From: andrew@cubetech.com
Subject: Re: NeXT edu prices go UP!  AGAIN!
Organization: Cube Technologies, Inc.
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 04:56:44 GMT

In article <BxAyrn.GI6@cs.columbia.edu> dubi@shadow.cs.columbia.edu (Yury Dubinsky) writes:
>In article <1992Nov6.083834.4422@leland.Stanford.EDU>  
>spagiola@frinext.stanford.edu (Stefano Pagiola) writes:
>> The implication is indeed obvious, and most welcome.  But will  
>> anything happen in time?  NeXT does not have a huge window of  
>> opportunity before NT, Pink, Taligent, etc come on line.
>> 
>> The problem for NeXT is not simple, incidentally.  On the one hand  
>> they have a whole bunch of users whining about how slow 3.0 is, on  
>> the other hand they have another group clamoring for low-cost  
>> workstations.  Hard to satisfy both groups at once, especially for a  
>> company of NeXT's resources.
>> etc....
>
>The arguments here are great, especially about NeXT user groups helping  
>people, not necessarily just students, install RAM, HDs, etc...
>
>What do the people at NeXT have to say?  I hope I am not wrong to assume  
>that at least SOMEONE at NeXT is actually reading posts about their  
>products.  At the end-user level we can talk all we want about prices, how  
>to get the best deal, etc., but I'd like to know what NeXT has to say  
>about some of the recent postings about their (educational) prices.

Don't expect anyone from NeXT to come out an make a public statement
of NeXT policy on the net regarding this.  That just doesn't happen,
no matter what the company.

All the time I used to think "Gosh, the people in NeXT's marketing
department are a bunch of morons!"  But on the rare ocassions that I
got to talk to them or exchange a bit of e-mail, I totally reversed my
opinion.

The people at NeXT marketing have access to a lot more information
than we do; like just who is buying NeXT computers the most, and for
exactly what.  Hey, for all we know, 70% of all NeXT's could be going
to governments (foreign and domestic), which could account for the
apparent lack of marketing.  When they tell me the logic behind what
they do, or not do, it does make sense.

Believe me when I say that people at NeXT marketing want NeXT to be
come the next Microsoft.  Yeah I wish they would put out superbowl
commercials and such like you do, but apparently that's not possible.
It also probably wouldn't do any good too since NeXT has sort of a bad
stigma attached to it from the '030 days.  People don't belive
marketing unless there is something to back it up.  Microsoft
advertises more than anyone else, and people buy their software in
droves, but only because "well Bob has it, so it can't be that bad!"
Not so with NeXT.  NeXT screwed up (unintentionally) the first time at
bat, and now they have to fix it the hard way.

Yeah, it would be nice to see a couple of advertisements.  I thought
the "Film at $11" was really stupid.


andrew

BTW, People at NeXT do read comp.sys.next.*  From what I understand
Steve Jobs reads every single post (hi Steve!).
-- 
andrew@cubetech.com     | "Carpe Nocturn - I get more work done after
Andrew Loewenstern      |  2 a.m. than most people do all day."
Cube Technologies, Inc. |                          - Simson Garfinkel