peterd@opus.cs.mcgill.ca (Peter Deutsch) (08/18/90)
Don't get your hopes up. I wont be confirming anybody's rumours or pipe dreams... :-) In article <453@adiron.UUCP>, richf@adiron.UUCP (Rick Fanta) writes: p> > Ross Cutler posts: > >> [...stuff deleted about PC Week article...] > >>I particular, I'm interested in the $5000 monochrome unit they mentioned; > >>supposedly, it will have a 100 MB HD, 2.88 floppy, 68040, and cased in > >>a pizza-box style case. Can anyone verify these rumors? Can anyone > >>elaborate on the specs (e.g. does it have the DSP)? Will the student > >>price be less? > >>[...more stuff deleted...] > > declan@portia.stanford.edu (Declan McCullagh) writes: > >The problem (as I see it) with rumors like this is that anyone who actually > >knows anything concrete about a future NeXT product has already signed a > >nondisclosure agreement or something similar. The people who aren't > >"in the know" about a future product are free to speculate, but often are > >more than slightly incorrect... > [...much speculation (albeit intelligent) deleted...] > > Don't be so sure that the article in PC Week is 100% correct. > > The following article was posted on comp.arch a little while ago. > > If this is true, then peter is probably stretching the limits on non-disclosure. > > Don't know what rumor to believe anymore.... ;-) I have to defend myself against the claim that I somehow skated close to the edge of my non-disclosure agreement with NeXT. Yes, I like NeXT machines and I follow this group regularly (some of my distractors would say religiously! :-) I have seen all the speculation re: the new machines and I have not answered because to discuss material I have received from NeXT to confirm such speculation would be such a violation. On the other hand, I _am_ free to pass on rumours, reports etc that are general knowledge or in the public domain, not originating from NeXT. In my posting the only things I said were in response to a specific question as part of a discussion about the 68040 chip. Thus: > In article <31821@cup.portal.com>, mslater@cup.portal.com (Michael Z Slater) writes: > > Speaking of 68040 performance, has anyone on the net actually seen one > > running? I'm trying to collect some data on the current status of the > > chip. > > Yup. I have been non-disclosed on the new NeXT product line > and thus was allowed to see their new colour machine when > I was in California in June. It was running a beta version > of their 2.0 release of NeXTstep and has a separate board > to do colour (I can say this as I've read this elsewhere, > I'm not giving out any big secrets). There 68040 upgrade > (already announced) should be shipping as soon as chips > come in quantity. Note I mentioned their colour machine, but then again so has Steve Jobs in a number of interviews. I also mention the 68040 upgrade, which _has_ been announced, with a projected ship date of September. the fact that there will be a 2.0 version of NeXTStep is also not a trade secret, as far as I know. Everything in the paragraph above (except the fact that I've physically seen the machine) was knowledge I had before I went down to California. I then went on to say: > I did not have the chance to do anything like > benchmarking and it was a little difficult to assess > performance with so many changes (colour, 68040, beta > software, etc) but there was no question that it's faster > than a 68030 NeXT (!) :-) I have the quoted numbers from NeXT, but > I suspect I'm on thin ice here so will hold my tongue. You > should have numbers within a month or two... There was a recent article in BYTE on the 68040 (I vaguely remember that it was by a Motorola employee, but I may be wrong) that discusses the architecture and projected speed of the machine. Again, no secrets there. Note, I specifically declined to pass on information that I have not seen elsewhere, while the reference to numbers "in a month or two" was simply refering to the fact that upgrade boards should ship in September. Finally, I said: > I understand NeXT is just about ready to start the > production line on their 68040 products, and are waiting > for 68040's in quantity for Motorola. Expect announcements > at the end of the summer, machines soon after, if all goes > well (and I hope it does, as we plan to buy a passle of > these things, and I'm in the ring if they are very late > with all of this! :-0 Again, I have read references to a big announcement in the trade press for some time, and was told about it several times by NeXT people long before I signed my agreement, so I think I'm clean here. Perhaps I have leaked the fact that I have been non-disclosed, but I don't recall being told I couldn't do that. We have been negotiating a significant purchase of workstations, and NeXT was on our shortlist. Because of this, I was given the names of other institutions considering such purchases, so I assume that fact that someone has been non-disclosed is not covered by the agreeement. If this is wrong, I obviously would apologise to NeXT, but I specifically asked our NeXT rep if it was appropriate for me to disclose the results of our purchase and was told "yes", although I mustn't given out non-disclosed performance, configuration, etc information. To my knowledge, I have not done so. So, I hope I've put to rest suspicions I have in any way played fast and loose with my agreement here. Specifically, I did _not_ intend to confirm or deny any rumours, although I did perhaps confirm the existance of new machines. Still, I believe any NeXT sales rep would do that. There seemed to be a perception that NeXT sells vapourware, and they do not. Still, I'm not free to say what they _do_ sell. NeXT will make that clear when it announces things. I also don't want to come across as a "tease", hinting at things I shouldn't be saying. I had simply joined in a discussion on the 68040. I believe I only gave out information that any one of you could obtain by calling a reasonably knowledgeable NeXT sales rep. Sorry if this causes confusion or gets anyone's hopes up. I _can_ say that the School of Computer Science at McGill University has signed an agreement with NeXT to purchase 63 new NeXT machines for a new undergraduate laboratory, with an option to buy eight additional machines. We're also getting a couple of lasers and some on-site training. I happen to believe the NeXT is an eminently suitable machine for the kind of work our students need to do, and I'm looking forward to having them here. For what it's worth, we have also purchased a 16 CPU BBN multiprocessor machine so students will have a platform for experimenting with parallelism, along with two Solbourne 4/602's, as file servers. We are still investigating the issue of dedicated graphics machines for a graphics course, although I personally believe the NeXTen can handle that role. We should decide on this pretty soon. I would like to add that I have found NeXT to be a great company, willing to listen to complaints, suggestions, etc. Their current machine is a nice box, and I have high hopes for their new products. I would encourage the type of speculation we've seen re: configuration, etc, as you can be sure that at least some people at NeXT are listening. I don't always like the way they do marketing, but I think they have a great product and I hope they sell a bundle of them. As usual, I don't have any relationship with NeXT other than as a happy customer. - peterd