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Xref: sserve comp.os.linux.misc:13140 comp.os.os2.misc:91616 comp.os.ms-windows.misc:24160 comp.os.386bsd.misc:2350 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 Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!yoyo.aarnet.edu.au!news.adelaide.edu.au!news.cs.su.oz.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!sdd.hp.com!col.hp.com!csn!boulder!cnsnews!ucsu.Colorado.EDU!cairnss From: cairnss@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Queenie) Subject: Re: OpenStep for $100 Message-ID: <cairnss.766797259@ucsu.Colorado.EDU> Sender: usenet@cnsnews.Colorado.EDU (Net News Administrator) Nntp-Posting-Host: ucsu.colorado.edu Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder References: <2op5g8$1u0@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU> Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 23:14:19 GMT Lines: 40 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. -- You too Brutus?