🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <92Dec20.195122.18827@acs.ucalgary.ca> bstone@acs.ucalgary.ca (Blake Stone) writes:

[ ]
>
>> Take a look at the Amiga.  By not loading down the CPU, it's
>> able to make a 68000 look as fast as a 68040 when doing it's
>> fancy graphics/sound demos...
>
>Unfortunately the Amiga graphics and sound hardware is looking a
>little long in the tooth these days.  It certainly reaped an
>advantage for a while, but it VERY difficult to keep special
>purpose hardware up to spec with the latest and greatest general
>purpose.  I'd rather see NeXT put in sockets for a few more CPUs
>and let ME decide what they'll be doing!

People write to the platform which covers the whole spectrum. Removing the
DSP, which will probably happen, is yet another mistake in a long list of
NeXT errors. The Amiga is hardly doing poorly. You might have a look at their
new AGA computer which give you really nice graphics. Very colourful, very
animated, very inexpensive, etc...NeXT has decided to go for solutions to
the short term problems of the world. Quite frankly, having yet another
publishing platform is hardly my idea of a giant leap in man's knowledge
capabilities. Mind you, those apps are needed if only to get people away
from other platforms. The exciting applications involving pattern recognition,
multimedia, desktop video, interpersonal communications, etc....all those
things which the NeXT was meant to address have been put on the back burner
for what? NS486 ( a waste except for the fact that NeXT developers need a 
break), DTP'ing (the Mac does it fine enough), MCA the worst of the lot.
 
There are too many computers floating around. NeXT should stick to its original
plan( in my opinion). One doesn't need to learn yet another OS, and I doubt 
that the real NeXT's will be able to compete with NS486 for the mundane
day to day things. If only we had a decent sequencer (I am aware of Presto),
music notation program with midi conversion, forge ahead with NeXT Mail, mach,
a low cost ND, etc...The NeXt will never compete in the workstation arena.
People who want speed will always go elsewhere. However the NeXt can compete
with the Mac, etc...It should be marketed as a super academic micro. If NeXT
is there to make money then all is lost. If they want to really make a mark 
then there's hope. NS486 will be the beginning of the end of a wonderful
concept.
 
Just one last note. Unix, NS, etc...is not going to capture any significant
market of the 486 users. They will go with OS/2 or Windows (). The advantages
just aren't that overwhelming to give up what people are already familiar with.
In any case, NeXT will be too busy answering questions as to why the OS 
doesn't work with peripheral x on the PC. I can just see it now. QEMM, NS 
version certified.
 
Philip McDunnough
philip@utstat.toronto.edu