NEXTSTEP In Focus, Winter 1994 (Volume 4, Issue 1).
Copyright ©1994 by NeXT Computer, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

FOCAL POINT

Using the Right Tools

If you've got a tool you've used for a while, is it wise to abandon it for a newer one?

Any change can carry both risk and opportunity for improvement. If switching tools would mean incurring high initial costs or changing how you do business, you might prefer to stick with what you've got. On the other hand, if the newer tool is easier to use and can help you complete the job better or faster, you might do well to make a change.

What you need is the flexibility to hang onto tools that serve their functions well or would be too difficult to change, but to replace others with newer, improved tools that could do the job better.

One resource that gives you such flexibility in your computing environment is SoftPC, Insignia Solutions' PC emulation application. With it, you can continue to use your DOS and Microsoft Windows programs, and at the same time use applications within NEXTSTEP.

The NetInfo library and NetInfo Kit^TM give you similar freedom in managing NEXTSTEP networks. You can use the existing tools--NetInfo Manager and the other applications
in NEXTSTEP, as well as administrative apps provided by third-parties--when they serve your purposes well. And you can build your own applications and utilities to operate on NetInfo data if you have special needs.

Choosing between two sets of tools is never easy--what if the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence? A better solution is to look for ways to get rid of the fence altogether.

--Cynthia Closkey, Editor

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