Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!agate!eos!lyman
From: lyman@eos.UUCP (Lyman Taylor)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: NeXT secrets
Message-ID: <1740@eos.UUCP>
Date: 15 Oct 88 00:16:08 GMT
References: <15478@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: lyman@eos.UUCP (Lyman Taylor)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Calif.
Lines: 79


>4.  Color.  The San Jose Mercury News had an article entitled "Maybe next
>    year."  I realize it was impractical right now, but it is obviously the
>    way of the future.  By the way, does PostScript/Display PostScript
>    have any hooks for color?
	
		At last year's MacExpo  I think I remember Display 
	PostScript running in color on the machines Adobe had in their
	booth ( Vaxstation  and two others it don't remember )

		I think its a problem that's a combo of 
			Color Screen udate speed ( alot of stuff to move )
			Memory Cost ( alot of stuff to put somewhere )
			Color Monitor cost ( look at the cost of 
						any 19" monitor for
						the Mac )
	Remember NeXT has to at least TRY to keep the machine relatively
( relative to a SUN, MacIIx with all the options ) inexpensive since there
 trying to reach University which have money but not an infinite supply.
This machine is a WORKSTATION not a PC.

>
>5.  Parallel processing.  The version of UNIX they are using, I understand,
>    is distinguished by its applicability to parallel processing.  Does Jobs
>    have this in mind?

	I hope so
>
>
>8.  Who do they REALLY intend to sell this machine to?  Come on- Steve Jobs
>    does not set his sights low.  And to be honest, the higher education market
>    just doesn't strike me as that big with the current bureaucracy.  I just
>    can't see students shelling out eight grand for a computer, especially with
>    today's college prices.  An article quoted Jobs as saying "The world
>    doesn't need another $100 million computer company." (I think those were
>    the exact words)  How are we to interpret this?

	I think that students aren't the target.  At most colleges I know
of they have microcomputer labs ( or preferrably Mac Labs :-) where students
can come in and use a public or quasi-public ( only certain classes allowed in
the lab ) laboratory.  Just like Physic Lab, Chemistry Lab, etc.  The object
is to create a " NeXT Lab " that will take on some of the functionality of
a Physics Lab, Chem Lab, Music Lab ( that obviously aligned with the 
capabilties of the machine ), etc.     The machine is entended for the 
development and use of COURSEWARE.  Not speadsheets or CAD/CAM.


>-> What's the catch? <- 
>After being used to Apple's prices, the $6500 for the machine, monitor,
>optical drive, keyboard, etc., sounds like a BARGAIN, especially with the
>inflated RAM prices.  (I realize this is not street price, but a sort of

	Maybe, its pretty cheap to manufacture.  In addition, like I said
before they HAVE to keep the price low to gain market share. 
	hum?  manufacture a good product with available technology with 
lost of input from the consumer at a good price .
  Maybe at least someone has been learning something from Japan Inc. 

>"consortium" price.  Even so...)  And how can he possibly sell a 400 DPI
>laser printer for $2000?  I hope there's no law against dumping laser printers
>below cost...
>
	A possible solution to this is that perhaps there no COMPUTER inside
the box.  That's right your local LaserWriter is really a deadicated computer
constantly running PostScript.  Well with the NeXT machine you already have
one postscript interpreter inside your own box.  Maybe, the laser printer
uses the interpreter inside your box thereby avoiding the need for two 
interpreters ( which cost money remember the Adobe licience ).

	Purely Speculation.  I don't have one either.

>
>	-Jonathan Dubman


Lyman S. Taylor					lyman@eos.arc.nasa.gov
NASA Ames Research Center		                or
						    more verbose
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