From: spice@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy
Subject: Re: Make it Cheap
Date: 3 Oct 92 21:49:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: drycas.1992Oct4.024930.2194
Organization: Carnegie Mellon Computer Club

In article <1992Oct2.183542.15337@cs.yale.edu>, nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (Nathan F. Janette) writes:
> In article <1992Oct1.190315.28448@utstat.uucp> philip@utstat.uucp (Philip  
> McDunnough) writes:
>> In article <1992Sep30.185558.17827@cs.yale.edu>  
> nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu writes:
> 
>> >Regardless of what your point of view is (and Jon's too),
>> >you are ignoring the reality of the cost for the hardware
>> >*required* to run NeXTstep.  Jeez, you guys must have all
>> >seen 68030 cubes - the lack of performance for those boxes
>> >still haunts NeXT today!  Right now the cheapest minimum
>> >hardware that will support NeXTstep are 486 clones,
>> >preferably with EISA/LocalBus video setups, and that hardware
>> >costs $2,000-$3,000 without NeXTstep.
>> 
>> 486DX-33's gor for far less than that. Why EISA or localbus? Localbus
>> video was tested in PC World I believe (or the other one) and found to
>> be not much faster than an ATI or S3 video card.
>>  
>> Perhaps NeXT should think of coming out with a single user version if they
>> can't run their software on equipment that runs OS/2 fine.
>>  
>> As far as needing a 486, I see no reason why a 386 won't do.
>>  
>> In any case, I just have to wonder about this minimum hardware price. I
>> don't believe it.
> 
> Ah jeez, Philip, don't you think your going to have to do a better
> job defending your statements than "I don't believe it"?  Right
> now, it is your opinion vs. the opinion of the NeXT engineers
> that decided to not support the 386, and recommend the fastest
> PC bus (localbus) for video.  Guess who I tend to believe?
> 
> --
> Nathan Janette		"I'm a NeXTstep man,


Nathan, did ever occur to you that NeXT engineers may be recommending
a 486 EISA machine for marketing reasons, not performance reasons?
Cant you see that if NeXTStep could run on one of the dime a dozen
$2000 SVGA 486 boxes practically no one would buy NeXT hardware? 
And since Steve Jobs wants to stay in the hardware business for reasons 
of ego , i.e. to prove to Apple they were wrong in firing him, he has 
no choice but to spec the requirements of NeXTStep 486 so high as to
ensure that he can keep selling hardware. 

NeXT is in a real interesting position here. They need to be able
to say that they are moving into the Intel market in order to attact
the big PC developers onto the NeXT platform and to keep the few they
already have developing for the NeXT. Yet if they spec NeXTStep so 
that it runs on the generic PC clone they kill their hardware sales. 
And please dont tell me about the wonderful education discounts NeXT 
offers. Those are only available to college students and faculty, a 
relatively small group while anyone can pick up a issue of Computer 
Shopper and buy a $2000 clone.

So NeXT is basically running a kind of bait and switch scheme to
lure PC developers to NeXTStep by coming out with a 486 version
while ensuring the 486 version and the hardware it needs is pricey 
enough not to undercut their own hardware.

                            Scott Corley

spice@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
 
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy