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From: taab5@isuvax.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: What to buy??(numbercruncher)
Message-ID: <1991Jun18.122614.28459@news.iastate.edu>
Date: 18 Jun 91 12:26:14 GMT
References: <71A0D62DC000263C@FANDM> <1991Jun17.023916.1026@menudo.uh.edu> <1991Jun17.102210.29176@news.iastate.edu>,<1991Jun17.233023.9110@menudo.uh.edu>
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In article <1991Jun17.233023.9110@menudo.uh.edu>, jet@karazm.math.uh.edu (J Eric Townsend) writes:
>In article <1991Jun17.102210.29176@news.iastate.edu> taab5@isuvax.iastate.edu writes:
>>   Why should he support the Amiga?  I'd like a simple straight answer to
>>that question.  Why should he support a machine that has an installed base
>>of fewer than 100,000 systems capable of running Mathematica?  He is not
>
>Gosh, there're *maybe* that many SparcStations up and running, and
>Mathematica is available for the Sparc...

   The SparcStation != Amiga 3000.  For one thing, most A3000 systems are
being used by individuals as PCs, while most SparcStations are being used
by researchers in offices or labs.  Wolfram can also get away with charging
more for the Sparc version of Mathematica, because researchers generally
have adequate cash to spend on software.

   Here is the gist of the problem: Wolfram charges low prices for the 
MAC version of Mathematica because there are so many MACs being used by
students who would want Mathematica for their system.  Wolfram can also
charge high prices for the Sparc version of Mathematica for the reasons
I explained above.  Wolfram will not sell Mathematica for the A3000,
because there are not enough of them being used in research to get away
with a high price, and not enough of them being used by students to get
away with a low price.

>
>--
>J. Eric Townsend - jet@uh.edu - bitnet: jet@UHOU - vox: (713) 749-2126
>Skate UNIX! (curb fault: skater dumped)
>
>   --  If you're hacking PowerGloves and Amigas, drop me a line. --

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