#Next Step
3 messages in this thread
>>Shame they (NeXT) didn't make it. I hate to see any platform go down the
tubes,
it leaves just that much less diversity.<<
Alex:
Actually, NeXT did not go "down the tubes." The company no longer builds
hardware, but you can order a machine running NEXTSTEP from a variety of
vendors. The NEXTSTEP operating system now runs on Intel hardware, Sun
workstations and HP's PA-RISC workstations. Versions are coming for DEC's Alpha
machines and (shudder) even to run on top of Windows 95 and WinNT. NEXTSTEP is
still not cheap; the user version goes for around a thousand bucks and the
developer version sells for $5,000 or so. (Although the academic price for the
combined user and developer version in only $299.) Byte magazine just had a
(very favorable) review of a NEXTSTEP add-on product.
NEXTSTEP is beautiful for writing software, and I think it's a joy to use as a
user environment. (Display PostScript is a joy to behold for a graphics user.)
NeXT is not targeting mere mortals like us. They're only targeting Fortune 1000
companies which use NEXTSTEP to write so-called mission-critical custom apps
(MCCA). They've been very successful in penetrating industries which have to
rapidly development real apps in a tiny fraction of the normal time, such as
the financial industry. MCI and Macaw Cellular are also big NS users, and
Chrysler Financial uses it in a big way. (Macaw — which is Cellular One — is
putting computers running NS into its dealers all over the country right now.)
Anyone who wants to know more about NS can check out the NeXT forum here on CIS
(GO NEXT) or any of several NS groups on Usenet. Or just call 1-800-TRY-NEXT to
order. (No, I don't work for the company. I just love the software. <g>)
David
The hardware is still gone. Amiga Dos is still being sold, do we claim
that the Amiga is still around? While obviously NeXTSTEP is more widely
promoted than Amiga Dos at this time, if you have a Next box, what do you
do?
All those neat apps that run on the Intel boxes are lost to you.
They could port AMIGA DOS to pee cee's, but the AMIGA would still be gone.
– Alex…. Still Whap!'n after all these years
>>The hardware is still gone. Amiga Dos is still being sold, do we claim that
the Amiga is still around?<<
The two situations are not nearly the same. First, Amiga DOS will run only on
Amiga hardware; NEXTSTEP will run on a variety of hardware and the user can't
tell he's not running on NeXT hardware. Second, hardware is much more important
to the Amiga's uniqueness than it was for the NeXT computers. Software was the
heart of what made NS a great system, whereas Amiga users know that the "custom
chips" are heart and soul of the Amiga. Third, the company that made Amiga DOS
has bitten the proverbial dust, so Amiga DOS is available only until stocks run
out or until the sale is finalized "in just two more weeks." <g>
>>While obviously NeXTSTEP is more widely promoted than Amiga Dos at this time,
if you have a Next box, what do you do?<<
If you have a NeXT computer, you keep using it until it dies or you want to go
to a faster machine. NeXT is still releasing operating system updates for the
old hardware, and most software that is released for the NS platform is
released "quad fat," meaning containing versions for NeXT, Intel, Sun and HP
hardware. In other words, there is a very clear upgrade path, and you just keep
using your machine for what you bought it for in the meantime.
>>All those neat apps that run on the Intel boxes are lost to you.<<
As I said, this is not true since new software is being shipped fat.
>>They could port AMIGA DOS to pee cee's, but the AMIGA would still be gone.<<
If the machine acted like an Amiga in every way, that would be a very
shortsighted conclusion. The fact that the Amiga's capabilities are tied so
tightly to its hardware makes this seem fairly impractical. In the case of
NEXTSTEP, it was practical. And it just works.
David