This is Victims-of-Quality in view mode; [Up]
Date: Sun 08-Nov-1989 15:46:41 From: Unknown Subject: Victims of Quality Along the recent thread of discussion on how much people *actually* pay for their machines: UC Davis has a 20.7% surcharge on all NeXT products, not 15% as I previously posted. This is the basic price list (accessories purchased simultaneously) Base system $7830 330 MB Hard Drive $2415 660 MB Hard Drive $4815 Laser Printer $2415 4 MB Memory $1785 I guess this is for quality service. Unfortunately, I can't afford it. I'm not surprised that UC Davis only sold ten in the past year. Listen to this sales pitch: Me: "I understand you sell NeXT machines to UC students. I'm a UC student, and I want to purchase one." Salesman: "You have to be proficient in UNIX." (what happened to "mere mortals"?) Me: "Yes, I am- I already know I want to buy the machine." Salesman: "You have to be a UNIX expert." (wasn't this the pre-1.0 policy?) etc. Reminds me of asking about an Apple /// in Computerland in about '82. ("Well, I think we have one in the back, but the Apple /// is a buggy machine and nobody actually buys one. Here, have you seen the IBM PC?) Apparently I *still* can't buy a machine here at Berkeley. It has, however, been "under consideration" for over a year. (Quite considerable!) I will manage to buy a machine in spite of this ridiculous sales policy, somehow. (I decided against the Mac IIcx last year based on the "fact" that I could buy a cube this fall at the announced prices.) I will be not be angry if I buy the machine in December and prices are drastically cut in January, as per the previously posted rumor. But I would hope to be reimbursed in the form of reduced upgrade costs. I'm counting on NeXT not to screw their early customers. This trust is based on friendly moves like the complimentary 40 MB accelerator drive for existing owners of OD-only machines. (Given that NeXT insisted developers buy machines with hard drives, and that most early customers are developers, there may be very few of these...) Sorry to waste your time with this nonsense. As soon as I get my hands on a machine, I'll post all sorts of neat stuff. My heart goes out to our friends in Europe. Jonathan Dubman UC Berkeley >From: pepke@loligo (Eric Pepke)
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