Early beta testers of NeXTSTEP Release 3.0 give the new system software a resounding thumbs up, reporting few problems or surprises with the April version. Furthermore, developers are reporting few problems in modifying their applications to support 3.0's new features, and nearly all applications developed under 2.1 worked without problems under 3.0.
For example, it took less than two days for Stone Design to modify Create to work with NeXTSTEP's new live links, reports Andrew Stone, president of Stone Design of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The biggest modifications resulted from changes made in the structure of NeXTSTEP's include files.
"This is a lot more stable than the first 2.0 prerelease that I got," said Bruce Henderson, NeXTSTEP team leader at Pages, a San DiegoÐbased NeXTSTEP developer.
Installing NeXTSTEP 3.0 is a two-step process, requiring both a floppy disk and the 3.0 CD-ROM. The user first runs a small program off a special floppy disk to replace the NeXTstation's Mach kernel with the updated kernel that supports 3.0's new features. The machine then reboots automatically, and the files on the attached CD-ROM drive become visible. Finally, the user runs the 3.0 upgrade application off the CD-ROM drive.
Once a single 3.0 system is upgraded, other systems at a customer's site can be upgraded over the network.
NeXTSTEP 3.0's upgrade application scans the user's hard disk and displays a list of which files the user modified. The program then gives the user the option of updating or not updating the customized files. If the user wishes, the update application will automatically make copies of any files that the user has specially modified.
Unlike the 2.1 upgrade procedure, 3.0's updater will also update a workstation from 3.0 beta to the final 3.0 release Ð once that release becomes available.
The beta 3.0 CD-ROM includes NeXT's DBKit, AppleTalk, and Novell NetWare. Although there are substantial changes in the Workspace, Edit, and Interface Builder applications, NeXT's bundled Mail application remains largely unchanged. Furthermore, despite announcements at NeXTWORLD Expo in January, the Mail application does not yet include any provisions for encryption (see "3.0's encryption poses questions").
The beta includes support for English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Swedish.
While NeXTSTEP 2.1 had mostly a monochrome interface, NeXTSTEP 3.0 makes ample use of color Ð so much use, in fact, that some early users have described the colors as "garish."