From: cowboy@trans.csuohio.edu (Joe Rosenfeld)
Subject: Re: The Future of Next, Inc.
Organization: Cleveland State University
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 21:30:55 GMT

In article <1992Dec27.165047.8180@squid9.cuc.ab.ca> terry@squid9.cuc.ab.ca (Terry  
Wilcox) writes:
> In article <1992Dec27.015305.27995@leland.Stanford.EDU>  
> underdog@leland.Stanford.EDU (Dwight Joe) writes:
> > Hi everyone.
> > 
> > This is my "anniversary" post since about 1 year ago, I posted an
> > article pointing out that Mr. Job's announcement of a public stock
> > offering was really an attempt to raise the value of the stock so that
> > those with a vested interest could unload all their (eventually
> > worthless) stock.  I also pointed out that if Mr. Jobs were smart,
> > he would switch the central processor in upcoming Next machines to
> > a SPARC chip and would switch manufacturing facilities to someplace
> > like Thailand.  (By "smart", I mean, "wanting a company that is
> > profitable.)
> > 
> 
> Somehow I doubt that your predictions will ever be taken seriously. If you  
> really knew so much, you would have your own multi-million dollar company and  
> you would be charging for advice.

So, if you are not a "professional" consultant then nobody should listen to you??  Are you a  
professional critic?

> 
> > Well, I was laughed off this place.  True, I did err about the stock
> > announcement; Mr. Jobs did announce that the company _would_ go public
> > but _had_ not yet gone public at the time.  (I erroneously thought that
> > he had already gone public.)  Several people pointed out--huffy and puffy
> > --that Next was doing fabulously well and should not switch to a SPARC
> > chip and that moving manufacturing facilities to Thailand wouldn't
> > help a bit.
> > 
> 
> Thailand wouldn't help a bit. NeXT would merely get stuck with the image of  
> child-prostitution promoters. And look at the current round of protectionism  
> rising in the States. NeXT would be crushed by tariffs if it manufactured in  
> Thailand. It's better off staying where it is or moving to Canada or Mexico  
> (NAFTA makes the two attractive).

I think you are correct here.

> 
> > Think again.
> 
> I just did. It still doesn't make sense to sell the factory (at a loss) and  
> move offshore (especially Thailand).
>  
> > I just read the status of Next, Inc. in the latest issue of the
> > Economist.  The line in the 1st paragraph reads, approximately,
> > 
> >          "Next, Inc. has yet to turn a profit".
> > 
> 
> Since NeXT is a privately owned company, it doesn't have to release numbers to  
> anyone. I wonder where the Economist got its facts?
> 
> > At the end of the article, it notes that a high-ranked official had
> > jumped ship and moved to Sun Microsystems.  Mr. Job laments that
> > Sun may yet crush the daylights out of his company.
> > 
> So Bud Tribble left. Big deal. We all know about it. If you read the newsgroups  
> more often than once a year, you would realize this is old news. Your once a  
> year posting means you miss most of the news generated over the year.

He never said he READS only once a year.  Had a bad holiday, did you, hmmm??

> 
> > So, if Mr. Jobs is reading this, I wish him well and again offer the same
> > advice.  Keep R & D in the USA but move _all_ manufacturing facilities
> > to Thailand.  For crying out loud, use the Matsushita-designed 64-bit
> > SPARC chip.  So, what do you care if people laugh because you chose
> > the SPARC chip?  You will earn enough money to _burn_.
> 
> I still don't get it. NeXT hires professionals whose sole purpose is to make  
> sure NeXT isn't wasting money. Along comes some nobody with free advice. Should  
> Steve:
> 
> a) listen to trained professionals
> b) listen to some nobody
> c) none of the above.

This is argumentative.  Who cares if Jobs is listening to your classes?  this person has the right  
to make a posting and the right to be wrong also.  You have the right to criticize anyone you  
want, and I have the right to point out you sound like you are having a bad day.

> 
> Terry Wilcox
> -- 
> Terry Wilcox		| 'Next to the originator of a good sentence 
> terry@squid9.cuc.ab.ca	| is the first quoter of it.'
> NeXTmail welcome	|  - RALPH WALDO EMERSON


Cowboy
Xref: sparky comp.sys.next.misc:23378 comp.sys.next.software:3200 comp.sys.next.hardware:3114