiga. The Amiga >>> has a big problem in that it gets little coverage. I don't want a UNIX >>> workstation like that.... >> >>The NeXT and the Amiga 3000UX have the same problem here: they're 68000 >>based, so you won't expect any outstanding improvements in the next few >>years. Even if NeXT and Commodore make like Sun and switch to RISC processors >STUFF DELETED. >>-- >>Peter da Silva. `-_-' peter@ferranti.com >>+1 713 274 5180. 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?" >Gargage. What exactly qualifies as "outstanding" and what do you know about >the price/performance curve of 68xxx machines to make this assertion? >-- >Regards, >Jim Reinhart >Motorola Microprocessor Products Group >Austin, Texas I think the question is concerning market viability. No one knows the future but I heard from a friend at a software company that supports NeXT that the company got paid in NeXT boxes, not cash. He hears that NeXT will probably not make it, but then they said that about the Macintosh for its first 2 years so who knows? I think it depends on what you want your computer for. If its something that doesn't require constant upgrades, then your computer will last a lonnngg time. I've been content to let my company buy the latest, while I continue doing my home stuff on an 8088. As for CPU upgrades, I see the SPEC marks and other benchmarks showing CISC keeping up with RISC within reasonable limits. I don't see any reason why CISC can't keep performance up with a lag time of a year or 2, which is negiligible in terms of making a box, getting it to market, and getting the price down to reasonable levels. I've seen used SUNs on the market for the price of a new Mac or NeXT. Why not get a Sun. Regards, Michael Goldman (All opinions mine) "I do not know what I do not know" - Ludwig Wittgenstein