t-jondu@microsoft.UUCP (Jonathan Dubman) (07/29/89)
Carlos Salinas writes: >The future of NeXT. The NeXT future. >The future of the NeXT lise not in "meat and potatoe" programs but in Hyper- >media. Why? If we don't have meat, there may not me much of a future. The rest of the world is pretty practical and conservative. Look at the number of PCs out there. Look at the number of Selectrics out there. Not to worry, the potatoes have indeed been planted and should be ripe by late next year. >Architecture: >The NeXT is a powerful 25mhz machine with a large display (multi-windows, >multi-processes), and built in ethernet (ie access to the world!). This alone >makes it a prime candidate for Hyper systems (Hypertext, Hypergraphics, Hyper- >media). True, but it would also make one hell of a spreadsheet. Lotus thinks so. I'm a little concerned, though, because they don't know how to manage large software projects. Does anybody know who else is working on applications? (See disclaimer!) >OS and Objective-C: >Ever worked with HyperCard for the Macintosh? Imagine a HyperCard for the NeXT >It would be suprisingly easy to add a HyperCard to the NeXT. Many of the ob- >jects you would need are already defined (Application Kit- windows=backgrounds >views=cards, buttons=buttons). Mach is designed to allow inter-application >communications so "meat and potatoes" programs could be linked into the over- >all system. Why be limited to an Interface Builder when you can have an >Application Builder? Yes, it would be easy to do HyperCard on the NeXT, though I hope it would be an improvement over Apple's version. While the IB is not the answer to all problems, it is a very powerful tool that already encompasses some of the functionality of a "hypertext" system. It's good that it doesn't try to be all things to all people, because in that case it would probably fail. The Japanese have been very successful at _iterative_ improvement. Many attempts to reinvent the "world" have failed, but attempts to improve it have succeeded. Software companies deal with this when they decide they are code-complete on a project and will save features for the next release. >What I envision for the NeXT is basically a software revolution. A giant step >into the future which Jobs began by introducing window systems in the Macin- >tosh. Imagine a machine with the power of the NeXT tied into a global infor- >mation network! A Hyper system encompasing the databases of the world. True >online documentation, not the parody of old world technology that the "Digital >Librarian" gives us. With a HyperNeXT one could bank at home, order by Email, >do research by Ethernet, run an international business, all with the ease of >point and click. Click, and satellite images appear on your screen (analyze as >you please, graph packages could be linked into the Hyper system). Imagine the >waves this could create in the sciences, where scientists grudge through >mounds of computer generated data by hand! Imagine the future! Jobs, are you >aware of the potential of the machine you've created? Or are you going to >push uninspiring software like the Digital Librarian, and Interface Builder >(a small step yes, but lacking vision)? HyperNeXT is the future... Same as above re: revolution. All in due time, the personal computer is one of the furthest along of all the parts needed for this global information network. (USENET is a start, the phone system is another, etc.) And we don't want to settle on premature standards. Let's not belittle Digital Librarian- the Mac was the first machine to acknowledge that a $3000 COMPUTER system like the IBM PC couldn't even do an addition or multiplication without quitting the application and going into BASIC- hence the calculator. First things first. What do you want Jobs to do? First let's comlete the OS, though, don't get me wrong- I think it's great to speculate like this, to dream of the far future. >Miscellany- >online publications (not the 2d stuff we're used to, but hypermedia) >online shopping (peruse a hyper catalogue from Sears) >online research (journals galore, all heavily cross indexed to give you the > info you need, more time on research, less in the library) >online news groups (above and beyond the limitations of RN) (Yes, RN is terrible. It does work, though.) Knowing how Sears is organized, we'll see a hypercatalogue from them in about the year 2105. (Yikes- I'm getting cynical with age!) More likely some nimble upstart will beat them to it, beginning with a few niche products that would most benefit from the purchasing method and gradually expand the selection. > Carlos Salinas >CARLOS@ROMEO.CALTECH.EDU Jonathan Dubman Summer Software Design Engineer, Microsoft Disclaimer: These opinions are mine and not those of my company. Especially any opinions of Apple and Lotus!