Dallas Ð In quitting the presidential race, Ross Perot left the country and the NeXT community wondering what might have been.
Although Perot, who owns more than ten percent of NeXT, never promised a slab on every desk in Washington, some benefits would certainly have accrued from having a technologist Ð a NeXT-aware technologist at that Ð in the White House.
Specifically, the Perot campaign was considering ordering several hundred NeXT computers to link volunteer offices around the country. Mike Hawley, a NeXT employee on leave and the author of Digital Librarian, traveled to Dallas at the behest of Perot Systems head Mort Myerson to assess computing needs for the campaign.
Hawley and Myerson recommended NeXT machines for its advantages in custom-app development, interpersonal communication, and network solutions.
Sources report that serious negotiations were underway to sell the machines at a substantial but not unprecedented discount when the campaign folded.
"This is an interesting time to bring technology to bear, and I think it would have had a real and memorable impact," said a disappointed Hawley.