Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!rutgers!bellcore!spectral!sjs
From: sjs@spectral.ctt.bellcore.com (Stan Switzer)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.news
Subject: Re:  What is SUN doing?
Message-ID: <20521@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Date: 2 Mar 90 18:28:56 GMT
References: <9003011602.AA19024@tripoli.ees.anl.gov>
Sender: news@bellcore.bellcore.com
Reply-To: sjs@bellcore.com (Stan Switzer)
Organization: Bellcore
Lines: 33

In article <9003011602.AA19024@tripoli.ees.anl.gov> korp@TRIPOLI.EES.ANL.GOV writes:
> Do you think DEC, IBM, HP or others will ever offer
> OW even if they adopt 5.4? They only way to make this happen is if
> enough customers ask for it!

And why will a user scream for OpenWindows if there are no
OpenWindows-dependent applications?  Answer this: why do Sun's deskset
applications use XView instead of NeWS?

As a developer, I know why I want NeWS, and I also know that if I
can't count on a large market penetration, then the market for NeWS
applications is quite limited.  The only organization in a position to
put NeWS over the top is Sun, and they can only do that by giving
X/NeWS have a distinct added value for end users.  Where is this added
value?  Where are the (NeWS) drawing applications?  Where are the
hypermedia applications?  Where are the direct-manipulation
interfaces?

> Some people
> inside that organization are trying to make OW a reality but get shot
> down by higher management because $80,000 is too much to port the OW
> server  to their machine.

Do you have any idea how little $80,000 is to a company like DG?  It
can cost that much just to have a meeting with "higher management"
once you start to figure in the cost of everybody's time.  As you say,
if the users want it, companies will deliver.

> All opinions are my own and not representative of my employer!

Likewise.

Stan Switzer  sjs@bellcore.com