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From: jim@eda.com (Jim Budler)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.misc,comp.os.misc
Subject: Re: NeXT press release (very long but interesting)
Summary: Fancy Beta Site Announcement
Message-ID: <243@eda.com>
Date: 15 Oct 88 08:13:54 GMT
References: <5423@juniper.uucp>
Reply-To: jim@.eda.com (Jim Budler)
Organization: EDA Systems,Inc. Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 40



It all sounds very good, in fact great.

BUT, all it really adds up to is a massive media promotion of a large
scale Beta Site program.

Come on! Availability is only to selected sites.
	 Price quoted is University discount, not retail.

For 'the rest of us' availability is unspecified, price is unspecified.
Assuming a 40% discount for Universities the base price is, retail, $10833.
Add a 330 Meg disk at prevailing prices (~$8000), a tape drive ($2000)
and you have a $21000 workstation. Sounds like a pretty normal workstation
price range to me.

Now I admit it sounds better than the $21000 workstation I have on my
desk at work, but I can't buy EITHER the NeXT or the Sun for home.

Steve Jobs said 3 years ago he was going to deliver a great workstation
for $5000. The announcement says he almost made it ($6500 vs. $5000), if
and only if you ignore the *restricted* delivery. My personel interpretation
of his promise 3 years ago was he would deliver a great workstation for
$5000 *retail*.

Steve Jobs has now, today, only delivered another *promise*.

Remember, Beta Sites had Full Write Professional ages ago. And during
that period between Beta and Retail delivery we called FWP *vaporware*.

I'm disappointed.

But it does sound great.

Are you listening, Steve?


-- 
uucp:     {decwrl,uunet}!eda!jim        Jim Budler
internet: jim@eda.com                   EDA Systems, Inc.