Canon Computer Systems (CCSI) is expected to aggressively enter the NEXTSTEP for Intel market after a trio of executives from Epson America joined the rival company in November.
At present, Epson is the leading supplier of Intel systems for the NEXTSTEP market. The executives and their former titles are Steve Huey, vice-president of PC product management; Bret Gutzka, manager of strategic businesses; and Al Thomason, director of original product designs. Neither company would comment.
The development is unrelated to the product plans of Powerhouse, the company associated with Canon that was formed from the remnants of NeXT's hardware operations, according to sources.
CCSI, a division of Canon USA, is headed by Yasuhiro Tsubota, who founded Epson America. He left Epson in 1990 and consulted for Steve Jobs at NeXT before he took his position at CCSI.