Re: Plans for change.... (minor correct of previous post)

[Gregory John Casamento]

Philippe,

I understood you perfectly, but I'm not sure you're getting me, so I'll 
explain:   

I think that saying "NeXT failed with the OpenStep strategy!" is severely 
paraphrasing reality.

NeXT didn't have a chance to succeed with this strategy, since: 

1) Sun had started working on Java WHILE they were working on OpenStep and
2) NeXT was already going out of business because of many bad business 
decisions of Steve Jobs.

Jobs had the opportunity to put NS/OS for Mach on Dell machines as one of the 
choices FROM DELL and he turned it down.   A similar offer was made to allow 
NS/OS be the default on IBM's RS/6000 series of machines, but he decided to 
keep IBM one version behind and soak them for licensing fees for each 
subsequent version because he was so focused on NeXT's hardware business.  So 
IBM told NeXT to go screw itself.   NeXT also had the opportunity to get 
Microsoft's set of productivity apps on OPENSTEP, but Steve decided it would be 
fun to make Bill Gates wait for three hours before telling him he was too busy 
and "could they do it another day."  When asked during an interview Bill Gates 
said "Write software for the NeXT platform?  No, I'll piss on it."

NeXT was not solely focused on making OpenStep into all it could be. 
They were more concerned with staying in business.   Had they gotten
any one of the deals that I mentioned above, NeXT would have had the
resources to make OpenStep succeed.    


The success or failure of an idea in this industry has as much to do with who 
is pushing it as much as what is being pushed.   The fact that NeXT failed to 
make OpenStep into a successful crossplatform development environment, does not 
diminish the efficacy of the idea.   

Later, GJC
--
Gregory Casamento
## GNUstep Chief Maintainer

----- Original Message ----
From: Philippe C.D. Robert <address@hidden>
To: Gregory John Casamento <address@hidden>
Cc: GNUstep Developers <address@hidden>
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 1:01:49 PM
Subject: Re: Plans for change....  (minor correct of previous post)

Hmmm..

On 18.12.2006, at 02:57, Gregory John Casamento wrote:

>> And NeXT clearly failed with this strategy ;-)
>
> To go into all of the reasons why NeXT failed is beyond the scope of
> this email.  But, suffice it to say, it wasn't this strategy that  
> failed them,
> it was the idea that you could charge $10,000.00 per machine and  
> $5,000
> per development seat and be profitable. :)

You misunderstood me ;-)

I was saying that NeXT failed with the OpenStep strategy! This never  
really took off, especially after SUN dropped their OPENSTEP effort.  
NeXT was successful with the NEXTSTEP 3.x OS (or OPENSTEP Mach 4.x  
that is) and WebObjects/EOF.

-Phil
--
Philippe C.D. Robert
http://www.nice.ch/~phip