farber@pcpond.UUCP (David J. Farber) (05/30/89)
I have now read endless messages about the failure of the NeXT to make a revolution. I thought I would throw in my 2 cents. Revolutions are based on a lot of legs. Some are technological, a new processor or basic change to architecture (like the Biin Gemini); some are software based, like Multics and Unix; and some are only apparent from the users view (like the Parc systems which were the forrunners of the MAC) and then there are ones that change the way we think about computing -- like the SRI NLS system and finally there are revolutions that effect the marketplace like the IBM PC. All are revolutionary in that they change the world (at least of computing). Where does NeXT fit. I have had one for a while now. Its software is, in spots pre-beta, its hardware is rock solid. Is it a revolution? That is has it changed the way I look at computing. I would say the answer is yes. The combination of performance, a modern operating system kernal that is also combined with a familiar "shell" 4.x; an excellent user interface along with the sound, optical disk etc has presented me with a package that is beginning to change my view of what personal computing is. Will it be alone. No, revolutions are funny in that they eventually , if successful, are absorbed by the establishment and become the norm. Revolutionists are accussed of being conservatives at that point. Dave --------------- David J. Farber; Prof. of CS and EE, Director - Distributed Systems Labs. University of Pennsylvania/200 South 33rd Street/Philadelphia, PA 19104-6389 Comm: 215-898-9508 (office), 215-274-8192 (fax); 302-740-1198 (cellular)