From: dlj0@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (DAVID L. JOHNSON) Subject: Re: NeXTStep & Linux Date: 6 Sep 1993 05:15:13 GMT
In article <1993Sep5.225916.776@kf8nh.wariat.org>, bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org (Brandon S. Allbery) writes:
>In article <930904.224103.9T2.rusnews.w165w@mulvey.com> rich@mulvey.com (Rich Mulvey) writes:
>>rlion@access.digex.net (crazy lion) writes:
>>> nextssetp is, in my opinion the best OS there is. but it's hardware
>>> requirements are just too great for intel. you'd have to have a fully
>>> loaded comupter to even get one program running. so i doubt that anyoe
>>> would spend all the time it owuld take to write it when few could benefit..
>>>
>> "Too great for Intel?" Ummmm... you may be interested in knowing that
>>it has been available on Intel processors for several months now... and
>>in fact, since Next is no longer producing hardware, the average person
>>is likely to see it *only* on Intel machines... :-)
>
>Which doesn't change the fact that it rivals NT for hardware requirements to
>run it....
>
I'm sorry, but I just don't see what is so great about NeXT or NeXTStep. I
know the answer that Jobs and company give, but let's get beyond the pretty
icons and the hype.
It's deadly slow on a NeXT itself. It requires a 486/66 with eisa, 16 meg ram,
and 2 meg on the video card to run half-way decent monochrome graphics. With
linux on a box like that, it'd be incredibly fast. While I have not seen the
Intel port in action, whaddya bet it's terribly slow on even that setup?
If you want software beyond what comes with it? Let's say we get tired of
the dictionary, and ObjectBuilder. What else is there? From the ifdef NEXT
stuff you see in c programs, it seems that it's a pain in the &*^) to write
for, compared to most unices. What is available? No X11 stuff will be
easy to port -- it'll have to be completely re-written.
There isn't that much commercial software out there for it, and what there is
is very expensive.
I can't see any future for this product, not at the price, seeing the
limitations of such a small user base and incompatible OS. It seems like
NeXT's last gasp.
>++Brandon
>--
>Brandon S. Allbery kf8nh@kf8nh.ampr.org bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org
>"MSDOS didn't get as bad as it is overnight -- it took over ten years
>of careful development." ---dmeggins@aix1.uottawa.ca
>
--David L. Johnson ID: dlj0@lehigh.edu Department of Mathematics Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015 Telephone: 215-758-3759 (office) 215-282-3708 (home) #include <std/disclaimer.h>