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From: songer@orchestra.ecn.purdue.edu (Christopher M Songer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: NeXT on Campus -- How's NeXT really doing at your school?
Message-ID: <1991Jun17.163900.5034@noose.ecn.purdue.edu>
Date: 17 Jun 91 16:39:00 GMT
References: <1991Jun14.182256.27863@news.media.mit.edu> <1991Jun14.201227.22767@ni.umd.edu> <1991Jun16.025957.7466@slate.mines.colorado.edu>
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Well,

     NeXT is doing terribly at Purdue. Purdue is strongly ingrained as
a Sun and Mac campus and the resistance to change by those who make
the decisions seems unshakable. Most are still plaugued by the initial
impression NeXT made with optical only 8meg system as well as continuing
rumors of NeXT's financial instability. They lost a bid to Suns (Macs
were the runners up) even though the NeXT was the performance for price
leader. While one hears of the odd Station or Cube going in somewhere
or another on campus, the only NeXT lab still has about 10 8Meg 030's 
running 1.0a.

     As a result, the student price for Nexts is $4000 for a 105Meg Station.
This is not low enough to persuade students to buy them over Macs and PC's. 
Let's face it, for students doing real work, a 105Meg Station is not going
to cut it, so you can add $1000 to make the system usable. Those who buy
NeXT's are generally doing it through friends at other schools. (If it
had not been for the Businessland sale, I wold probably be using an SLC
at home and not a Next.) Sure it is illeagel, bit it is also $1000, 
which is alot for a student.

     Next is likely to continue to do poorly at Purdue until the student
price comes down or Next gets really good press (and not press you have
to go out of your way to read). They have a bad first impression to over
come.

     This is, of course, my opinion and perception of the situation and may
bear no real resemblence to the truth.
-Chris