From: rseymour@reed.edu (Robert Seymour)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: Re: Should I buy a NeXT -> Thanks!
Keywords: turbo color, sgi, animation, graphics
Date: 11 Nov 92 23:25:47 GMT
Article-I.D.: reed.1992Nov11.232547.23466
Reply-To: rseymour@reed.edu
Organization: Reed College, Portland, OR

In article <1992Nov11.130626.1586@fwi.uva.nl> schaper@fwi.uva.nl (Lancelot  
Schaper) writes:
> I'd like to thank all of you who reacted earlier.
> I found out the following things:
> 
> 	1] I must not buy the NC/ND combination, but the Next color turbo
> 	   instead.
> 	2] NeXT will not fade away in the coming years, that pleases me!
> 	3] I sould look for the NextStep 486
> 	4] Everybody agrees that the NeXT software beats the Mac's
> 	5] There's enough software, as long if you don't want CAD
> 	6] NeXT should be the best choice
> 
> Well I'm glad that everybody told me the same stuff, so I must take it for
> facts. Most people asked me what apps I would like to run, so I post them
> here.
> 
> - First of all I like to run graphical apps.
>   I want to make animations, and I need the video I/O ports.
>   I also need the 32 bits color, but that's not the _most_ important thing.

	Graphic apps for still images are no problem, the NeXT has DPS, the  
best Postscript drawing program (Illustrator on the NeXT), and a new stock of  
DTP programs. However, animation, rendering, modeling, and editing are less  
clear. There are products out, and now RenderMan is supported, but it's hard to  
do good work with these at the speed of a Turbo Color (real time animations  
with sound syncing are a problem). Currently, there is no upgrade path for a  
Turbo Color (it has no slots), so the ND would be the logical choice, although  
this conflicts with [1].

> - I will use it for lots of DTP work, so I really need the 21'' monitor.

	The 21" monitor is the same resolution as the 17", so you won't be able  
to display two WYSIWYG (i.e. 92dpi) pages on the screen at once. : (

> - I need MIDI ports and the software like Steinberg's Cubase.

	Sequencing and composing software are coming around, although there  
still isn't a program with the established base and verstality of Finale on the  
Mac. The DSP makes music work much easier, but it hasn't been used as well as  
it could be.

> - It has to be real fast -This seems not to be a problem, I guess-

	Well, how fast and in what manner (i.e. computation, graphics,  
animation, multitasking, ray-tracing)? NeXTs are slow for UNIX workstations (a  
Turbo Color is 14.6 SPEC89s [for 32MB RAM and 400MB HD]). However, do you need  
it fast for animation and graphics only, or are you also doing heavy  
computational work (ray-tracing most notably).

	[stuff deleted... ]

	It doesn't sound to me as if a Turbo Color will suit your needs. If you  
need a fast graphics workstation, you should be looking at Silicon Graphics,  
Inc. (SGI) Iris, Indigo, or Crimson Personal series worstations. The NeXT is  
well suited for the occasional use of a graphics and animation as implemented  
in a business oriented environment, but lacks the power or reliable base of a  
full blown graphical workstation. However, an SGI is a big step up from a Turbo  
Color (i.e. they start around $10,000 for the box alone), so the price may  
limit this option. 	
	Try to analyze your specific needs in both a qualitative and  
quantitative manner. What I mean by this is, determine both how fast it must be  
(or other similar requirements), and also what types of specific uses will it  
be implemented for. How high quality need your animations be? Is this for video  
editing of production quality? Will ray tracing be used often, little, or  
never? Is a Tuplex server an option (does the price of one negate this as an  
option)? There are many other questions, but a serious yes to any of these  
would negate the feasability of a Turbo Color (unless you have a small net of  
them with graphics servers and render servers [or so I think, anyone else?]). A  
NeXTcube with NeXTdimension board is more up your alley, but it looms in an  
uncertain future.
	

--
Robert Seymour				rseymour@reed.edu
Departments of Physics and Philosophy	(NeXTmail accepted)
Artificial Life Project			Reed College
Reed Solar Energy Project (SolTrain)	Portland, OR
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware