Thread View: comp.sys.next.misc
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Started by Alex D. Nghiem
Tue, 21 Jul 1992 15:46
NeXT's vs. mainframes -- sales of 6000 machines
Author: Alex D. Nghiem
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 15:46
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 15:46
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> Path:
pensoft!uudell!news.dell.com!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-
state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!aj681
> From: aj681@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Carlin Wiegner)
> Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy
> Subject: NeXT vs. Mainframes...
> Message-ID: <1992Jul18.183940.29052@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>
> Date: 18 Jul 92 18:39:40 GMT
> Sender: news@usenet.ins.cwru.edu
> Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
> Lines: 19
> Nntp-Posting-Host: cwns16.ins.cwru.edu
>
>
> ok, guys....
> I have a friend who is in a position to help make a 6,000 person
> company (every person has a computer, thus 6,000 machines! big
> big deal!) switch from their IBM mainframes over to NeXTs. The
> only problem is I need help coming up with a good presentation
> to give to president/ceo/owner of the company to form a comittee.
> I know NeXTs are for them (they will still need a VAX or two to
> do some of the insurance processing but in general I think they
> can switch over... Please, I think this kind of deal would not
> only help out the company (they do a lot of mission critical
> apps) but also give NeXT a big deal to break through the MIS
> types... Thanx ahead of time... Please post responses I think
> this discussion would benefit from an open forum basis. This
> will show how far NeXT has really come and how far they have
> to go...
> CW
> --
>
Carlin:
The company should definitely switch over to NeXTs, since mainframes are slowly
being phased out due to various reasons:
* cost (hardware and software)
* maintenance
* no new software
* declining pool of talent -- in most cases, schools are not using mainframes
anymore. Therefore, it's difficult to get new talent with mainframe expertise
The NeXTs offers a host of features, including:
* cost -- dollar for dollar, you cannot find a better machine for improved
productivity (see below for more details)
* easy setup -- it takes about 10 minutes to unpack a machine and get it up and
running
* great developmenet tools, which is central to developing mission critical
apps -- 3.0 has some really nice enhancements
* ease of use (believe me, this does not exist on a mainframe)
* LOTS of bundled software and lots of free software from the net
* great mail program -- this is one of the most overlooked advantages of a NeXT
machine: the ease of the mail program is simply indispensable in a corporation.
We use it to send ad layouts, spreadsheets, source code, etc. by simply drag
and drop: no more uuencode, tar and compress!
* built-in networking and good system administration tools
From your posting, I'm assuming that there is some database that's running on a
VAX -- NeXTSTEP 3.0 offers a database kit which allows you to implement
front-ends to database servers. If you can provide me with more information
about how these machines will be used, then I can provide a stronger case. For
example:
* word processing -- WordPerfect can share files with the PC and Mac versions
(the NeXT can read DOS and Mac disk without problems)
* desktop publishing -- Frame is in its third release and RightBrain has just
released PasteUp, which promises to outdo Quark Express
* graphics design -- there are many drawing packages, including Draw, Adobe
Illustrator (the best implementation on any platform), Create, etc
* spreadsheet -- NeXT has Improv, which is superior to 1-2-3 and can read 1-2-3
files
* DOS emulation -- SoftPC from Insignia allows you to run virtually any PC
program at the speed of an AT. With the 3.0 enhancements, it should be even
faster
* Mac emulation -- Executor from Abacus allows you to currently run the major
Mac packages, such as Excel and Word. By the end of the year, Abacus expects
to release a product that allows you to run any Mac software
* scientific work -- Mathematica exists and there are some more math packages
being ported
* documentation preparation -- the Digital Librarian (bundled) is useful for
indexing large documents, and there are software packages which can optical
character recognition (OCR)
* <PLUG FOR OUR PRODUCT -- DON'T FLAME ME> if you need X compatibility, you can
always consider co-Xist, our rootless implementation of the X11R4
Additionally, 3.0 offers Novell and Appletalk compatability, which is useful if
the company decides to purchase PC's and Macs in the future. If you need
clarification on any of these points, please feel free to contact me.
Best regards,
Alex Duong Nghiem Phone: (512) 343-1111
Pencom Software Fax: (512) 343-9650
9050 Capital of TX Hwy N. Mail: alex@pencom.com
Suite 300 Mail: co-Xist_support@pencom.com
Austin, TX 78759 Mail: co-Xist_info@pencom.com
USA
****************************
* NeXTMail gladly accepted *
****************************
Re: NeXT's vs. mainframes -- sales of 6000 machines
Author: Bruce Hafford
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 20:17
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 20:17
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> I have a friend who is in a position to help make a 6,000 person > company (every person has a computer, thus 6,000 machines! big > big deal!) switch from their IBM mainframes over to NeXTs. Wait a minute - there's no way EVERYONE in the company needs a NeXT. If you oversell them on it and it turns into a management and user mess, they'll be rather un-sold on NeXT's. I'd look at what people really need their machines for first - if 3000 plain mono Xstations and 3000 NeXT's are the way to go, then that's a better solution than more power....
Graphics on the NeXT
Author: Peter A Becker
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 21:03
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 21:03
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Hello friends...
I am wondering if anyone has seen the following software either
for sale or otherwise:
(1) An X-Windows emulator for the NeXT that allows the user to log
onto a remote system (through a NeXT window) and execute software
to create graphics on the NeXT.
(2) A package of C or FORTRAN callable graphics routines that run on
the NeXT. So far, the only graphics utility we can get to run
on the NeXT is Mathematica.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please respond via e-mail.
Pete Becker
pab6t@astsun.astro.virginia.edu
1-202-404-7597
Re: NeXT's vs. mainframes -- sales of 6000 machines
Author: Tigger
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 01:38
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 01:38
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In article <1992Jul21.154622.22534@pencom.com> alex@laos (Alex D. Nghiem) writes: > * <PLUG FOR OUR PRODUCT -- DON'T FLAME ME> if you need X compatibility, you can > always consider co-Xist, our rootless implementation of the X11R4 Okay. I'm a customer. I'll say it. co-Xist works quite well, and Pencom as a company seems to have a really good attitude (unlike their only commercial competition who has promised *twice* to put me on their beta testing list, but hasn't yet done it). For the record, I have no relation to Pencom except as a satisfied customer. There. That ought to take any heat off of Alex... :-) -- Greg Orman greg@pomona.claremont.edu Systems Manager NeXTmail: greg@donald.claremont.edu Seaver Academic Computing Services Pomona College Standard disclaimer-type stuff
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