NeXT Nugget News Digest (vol. 5, issue 5, October 24, 1992) TABLE OF CONTENTS I. NeXTSTEP486 Questions & Answers and Beta Offer II. Upgrade to NeXTSTEP 3.0 with NeXT User Group assistance III. NeXTWORLD Seeking Database Server Applications IV. Cub'X Announces INTUITIV'3D Creation Environment for NeXTSTEP V. Cub'X Announces INTUITIV'3D Professional VI. Xanthus Announces SplitBuilder/Receiver VII. NeXT Monitor Announcement -- October 14, 1992 Conrad Geiger Manager, International NeXT User Groups P.S. To be added or deleted from this distribution, please send email to "nugget@next.com." ____________________________________________________________________ I. NeXTSTEP486 Questions & Answers There has been a lot of recent speculation and rumors regarding NeXTStep 486. Here is the NeXTSTEP 486 Product information from the NeXTSTEP486 Program manager, Bob Lawton. If you have any other questions not addressed below or wish to be placed on the beta list, please send your email to the following address with the subject heading: "NeXTSTEP486 beta": nextstep486_info@next.com if you wish to placed on the beta list. Conrad Geiger International NeXT User Groups ____________________________________________________________________ NeXTSTEP 486 Product Questions and Answers - Sept 30th 1992 Table of Contents NeXTSTEP 486 Schedule NeXTSTEP 3.0 on NeXT Computers vs NeXTSTEP 486 NeXTSTEP 486 Hardware Support NeXTSTEP 486 Microsoft DOS and Windows Support NeXTSTEP 486 Schedule What is the current status of NeXTSTEP 486? We have just finished an early release of NeXTSTEP 486 3.0. This release was designed a select group of Independent Software Vendors. Several software vendors have already ported their software to NeXTSTEP 486. Where can I see NeXTSTEP 486 3.0? NeXTSTEP 486 release 3.0 was shown at UNIX Expo, Seybold and future trade shows such as Comdex. By early October, demonstration systems in NeXT sales offices and NeXT's headquarters in Redwood City, CA will be updated to the this new release. When will the first Beta release of NeXTSTEP 486 be available? NeXTSTEP 486 Beta release is scheduled for the 4th quarter 1992. How do I get on the beta list for NeXTSTEP486 3.0? To get added to the beta release list, send email with the subject: "NeXTSTEP486 beta" to the address "nextstep486_info@next.com." When will the first "Shrink Wrap" release of NeXTSTEP 486 be available? NeXTSTEP 486 first customer shipment of the "Shrink Wrap" release is scheduled for the 1st quarter 1993. NeXTSTEP 3.0 on NeXT Computers vs NeXTSTEP 486 How does NeXTSTEP 486 differ from NeXTSTEP on NeXT Computers? It doesn't. NeXTSTEP 486 is a complete port of the NeXTSTEP 3.0 software environment to Intel-based Computers. NeXTSTEP 486 has the same User Interface, Development Environment, Applications, Networking (NFS, Novell, Appleshare), State of the Art Color, Mach UNIX, Display Postscript, 3D Renderman etc, etc. What about support for NeXT Computer specific hardware features such as the DSP? NeXT Computers offer additional hardware support not commonly available for Intel systems. This includes the DSP. The DSP in a NeXT Computer is used for a variety of functions including ISDN support and real-time audio compression / de-compression. ISDN support for NeXTSTEP 486 will be provided via an add-on PC card and ISDN adapter. Real-time audio compression / de-compression support is currently under investigation. How would you compare 486 systems running NeXTSTEP 486 vs the NeXT Computer product line? NeXT Computers are true integrated workstations designed to provide high performance throughout the entire system. In order to make a fair comparison, an Intel system must be equipped with a complete set of high performance interfaces. In other words, a 486DX/2 50Mhz with a processor-direct graphics system, EISA backplane, 32bit LAN, 32bit SCSI, 16bit Sound and a high-performance SCSI disk will perform similar to a NeXTstation Turbo. A 486DX 33Mhz similarly equipped should provide performance equivalent to a NeXTstation. Intel-based systems configured for this level of performance often cost as much or more than NeXTstations; please contact NeXT Hardware Product Marketing for additional comparison information. Can I use NeXTSTEP 486 systems with my existing NeXT Computers? Of course! NeXTSTEP 486 is design to plug and play with existing NeXT installations. NeXT has addressed interoperability between NeXTSTEP systems in the following ways: * NeXTSTEP systems share identical networking capabilities. * NeXTSTEP systems share the same Distributed Objects. * NeXTSTEP systems use the same system and network administration services. * NeXTSTEP systems use the same mass storage format. Yes, you can take a external SCSI drive, removable media (ie Bernoulli etc) or floppy disk and use it interchangeably between NeXT Computers and NeXTSTEP 486 systems. How do I use applications compiled for both NeXT Computers and NeXTSTEP 486 on the same network? Simply. NeXTSTEP 3.0 includes a new feature called Multi-Architecture Binaries (so called "Fat" binaries). This capability allows developers to compile NeXTSTEP applications on multiple system architectures, and combine them into a single package. When an application is run, NeXTSTEP will extract the appropriate instructions for the local system, and run the application. This operation is completely transparent to the user, it just works! Most of the NeXTSTEP applications in the future will be delivered as Multi-Architecture Binaries. Tools are also provided to "Slim" binaries for use in a one architecture environment. Do Multi-Architecture Binaries take a lot of extra disk space? No. Most applications consist of one or more executable programs (with architecture dependent machine instructions) and a lot of text and data. This machine independent data is typically data files used by the application, help files, examples, internationalization etc. Since only the actual machine dependent portion of the application is duplicated, a two architecture application typically takes only about 20%-30% more disk space than a single architecture application. If disk space is tight, tools are provided to "Slim" binaries for use in a single architecture environment. How difficult is it to recompile existing NeXT applications over to NeXTSTEP 486? Very easy. Most programs will simply recompile and run, or require few changes. We believe that any application that uses the standard development environment and Object kits provided by NeXT should simply compile and run. Only applications that use architecture specific features or data formats, will require additional time to port. Several developers have already ported applications to NeXTSTEP 486. Appsoft Draw simply recompiled and ran, Lighthouse Concurrence took 3 hours, other programs took 1/2 a day to 2 days, and this was all on a very early release of NeXTSTEP 486 3.0! When developing programs, are there any portability issues I should be aware of? Yes. As stated above, any applications that use the standard tools provided by the NeXTSTEP development environment, should just recompile and work. To make sure developers are aware of portability issues, NeXT is producing a guide to address source code portability between different architectures running NeXTSTEP. This guide should be available in November. What is the difference between the NeXTSTEP 486 User Environment and Developer Environment? The NeXTSTEP 486 User Environment consists of the entire NeXTSTEP 3.0 environment, minus the developer tools. The Developer Environment includes the developer tools such Interface builder, Project Builder, C compilers, Object Kits, example source code and developer documentation. NeXTSTEP 486 Hardware Support What are the general requirements to run NeXTSTEP 486 on Intel-based Computers? Please refer to the NeXTSTEP 486 - Desktop Systems Hardware Compatibility Overview. This document addresses RAM, Disk, Graphics Adapters and I/O card support for NeXTSTEP 486. A specific NeXTSTEP 486 Hardware Compatibility Guide will be available in November. If a specific I/O card is not supported by NeXT, can 3rd parties write drivers for NeXTSTEP 486? Yes. NeXTSTEP 486 uses a newly developed object-oriented driver architecture that brings the benefits of object-orientation all the way down to the I/O card driver level. Complete documentation for this new "Driver Kit" architecture will be available later this year. How will NeXTSTEP 486 be installed? NeXTSTEP 486 will come with a boot floppy and a CDROM. To install NeXTSTEP 486, the system boots from the floppy, and then installs the minimum NeXTSTEP environment from the CDROM (SCSI CDROM drive). The user may then chose from several optional packages depending on the available disk space and user requirements. Has NeXT published any specific configurations I can purchase today? Yes. Specific configurations for DELL and Compaq computers are available. Information about additional systems vendors will be available in November. Will NeXTSTEP 486 run on 386 machines? No. NeXTSTEP 486 uses several 486 specific features that enhance the performance of NeXTSTEP. NeXTSTEP 486 will support any true 486. Will NeXTSTEP 486 run on the Cyrix 486SLC? No. The Cyrix chip not a true 486. Will NeXTSTEP 486 run on the future Intel Microprocessors in the x86 family? Of course! NeXTSTEP 486 will not only support them, but will take advantage of any performance enhancements available with future Intel CPU's, just as NeXT has taken advantage of the 486. Will NeXTSTEP 486 run on portable computers? Yes. Many portables and notebooks with 486 CPU's and sufficient system resources (8+MB RAM and 120+MB hard disk space) are available. Since NeXTSTEP 486 will support 640x480 VGA displays in grayscale, NeXTSTEP 486 can run on these systems. Do be aware that NeXTSTEP's user interface and applications were not designed for low-resolution screens, and consequently will impose limitations on the use of some applications. Also, typical battery management systems do not work with multi-tasking operating systems. Future versions of NeXTSTEP 486 will provide driver support for portable-oriented peripherals such as pocket Ethernet, SCSI and Sound adapters and PC/MCIA cards. We expect additional device drivers for portable peripherals to be available in Q3-Q4 1993. Until drivers are available for portable SCSI adapters, NeXTSTEP 486 can be installed on portables by using a docking station with SCSI adapter and CDROM. The docking station can then be used for a local area network card. NeXT is investigating future Intel microprocessors that may provide battery management support for advanced operating systems such as NeXTSTEP. NeXTSTEP 486 Microsoft DOS and Windows Support Will NeXTSTEP 486 be able to run Microsoft DOS and Windows programs? Yes. NeXTSTEP 486 will support a DOS and Windows compatibility package. This software will allow DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 programs to run within a NeXTSTEP window. Support will include DOS "Protected" mode and Windows 3.1 "Standard" mode (Win-16). Support for Win-32 applications is planned for the second half of 1993. Will DOS and Windows compatibility be included with NeXTSTEP 486? We have not yet announced how this capability will be packaged. How will my DOS and Windows applications perform under NeXTSTEP 486? Very well. The DOS/Windows compatibility package for NeXTSTEP 486 takes full advantage of the 486 microprocessor. Depending on system hardware configuration and type of DOS/Windows application, performance should vary between 386 and 486 native DOS/Windows performance. In addition, to enhance the performance of Windows applications, a MS Windows specific Graphics Device Interface (GDI) driver which maps Microsoft Windows calls directly to the NeXTSTEP window server will be part of the system. Is the window I use to run Microsoft Windows applications resizable? Yes. You can set the Windows session to any size you wish up to the maximum screen size available to the NeXTSTEP 486 system you are using. Will this DOS/Windows compatibility system allow me to run several DOS programs at once? Yes. Since NeXTSTEP 486 is a multi-tasking, virtual memory operating environment, several DOS/Windows sessions can be run at once. Can I cut and paste between DOS/Windows sessions and NeXTSTEP applications? Yes. You can cut and paste text and graphics between DOS/Windows and NeXTSTEP applications. Can I use both DOS and NeXTSTEP 486 partitions on the same hard disk? Yes. NeXTSTEP 486 will support multiple operating systems on the same local hard disk. When the system boots, the user can chose to boot another operating system (such as DOS) or NeXTSTEP. If the local partition contains DOS, NeXTSTEP 486 will be able to access the local DOS partition and read/write files to it. Can NeXTSTEP 486 read and write DOS format floppies? Of course. Just like all NeXT Computers. ____________________________________________________________________ NeXTSTEP 486 - Desktop Systems Hardware Compatibility Overview This document describes in general terms, the types of IBM Compatible PC based hardware that will be supported by NeXTSTEP 486 in it's First General Release. For specific supported configurations please refer to the NeXTSTEP 486 Hardware Compatibility Guide. For any hardware specification or purchase, please contact NeXT for the latest update to this Guide. This overview is preliminary, and subject to change as additional PC hardware is certified for NeXTSTEP 486. General Requirements: CPU - 486 based PC Compatible Computer. This includes 486SX, 486DX, 486DX/2. Future Intel Microprocessor designs in the x86 family will also be supported. ISA or EISA expansion bus. 486DX and 486DX/2's are recommended for better performance. Available Hard Disk Space - User Environment, 120 MB Minimum. Developer Environment, 330 MB Minimum. Larger local disks are recommended for stand alone systems. Graphics: NeXTSTEP 486's Display Postscript Graphics system supports both Grayscale and Color on 486 based PC's. The Graphics Adapter support and RAM requirements vary depending upon the user's selection of Grayscale or Color. 2 Bit Grayscale System Support: Graphics Adapters - Most VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) compatible VGA or Super VGA Graphics Adapters. This includes popular Super VGA cards from vendors such as the Orchid, ATI, Paradise, Video Seven and Compaq. These graphics adapters will be supported at resolutions of 1024x768, 800x600 and 640x480. Resolutions at or above 800x600 are recommended. RAM - Minimum 8 MB, 12 MB Recommended. 16 Bit Color System Support: Graphics Adapters - In order to provide adequate performance and Color Quality, NeXTSTEP 486 requires High Performance "Workstation" style Graphics Adapters. Many new Graphics Systems are being introduced that meet these requirements, they include Intel JAWS (such as DELL Processor-Direct Graphics), Chips and Technologies Wingine, and certain Local Bus Graphics adapters. Depending upon the size of available VRAM (Video RAM) resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768, 1120x832 and 1280x1024 will be supported. Graphics Adapters designed for EISA based PC's are available (such as Compaq QVision 1024/E and ATI Graphics Ultra Pro) or being developed, these are currently being evaluated for performance and may provide an easy upgrade for existing EISA PC's. RAM - Minimum 16 MB, 24 MB Recommended. Additional Device Support: Disk Interfaces - Both IDE and SCSI Hard Disk Interfaces will be supported. SCSI adapters from Adaptec and DPT (for both ISA and EISA) will be supported, with more to follow. Pointing Devices - Microsoft and Logitec compatible Bus, PS/2 port and Serial mice are supported. In addition certain graphics tablets will also be supported. Printer Support - Any Postscript Level I or II printer connected via a serial or parallel port, including the NeXT Color Printer (connected via a SCSI port). Support of Non-Postscript printers will be available in a future release. Networking Support - ISA and EISA based Networking Adapters will be supported including Ethernet and Token Ring Cards from vendors such as SMC (Western Digital), Intel and 3Com. A Networking card is optional. Sound Support - Most popular PC sound Cards will be supported for both Playback and Recording. These include PC Sound Adapters such as the Sound Blaster, MediaVision Pro Audio Spectrum and Integrated Business Audio from Compaq. A Sound card is optional. ISDN Support - NeXTSTEP 486 will also support high speed digital ISDN connections through an ISA add-on card. Additional Devices - Other popular PC peripherals such as FAX/Modems and FAX/Modem add-on cards will be supported. ____________________________________________________________________ II. Upgrade to NeXTSTEP 3.0 with NeXT User Group assistance Below are listed a few of the Worldwide NeXT User Groups that have volunteered to assist local NeXT users upgrade their systems to 3.0. Please feel free to circulate this list to others that may need to borrow a CDROM drive or may need assistance. Remember that you must possess a 3.0 right to use license in order to upgrade to 3.0. Many thanks to the NeXT User Groups and individuals below for helping with their time and expertise! conrad geiger International NeXT User Groups P.S. Please send email to nugget@next.com regarding any updates or changes to this list. ___________________________________________________________________ Worldwide NeXT User Groups that have volunteered to assist local users to upgrade their systems to the latest version of NeXTSTEP: (Please have your 3.0 NeXTSTEP license available when you use the upgrade services provided by your local user group.) UNITED STATES Alaska LUGNUTS Greg Johnson Phone: (907)474-5676 Email: fxgsj@camelot.acf-lab.alaska.edu California (San Francisco and Bay Area) BANG Janet Hufnagel NeXT Sales Support, Highland Digital Phone: 415-493-8550 Email: janet@highland.com Highland Digital is doing upgrade service for free. I will do 1 system with 24 hour turnaround time. People need to call for an appt. Colorado (Boulder/Denver) Tim Miller Email: exec@rmnug.org Phone: (303)447-1005 Connecticut Ken Anderson Phone: 203-221-5854 (Day) Phone: 203-967-8305 (Night) Email: anderson@biztech.com Connecticut Chuck Herrick Email: cherrick@phc.com or cherric%phc.uucp@yale.edu Phone: (203) 846-0383 Delaware Univ. of Delaware NeXT Users Group Chris Pyrros Phone: 302-657-9303 Email: pyrros@cis.udel.edu Florida (Central Florida) Michael Branton Phone: 904-736-1793 Email: mgb@stetson.BITNET Georgia (Atlanta) October 15th, 6:00, on the Ga Tech campus. BuzzNUG Bert Lindgren Phone: (404) 841-6220 Email: bert@cc.gatech.edu Iowa (Iowa City) University of Iowa Ric Mommer Phone: 319/335-5402 (daytime) Phone: 319/338-3005 (evening) Email: Ric_Mommer@next.com Iowa (Iowa State University) ISNuG David Swanlund Phone: 515-294-4751 Email: david@stallion.vm.iastate.edu Kentucky President, Kentucky NeXT User Group, Inc. Neil Greene Email: deepthought!neil@ms.uky.edu Phone: 606-254-0899 Louisiana (Northern Louisiana) LaNUG John Rettenmayer Phone: (318) 342-1125 Email: rettenmayer@merlin.nlu.edu Maryland (Baltimore) Frithjof Kuntze Phone: (410) 516-4498 (W) Phone: (410) 323-1304 (H) Email: fritz@entropy.bph.jhu.edu (NeXTMail welcome) Massachusetts (Boston) Email: gsk@marble.com Phone: 617/891-5555w Michigan (Western Michigan) Grand Valley NUG Carl Erickson Phone: (616)895-2309 or 2040 Email: erickson@oak.mcs.gvsu.edu Missouri (Kansas City) Meg Grice Computer Science, UMKC UNIX Systems Administrator 5100 Rockhill Road Kansas City, MO 64110 Phone: 816-235-5212 Email: mlg@cstp.umkc.edu Nebraska Hubert B. Hickman The Nebraska Area NeXT User Group (NANU) 3425 South 115th Street Omaha, NE 68144 Phone:(402) 334-7534 (voice) (402) 330-8613 (FAX) Email: hickman@cse.unl.edu New Jersey (Philadelphia/southern NJ/southeast PA) Greg Anderson Email: greg@afs.com Phone: 215 653 0911 New Mexico (Los Alamos National Labs (site only)) LANUG Paul Brown phone: 665-5091 email: pjb@lanl.gov New York (Ithaca) (Cornell University) Finger Lakes NeXT Users Group Jiro Nakamura Phone: +1 607 256-5125 Email: jnakamura@shaman.com New York (New York City) Gotham Users of NeXT, (GUN) Michael McMahon Phone: 212-297-6192/ after October 23 it will be 212-267-4100 Email address: mcmahon@gun.com New York (RPI, Troy) RPI NeXT Users Group Garance Alistair Drosehn Phone: 276-8157 (afternoon and evenings) Email: gad@eclipse.its.rpi.edu New York (Syracuse) Syracuse NeXT User's Group Dave Rebnord Phone: (315) 443-1585 Email: drebnord@betenoir.syr.edu Oregon (Eugene) (University of Oregon) Bjorn Pettersen Email: bjorn@doek.uoregon.edu and Richard Koch Phone: (503)686-8466 or (503)346-5630 Email: koch@math.uoregon.edu Oregon (Corvallis) Chase Turner (chase@stumpy.cs.orst.edu) and John Sechrest Computer Science Dept Oregon State University Corvallis,Oregon 97331 Phone (503) 737-5562 Email: sechrest@frisby.cs.orst.edu Pennsylvania (Central) Pennnug (central Pennsylvania) Ed Vanvliet (VVimaging, Inc.) Phone: 814-234-9613 Email: vanvliet@azalea.lscpe.psu.edu Pennsylvania (Lancaster) LUNA (Lancaster Users of NeXT Association) Beth Katz Phone: 717-299-5987 (home number, leave a message) Email: dhutchen@millersv.bitnet Pennsylvania (Philadelphia/southern NJ/southeast PA) Greg Anderson Email: greg@afs.com Phone: 215 653 0911 Pennsylvania (Pittsburg) Carnegie Mellon University NeXT User Group Frank Tropschuh Phone: (412) 268-5325 Email: ft0g@andrew.cmu.edu Rhode Island (Providence) NeXT Brown Users Group Ronald C.F. Antony Phone: (401) 521-2829 Email: rca@cs.brown.edu Texas (San Antonio) UTSANUG Daniel Shelton, Tom Arnow or Dawn Roberson Phone: (512) 691-5594 Email: dan@ennex1.eng.utsa.edu, tom@ennex1.eng.utsa.edu, dawn@ennex1.eng.utsa.edu UTSA Science Building, 3.01.20 (between about 0800 and 2200) Utah (Provo / Orem) Info... (BYU NeXT Computer Users Group) Don Yacktman Phone: (801) 221-0344 E-mail: yackd@alaska.et.byu.edu Utah Novell (Utah) NeXT User's Group James Grant Phone: 801-429-3268 Email: james_grant@novell.com Virginia (Central Virginia) Central Virginia NeXT User's Group, CVNUG Jim De Arras Phone: 804.784.3090 Email: jmd@cube.handheld.com Washington (Vashon or Maury Islands) Irving Wolfe 4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd. Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399 Email: Irving_Wolfe@Happy-Man.com Phone: 206/463-9399 x101, fax x108 Eastern Washington, Western Idaho Robert Bamberger Washington State University Phone: (509)-335-4053 Email: bamberg@eecs.wsu.edu Washington (University of Washington, Seattle) University of Washington Next User's Group contact: Unix Field Support phone: 3-0624 (UW) email: field@cac.washington.edu Washington (Seattle) Dennis P. Glatting Phone: 828-1336 Wisconsin (Madison) MadNuG Usergroup - NeXT Usergroup of Madison, WI Andrew T. Foster, Kim Simmons Phone: (608) 251-5522, (608) 263-0807 Email: captain@arsenal.com, simmons@rigel.neep.wisc.edu _______________________________________________________________ OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES Austria (Salzburg) Bernhard Nocker University of Salzburg Department of Computing Studies Jakob-Haringerstr. 5 5020 Salzburg Austria, Europe Phone: +43-662-8044/6750 Email: bnocker@cosy.sbg.ac.at Australia user group name: Oz NeXT User Group volunteer contact name: Cameron Bromley phone: (03) 696-2490 email: cdb@codex.oz.au Australia (Perth, Western Australia) user group name: Oz NeXT User Group volunteer contact name: Jim Blevins phone number: (09) 380-1882 email address. jblevins@uniwa.uwa.edu.au Canada - Alberta (Calgary) ClubNeXT Al Harman Phone: (403) 242-8684 (Home) Phone: (403) 266-3500 (work) Canada - British Columbia (Vancouver) VNUS (Vancouver NeXT User Society) Joseph Chin c/o Prodigy Technologies Corporation 1190 Hornby Street, Suite 1100 Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6Z 2H6 Email: jchin@prodigy.bc.ca Canada - Ontario (Toronto) Toronto Area NeXTUsers Group (TaNG) Jeff Gibson ComnetiX Computer Systems, Inc 1440 Hurontario Street Mississauga, Ontario CANADA L5G 3H4 Voice: (416) 274-4060 Fax : (416) 271-7776 Email: jgibson@comnetix.com Canada - Ontario (Sudbury) Sudbury NeXT User Group Andre Roberge Phone: 705-897-6165 (h) Phone: 705-675-1151 ext. 2234 (w) Email: andre@gollum.phys.laurentian.ca Canada - McMaster University MacNUG Email: pascal@nextasy.physics.mcmaster.ca Germany NugRNK (NeXT user-group Rhein-Neckar) Christian Schleich Phone: (+49) 6202 70510 Email: chris@nextpoint.de Martin Lades Institut fuer Neuroinformatik University of Bochum Universitaetsstr. 150 4630 Bochum Tel. +49 234 700 7994 Email: martin@neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de Hamburg, Germany Ulrich Becker Email: becker@informatik.uni-hamburg.de tel.: 040 / 54715 - 231 Hong Kong Hong Kong NeXT User's Group Bill Schell Phone: 666 8412 (office) 666 5506 (home) Email: bill@nextasy.attmail.com Hungary Laszlo Kovacs | President of the HuNUG (Hungarian NeXT Users' Group) Budapest HUNGARY Phone: (361) 129-7861 Fax: (361) 129-7866 E-mail (UUCP): h93kov@ella.hu or kovacsl@sztaki2.sztaki.hu Italy BoNG (Bologna, Italy) Arrigo Benedetti Phone: +39 59 224929 - +39 59 216688 Email: arrigo@cube.sublink.org Korea Korea NeXT user group Soonam Kahng phone) +82-2-516-1231 FAX ) +82-2-516-1233 e-mail : soonam@cosmos.kaist.ac.kr Norway NorNeXT brukergruppe Thor-Lee Legvold Postboks 749 5001 Bergen NORWAY Phone:05/27 69 45 Fax:05/23 18 97 (callers from outside of Norway need to prepend a 47 and drop the leading 0.) Singapore Singapore NeXT User Group Paul Wang Phone: (65) 288-4184 Email: Paul.Wang@Applelink.apple.com Switzerland Suisse Romande's NeXT Users' Club (Switzerland) Daniel Allgoewer phone 41+ 21 25 80 07 EMail: Nextparadigm@uliis.unil.ch or Dallgowe@ulys.unil.ch Switzerland (Zurich) NiCE Thomas Roettig Phone: +41 1 382 3164 Email: thomas@nice.usergroup.ethz.ch or vorstand@nice.usergroup.ethz.ch Taiwan (Taipei) Yeun-Jung Wu Phone: (02)341-1054 or (02)391-0982 (Home) (02)789-9642 (Work) Email address: yjwu@phys.sinica.edu.tw United Kingdom UK NeXT User Forum Paul Lynch Phone: (0494)671501 Email: paul@seer.demon.co.uk Please send email to nugget@next.com regarding any updates or changes to this list. ____________________________________________________________________ III. NeXTWORLD Seeking Database Server Applications I'm a NeXTWORLD magazine contributing editor researching an article on applications that use database servers (Sybase, Oracle or other SQL servers). I've looked at the prominent commercial applications, such as Parabase, SQLBuddy, & OTProvide, but I'm interested in hearing about any applications or utilities I may have missed, as well as comments you may have about products you've used. Do you use any SQL database client apps or tools? How do you like them? Please reply via email to kehoe@fortuity.sf.ca.us. ____________________________________________________________________ IV. Cub'X Announces INTUITIV'3D Creation Environment for NeXTSTEP News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Olivier Aubin Phone: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 25 Fax: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 21 CUB'X SYSTEMES Announces INTUITIV'3D, 3D creation environment for NeXTSTEP computers. PARIS, FRANCE, September 28, 1992 - Cub'x Systemes, developer of Cub'X-Window , announced today Intuitiv'3D, 3D creation environment based upon 3DKit. Intuitiv'3D was shown in the NeXT Computer Inc. booth at Unix Expo, Paris, France, Sept.16 -18. Because 3D design on a NeXT computer brings a new dimension to a wide range of activities, from business report presentation to product conception, Intuitiv'3D is a modular 3D solution. On the basis of a top level Renderman interface - the Intuitiv'3D Engine - you can decide on the 3D package that exactly fits your needs! - Intuitiv'3D Engine, an easy-to-use, powerful 3D solution at a very affordable price (under $XXX). The Intuitiv'3D Engine permits creation of amazingly realistic business graphics, illustrations, logos, multimedia presentations... With Intuitiv'3D Engine, you will easily enlighten the life of your business report readers and also create your own dream world of flashy 3D scenes. A variety of modules can be added to the Intuitiv'3D Engine to answer specific needs: 3D PostScript fonts, mini-modeler, numerous 3D clip arts and shader palettes. This modular structure allows the user of Intuitiv'3D to only purchase the portion of package that he needs to do his job. The bundle of Intuitiv'3D Engine, mini-modeler and 3D Postcript fonts: under $XXX. - Intuitiv'3D Professional, a solid professional 3D package. Are you yearning for a Silicon Graphics like modeler on your NeXT computer? Intuitiv'3D Professional smoothly interfaces the powerful Intuitiv'3D Engine rendering capacities with an impressive, top level modeler. For product design, advertising, packaging, laying-out...a complete rendering-modeling package under $XXXX. Availability: Intuitiv'3D will be released Q4, 1992. Intuitiv'3D Engine: A detailed description ________________________________ - Concepts/Interface: . Drag&Drop/Palettes/Inspectors for 3D primitives, lights, shaders, custom 3D shapes . Object parameters can be saved on palettes and instantly recalled. . Multiple simultaneous 3D worlds . 3DScrapbook to store objects, camera viewpoints, display options, rendering options - Modeling: . Extensible palettes of 3D ClipArt . Intelligent Drag&Drop of RIB files (with possible object decomposition) . Inspectors for shape attributes permit to obtain a large number of variations within a family . Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG): grouping/ungrouping of 3D shapes into sets, volume sets, unions, differences and intersections - Navigation: . WorldBrowser to move through a world hierarchy, name and have direct access to 3D shapes and groups . 3 complementary modes to move/rotate/scale 3D shapes and groups: > direct mouse manipulation for an intuitive approach > keyboard for a fine tuning > inspectors for precise numerical entries . Working plane can be fully customized . 3D grid to constrain motion/rotation/scaling . Align/center tools - Camera: . Real-time Quick Renderman view . Display options (point cloud, wire frame, faceted, smooth) with variable tessellation . Move and zoom around the 3D world with a VirtualDialBox . Orthographic and perspective views . Depth of field, roll . Drag&Drop of viewpoints and display options . Put on object, center functions . Travelling mode (linear, tangential) - Lights: . All types of lights implemented: ambient, distant, spot, point. . Generic lights for special light shaders (slide projector, window light...) . 3D representations of lights for easy positioning . Automated shadows with any type of lights . Shadow maps parameters for expert users - Shaders: . Supported shaders: surface, light, displacement, volume . Drag&Drop and ShaderWell interface . Shader-o-matic panel permits the user to fully access and tune any shader parameter . Easy generation of maps from TIFF or EPS for use with texture, bump, emboss... shaders . Ergonomic tools to translate/rotate/scale a texture map among a shape . Automated generation of environment maps for use with any shader requiring reflective information: glass, shiny, shinymetal ... . Full compliance with PixarLooks and Valis Group Shaders . Automatic icon generation for visual retrieval in palettes - Rendering: . Smooth Quick Renderman view to monitor color/lights/shaders effects in real-time . FlashRender to test Photorealistic Renderman rendering on part or totality of the scene . Rendering speed can be controlled through variation of the quality level . Drag&Drop of rendering options . Multi-host rendering over a network . Users can save rendered images as 32-bit color TIFF files - Extensions: . Intuitiv'3D is fully extensible via an API: Documentation, include files, and example source code are included in Intuitiv'3D Engine. Just like Interface Builder, Intuitiv 3D Engine allows its users to design new classes (shaders, lights, 3D Objects) and new inspectors for these objects. For example, if you have numerous 3D files with a specifc xxx format, you can easily develop a new module permitting to use this xxx format within Intuitiv'3D. Module: 3D PostScript Fonts ------------------------------------ - Uses all accessible PostScript fonts installed on your NeXTSTEP computer - Extrudes text in 3D to create amazing logos - User defined extrusion path to provide beveled 3D letters - Access to individual letters or strings - Fully integrated to Intuitiv'3D Engine tools and shading Module: mini-modeler ----------------------------- - 2D drawing tool with editable bezier curves - extrusion and revolution of bezier curves Cub'x Systemes, Paris, France, develops highly efficient solutions for NeXTSTEP computers. Cub'x Systemes Tour CBC - Cedex 71 92043 PARIS LA DEFENSE (FRANCE) Phone: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 25 Fax: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 21 Email: intuitiv@cubx.oleane.com Trademark notes: Intuitiv'3D and Cub'X-Window are trademarks of Cub'x Systemes S.A. NeXT and NeXTSTEP are trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc. PixarLooks is a trademark of Pixar. Valis Group Shaders is a trademark of The Valis Group. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. ____________________________________________________________________ V. Cub'X Announces INTUITIV'3D Professional News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Olivier Aubin Phone: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 25 Fax: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 21 CUB'X SYSTEMES Announces INTUITIV'3D Professional PARIS, FRANCE, September 23, 1992 - Cub'x Systemes, developer of Cub'X-Window , announced today Intuitiv'3D, 3D creation environment based upon 3DKit. Intuitiv'3D was shown in the NeXT Computer Inc. booth at Unix Expo, Paris, France, Sept.16 -18. You need a really solid professional 3D package: This is it! This is Intuitiv'3D Professional, the first complete modeling-rendering professional package for NeXT computers. Intuitiv'3D Professional: a detailed description ________________________________________________ Intuitiv'3D Professional includes the Intuitiv'3D Engine and the 3D Postcript font module, both smoothly interfaced with a top level modeler. It also includes development tools (API documentation, include files, and source code). If you didn't read our previous announcement describing Intuitiv'3D Engine functionalities, please email us a request at: intuitiv@cubx.oleane.com. Intuitiv'3D professional: a complete rendering-modeling package under $XXXX. Detailed description of Intuitiv'3D Professional Modeler -------------------------------------------------------- Intuitiv'3D Professional Modeler is available on a wide range of hardware (Silicon Graphics (Iris, Indigo), Sun Sparc stations, IBM RS6000, HP700s, Sony NEWS, PC 386/486, Apple Macintosh), and has been completely redesigned to truly take advantage of the NeXTstep technology. Entities: --------- - Discrete polylines - Parametric curves (NURBS) - Polyhedral surfaces - Parametric NURBS patches - Solid volumes (CSG) Interface: ---------- - Intuitive dialog / Numerical inputs - Full screen 3D display / Dynamic Window Multiviewing - 3D graphic cotations Shape Creation: --------------- - Spatial 2D drawing: . Basic 2D shapes: circle, rectangle, arc, broken line, Bezier curve, NURBS . Free composite 2D shapes using basic shapes combination . Constraint aided drawing (automatic attraction to grid, points, middles, intersection, centers/parallel and orthogonal lines) - Powerful lofting tools: . Extended extrusion . Enhanced sweeping . Skinning . Double-outline lofting . 4-curves interpolated surface (both polyhedral and patch models handled) - Shape outline extraction / Curve-from-patch extraction 3D free-facing - True 3D thickness Modeling: --------- - Stretching / Sculpting / Bend / Twist - Interactive FFM (Free Form Modeling): . Control points manipulation . Weights control . Refinement . Dynamic tessellation - Partial and global scaling - 3D-plane cutting - 3D Bezier interpolation (smoothing) with control of sharp edges - 2D/3D Chamfer/bevel tool - Constructive Solid Geometry (Boolean Operations) Assembling tools: ----------------- - [Partial] Move / Rotate / Place / Paste / Copy / Symmetry - Flat repeat / Oriented repeat - Multi-parametric Duplication - Solder tool - Solid polyhedral unfolding Translators: ------------ - 2D/3D DXF import - 3D DXF/IGES/SET export - Specific link to Stereolithography (3D SYSTEMS) Availability: Intuitiv'3D will be released Q4, 1992. Cub'x Systemes, Paris, France, develops highly efficient solutions for NeXTSTEP computers. Cub'x Systemes Tour CBC - Cedex 71 92043 PARIS LA DEFENSE (FRANCE) Phone: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 25 Fax: ++ 33 1 46 93 29 21 Email: intuitiv@cubx.oleane.com Trademark notes: Intuitiv'3D and Cub'X-Window are trademarks of Cub'x Systemes S.A. NeXT and NeXTSTEP are trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc. PixarLooks is a trademark of Pixar. Valis Group Shaders is a trademark of The Valis Group. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. ____________________________________________________________________ VI. Xanthus Announces SplitBuilder/Receiver Xanthus International Announces SplitBuilder/Receiver - for sending large files with NeXTmail (Stockholm, October 9, 1992) Xanthus International AB today announced that it is shipping SplitBuilder/Receiver, a utility program for the NeXT computer that makes it possible for users to send files of any size with NeXTmail by dividing them into smaller files. A problem with NeXTmail is that sometimes you want to send attachments that are so big that some gateways on the net will refuse to deliver your letter because of its size. SplitBuilder/Receiver solves this problem by allowing the sender to divide big files into smaller pieces, called "splits". Each split can be sent by NeXTmail. The receiver can then assemble the splits to restore the original file. SplitBuilder/Receiver consists of two different applications: - SplitBuilder divides big files into smaller pieces ("splits") that may be sent by NeXTmail. - SplitReceiver puts all the splits together on the receivers machine. For more information about SplitBuilder/Receiver please contact splitbuilder@xanthus.se Xanthus International, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is a privately owned software development company that specializes in the NeXTSTEP platform. SplitBuilder/Receiver is the third in a series of general-purpose productivity tools for NeXTSTEP. In May 1992 Xanthus started to ship its first product CraftMan, the multimedia programming tool for the NeXT computer. In September 1992 Xanthus released LaserMan, an application for controlling Laser Disc Players from a NeXT computer. Xanthus International was founded in 1990. _________________________________________________________________ VII. NeXT Monitor Announcement -- October 14, 1992 MegaPixel Color Display (Fimi) is being obsoleted. Beginning October 15, 1992, NeXT Computer Inc. is obsoleting the Fimi 17" MegaPixel Color Display. This product will be taken off the price list as of October 15 but still can be ordered for the next 30 days. Thus, as of November 15, 1992, the Fimi 17" MegaPixel Color Display will no longer be available. NeXT has decided to only support one 17" color display, the MegaPixel Color Display (Trinitron). This new 17" color display is superior in quality to the Fimi as well as optimized to work with NeXT's new ADB keyboard and mouse. The NeXT color display family now consists of the 17" MegaPixel Color Display (Trinitron) and the 21" MegaPixel Display. These two NeXT color displays offer the best image quality available for desktop computing today. Product Summary 17" MegaPixel Color Display (Fimi)-N4001A and N4001F (US)-Obsolete 17" MegaPixel Color Display (Fimi)-N4001-4130 (Europe)-Obsolete _________________________________________________________________ end October 1992 Byte Magazine: "The beauty of the NeXT is far more than skin deep. Its standard operating enviornment, NeXTSTEP, is probably the most respected piece of software on the planet."