Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!+ From: eht@cs.cmu.edu (Eric Thayer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Some Random NeXT Thoughts Message-ID: Date: 14 Apr 89 17:17:40 GMT Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Lines: 47 > 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. At CMU, the price is $6770 for the base system (8MB, mo drive, display). It sounds a little unusual that they would be pricing the display separately. Conclude what you wish. > 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. Problem is that nothing other than NeXT's Workspace Manager would understand the request for a connection from the single cube that everyone is sharing. Thus, the graphics are only available to people on other cubes. However, the cube can work as a Unix box. Someone else might be able to comment on the performance of this arrangement. > Is there a way to share a NeXT printer among several machines on a network? yes > 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? That's how its done. > (I wouldn't want to be the poor user on this cube, having all this stuff > done in the background.....slowly.) Depending on the print job, the response time for the console user on the server machine can be rather poor. I have heard rumors that this can be changed with some tweeking to the scheduling of the printing. > 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? The Businessland deal should calm people a bit. However, it remains to be seen what the software developers who have committed to developing applications for the NeXT are able to do by this summer. If nothing is forthcoming by then, it might be a long hot summer for everyone. It doesn't seem like lack of applications is going to be an issue, but at this point, things are still at the vaporware stage. > 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 Seconded.