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From: mccoy@aristotle.Berkeley.EDU (Jim McCoy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: What do I want to see in the Apple of the 90's?
Message-ID: <2179@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 15 Dec 89 21:26:57 GMT
References: <21296@mimsy.umd.edu> <9986@zodiac.ADS.COM> <192@atncpc.UUCP> <1630@intercon.com> <7614@sdcsvax.UCSD.Edu>
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In article <21296@mimsy.umd.edu>, folta@tove.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) writes:
> 
> "" - A printer that doesn't halt my machine when I print a page
> ""
> "
> "If you are worried about this, then just buy a LaserWriter IINT. That's
> "what I have to do with my Mac.
> "
> 
> I use a LserwWriter IINT and, with MultiFinder, my output spools to disk and
> prints in the background.  It does slow the foreground application down, but
> not too much.
> 
> Contrast this with the NeXT I tried out, which  did literally grind to a halt
> while it struggled to do the PostScript imaging (at 400dpi, no
> less).  There's a big difference there.

The difference is that the NeXT uses Postscript for it's screen as
well as the printer.  This means that until they get a graphics
processor it will slow things down, but at least the NeXT has -true-
WYSIWYG.  

I find it very amusing that the people supporting the Mac are using
the same justifications that the PC people used a few years back:
there is no established software base.

It was not difficult for this software base to grow on the Mac, and
because the NeXT is not a programmer-hostile as the Mac was, I expect
that the NeXT softare base will soon rival the Macs (although it will
probably lack the frivilous software that is common among personal
computers such as games, cute and useless utilities, etc.).

The NeXT is at the same stage that the Mac 128K was a while back.  It
is trying to build a software base and user base that other systems
have.  I have no doubt that it will do so, but until it does there
will be a flock of Mac worshippers who will continue to point out the
fact that the Mac has a larger software base (remind them that the PC
has an even larger one :-).


					jim