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From: dorner@uxg.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner)
Newsgroups: alt.next
Subject: Re: NeXT Software Developers
Message-ID: <362@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 23 Oct 88 18:47:36 GMT
References: <12888@oberon.USC.EDU> <5701@juniper.uucp>
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Reply-To: dorner@uxg.cso.uiuc.edu.UUCP (Steve Dorner)
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In article <5701@juniper.uucp> mentat@juniper.UUCP (Robert Dorsett) writes:
>Perhaps I'm being naive, but I can't think of any particularly good reasons
>to jump on the Next bandwagon.  The machine is doomed without software or an
>easy method of distribution.  This is *not* the same as comparing it to other
>"new releases" without software--past computers have at least provided some
>convenient MEANS to propagate materials.

NeXT took a lot of heat from developers on this issue the day after the
introduction.  Jobs had three answers:

1) Site licensing.  Remember, he only expects to sell this machine to
Universities for now (see below), and he expects each University to have
more than one.  Thus, software can be distributed over the network.

2) Cripple-ware.  NeXT would like to be a clearing house for software
that runs in a limited mode, but requires a magic password to make it
work at full capacity.  NeXT would distribute a bunch of such packages
on an optical disk, and customers who actually want the package contact
the developer for the magic password.  He claims that Frame is
distributed this way now.  (Personally speaking, this one sounds a
little strange).

3) In a year, the price for the media should be down to $25.  Still
expensive, but much better.

Somebody from Wolfram said that the port of the Macintosh Mathematica
client took about a month.  So I think maybe developers WILL produce some
software for it, since it's easy (unlike Mac software, which is so hard to
write).

As for the University-only policy, I think it's part realism and part
mind-game.  The realism part is that NeXT is a startup, and is only
going to have so much capacity.  By limiting their market at the outset,
they aren't limiting the number of machines they can sell (since that's
limited to the number of machines they can make anyway).  They are just
trying to get a large piece of a smaller market, rather than a small piece
of a larger market.  Also, since they expect some help from Universities in
support, etc., it will give them time to build up their marketing and
support skills without alienating a lot of users by being unable to give
proper support.

The mind game part is that by saying ``you can't have it'' they hope to
make people think they want it.

Give them a year to get some cash and some organization, and they'll be
ready to sell to the community at large.

Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office
Internet: dorner@garcon.cso.uiuc.edu  UUCP: {convex,uunet}!uiucuxc!dorner
IfUMust:  (217) 244-1765