One name that won't be on the list is hatchet man Randall Stross, whose smutty little volume on Steve Jobs and NeXT has not exactly burned up the bestseller lists, despite a well-oiled publicity campaign and surprisingly uncritical reviews. Stross turned up for the NeXTÐSunSoft announcement but was unceremoniously booted by NeXT's marketing managers, who explained the event was by invitation only.
Steve Jobs said at the announcement that NeXT's relationship with Sun is more "intimate" than its liaison with Hewlett-Packard, but that doesn't seem to be bothering the strategists at HP.
That's the beauty of open systems: You compete on the merits and don't squawk about the competition. All of the indications are that HP will expand its commitment to NEXTSTEP, but that doesn't mean they will necessarily endorse the OpenStep strategy. Rather than merging technologies, HP leans toward keeping HP-UX pure and offering NEXTSTEP as an independent option.
Sun and HP should have a little more company very soon. Another "bud" is set to join NeXT's two object partners. Negotiations are running fast and furious, though they didn't make the end-of-1993 timing Sullivan mentioned last column.
Remember those defections of top Epson managers to Canon Computer Systems? CCSI is ready to tell all on January 11. Sullivan is expecting the company to announce that it is broadening its previous SOHO (small office, home office) computing focus to roll out a new division making corporate systems. Based in Portland, Oregon, the new division will offer high-end Intel-based workstations optimized for NEXTSTEP, with other operating systems to be offered at some point in the future. Expect to see the first boxes ship in the first half of the year.
Speaking of Canon, there is still no leader designated for Powerhouse, whose engineers are plodding away at designing advanced workstations. No leader means no business model, no game plan, and no decision on what operating systems its hardware will run. It is very possible that Powerhouse might confine its role to research and development, with CCSI winning the right to market and sell the Powerhouse workstation line. This would put Canon in the HP mold, selling both a high-end RISC workstation line and a low-end Intel-based workstation line.
With NeXT closed for the holidays, Sullivan's attention turned to third-party promises. Anderson Financial put some teeth in its self-imposed January 1 deadline for shipping WriteUp by promising to refund prepurchasers a dollar for every day of missed shipment.
As of this writing, it looks like the company could be rebating $10 to $15 per prepaid customer. Still, that's way better than Anderson's semicompetitors at Pages, whose AWOL status looks to continue for another month or more. Pages is past the point of making any new promises, which may be part of the problem.
Another company that prefers actions to words is Lighthouse Design, whose end-of-the-year buying spree seems destined to result in another spreadsheet choice for NEXTSTEP buyers, even if the company is staying mum for the time being. Meanwhile, Athena Design is expressing indifference over a possible new competitor, counting on its multiyear head start to keep Mesa out in front.
Back at AFS, ex-NeXTer Chris Younger will be doing some real programming work, despite the impressive Vice President sign on his office door. In fact, he will be splitting his time between home and the office, which helped make the position more interesting than NeXT's offer of his old job back. Chris had departed NeXT only six months ago to work with his old boss, Scott Abel, at Pencom. Meanwhile, Mark Skaggs has left the Virtuoso/Freehand team to head a new Altsys venture, Tetragon, which will be producing software for the 3DO platform.
Finally, with the OpenStep deal, NEXTSTEP programming talent is even more in demand. SHL Systemhouse is looking for 25 NEXTSTEP jockeys, having booked more than $20 million in NEXTSTEP-development business by the end of 1993. With ITS, Canon, and others also looking for people, it's a seller's market.
Having trouble getting along with your bud? Well, maybe it's the pressure of seven million venture-capital dollars. Consider the peacemaking properties of a Lt. Sullivan mug for the low, low price of an insider tip. Leave Sully a voice-mail message at 415/978-3374 or e-mail him at sullivan@ nextworld.com. RSA public key available upon request.