San Francisco Ð Corporate NeXT users can access data on IBM mainframes and minicomputers much more easily with a variety of new products from Conextions.
The North Andover, Massachusetts, company has extended its line of IBM connectivity products with 5250Vision, which connects NeXT computers to IBM AS/400 midrange systems; an upgrade to 3270Vision; and a palette of objects for developing distributed-networking applications. All the software products work in TCP/IP heterogeneous network environments.
"Connectivity with the IBM world is an absolute requirement for us," said Tim Krus, fiscal research analyst supervisor for the City of Baltimore. "All our accounting information is stored on the IBM mainframe, and we need to have continuous access to it."
Key features of 5250Vision include smart copying and pasting of mainframe data into NeXTSTEP applications; user-definable keys to record complex command sequences into a single keystroke; and direct mapping of special 5250 keys to the NeXT keyboard. Up to 64 concurrent 5250 terminal sessions can run simultaneously.
The company's 3270Vision 3.0 also supports up to 64 mainframe sessions. Other new features include support for 3290 displays, session preferences, automatic login, and file transfer from MVS/TSO and VM/CMS host environments.
For users who want more than basic terminal emulation, Conextions offers its Network Palette, a library of objects that can be dragged and dropped directly into Interface Builder panels for developing distributed-networking applications.
The object library is scheduled to ship in September, the company said. Single-user licenses for 5250Vision or 3270Vision are priced at $595.
Conextions is located at 1545 Osgood St., North Andover, Massachusetts 01845, and can be reached 508/689-3570.