From: bill@mathnx.math.byu.edu (Bill Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.misc
Subject: Re: Business Week article (what a joke!)
Date: 22 Jan 1993 15:19:25 GMT
Organization: Brigham Young University
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: mathnx.math.byu.edu

In article <1993Jan22.022515.1674@cbnewsi.cb.att.com> dse@cbnewsi.cb.att.com  
(donald.s.eaves) writes:
> In article <1jjvohINN87h@iskut.ucs.ubc.ca> oly@emerson.physics.ubc.ca writes:
> >In article <MS-C.727314477.1103527590.mrc@Tomobiki-Cho.CAC.Washington.EDU>  
Mark  
> >Crispin <mrc@Tomobiki-Cho.CAC.Washington.EDU> writes:
> >> Anyone read the Business Week article about NeXT yet?  Looks grim.
> 
> BW did so much spinning on this article, its slanderous.   
> Compare the NeXT article to the Borland article on the facing page:
> 
> THE FACTS:
> NeXT posts its first profit, has big sales of its hot new NeXTSTEP 486 
> product which is two years ahead of the competitors and has a 1992 growth
> that outpaced the workstation market growth.
> 
> Borland is loosing market share and revenues, announces a 11 million 
> dollar operating loss. is beat to the market by Microsoft and its stock 
> is at a 52 week low.
> 
> THE PICTURE:
> BW presents an unflattering, candid, off-center, mainly unfocused picture
> of Jobs.
> 
> Kahn carefully poses, with an artificial smile, for a great publicity shot.
> 
> THE TITLE:
> "NeXTs BLACk BOX MAY BE THE NEXT TO GO"
>   (A RUMOR denied by Jobs!!!  This title can easily be misunderstood as
> meaning that NeXT is next to go.)
>   
> "A BRUISED BORLAND IS UP AND SWINGING"
>   (Another rumor, creating quite a different perception.)
> 
> 
> I think the real problem is, as BW points out, that NeXT doesn't buy ads 
> in BW, while its competitors certainly do.  To present a positive article
> about NeXT could potentially result in some of those competitors pulling
> ads from BW.
> 
> I'm pissed and I'm writing a letter to BW.  Maybe if they receive enough
> letters they will publish one in the Reader's report.
> 
> Don
> Hypersight Inc.

I hope you do write to BW.  Your analysis of the article agrees with
my own.  A big part of the problem is NeXT's advertising budget for
"general ads".  Friends at NeXT say this is not going to change any
time soon either.  But they consider their current strategy for big
installations of NeXTSTEP to be working well for them.  And they are
not going to turn into a software only company.  There will always
be a black standard.  With NS486 and NSHP they will cover a larger
chunk of the market too, but the best of NS will always dress in
black first ;-)
-Bill
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                           5000 H.P. Track Staightener
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.misc