Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!news
From: melling@cs.psu.edu (Michael D Mellinger)
Subject: Re: Amiga OS *IS* state of the art, but the NeXT is better
In-Reply-To: rjc@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu's message of Wed, 3 Apr 91 03:38:27 GMT
Message-ID: <.$2G0ysf1@cs.psu.edu>
Sender: news@cs.psu.edu (Usenet)
Nntp-Posting-Host: sunws5.sys.cs.psu.edu
Organization: Penn State Computer Science
References: <igdG0j+d1@cs.psu.edu> <1991Apr2.192023.26598@sugar.hackercorp.com>
	<gi1Gxwqf1@cs.psu.edu> <1991Apr3.033827.1716@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu>
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 91 04:08:08 GMT
Lines: 67


In article <1991Apr3.033827.1716@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> rjc@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell) writes:

      When did the Amiga lose? Amiga's are selling better now than they have
   ever done before. Let's not forget that the Commodore 64 was also branded
   a game machine yet it sold 10 million machines world wide and is still
   selling. I predict NeXT's aren't going to achieve much of a market
   penetration.  There are low-end Amigas (500), low end Macs(Classic), lo end
   IBM's (pc/xt), but there is no low-end NeXT. The cheapest model  is over
   $3000 and that's just the educational price.

I used to own a Commodore 64 and 128 so I know all about them.  The
Amiga lost, in my opinion, because is could have done so much better.
They aren't accepted in Fortune 500 companies, you don't find too many
campus computer labs full of Amigas, and major developers still don't
write software for them.  We have one where I work(A2500), but the
people who I work with would rather play with Toolbook -- Damn that
thing is slow.  That's how much respect it gets.

    Regardless of that fact, the Amiga continues to sell without any marketing.
   Just think how good it would sell with marketing. The Commodore 64 sold
   10 million with hardly any marketing. I guess that says alot about
   Commodore's technical excellence and price.

Commodore sold 10 million 64's because they sold them for $200 a
piece.  When an entire Amiga system goes for $500, they will take off
too(IMHO).  Get WP and Lotus on the machine, and I think a lot of
people will them.  Then again, you need a flicker fixer.  People might
go for VGA machines instead.

     You need to wake up to the fact that the general populace isn't going
   to purchase a NeXT anymore than they'd purchase a Sun or Vax. Sure, it's
   cool to develop on the NeXT (objective-c, yuck), but you can't sell
   a machine to developers only, developers need consumers to buy what
   developers develop. An Amiga or Mac w/040 would kill NeXT in speed
   considering the overhead of NeXTStep, Display Postscript, and Unix
   compared to that of AmigaDOS or Finder.

Most people aren't interested in speed, they want functionality.  It's
what you do with the speed that matters.  NeXT gives the consumer
Display Postscript, voice mail, and built in fax capabilities.
The Amiga gives you the best games in the business.

     And about Interface builder. The NeXT isn't the only machine that has
   interface building programs.They are availible on the Ibm, Mac, and Amiga
   as well.

And Motif.  There is a free IB with Interviews for generic X Windows,
but it is only an alpha version.  So, spend a few hundred bucks and
buy the one for your machine.  Do you have your calculator out?

Amiga 3000 + 040 board + C++ + IB + Mathematica + DSP + 92 dpi display =

Should we throw in ethernet?  That costs an extra $500 on a Mac.  And
why the hell is Commodore still using 800K drives in the Amiga?

   Considering how long the NeXT has been around, and how many units it has
   sold, i'd say it's more of a loser than Commodore.

I think NeXT released their first machines in Sept. 88.  Their latest
machines shipped in December.  Your right, the old machines didn't
sell well because they were a bit slow, but they have sold about
20,000 new machines so far.  NeXT hasn't won yet, but they are poised
to make their mark.

-Mike

