From: byer@adobe.com (Scott Byer)
Subject: Re: Business Week article (NeXT to dump hardware)
Reply-To: byer@adobe.com (Scott Byer)
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 22:03:12 GMT

Philip McDunnough writes

> Didn't Apple own part of Adobe back then. In any case it's not as
> though there was an alternative to Postscript printers.
 
Yes, there were alternatives.  Quite a few, in fact.

> In the true tradition of Apple and others, Adobe overcharged for
> owning a Postscript printer. Were it not for True Type and PCL they
> would still be.
 
PostScript would never have been succesful if Adobe had charged
too much.  NeXT will not be successful with NeXTSTEP if they charge
too much.  To continue to perpetuate such "overcharging" myths is
really quite silly.  Companies that gouge on software prices just
do not survive in the real world.  It's far too easy to reverse
engineer things, and the only barrier companies have against being
cloned out of business is economic viability of doing so.

(And this confusion between TrueType and TrueImage is growing a
rather high giggle factor for me.  The only thing TrueType affected
was the "when" of the black book, not the "if".  TrueImage?  You
really have to look for one to find 'em nowadays.)

> It's essential that NeXT continue to make hardware. I also find it
> somewhat disappointing that Adobe has given minimal support to the
> one platform that went out on a limb with a complete Postscript
> based imaging model, but then what else could one expect from Adobe?
> Even Windows is getting more attention.

Yes, I'm angry that PhotoShop isn't available on my NeXT machine,
too.  That doesn't mean that NeXT is getting minimal support from
Adobe as a company.  Shoot, it's got the best version of Display
PostScript inside - full Level 2, with the capability of pretending
like it's almost any kind of printer.  I must admit that it's rather
easy to be ignorant of the level of support that NeXT really gets
from Adobe, but still...

But even I must admit that the NeXT software market looks rather
slim right now, even when considering what a pain it is to program
Windows.  

> Just an opinion, but I really wonder whether Adobe is in any moral
> position to comment on these matters. It is a publically owned
> company that goes where the market is.

:-)

Are you implying that NeXT should continue making hardware even if
it loses money doing so?  Even if it means the company dissapears
and takes NeXTSTEP with it?  Is it "immoral" to stop losing money?

Amusing.

Really, isn't it better to have NeXTSTEP on every concievable
platform?  If NeXT had to give up making hardware to get HP to
license NeXTSTEP, shouldn't they do it?  I hope that's not a
requirement, I hope that NeXT will go ahead and put some interesting
ideas like processor slots into hardware - but they may just not
be able to have it both ways.

I'm very fond of my NeXT keyboard (even with the pipe key in the
wrong place) and crisp NeXT monitor, but I far rather see the very
best part of the system - NeXTSTEP - survive, than have NeXT as a
company dissapear, taking it's technology with it.

--
Scott Byer                             NeXTMail: byer@mv.us.adobe.com
Adobe Systems Incorporated               These are *my* opinions, and  
1585 Charleston Road, P.O. Box 7900        do not necessarily reflect
Mountain View, CA 94039-7900             the opinions of my employer.
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