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Xref: sserve comp.os.linux.misc:13029 comp.os.os2.misc:91391 comp.os.ms-windows.misc:24026 comp.os.386bsd.misc:2337 Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!gatech!cc.gatech.edu!prism!prism!not-for-mail From: ccastco@prism.gatech.edu (Costas Malamas) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.os2.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.misc,comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.unix.misc,comp.windows.x.misc Subject: Re: OpenStep for $100 Date: 20 Apr 1994 13:22:04 -0400 Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology Lines: 61 Message-ID: <2p3obs$f8k@acme.gatech.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.gatech.edu In article <cairnss.766797259@ucsu.colorado.edu>, Queenie <cairnss@ucsu.Colorado.EDU> wrote: >dmuir@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Douglas Muir) writes: > >>Hi, I'm part of a group that's thinking about implementing a $100 >>OpenStep implementation. We think Next's NextStep OS is great, but its >>high price is a major reason why not many people have it. Now that Next >>is releasing the system independent features of NextStep (the spec. is >>called OpenStep), some friends and I have started to think about >>starting a software company to write an inexpensive implementation. >>However, it would be stupid to go through all the work to write such a >>thing if nobody would want it, so I'd like to get some feedback from the >>net community. > >I do not think that high price is the only limiting factor. >Last I saw, NextStep 486 was going for $199 and the add was >begging for anyone to break down and buy a copy. > >These kinds of applications are limited in scope. They are >a great idea, but ... > >>We think that there are three types of people who might want this, 1) >>people who want nextstep but can't afford it, 2) people who use unix at >>work and want it at home but want a nicer interface so their family can >>use it too, 3) hacker/techie/student types like ourselves. > >1. MS Windows. >2. MS Windows. >3. Linux. > >The world is getting supersaturated with OS's. >I could see an inexpensive clone of NextStep >doing very well, if NextStep was doing very well. >NextStep is not doing well. > >People don't want to use it for whatever reason. >This is often how it goes in the computer industry, >and there is little that can be done to save a dead >product. Having used almost very major OS (yep VMS too...) and beeing developing apps for X-Win and MS Win to a lesser extent, I got to say this: NeXTStep is by far the best OS/Environment out there... NS/486 runs MS-Win apps faster than WIn NT (dont knwo about NT w/ Daytona), its much mor stable than u*x +X+ motif, or OS/2 and looks much prettier than X or OS/2... never mind ease of use... I thing that the major drawback of theplatform its the fact that it needs a monster PC... I dont really appreciate black and white, especially when I (and many others) have paid the extra $$$ to buy a nice 16bit+ card.. Nor I can afford 24+ MB stadard fro color installation and 250MB of HD for OS alone (granted, with lots of very nice stuff, but still.. Win 3.1 takes 20-30 full blown, with an external shell like Norton's... 8 times that is pretty bad...) I would have no problem paying the $300, but another 1000 for hardware is pretty expensive... Just my $2E-10 -- costas malamas ____________________________________________________________ georgia institute of technology OIT UA -- my opinions do not reflect those of OIT internet: ccastco@prism.gatech.edu