From: byer@adobe.com (Scott Byer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.misc
Subject: Re: NT: please define vapor.
Date: 9 Sep 92 20:30:08 GMT
Reply-To: byer@adobe.com (Scott Byer)
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated

Jeff Henshaw writes

> Everyone wants their familiar OS and UI.

Naw, I think most want a UI that they can deal with.  It's a lot looser
definition, because most people won't want to go back to the Windows
UI once they try NeXTSTEP or Motif or OpenLook.  A few will.

> Please refrain, though, because I like NeXTSTEP, too, though there
> are 10,000,000 people who might think differently out there.

Keep the numbers games out of here.  10M is such a gross overinflation
that even MicroSoft admits it.  And many (not all, but most) who
currently use Windows only do so because there is no other UI choice
currently available.  That changes very quickly over the next few
months.

> First of all, you *really* need to define what "vapor" is if you're
> going to reference products in relation to it.  If you mean that
> "vapor" is a product that has been announced, but is not yet being
> distributed to the general public in a release form, then yes (listen
> to the Microsoft employee say this :-), NT is vapor.

Yup.  Exactly.  Because who you quoted (you didn't attribute the quote,
fix your news poster please :-) said that you can't tell features and
how well they work until release - and that is true.  And as long as
something is vapor, it *is* the greatest, best, fastest, whatever the
FUD Marketeers can make it out to be.  To see what something *really*
is takes a release version.  OS/2 2.0 was a dog speed-wise until it's
final release, for example, and buggy as hell.  NS3.0PR1 was a dog,
PR2 was much better, and the release is faster yet.  And the difference
in bugginess is enourmous.  An annouced but not-yet-shipping *product*
(not developers version) is vapor for the purpose of trying to peer
through the marketing fog and see 'what the heck is this thing?'.

Now, NT is going to be a good operating system.  Anyone that doesn't
think that better wake up now.  In a way, that's good news.  It's time
a mass-market OS with a reasonable amount of power was available to
mass-market PCs.  And NT is going to be one of those, along with NS486
and DESTiny.  

It's just sad that a good operating system will be handicapped with
such a bad UI as Windows.  If I'm mistaken in that, please let me know
what will be used instead - I'd be very happy to hear it.

But what is also true is that it *won't* be the end-all-be-all of PC
OSs.  It's also true that it would be more damaging to the PC indutry
than not the have one dominant OS anymore - having DOS/Windows as the
only significant choice has handicapped the PCs to the point where it
is the last place to find new, wonderful UI features.  Which is
backwards, because such a large installed machine base should be able
to support research into new UI features.

Instead, all those UI features that make life easily are hidden away
in that great little secret known as NeXTSTEP.  Hopefully, NS486 will
help us bring all that great functionality out of the closet.

--
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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