Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!uflorida!math.ufl.edu!shadrach.math.ufl.edu!bb From: bb@math.ufl.edu (Brian Bartholomew) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: 20 Meg Floppies Message-ID: Date: 7 May 91 04:11:05 GMT References: <1991May3.103620.14757@gmuvax2.gmu.edu> <484@heaven.woodside.ca.us> Sender: news@math.ufl.edu Organization: University of Florida Department of Mathematics Lines: 47 In-Reply-To: glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us's message of 4 May 91 18:06:12 GMT In article <484@heaven.woodside.ca.us> glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid) writes: > To distribute a 200k application on a 256Mb optical disk was > ridiculous. Commercial U*IX workstation software is usually distributed on a $40 40 Meg cartridge tape. Distributing NeXT software on a $50 (subsidized price) 256 Meg OD was no less reasonable. I agree that one 200K piece of executable code is pretty silly. But how about a 200K app, a meg of WriteNow manual with some pictures preindexed into Librarian format, seperate context-sensitive help, some or all of the source code or perhaps speaker/listener examples, and five good nontrivial complete demonstration workups showing what the package could do. In short, everything you ever hoped a vendor would provide with a piece of commercial software. > The main reason NeXT went to the 2.88 floppy disk drive was because > everybody asked for it, and software developers were among the more > vocal. Yes. Sigh. > Even if you can factor the media price into the cost of the software, > you have to consider updates, bug fixes, and so forth. That adds up > to a lot of disks over time. No more disks than cartridge tapes. And with the disk the user doesn't necessarily have to go through an untar/decompression step to use the software. Just stick the disk in and go. Fully functional. Read or print the manual off the disk. When the (standalone system) user wanted to "install" the software, he could drag the various pieces off the OD into /LocalAps, /LocalLibrary, etc. Tempting thought, eh? I bet the cost savings of not printing and shipping paper copies of the manual(s) (because the manuals were included in source form) easily overwhelmed the (old) $50 price of OD's. Thus, NeXT software could be cheaper to distribute than generic U*IX box software. -- "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Bartholomew UUCP: ...gatech!uflorida!beach.cis.ufl.edu!bb University of Florida Internet: bb@math.ufl.edu