Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!mit-eddie!bloom-beacon!bu-cs!purdue!haven!umd5!feldman From: feldman@umd5.umd.edu (Mark Feldman) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Some Random NeXT Thoughts Keywords: NeXT Speculation Cost Future Marketing Message-ID: <4698@umd5.umd.edu> Date: 14 Apr 89 14:47:36 GMT References: <12017@ut-emx.UUCP> Reply-To: feldman@umd5.umd.edu (Mark Feldman) Organization: University of Maryland, College Park Lines: 104 In article <12017@ut-emx.UUCP> osborn@ut-emx.UUCP (John H. Osborn) writes: >People keep throwing around the $6000 to $6500 price. According to the >price list available from my university's computer store, the price is >more like $7500. $6000+ for the cube plus $1250 for the display. >Is the $6500 price, so often quoted, deliberately misleading, or is >my university (U-Texas at Austin) adding on to the base price for >additional profit? $6500 is the higher education price for the base NeXT computer (8MB ram, optical drive), including the megapixel display (the cube is useless without the display). Your University is probably adding to the base price to cover their costs -- not to achieve a profit. Stocking, distributing, supporting, and servicing computers costs money. It's much more fair to have the people purchasing the computers pay for this necessary overhead than to have everyone's tuition subsidize your NeXT purchase. >I read that NeXTStep programs can be run, windows and all, from remote >users. (This is the -host option we've been kicking around.) >I like the idea of several people in an office using one NeXT via >remote, NeXTStep terminals. This could certainly be one lower cost >alternative to buying a cube for each user. What do you want in your NeXTStep terminal? Display PostScript? A good display? Sound input? Sound output? Ethernet connectivity? Local and/or remote printing? Serial line connectivity? It's starting to sound very much like a NeXT. Perhaps IBM will provide a low coust RT/AIX NeXTStep platform. Also, connecting lots o' users to a single NeXT acting as a CPU server means death to that NeXT. As it stands now, a NeXT is powerful enough to handle your average user's average applications. Computers are tools. People seem to forget that sometimes. For any particular job, one computer may not be as good as another. Everyone seems to want ``the best computer'', without regard for the job at hand. A Weed Eater and a riding mower both cut grass, but they are not interchangable. One will most definitely perform some tasks better than the other. For some jobs, both will be needed. And remember, your lawn may be different from mine. Enough of a bad analogy. >Is there a way to share a NeXT printer among several machines on a network? >Obviously, sending the raster image through ethernet would be too slow, >but how about sending the postscript description to the cube driving the >printer and having the raster image be generated there? Yes, and it works the way that you describe (raster is only on the printer cube). >Speaking of printers, I am seriously considering buying a NeXT, and would >like to have the laser printer, but $2000 is an awfully large amount of >money for a college student such as myself. I wish there was a cheaper >alternative. I could see NeXT working with HP to develop a model of the >HP DeskJet to work with the Cube. As an ink-jet printer, the cost would >be much lower. (I believe they list from HP for $995.) And at 300dpi, >the resolution is certainly comparable to the current laser printer. There are serial ports on the back of the cube that can be used to connect non-NeXT printers. The NeXT speaks PostScript and if your printer (e.g., a DeskJet) doesn't speak PostScript, you will need a Postscript to printer command converter (e.g., GhostScript). >How nice is the support for other postscript printers? I've heard the >capability mentioned, but it has rarely been discussed here. Under 0.8 there are some problems. Under 0.9 all should be fine. >The NeXT is a really nice machine, but the idea of spending $10,000 or so >for a usable system (Cube,Display,330drive,Printer) really scares me. If it scares you, you should try rethinking your reasons for purchasing a computer. Be an effective consumer -- decide what you need in a computer and see what is available. It will probably be easier to make decisions with regard to purchasing NeXTs once 0.9 (and 1.0) is out. >A former employer has a museum piece: A $10,000 Apple Lisa. >The simularities are creepy. I feel like buying a NeXT right now is >betting all that money that the machine is going to catch on. >I might just be crazy enough to do it, but it sure makes me nervous. >What is NeXT doing to calm me, and all the other nervous buyers out >there? While some comparisons can be drawn, the NeXT is not a Lisa (It's a Delorean:-). As for your state of mind -- if you make crazy purchases, I've got some bridges, some swampland, and a tower in France to sell you (all at incredible higher education prices without markup). >If I may speak for some of the lurking, unposting masses, thanks go >to Ali Ozer and the other NeXT folks who take the time to read, >and answer questions to the net. Yes. Thanks, guys! > I find it amazing that NeXT doesn't >get news feed, but these people are certainly doing their share in >making up for it. The fact is that NeXT is listening and speaking (w/o mach ports:-). If a good portion of NeXT did read news, we might not see 1.0 until the year 2000:-) Mark