"Hey, Bob, what's cooking with NeXT's deals?" How many times has he heard that one the last two months? Sun, HP, Novell, Canon, Oracle. Deals that didn't happen, deals that haven't happened yet, and deals that may never happen.
The Intel OEM deals came together nicely in the end. Compaq went right down to the wire, while Dell got a boost when Michael Dell messaged Steve Jobs from CeBIT, "Let's get the deal on track."
HP was up and down so many times that Sullivan was leery of it even after he heard the ink was dry. Either it was dry and you already know about it or it wasn't and the details don't matter much. As Sully filed his report, the information was in that limbo between rumor and news that is the Lieutenant's particular cross to bear.
Deals that didn't happen are easier. Sun offered real money to snatch up NeXT lock, stock, and barrel. Not enough real money, however, to tempt Steve Jobs to give up the dream. Some others inside and outside the company did like it, and the events leading up to the spurned offer may have had something to do with Peter van Cuylenburg's messy exit.
Meanwhile, there is lots of buzz about Novell, but beyond the pundits and commentators, Sullivan hasn't been able to find anyone who can confirm the level of interest in Utah.
Not every deal involves NeXT. Lighthouse Design is rumored to be negotiating with Lotus for the NeXTSTEP rights to Lotus Improv. Meanwhile, Lighthouse's new project-management app, TaskMaster, which is announced on the inside front cover of this magazine, won't quite be ready for prime time at Expo but will be firmly in beta testing.
Did you notice the sign on U.S. Highway 101 a few miles north of NeXT that reads, "Wildflowers Courtesy of Allison Thomas and Associates"? This gesture of civic pride by NeXT's outgoing PR firm will sprinkle California poppies across the industrial wastland, but under the circumstances maybe daisies would have been more appropriate. That's what Allison and company are pushing up now that NeXT has unceremoniously dumped its seven-year partner. In a kill-the-messenger move, NeXT fails to recognize that its recent poor PR was the result of its own bungling, not anything the spin doctors did or didn't do. In fact, Thomas was instrumental in maintaining whatever shred of credibility NeXT retains. Anyway, the sign stays up for a year. Sullivan wishes the Thomas agency all the best in replacing its primary account.
Moving on to the black-hardware front, the Fremont factory was reopened again to run another 1200 units to fill an order by the U.S. military and another undisclosed customer. NeXT felt that the $8 million order was worth the nominal hassle, but don't expect any more production runs. And if you're still waiting for that closed-door fire sale, forget it. About all that's left are some Color Printers.
If you could pick through whatever you wanted in NeXT hardware stocks, you might be interested in some newer ROMs. It's not well known, but you can upgrade Turbo machines to Apple Desktop Bus with a chip change. Problem is, there's no official upgrade through any channel and probably no major stock of them at NeXT either.
If you own a 21-inch NeXT (Hitachi) color monitor, you'll want to know if you can take it with you in your migration to Intel hardware. The official word is no, but a guy on the net says he made it work at the regular resolution with a Dell GDX/JAWS system by making a custom RGB cable synched on green. NeXT supposedly has special drivers that make your 21-inch work on the GDX system at 68Hz.
NEC is working hard to win the loyalty of the NeXT community. In one outrageously fun move, it has licensed the rights to the case of the unannounced NRW (NeXT RISC Workstation). Their idea is to produce Intel-based motherboards to fit the NRW box. NEC's current products are very hot as well, particularly the Frogg-designed Versa notebooks, the only NeXTSTEP take-anywhere ma-chine on the market that correctly handles the suspend and resume functions.
Finally, catch these specs: 66MHz DX/2 system with 16MB RAM, 200MB SCSI disk, Wingine graphics, Intel EtherExpress 16, and 1024-by-768, 16-bit color on a 15-inch display (included) for between $3500 and $3900. The bargain product from a brand-new start-up is available in matte black for a nominal charge. For more info, ask around the Expo floor for Marty or Bob. Make sure its the right Bob, though.
Some things cost less than you think Ð like a booth at NeXTWORLD Expo or a Lt. Sullivan coffee mug. Your mug is free with a good tip. Send him e-mail at sullivan@nextworld.com or leave a message at 415/978-3374 (voice-mail).