From: yf5990@u.cc.utah.edu (Yan Fang/Humanities)
Subject: Re: Need to convince boss 486's are *not* way to go...
Organization: University of Utah Computer Center Student Mail Machine
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 93 19:44:54 GMT

In article <C18w8M.HK6@cuug.ab.ca> wilcoxt@cuug.ab.ca (Terrance Wilcox 229-3361) writes:
>In article <1993Jan17.190441.9736@netcom.com> bskendig@netcom.com (Brian Kendig) writes:
>
>>(1) The company's stability.  NeXT hasn't released any new hardware
>>that I've heard about for a very long time now, and the only software
>>I know about from them withing the past year has been version 3 of the
>>operating system.  IBM, Microsoft, and Apple are all making big
>
>I think I'm missing the point here. NeXT has no new hardware because there's
>no new 680X0 chip. They're working on new hardware, but it won't be based on
>the 68000 line. That takes time. Apple can have new hardware every month 
>because it's just rehashing all of its old computers.

Actually, the NeXTSTEP port to 88K hardware was done a while ago. NeXT
dropped it after it turned out NeXT would have been the only vendor to use
the chip. And if you remember, the NeXTSTEP 1.0-to-RS/6000 port was done
beck in the late '80s. Lastly, NeXT just announced multiple ports to RISC
architectures. The fact that NeXT hasn't released any new hardware is
irrelevent to industry-watchers, who correctly determine that most of
NeXT's energy is directed toward porting NeXTSTEP to other vendors' hardware. 

>>(2) Compatibility.  Sure, NeXTStep 486 might purport to run DOS and
>>Windows programs, but does it do so (1) reliably and (2) at an
>>acceptable speed?  I don't trust version 1.0 of ANY operating system,
>>and besides, even OS/2 runs DOS and Windows programs -- but have you
>>seen how slowly they go?  And no emulator will EVER run software as
>>well as the real thing.
>>
>
>Does Windows run reliably and at an acceptable speed under any circumstances?

More to the point, NeXTSTEP '486 isn't emulating Windows. Windows and DOS
actually run on the '486. Why write an emulator for a '486 when the real
hardware resides on your motherboard?

>>(3) Competition.  I thought NeXTStep 486 was due out this past fall?
>>If it's being delayed further until the middle of next year, then
>>Windows NT will probably beat it to market, killing it before it even
>>gets a foot in.  Look at the GEOS operating system, after all -- a
>>good design, well-implemented, but crushed by Windows.
>
>I don't think they're aimed at the same market. NT is aimed at people
>that need Windows. NS486 is aimed at people that need 486's and a good
>OS.

More to the point, NT and NeXTSTEP are aimed at enterprise computing
environments for marketing reasons--but one or both will be the new DOS
in five years. 

Both OSes run Windows. Both will coexist with each other, as NeXTSTEP
offers advantages NT cannot--but more people will buy NT because of the
perceived risk of NeXTSTEP. 

>>If you're just starting out with computer equipment, buy Macintosh
>>hardware.  If you already have a considerable investment in MS-DOS
>>software, then get 486's and DOS/Windows, OS/2, or Windows NT.  If you
>>want a neat machine and you don't feel a need to worry about it
>>becoming obsolete (this isn't a worry in some cases), then try
>>NextStep 486.
>
>If you're buying 486's, why not run NeXTSTEP 486? If you don't like it,
>put DOS/Windows on instead. Why would your NS486 machine become obsolete
>when the same machine running DOS/Windows wouldn't? They're the same
>hardware.
>
>
>Terry Wilcox


If you're just starting out, why not just get what meets your needs at the
present time--and will continue to meet your needs for the foreseeable
future? Macintosh hardware might do that, '486 hardware might do that, but
probably '486 hardware will give you more choice in what OS to run. 

My vote, if I were just starting out, would probably be an investment in an
expandable, EISA '486--and an early order for NeXTSTEP '486. Just so you
know my cognitive filter.


-- 
Yan Fang-Magnusson
Ph.D. candidate, philosophy, University of Utah
yf5990@u.cc.utah.edu
yanfang@cc.utah.edu (NeXTmail)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy