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From: waltrip@capd.jhuapl.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: NeXT as a vanilla UNIX box
Message-ID: <1991Jun20.135314.1@capd.jhuapl.edu>
Date: 20 Jun 91 18:53:14 GMT
References: <998@rosie.NeXT.COM>
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In article <998@rosie.NeXT.COM>, cmac@next.com (Chris MacAskill) writes:
> I found this thread to be fascinating.  It rekindled The Great Debate, at least  
> at my end of the hall here at NeXT.
> 
> Many of our dealers and customers passionately argue that we're what the 
> Mac III would be if there was one; a Mac with more power that's easy to  
> program, has good networking, and doesn't crash as often.
> 
> Other customers, including some of our biggest and most recent commercial ones,  
> say no way; they never compared us to Apple, only to Sun.  They view us as an  
> easy to use Sun with a good development environment and shrink-wrap software.
> 
	Since the customer is always right, I'm sure you all realize that they're
	both right.  You've done a good job in both customer areas.  I believe that
	you aimed at the Mac market more than the UNIX market, however, and that
	the UNIX side suffers a bit.  Not integrating SLIP and X Windows puts your
	UNIX customers to a bit more trouble than some of the other vendors.  You
	might consider entering into arrangements with NeXT third party software 
	providers that would permit you to sell their products as extra-cost options
	integrated into the workstation already.  Certainly your install application
	is a great example of an easy-to-use package that can only be beaten by
	software that's already installed;^)

	I believe that customers for "easy to use" Suns probably don't have to be
	courted with anything like the effort (they'll find you in many cases) that
	is required to define a new market such as professional workstations.  The
	company that is in the best position to serve that market, in fact, is DEC.
	Since their chairman, Ken Olson, doesn't use a computer, they could probably
	take the professional workstation market by storm if they could just design
	a computer that Ken Olson would use.  On the other hand, NeXT has a terrible
	handicap to overcome--it's no challenge at all to get Steve Jobs to use a 
	computer.  In the final analysis, that could be your downfall.

	But suppose we try to imagine the computer that Ken Olson (or do you prefer
	Jean-Louis Gasee's mother?) would use.  I believe that computer would have
	to be one you could talk to.  NeXT's built-in microphone seems to suggest
	the vision...but where's the reality?  Coming soon?  Or is this just another
	manifestation of the multi-media vision?  If so, too bad.  I suspect neither
	Mr. Olson nor Mrs. Gasee would find multi-media much of an incentive to use
	a computer.  Nor would most doctors, lawyers or other professionals who find
	that a secretary addresses their professional needs much more nicely than 
	any computer.  A computer that they can dictate a letter to, ask about their
	schedule, about the status of their projects, etc., whether they are at
	their desk or talking over a telephone is a true professional's workstation.

	Will we be seeing a NeXT on Ken Olson's desk any day soon?^)
> In any case, our identity certainly isn't clear out there.  I sometimes think  
> we've combined the planet's best products with less-than-the-best marketing  
> :-). 
> 
> If it helps, Steve is going to be keynote speaker (he's awesome at that) at  
> UnixExpo and I'm going to chair a session (okay, so I'm less-than-awesome) on  
> professional workstations.
> 
> Thanks,
> Chris MacAskill
> cmac@next.com
> 
>