Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!enea!pvab!robert From: robert@pvab.UUCP (Robert Claeson) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: wanted: Sun 386 Workstation (Road Runner) info Message-ID: <226@pvab.UUCP> Date: 9 May 88 12:36:00 GMT References: <148@gsg.UUCP> <10928@jade.BBN.COM> Organization: Statskonsult Programvaruhuset AB, Sweden Lines: 39 Keywords: sun 386 Roadrunner Summary: Who will buy a Sun386i? In article <10928@jade.BBN.COM>, mlandau@bbn.com (Matt Landau) writes: [Comments on the new features in SunOS 4.0 deleted] [Comments on improvements in the user interface deleted] > - The automatic installation and EZ Unix stuff are still a little > shaky in beta test. In particular, there's not enough attention > (in my opinion) paid to 386i's that have to coexist on existing YP > networks with Sun 3's, and to machines that live on the Internet. > I can understand this, since Sun is trying to sell Roadrunners > into a different market segment, [stuff deleted] > What do I really think about the Sun 386i? I like it. A lot. It's about > the only machine I can imagine wanting to buy for my home. If I were > still doing consulting, I could easily recommend it to lots of people. > It would be a really nice software development environment, for other Suns > or for PC's. > It would be a nice financial analyst's machine > And of course it's a Sun, so it's nice for DTP, CAD, and all those other > uninteresting things that non-hackers do with their Suns now :-) The question still remains: who will *really* buy a Sun 386i? It is too expensive for those who are mainly looking for a faster PC. Those who already have Sun's have a lot of software invested in Sun-3 and/or Sun-4 software, and would probably not like to invest a lot of money in the same software for the 386i architecture. A 386i is somewhat faster than a Sun-3, but not quite as fast as a Sun-4. And there's a lot more software out there for the Sun-3 series of workstations. So, what customers do Sun think will buy 386i's, and what customers think they will buy a 386i?