jtn@zodiac.ADS.COM (John Nelson) (12/19/89)
Well, it's good to see that religious wars are still alive and well ;-) But seriously... several posters have pointed out, and I think rightly so, that comparing the NeXT and Macintosh computers at this time is like comparing Apples and oranges (pun intended); The NeXT is in its infancy and, if Steve Jobs is correct, the Mac is nearing the end of its lifetime. One has a developed base, the other doesn't. One has lots of low-cost software, the other doesn't (but does have promising hardware and a much more standard operating system). Both have window systems, yet using wildly different windowing paradigms.... etc. Thus I think that comparing the two machines as whole systems isn't going to buy you much. Now, taken in isolation, the good and bad points of each machine do make for informative comparisons. Neither company is likely to embrace the standards of the other wholesale, however there is certainly room for exchange of ideas and refinement of individual capabilities. The purpose of my original posting was to identify several weak points in the Mac (and believe me there are more) which could stand improvement. I'm hoping that Apple will take the suggestions of the user community to heart and take the bold step forward, as Steve Jobs has done... by providing a quantum leap in capability and price. A vain hope perhaps. Some people have taken the position that the best improvement to a Mac is to buy a NeXT. That's clever, but since the NeXT software base is immature at this time, I am holding off on purchasing one. At this time the Mac provides what I need for software development, music applications and research, and document preperation. The machine isn't perfect (it doesn't run Unix), but it does work well enough to get the job done. The NeXT *would* be perfect if it had colour and if it had a larger software base for musicians (e.g. if it ran Finale', MOTU products, etc). It doesn't and so the Mac is it.... for now. So you see... the world isn't perfect. No computer is perfect. The user community can, however, make a difference by participating in forums like Usenet and letting the computer manufacturers know what you expect to see from them. Remember its YOUR dollar. Vote with it wisely. -- John T. Nelson UUCP: sun!sundc!potomac!jtn Advanced Decision Systems Internet: jtn@potomac.ads.com 1500 Wilson Blvd #512; Arlington, VA 22209-2401 (703) 243-1611