From: al@expovision.ogi.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy
Subject: Re: Question #2 "Are Macintosh Users Really Happy?"
Keywords: A few thoughts. (Long)
Date: 13 Aug 92 23:10:03 GMT
Article-I.D.: expovisi.1992Aug13.231003.494
Reply-To: al%expovision@CAM.ORG
Organization: Edition Electronique Expovision inc.

In article <819@rtbrain.rightbrain.com> reynolds@rightbrain.com (Jack  
Reynolds) writes:
> 1.  Macintosh is too slow for the demands of desktop publishing. 
> 2.  You never know what is going to print out on a Macintosh.  
> 3.  Macintosh is a kludge.  
> Macintosh users continue to use their outdated hardware and software  
because before now, their > only option was to go back to doing it by  
hand.
--
Thanks for starting what turns out to be a good discussion on DTP Mac vs  
NeXT.
I've converted from Mac to NeXT 18 months ago. 
As to this day, I still wonder why.
DTP and multimedia being of great interest to me, needless to say, the  
move to NeXT was a gamble because much of its future was based on the  
promises of one man, HIS dream and HIS reputation.The upcoming appearance  
of "great" software was a question of time. Development on the NeXT was so  
easy, compared to other platforms, they said.  
I was hoping that the development for the NeXT would not be a repeat of  
what it was on the Mac from 1988 on with all those unfulfilled Mac II  
promises and a somewhat very deceptive evolution.  "Professional" DTP,  
"Broadcast-Quality" video, "color separation", etc.
So far, I regret to say, that NeXT has certainly not delivered on Jobs's  
promises regarding his once heralded Trohan Horses, namely: NeXTDimension,  
JPeg, Optical Drives.
May I add misjudgments regarding , sudden and questionable  decisions  
concerning developer support (at a time where professional high end  
softwares for the NeXT are very few). 
This reminds me all too sadly of identical horror stories on the Mac side,  
such as the LQ printers, Portables, buggy system releases and a lot of  
vaporware, the most notably infamous being that of FullWrite Professional  
in 1989 that kept the Mac Wordprocessing World in limbo well over a year.
As a consumer I am all too amazed to notice that one can promote false  
publicity and get away with it without having the decency to offer some  
sort of compensation to those who have believed in NeXT printed ads, NeXT  
promotional videos and NeXT CEO words. 
- at the very least a sincere apology. (I'm sure that PasteUp could be a  
great tool here.)

$5,000.00,  for a board that was designed and engineered to receive a JPEG  
chip for real-time compression and never delivered,  amounts to be  
outright dishonest.
I, for one, have purchased a Cube for the sole intention of migrating from  
DTP to Multimedia (Video). RealTime compression WAS and IS  a must, yet  
still remains undelivered two years later, although fully prepaid. 
In the meantime C-Cube offers JPEG compression boards on the PC/Mac  
platforms. What is the problem here? 
With this in mind, I am encouraged by the perspicacity of a few companies  
such as Stone Design, AppSoft, RightBrain and Lighthouse Design. 
When handling their software, I know that my decision to go with NeXT was  
a good one.
I am not a programmer, thank God,  but as a power user and consultant in  
DTP, I have regained some bit of faith, particularly after reading about  
PasteUp in NeXTWorld. 
Would it not be reasonable for all you programming geniuses to step aside,  
for a while, and listen to what people, who supply your bread and butter,  
have to say. 
Rightbrain Software started this discussion. 
We, the NeXT users, will buy and judge PasteUp, then we will be in a  
position to answer Mac users with well founded arguments and, I hope,  
unbiased opinions. This might reveal that Glenn Reid is right afterall. 
As a NeXT user I am more interested (and rightfully so) to take PasteUp  
for a ride by myself.
Thank you Rightbrain for inviting my curiosity. 
I believe in your promises and have ordered your product. 
Unlike NeXT, I hope that your policy will include a 30 day Money Back  
Garantee. If it does not deliver what you promise then I can safely return  
it to you. If it does, you will seduce many Mac and PC owners in the best  
possible manner.Offering a "superior" product and therefore presenting DTP  
freaks like myself with a better reason for switching to NeXT.
This is precisely what affected the Mac community from 1986 on thanks to  
Aldus and Adobe. 
 Although for most, it will take more than one good layout program. (Let's  
not kid ourselves, I've been using the FrameMaker 3.0 port far too long).
If no one has done so already, I will be very happy to share with you my  
comparisons between PasteUp and Quark/PageMaker on the Mac. For that  
purpose, I can tell you for a start that 5 secs and 45 secs of access time  
are irrelevant in an 8 hours day.
As to the rest of the discussion concerning Macintosh User Happiness, here  
goes:

My first question: 
Assuming that one year is sufficient for a programmer experienced in Unix,  
Object, and C languages to mate the NeXT, why is it that some 4 years  
later, we are still waiting for great high end softwares to come about?

My second question: 
Has anyone outside of Rightbrain, used PasteUp yet? If so, would someone  
with such experience please speak up and share with us some experiences  
comparing PageMaker, Q-Express and PasteUp? I mean professionals who have  
taken these three softwares to their limits. A vs A, B vs B and C vs C,  
point for point.

Every computer user seems to take pride in his platform (sometimes due to  
financial attitudes, sometimes due to intelligence, sometimes due to luck  
or the lack of it) yet no one has been able to show us all that PasteUp IS  
superior to page layout programs on other platforms, other than pitches  
from Rightbrain. What good is a great machine if it does not serve the end  
user well? 
What good is a software if it is mediocre? As far as I know there's a  
wealth of both on all platforms.
As to students who cannot affford a very high priced machine such as a  
NeXT or a highend (?) Quadra, may I suggest a lower end Macintosh and a  
lot of happiness while pros go on with the task at hand, mainly:  
Professional DTP, Professional MultiMedia, Professional CAD, Professional  
Accounting, Professional DataBasing, Professional Photo Retouching. In the  
opinion of the non-programmer that I am, thats what computing is all about  
and thats why professionals and businesses buy high priced computers.If  
they didn't, they would stick to cheaper machines such as anything but  
NeXT and Quadras and I certainly wouldn't blame them for such a decision.  
Professional Accounting, Photo Retouching, CAD and Multimedia are yet to  
be present on the NeXT platform. This is a fact.
You may keep on dreaming if you disagree.
Is Steve Jobs another Russ Perrot? Is the disease contagious? Will he quit  
or be driven away from his convictions and, at the very least, deceive his  
followers? 
If Stebe Jobs is not listening in matters such as the ND and OD, perhaps a  
good consumer lawyer might open his  ND-OD ears eventually.
If you promised me a Ferrari with a V-12 engine, temporarily delivered  a  
4 inline, in the meantime and kept me waiting for 2 years, I'd have the  
opportunity to sue the hell out of you, would I not? Steve Jobs may have  
changed his mind but he certainly hasn't changed mine. I expect an upgrade  
path for the Cube, JPEG compression on the ND and futher support for ODs.
I expect delivery as promised by NeXT publicity.
What in heck makes consumers such suckers in the computer world anyway? 
The scare of being recognized as to what they really are?
Don't you think that many of us should go back to our drawing boards and  
do our duty?
Integrity IS a minimum value in this world, at the very least.
Honesty is a must!
My last question:
Was Photoshop used to make the JPEG chip disappear from all NeXT publicity  
in 1992?
Does Improv handle NeXT budget presentations? If so, I am beginning to  
understand.
If this text came out of my right brain JPEG still caters to my left.
Before someone tells me to "board a next dimension", may I "localize" a  
quote from Hans Seylie:" Qui prend la mer sans port d'attache, risque de  
se perdre a tout vent." and optically drive this thought from Steve Jobs  
to Canon's "next" venture.
Can't a trial and error route be avoided with the aid of a good computer,  
good planning and honesty?
This is 1992, dig in my pocket no more, for at the end, justice will  
prevail.
My choice is simple at the end:  I'll either keep on digging or simply  
bail out. In the meantime I remain dumbfounded at the distractions that  
occur.

_____________________________                     
Andre Lalonde                  
email: al%expovision@CAM.ORG
(NeXT Mail preferred)
_____________________________                           
-- 

_____________________________                     
Andre Lalonde                  
Expovision Inc.                 
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy