tph@cs.utexas.edu (Pow-Hwee Tan) (09/20/90)
Thought some netters in this newsgroup might be interested in knowing this. NeXT introduced new NeXT machines yesterday. Saw it on campus today. The new NeXTstation is a 'pizza-box' style machine, though NeXT call it a slab. It's specs is almost the same as the Cube except the following: 1. 25Mhz 040, 15 MIPS. NeXT claims it runs Mathematica faster than Sparc. 2. Optical drive optional, various sizes of hard-disks are used, from 105Mb to gigabytes. 3. includes 2.88 Mbyte floppy capable of reading DOS OS/2 format. 4. Price begins at $3370 (yes, no mistake) here at UT, for a monochrome system, 8Mbyte RAM, 105Mb disk, Megapixel display with built-in mic, DSP, and the usual bundled software. Plus free Improv (new spreadsheet from Lotus) if order before 12/31/90. Read comp.sys.next for more info. --- ph tan UT Austin, CS Dept Austin, Texas
gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu (09/20/90)
[Info about Next releasing extremely nicely priced Next in last-ditch effort]
[to save the company]
>>Read comp.sys.next for more info.
Let's take this to c.s.next. Macintosh discussions are routinely flamed in the
Next group, so I'm not sure we should be reading Next stuff here.
Just a thought...
Robert
============================================================================
= gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu * generic disclaimer: * "It's more fun to =
= * all my opinions are * compute" =
= * mine * -Kraftwerk =
============================================================================cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Christopher M Mauritz) (09/21/90)
In article <12688@cs.utexas.edu> tph@cs.utexas.edu (Pow-Hwee Tan) writes: > >Thought some netters in this newsgroup might be interested >in knowing this. > >NeXT introduced new NeXT machines yesterday. Saw it on >campus today. The new NeXTstation is a 'pizza-box' >style machine, though NeXT call it a slab. It's specs >is almost the same as the Cube except the following: > >1. 25Mhz 040, 15 MIPS. NeXT claims it runs Mathematica >faster than Sparc. >2. Optical drive optional, various sizes of hard-disks >are used, from 105Mb to gigabytes. >3. includes 2.88 Mbyte floppy capable of reading DOS >OS/2 format. >4. Price begins at $3370 (yes, no mistake) here at UT, ^^^^^ Holy shi*t! Where do I sign? That is a VERY attractive offer indeed! >for a monochrome system, 8Mbyte RAM, 105Mb disk, >Megapixel display with built-in mic, DSP, and the usual >bundled software. Plus free Improv (new spreadsheet from >Lotus) if order before 12/31/90. All that for $3.4K? Are you SURE you have the pricing right? > >Read comp.sys.next for more info. > >--- >ph tan >UT Austin, CS Dept >Austin, Texas Cheers, Chris ------------------------------+--------------------------- Chris Mauritz |D{r det finns en |l, finns cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu |det en plan! (c)All rights reserved. | Send flames to /dev/null | ------------------------------+---------------------------
lange@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Trent Lange) (09/21/90)
In article <1990Sep20.214607.1515@midway.uchicago.edu> gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu writes: >------------------------------- > >[Info about Next releasing extremely nicely priced Next in last-ditch effort] >[to save the company] > >Let's take this to c.s.next. Macintosh discussions are routinely flamed in the >Next group, so I'm not sure we should be reading Next stuff here. > >Robert I believe that it is appropriate because it shows part of the competition that Apple is up against, and just how highly-overpriced their products remain. We already knew that, but before it was compared to machines like the PC compatibles (ugh) and the Sparcstation SLC - a monster performer and price competitor at $5000 - but without the heart of a Mac. But the NeXT does have the heart of a Mac, if not more. However, the Mac *was* somewhat price competitive with the NeXT. Until now. At (UCLA) educational prices, a Mac IIfx with the same size monitor (2-page display), a smaller hard disk, and half the memory costs *well* over TWICE what the new NeXT costs (~$8100 to $3400). And that's ignoring piddling little details like the NeXT coming bundled with a number of quality applications, a full Unix, ethernet, and uses a 68040 that gives it twice the performance of a IIfx. Now, I'm a died-in-the-wool Macintosh fan, and have been since I bought my original Fat Mac back in 1985. But this is clearly outrageous. Nobody can tell me that an fx costs more than a NeXT to produce (if it does, then a lot of people in Apple's design and manufacturing should be fired). And I find it hard to believe that Apple's R&D is more on a per-machine basis (in fact I find the thought laughable) than NeXT's. And I doubt that NeXT is purposefully taking a loss on its machines (though at a $3400 educational price they can't be making that much). So why does Apple feel they have to make a 140% profit on each machine? Do they know what the phrase "market share" means? Or do they just have a death wish? I'm somewhat worried about NeXT's financial future. And everything I've ever done has been done on the Macs. Because of those two things, if Apple had an even nearly equivalent machine for within $1000, heck, even $2000 of the NeXT, I'd probably go with it. But now I'm almost certainly going to buy a NeXT. Apple's been moving in the right direction price-wise, but it's still too little. Far too little. Especially at the high end. They just dropped the prices of the IIci. But left the power-users, many of the real Mac fanatics - like myself - high and dry. And with little choice but to switch allegiances. As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to wait until October 15th (since the new NeXT's won't be shipping in volume until then). If Apple doesn't knock my socks off with lowered pricing on their IIfx (like they almost did with their relatively reasonable pricing of the IIfx upgrade), then I will buy the new NeXT, and somewhat sadly say: Goodbye Apple. - Trent Lange
gross@umiami.miami.edu (JD144) (09/22/90)
In article <39171@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, lange@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Trent Lange) writes: > In article <1990Sep20.214607.1515@midway.uchicago.edu> gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu writes: >>------------------------------- >> >>[Info about Next releasing extremely nicely priced Next in last-ditch effort] >>[to save the company] >> >>Let's take this to c.s.next. Macintosh discussions are routinely flamed in the >>Next group, so I'm not sure we should be reading Next stuff here. >> >>Robert > [Stuff about the really huge price differences and how he'd toss Apple] > [to get one of these new NeXTs] To contradict Robert, this discussion is extremely pertinent to this newsgroup. We've all been drooling over the nice low prices Apple is promising us soon, but, again, what have they done at the high end? If y'all look at MacLeak a couple of weeks back..it shows what the probable pricing scale will be. It seems okay up til you reach the IIsi. At that point it jumps $3000 for 5 extra MHz of speed and the ability to add a cache card. You can't even get the built in mic with it either. And if you want the next item on the list...get ready to shell out another $2000. Once again....Apple's biggest pitfall in getting market share (tis a wonder to be how Pepsi whiz Sculley can't see the need for market share. Does he know that all the usual Mac houses have shunted a great deal of resources to Windows development simply for the chance to get a piece of the huge market share IBM and PClones have?) will be price. Please, Apple, yer getting the right idea. Just keep following that idea to it's logical conclusion: Lower (and read this as "slash & burn") the prices of the IIci and IIfx so that going from low-end to high-end is an arithmetic progression instead of geometric. :) Just my $.07 (of course my opinions are worth that much! :) ) -- Jason Gross Comp Sci Ugrad University of Miami Class of '91 (?) =========================================================================== Hey, wanna save the world? | Got sumtin' to say? gross@umiami.bitnet Nuke a Godless, Communist, | Pick and choose! gross@umiami.miami.edu gay whale for Christ. | gross@miavax.ir.miami.edu - Anonymous | jgross@umbio.med.miami.edu =========================================================================== The University of Miami has a lovely fountain.