According to Marc Munford, product manager for SoftPC, the new version includes NeXT's "interceptor" technology, which "pokes a hole through Display PostScript and lets you talk right to the frame buffer." With the change, SoftPC will run at close to native speed in the window-within-a-window mode, not just full-screen mode, Munford said.
The new version of SoftPC will also allow programs to access Novell NetWare servers through Novell NetWare IPX and Novell LAN Workspace DOS TCP/IP.
NeXT planned to begin distributing beta versions of SoftPC to customers in mid-September and include the final version on the NEXTSTEP 3.2 CD-ROM. The program will run in demo mode for 30 days, after which users will be able to purchase a $249 key from Insignia to continue using the product.
The new product contains elements of a future Windows port for UNIX, tentatively called SoftWindows, that Insignia is developing under license from Microsoft. Contrary to reports published elsewhere, however, the forthcoming NEXTSTEP product will not be called SoftWindows. The company said that it expects to ship SoftWindows for various UNIX platforms in the first half of 1994.
Insignia Solutions can be reached at 415/694-7600.