🚀 go-pugleaf

Found in the Letters section of the April 6 issue of MacWEEK...

If it acts like a NeXT
then it must be a NeXT
 
 My consternation with the Mac
community has doubled with just
one issue of MacWEEK (March 9).
Several stories were about the
future ofthe Mac: One describes
improvements with "Unix-grade OS
capabilities" such as multi-threading
and pre-emptive scheduling.
Another describes a new Display
PostScript-like imaging model to
replace QuickDraw. Then there's
[Apple CEO John] Sculley stating
the object-based Taligent will "solve
an entire class of problems," includ-
ing faster ways to prototype and
deploy custom applications.
 But these solutions are up to two
years away. This sounds similar to
Bill Gates' pontificating to keep his
Windows masses loyal. Like Win-
dows aficionados who will wait for
Windows NT and an object-oriented
version of Windows shipping years
thereafter, the Mac community is
awaiting a new System 7 microker-
nel and an object-oriented Taligent
after that. The point: That feature
list describes NeXTstep very well,
and it's been shipping for some time.
 I regard Mac users as forward
thinkers, but I certainly hope the
Mac community hasn't matured into
the entrenchment I have usually
associated with our DOS-based
cousins. Don Crabb says "fall out of
love" with the Mac, as it will change
in the coming years, and picture what
you want in one, three and five years.
If people want an operating system
like a NeXT, an imaging system like a
NeXT and a development system like
a NeXT, maybe they should be aware
that there is a NeXT.
 	Gary M. Bradfield
 	Redondo Beach, Calif.


David W. Peter
dpeter@hsd.com
(800) 828-5522
(415) 964-1400