declan@portia.stanford.edu (Declan McCullagh) (08/16/90)
In an earlier message, Ross Cutler posts: >Hello netland...Has anyone else read the bit in PC-Week a couple of >weeks ago about the next NeXT? I saw a message about that time in >this group asking the same question I am now, but I saw no reply/summary. > >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? > >Thanks in advance... 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... My own reaction to that rumor is: there's a reasonable chance that it may be true. $5,000 for such a system is a *very* competitive price, but the 68040 chip itself costs considerably more than the 68030 and may drive the price up a few hundred dollars to $5,400 or so. In any case, producing a system this powerful for such a good price is something that NeXT should *want* to do - even if there are differing factions within NeXT that have divergent opinions as to what is a "good price." From what I understand of NeXT's philosophy, I would expect them to include a DSP chip in even a supposedly "low-end" NeXT configuration. After all, what's the purpose of raising the "least common computing denominator" if you suddenly lower it again? Besides, the 56001 isn't very expensive in the kinds of quantities that NeXT would buy it in. A different case design might help sales considerably. First, the 1'x1' cube is a bit heavy to carry around, especially with two full-height mass storage devices inside -- a lighter case might be nicer in some environments. Second, it would presumably be cheaper for NeXT to manufacture. Third, it would look a bit like the (very well-received) SPARCStation, and be priced similarly. Fourth, it would be physically easier for colleges and universities to fit into their computer labs. Finally, it would announce that "NeXT has a new product," and direct the media's attention to the company. Since that kind of system for anywhere near $5,000 is such a good price, I'd guess that $5k would be the academic/developer cost, with Businessland prices a bit higher. After all, NeXT has to make money somewhere, too - even if their margins aren't anywhere near as high as Apple's... -Declan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Olympic Technologies / Registered NeXT Developers \ declan@portia.stanford.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
richf@adiron.UUCP (Rick Fanta) (08/16/90)
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.... ;-) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rick Fanta PAR Technologies ############################### Cut here ###################################### Relay-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/3/85; site adiron.UUCP Path: adiron!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!mcgill-vision!quiche!opus!peterd From: peterd@opus.cs.mcgill.ca (Peter Deutsch) Newsgroups: comp.arch, Subject: 68040 alive? was: Re: Moto's data predicts 68040 . . .) Message-ID: <2164@opus.cs.mcgill.ca> Date: 17 Jul 90 22:16:33 GMT Date-Received: 19 Jul 90 07:07:03 GMT References: <1990Jul13.163849.4282@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> <31821@cup.portal.com> Followup-To: poster Organization: SOCS, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Lines: 32 Summary: Yup... Xref: adiron comp.arch:15544 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. 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... 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 - peterd