🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2052@ltb.ltb.bso.nl> wierda@ltb.ltb.bso.nl (Gerben Wierda) writes:
  <<stuff deleted>>
>I don't see a NT yet, let alone one that has applications. What I did see was
>the alpha release of some hidden kernel and services and the windows program
>manager and a DOS emulation on top. Plus some small debugging apps like memory
>scanners. The latter made me very cautious about the availability of NT. If
>they need those, they won't get it out in a very usable form before end 93.

You didnt see the demonstrations on the 16-processor Sequent(?) box.  The
kernel looks to be in reasonable shape to be ported to the number of MP
boxes that its currently running on and survive the number of demos that
have been given.

>The fact that I can run DOS or windows3.1 (which is DOS also) under NT doesn't
>make those apps NT apps. I can run those under SOftPC on a Sun, a Mac, etc.
>and of course a NeXT.

The Windows NT API is derived almost directly from the 16-bit Windows
interface.  Porting will go quickly relative to something like a Mac->OpenLook
port, and you can be sure that all major developers are working on ports
that will run on Intel based boxes.

>The issue here is: What can I do with NT now? Mainly use DOS. And develop (but
>not as smooth as on a NeXT). This is the smartest thing I have seen so far in
>the software industry: sell a system for $69 that is not complete and create a
>"market" in figures just because of that. NeXT should sell NS/486 licenses for
>$10 and let people pay for "media" when the stuff is shipped.
>
>I really admire the sales department of Microsoft.

I think they finally woke up after seeing no small developer support for
OS/2 when they were charging $3,000 for the development kit.  Everyone in
the NeXT market knows that there are some really cool applications coming
from very small companies, and if they had to pay enormous fees for development
tools on top of an expensive machine (remember, $100 386 motherboards werent
the rule when OS/2 came out) they would simply develop for some other platform.
I fear NeXT charging another $1,500 for development tools on NS486.  This
WILL reduce the number of small startups on the NeXT, who will take the
few dollars they had for a 486 box in the first place and get the Windows NT
kit and target what will probably be a larger market.

>-- 
>wierda@ltb.bso.nl (Gerben Wierda) || I speak for myself and not for my employer.
>(+31) 2154 84415/(+31) 35 833539  || Support the League for Programming Freedom!
>	"If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there."
>	(Almost from) Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland".

Waiting VERY impatiently to buy a NRW,  -Steve