isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU (Art Isbell) (04/14/91)
In article <7041@oasys.dt.navy.mil> kurhajet@dtoa3.dt.navy.mil (Robert Kurhajetz) writes: >of the NeXT Dimension Board set? One last item-Is NeXTStep available >at this time on the IBM RS/6000 series? I asked an IBM salesman out of one of California's smaller IBM sales offices about NeXTStep availability on the RS/6000, which he sold to my employer. He wasn't even sure if he'd heard of NeXTStep, but he thought that its availability on the RS/6000 had been suspended. NeXTStep was supposed to be an extra-cost option on the RS/6000, so if an RS/6000 salesman doesn't even know much about NeXTStep, how can we expect RS/6000 customers to find out? I've seen NeXTStep running on an RS/6000 at a BaNG meeting (the IBM workstation group ran the demo), but they said that porting 2.0 to AIX was troublesome because of the lack of Mach threads (or anything similar) on AIX. Apparently 2.0 takes much better advantage of Mach threads than 1.0. So until IBM has an AIX based on OSF/1 (which is based on Mach), I doubt we'll see NeXTStep on AIX or any other non-Mach OS. The IBM marketing types in the audience that night expressed serious IBM support for NeXTStep, but I just haven't seen much evidence of this. Until NeXTStep becomes more widely used, I'm afraid the mainstream will continue to suffer under X..... -- _____ ____ Art Isbell |\ | | | | \ 315 Moon Meadow Lane NeXT Registered Developer | \ | ___ |____| | | Felton, CA isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU | \ | |___| | \ | | 95018-9442 (408)438-4736(B) | \| |___ | \ |___/ (408)335-1154(H)
bb@math.ufl.edu (Brian Bartholomew) (04/14/91)
> I've seen NeXTStep running on an RS/6000 at a BaNG meeting (the IBM > workstation group ran the demo) I saw an RS/6000 with two color monitors in the Insidious Blue Machine hospitality suite at the Winter USENIX. It was running NextStep 2.0 in color on one monitor, and X11R-something on the other. It was mind-blowingly fast. It never crashed, and I watched people play with it for several hours. > He wasn't even sure if he'd heard of NeXTStep, but he thought that its > availability on the RS/6000 had been suspended. The software developer demoing the NextStep said that the 2.0 port was essentially done, but there were some strong doubts that management would ever market it. I personally expect it would embarass their X-flavored product line too much. -- "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Bartholomew UUCP: ...gatech!uflorida!beach.cis.ufl.edu!bb University of Florida Internet: bb@math.ufl.edu
Gerben.Wierda@bbs.acs.unc.edu (Gerben Wierda) (04/22/91)
I can backup that story on the 1.o release vs. 2.0 release that I saw in a posting on this group. I have heard the same story from an IBM official at the CeBIT '91 in Hannover, Germany. He was one of the people who had been involved with NextStep on IBM and he was very enthousiastic about it, but he also said that the release of 2.0 had stopped IBM for the moment to consider even working on a release 2.0. Now I have seen a posting on the net describing the demo of 2.o on the RS/6000, so what is going on here? I also think that if NextStep will be used by NeXT owners only, the rest of the workstation users are badly mistreated. Gerben -- ============================================================================= Extended Bulletin Board Service, Research & Development Office of Information Technology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill internet: bbs.acs.unc.edu or 128.109.157.30
petrilli@wookumz.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Chris Petrilli) (04/22/91)
Gerben Wierda writes: >I can backup that story on the 1.o release vs. 2.0 release that I saw >in a posting on this group. I have heard the same story from an IBM >official at the CeBIT '91 in Hannover, Germany. He was one of the people >who had been involved with NextStep on IBM and he was very enthousiastic >about it, but he also said that the release of 2.0 had stopped IBM for >the moment to consider even working on a release 2.0. Now I have seen a >posting on the net describing the demo of 2.o on the RS/6000, so what is >going on here? > >I also think that if NextStep will be used by NeXT owners only, the rest >of the workstation users are badly mistreated. I have seen both NextStep v1.0 and v2.0 on the RS/6000 systems, and while 2.0 may be faster than 1.0 on the NeXT is is substantially SLOWER than 1.0 on the RS/6000. How is that you say? If has to do with the fact that 2.0 depends more on the features of Mach which are (like alot of other things) unavailable under AIX. I was told that while 1.0 will most likely be offered this fall, 2.0 will have to wait until OSF/1 is ready. From what I hear from an OSF developer here in Austin, that could be a while... like 2/3QTR NEXT year. By that time, I believe NeXT will be producing 3.0 (with all the really cool ideas that have been offered). IBM also believes this (at least those in Austin that designed the Rios machines) and from what I have heard, will wait until 3.0 to report the system... I can just imagin NextStep running on that 730... might even give the NeXTDimension a run for it's money... nah... too much $$$$ for the 730. Chris -- + Chris Petrilli | Internet: petrilli@gnu.ai.mit.edu + Insert silly disclaimer drivel here.