Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!samsung!uunet!olivea!oliveb!amdahl!JUTS!duts!kls30 From: kls30@duts.ccc.amdahl.com (Kent L Shephard) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: AMIGA Message-ID: <7e7d021W074U01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> Date: 9 May 91 16:07:42 GMT References: <1991Jan10.194127.20625@rice.edu> <17564@cbmvax.commodore.com> <1991Jan15.015644.24380@rice.edu> <1991Jan15.024807.25384@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <=-bG-!+=1@cs.psu.edu> <5fDh02JY072Q01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> <91126.153504MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> Sender: netnews@ccc.amdahl.com Reply-To: kls30@DUTS.ccc.amdahl.com (Kent L. Shephard) Distribution: usa Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA Lines: 96 In article <91126.153504MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu writes: > >In article <5fDh02JY072Q01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com>, kls30@duts.ccc.amdahl.com (Kent >L Shephard) says: >> >>Also for those of you talking about not being able to upgrade a NeXTslab; >>how many workstations are upgradeable? Not SUN, ask people who bought >>SUN 4's, SPARC 1s, 1+s they can't upgrade to a SPARC 2.Also you have > >This really irritates me for somereason. Just because SUN sells non- >expandable workstations, does NOT automatically mean that non-expandable >workstations are a GOOD IDEA! If SPARCs delivered an electric shock >through the keyboard every time you hit RETURN, would that become >a desirable workstation feature too? > NeXT does sell an expandable machine; I have one, a NeXTcube. If you want to add extra boards, buy a cube not a slab. So why does it irritate you that NeXT sells a non-expandable machine, don't buy it. >My feelings? If you were buying a PERSONAL workstation to use all by >yourself (as Melling & Co. are pushing) you'd have to be insane to >buy something nonexpandable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You act like the machine has no scsi, serial ports, dsp port. What do you want???? Just because you can't add a card inside the machine does not make it non-expandable. > >>NO idea if NeXT will or will not upgrade the slabs if a new slab comes >>out. They may or may not. If they don't then they must keep making '040 >>boards for a while for replacement. If they do then they can dedicate new >>production to the latest machine. This is what they did with the cube. >>They use trade-in boards to fix broken '030 cubes. > >Well, that's our point. Slab owners have NO idea if they'll be left >behind when NeXT comes out with the Boulder, or whatever their spiffy >next machine is going to be. There's a very good chance they'll be >left in the lurch with no way to upgrade, since the Slab is unexpandable. >In contrast, Amiga owners do know that they WON'T be left out in the >cold when the next Amiga model comes out; there are plenty of expansion >slots to bring the computer up to state-of-the-art, no matter what the >state-of-the-art may happen to be. > NeXT currently has a better upgrade plan than any other machine on the market. OS upgrades are cheap and hardware upgrades are reasonable. If you want to speculate I'd bet on upgradability by what they have done so far. >>For those of you talking about executable bloat. Look at a workstation >>like a SUN running X. The executables are large. If you have less than >>12-16meg of memory don't try to run much because it will crawl. GUI code >>on UNIX takes memory both real to run and secondary (disk) to store. > >Once again, just because SUN's executables are large and slow in >less than 12 MB of memory doesn't mean that it's a selling point to >have bloated, memory-hogging executables... > Compare X running under UNIX on an Amiga and then tell me the same thing. My NeXT is not and never has been slow. >>BTW - For those of you who think that an '040 upgrade to the Amiga will >>be $800. Don't count on it. Motorola wants $700 a piece for the chip >>Qty 1000, paid in advance. You add marketing, development, and manufact. >>cost and my guess is you will be well above $1400. The cheapest Mac >>'040 board is above $2000. > >Sorry. (I am making a superhuman effort not to type "BZZZT! Wrong!" here...) >Announced prices by the companies that are releasing '040 upgrade boards >average around $1000, and that's retail; "street" prices are always less >than that. Announced price and actual price are very different. Talk to me when '040 upgrades are shipping and the price is below $1000. At $700 per chip IN ADVANCE + development cost + profit + circuit board + glue logic you think you will get one for less than $1500 let alone less than $1000. He, He, He, HA, HA, HA!!!!! Get real here. You think they are not going to recover cost and make a decent profit. Like I said let me know when you can actually buy one. Don't talk tome about vaporware. If it ain't available is just ain't. > >/ Mark "Remixed for Common Household Appliances" Sachs - MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu \ >| DISCLAIMER: It's NOT MY FAULT. Kei and Yuri || // || >| forced me to say it. || \X/ AMIGA || >\== "I think this calls for some diabolical laughter! RAAH HA HA HA HA HA!" ==/ -- /* -The opinions expressed are my own, not my employers. */ /* For I can only express my own opinions. */ /* */ /* Kent L. Shephard : email - kls30@DUTS.ccc.amdahl.com */