Fun_People Archive
19 Jun
Miscellaneous NeXT Notes 

Date: Sat, 19 Jun 93 17:24:09 PDT
To: Fun_People
Subject: Miscellaneous NeXT Notes

[If you don't know (or don't care) how "NeXT" differs from "next" (no, it's
not from a ransom note) then you can probably skip this one. -psl]
_________________________________________________________________________
 From: bostic@vangogh.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Keith Bostic)
 From the 5/18 Wall Street Journal, an article about Steve Jobs
troubles at Next: (excerpted)

        Mr Jobs tenaciously stuck to his visions even though his allies
        advocated changes.  One befuddling example was his insistence
        that Next's computers have only the optical-disk drive instead
        of industry-standard floppy-disk drives.  Mr. Jobs said the
        optical drive would let users carry all their files and
        software around on one disk - a vision he called "The World in
        Your Pocket."  His argument, says a former colleague, was that
        "We've figured it out and everyone else will catch up."

        Optical-disk drives are indeed expected to become standard in
        the future, but Mr. Jobs was too far ahead of the crowd.
        Software makers refused to put programs on optical disks, and
        Next's distributors, customers and engineers clamored for a
        floppy drive.  In late 1989, frustration with Mr. Jobs's
        intrasigence boiled over at a staff meeting, where an employee
        asked him when Next would install floppy drives.  Mr. Jobs
        insisted a floppy wasn't necessary.  Another employee
        persisted, and soon the meeting erupted in a chant: "We need a
        f-- floppy.  We need a f-- floppy."  Still, Mr. Jobs refused,
        though he relented soon afterward, agreeing to design a floppy
        into a future model.
[They can have mine... -bostic]
[and mine... -psl]
_________________________________________________________________________
[Meanwhile, back at the ranch... -psl]

Excerpted From: Newswire Mailing

NEXTSTEP rates higher than Windows NT in independent evaluation

  SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--"NEXTSTEP 3.1 for Intel: Users say it
sizzles on 486 machines and is the best OOP platform," according to
Computerworld Magazine.

In an independent evaluation conducted by Computerworld Magazine, NeXT
Computer Inc.'s NEXTSTEP software scored higher marks than MICROSOFT's
Windows NT in all nine categories, including the overall rating.

...

"Independent evaluators have confirmed what we've always known -- that our
technology is way ahead of the competition," said Steven P. Jobs, chairman
and CEO of NeXT.  "The momentum is building now. NEXTSTEP is poised to
become a viable alternative to MICROSOFT."

NEXTSTEP Excels in all Categories

Category                NEXTSTEP              WINDOWS
________                ________              _______

Overall rating            4.3                   3.6
Reliability               4.3                   4.0
Performance               4.5                   3.5
Technical support         4.3                   3.3
Ease of installation      5.0                   2.8
Ease of programming       5.0                   3.3
Ease of conversion        4.8                   3.0
Ease of use               4.5                   4.3
Range of services         4.8                   3.5


           For reliability, performance and technical support, NEXTSTEP took
top honors with a 4.3,4.5 and 4.3 respectively compared to Windows NT's
4.0, 3.5 and 3.3.
           In the category of greatest importance to developers, ease of
programming, NEXTSTEP earned a perfect 5.0 while Windows NT rated a
3.3.  In ease of installation, NEXTSTEP earned a 5.0 compared to a
score of 2.8 for Windows NT.
           NEXTSTEP also received accolades in ease of conversion or porting
applications, ease of use with its graphical user interface and range
of services from a developers perspective, rating 4.8, 4.5 and 4.8
respectively compared to Windows NT's 3.0, 4.3 and 3.5.

...


[Looks great. I'm afraid I know which one will sell better, though....]
[=] © 1993 Peter Langston []