wylie@watnow (Robert Wylie) (09/21/90)
I have been wondering why all the Mac software developers aren't porting
their products to Unix now that there are some reasonably well established
interface standards.
We read (in a now-defunct thread whos name escapes me) that Sun now offers
low end Sparcs which are faster, have larger memory (both RAM and disk), and
have bigger screens per $ than the high-end Macs (eg. compare an IPC to a
IIci).
The only counter argument was that software is more expensive and there is
less of a selection (although the point was made that there is a large supply
of research software available for unix if you have the patience, skills and
interest to deal with it).
So...with that huge installed base of suns and hps and god knows what else,
all running the same os (system V with the berkley extensions) and the same
windowing system (X-11), why aren't you application developers in there like
a bunch of wolves chewing up the obviously un-competitive Unix application
developers?
Surely, it is reasonably simple to reimplement a mature product on a different
platform (?).
I would like to hear comments on this because I have to buy a machine in the
next little while- and if everybody and his brother is secretly preparing
Unix based offerings then I will buy a Sun ('cause thats what all my friends
use) otherwise I will have to buy a Mac ('cause as it stands, a mac would be
a lot more useful (and fun) at home).
I await you replies with baited breath,
Rob Wylie