🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Apr13.035754.11198@utstat.uucp> philip@utstat.uucp (Philip  
McDunnough) writes:
>  It's simply harder for most people. And it's "most people" who
>  will determine the future.

Believe it or not, most people are not going to use TeX on any platform simply  
because it's a bitch to use (you and I think it's easy, but most people don't  
like to write typesetting code).  "most poeple" are going to buy PasteUp or  
FrameMaker and not even think about TeX.  I'd be willing to bet that less than  
5% of NeXT users right now use TeX, and probably less will use it in the future  
as more NeXTstep computers hopefully end up on executive's desk.

I think you are being limited in your evaluation of the NeXT computer's ease of  
use.  Workstations are hard for people who are not unix weenies to use.  PC's  
aren't.  NeXT is going to have a much harder time competing with Macintoshes  
since Macs are already easy to use.  Sun's are hard to use.  Lots of people are  
giving up their tricked out 486s and are going to Sparcstations.  NeXT gives  
you what's good about a Sparcstation (speed, real operating system) and what's  
good about a Macintosh (sexy and easy to use interface) rolled up into an as of  
yet unbeatable development environment.

Apple is going to sell more LC-II computers in 3 or 4 months than there are  
NeXT computers in existance.  This is one gem of high-technology.  It's got a  
32-bit 68030 processor on a 16-bit bus.  It's no faster than the 020 based LC.   
I think someone at Apple figured out that they could just cram in an 030 more  
cheaply than slightly redesigning the board for a 6551 PMMU chip (the only  
reason for the 030 was to support sys-7 vm).  NeXT just can't compete with  
this.  If people are willing to buy a piece of crap like the LC-II, why on  
earth would they buy an 'expensive' computer like a NeXT?

NeXT can compete with Sun though.  Trying to compete with someone who will  
definitely crush you in the near term (Apple or Microsoft) will just waste your  
energy and money and not do any good.  According to the NeXT propoganda, they  
are doing very well against Sun when a company considers both NeXT and Sun.   
This is good.  It took NeXT a while to find a market in which they could  
succeed in, but now that they have found it, they are really concentrating  
their energies.  Concentrating your energies on one thing is so much better  
than flip-flopping between target markets...


andrew
-- 
andrew@cubetech.com
Andrew Loewenstern            |  "listen: there's a hell of a good universe
Cube Technologies, Inc.       |   next door; let's go." --- e.e. cummings