San Francisco Ð Three months after putting all its eggs in the software basket, NeXT was set to roll out its future Ð NeXTSTEP for Intel Processors Ð at NeXT-WORLD Expo here.
The company will ship near-final releases of NeXTSTEP 3.1 for Intel and Motorola systems at $795 for the user environment and $1995 for the developer environment. Final releases will ship later this summer.
In the past, a NeXTSTEP license included access to the entire system. Now, users need to license the user environment and developers need a separate license for the developer environment. Registered owners of Release 3.0 can upgrade the user environment for $50 per machine ($75 with CD-ROM); developers can upgrade for $99. NeXT is also offering a 60-day promotion bundling a developer license with 20 end-user seats for $1495.
Besides its OEM agreements with PC manufacturers, NeXT will offer the software through distributor Ingram Micro, which will authorize VARs and dealers to sell NeXTSTEP. In addition, NeXT-Connection will sell the software via mail order; systems integrators such as Logicon, Pencom, and Linotype-Hell will provide packaged solutions; and NeXT's sales force will sell to major accounts.
Missing from the new versions is support for AppleTalk and AppleShare. NeXT is referring users who need Apple compatibility to Information Presentation Technologies. The software also lacks the native ability to run DOS and Windows programs. Instead, it will ship with a demo version of Insignia Solutions' SoftPC.
A major change in the software is its support for both the Intel and Motorola instruction sets, which NeXT refers to as Multiple Architecture Binaries. NeXTSTEP's Installer program now asks users which binaries should be installed: Intel, Motorola, or both. ProjectBuilder gives developers a choice of compiling architectures.
NeXTSTEP 3.1 is the first version of NeXTSTEP to be compliant with the POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX) standard out of the box. Support for the government's GOSIP (Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile) network standard will be available as an add-on product.