This is Open-Letter-to-NeXT in view mode; [Up]
Date: Sun 22-Aug-1989 15:10:28 From: Unknown Subject: Open Letter to NeXT August 22, 1989 NeXT, Inc. An open letter to NeXT: I regard the NeXT computer as one of the greatest advances in computing since the Apple ][. Having spent just a few short hours exploring the NeXT, I see brilliance! Only one aspect needs to be changed, include a Maxtor 140 Meg. winchester. I am scared for the success of NeXT though, having made inquiries with local sales and support, and also with Palo Alto, I percieve that many large mistakes are being made. Let me list them from my encounters with NeXT employees: 1. Everything is too secretive. Very little information is revealed concerning sales and technical aspects. The attitude I received when talking to Palo Alto, was that of "we will decide what is best for you, so don't ask". I want to use the NeXT, but I can't if I don't get the help I need. 2. Regardless of what you think Mr. Jobs, the NeXT should be sold primarily to businesses. NeXT is a Unix workstation with bundled software that beats the competition. I am a software engineer for a major telecom company, we are right in the middle of purchasing over 400 workstations within a one year period. We have installed 100 already. The major problem we have is that most engineers do not know unix and do not wish to learn it. NeXT solves this problem and at THE BEST PRICE! The software that comes with the NeXT saves on average around $2500 per user. The NeXT comes in at relatively half the price of a comparably equipped workstation. We simply can't use it because NONE of the tools vendors we use have even considered porting their applications to the NeXT. Why? The vendors have said they thought the NeXT was an incomplete machine and you must add a lot more EXPENSIVE hardware. This is not true! It seems that NeXT still has this pipe dream that they will sell to "higher education" first. I WANT TO HAVE A NeXT ON MY DESK; GET THE MICROTEC CROSS COMPILER AND TOOLS RUNNING ON THE NeXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk to the major vendors and help them port their products to the NeXT platform. It seems nobody from NeXT is talking to these people. 3. Business Land needs to know what they are doing and realize that the NeXT is not a PC! I am not blasting NeXT, I merely want one! I can't buy my own, but I could have one if my company would buy it, but the CASE tools and cross-compilers must operate on the NeXT. Please move in this direction Mr. Jobs. Cy Foughty 1428 Pioneer Lane Plano, Tx 75023 Home: (214)578-8837 Work: (214)519-4237
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Marcel Waldvogel and Netfuture.ch.