home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
-
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Kindle DiGiusto
- NeXT Computer, Inc.
- 415-780-3781
- or
- Charlotte Penner
- Copithorne & Bellows
- 415-975-2280
-
- Spinning Objects for the Web
-
- From Desktop to WWW, NeXT's Object Software Enables
- the Rapid Development of Custom Applications
-
- OBJECT WORLD, SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-August 14, 1995- Demonstrating
- continued growth as the object software leader, NeXT Computer, Inc.
- today unveiled two new toolsets that bring unprecedented productivity
- benefits to Microsoft Windows and World Wide Web users by enabling
- the rapid development of custom applications.
-
- In addition, the company announced:
- * Increased momentum in the Object Expert program, the
- company's consulting
- business;
- * Support for CORBA, an emerging industry standard for
- distributing objects; and
- * A new version of NetInfo, NeXT's system administration
- management solution
-
- "As the premier provider of tools for building custom applications,
- thousands of global customers think of NeXT as Custom R Us," said
- Steven P. Jobs, chairman and CEO of NeXT Computer. "By bringing our
- proven technology to mainstream, burgeoning markets today, we will
- anchor our position as object software leader and continue our
- healthy financial growth."
-
- In 1994, NeXT concluded its first year as a software company with $1
- million in profits on revenues of $50 million, representing a 247
- percent increase over the previous year and making it one of the
- leading volume object software vendors.
-
- OpenStep Windows Suite: Industry's First Distributed OLE Applications
- NeXT's Windows product suite consists of OpenStep for Windows,
- Distributed OLE for Windows (D'OLE) and the Enterprise Objects
- Framework for Windows which provide a comprehensive and elegant
- development solution. Users that adopt OpenStep for Windows will be
- able to create robust, mission-critical applications in a fraction of
- the time possible with current Windows development tools. For users
- who remain with their current Windows development tools, access to
- Distributed OLE for Windows allows them,
- NeXT Object World-page two
-
- for the first time, to transparently build distributed OLE
- applications. Developers can easily create an application that
- messages remote OLE objects and OpenStep objects running on powerful
- servers with any Windows development tool that supports OLE
- Automation. The Enterprise Objects Framework, allows programmers to
- develop highly reusable business objects that combine business logic
- with persistent data stored in industry-standard relational
- databases. The Enterprise Objects Framework can be used with either
- OpenStep for Windows or Distributed OLE for Windows and other Windows
- development tools.
-
- WebObjects: Rapid Development of Complex World Wide Web Applications
- Called WebObjects, NeXT's Web toolset consists of a WebObjects
- Framework, Web server software, Enterprise Objects Framework, the PDO
- object model and SSL security. Using WebObjects corporations can
- easily build applications without having to use the Common Gateway
- Interface (CGI) and complicated Perl scripts. WebObjects is aimed at
- corporations interested in constructing complex Web sites that
- facilitate electronic commerce, dynamic data publishing or internal
- distribution. For those corporations, WebObjects provides an
- alternative to their current in-house tools, and is the only solution
- on the market to enable the rapid construction of applications that
- are integrated into existing databases and corporate systems.
-
- The first Web server and client machines were constructed using NeXT
- technology at CERN-The European Laboratory for Particle Physics-in
- November 1990 and the second most popular Web site today, WebCrawler,
- is also based on NeXT technology.
-
- "WebObjects is the industry's most powerful Web construction
- software and the only one that allows corporations to evolve from
- static publishing to conducting meaningful transactions on the Web,"
- added Jobs.
-
- Consulting Program Momentum, Support for Industry Standards
-
- * Object Expert Program-Marking the one year anniversary of the
- program, NeXT announced that it has quadrupled the number of Object
- Experts, and added new capabilities to help organizations transition
- to OpenStep and build WebObjects applications. Object Experts provide
- organizations with on-site expertise in developing and deploying
- large complex systems across the enterprise. The Object Expert
- Program now focuses on two areas; Architecture, Planning and
- Knowledge Transfer; and Prototype Development. Plans are underway to
- roll out services to support user transition to OpenStep and
- WebObjects.
-
- * PDO CORBA support-In addition to supporting OLE/COM, NeXT today
- demonstrated PDO support for CORBA, The Object Management Group's
- object standard, thereby broadening user options.
-
- * Industry affiliations-As the publisher of the OpenStep
- specification, NeXT has shown its dedication to the implementation of
- industry standards and is a member of the Object Management Group, a
- charter member of the Object Definition Alliance, which will create
- open object-based specifications for electronic commerce, and a
- member of the the W3 consortium for guiding the growth of the
- Internet.
-
- NetInfo 3.3-Elegant Hierarchy, Highly Scalable
-
- NeXT also announced it is shipping a new release of its NetInfo
- product which provides the ideal framework for deploying
- mission-critical applications over the enterprise, supplying an
- integrated solution for installing, maintaining, and managing wide
- area networks. Building on NeXT's proven object technology, NetInfo
- allows for a highly scalable, distributed, cross-platform network
- that can easily be customized to meet organizational needs.
-
- NetInfo 3.3 includes the following:
-
- * Large-scale networking and binding, enabling enterprise-wide
- networking around the
- clock.
- * Improved diagnostic messaging, easing the maintenance burden of
- large-scale
- networks.
- * Improved networking utilities, providing the tools for automating
- all administration tasks.
-
- Pricing and Availability
-
- NetInfo is available on server operating systems from SunOS,
- Solaris, Digital UNIX, and HP-UX. NetInfo is shipping now through
- NeXT's sales force and is priced at $499 for department and branch
- servers and $999 for corporate servers.
-
- OpenStep for Windows Release 4.0 will support Windows 95 and Windows
- NT, and is scheduled to ship in mid 1996.
-
- Distributed OLE for Windows Release 1.0 will support Microsoft
- Windows NT Version 3.5 or greater, and is scheduled to ship in the
- fourth quarter of this year. A follow-up release will add support for
- Windows 95.
-
- Enterprise Objects Framework for Windows Release 1.1 will ship
- concurrent with Distributed OLE for Windows.
-
- WebObjects will be available through NeXT's professional services
- organization within 60 days and available as a standalone product in
- the first quarter of 1996.
-
- NeXT Computer, Inc.
-
- NeXT develops and markets OpenStep and WebObjects for building
- mission critical object-oriented custom applications for deployment
- across popular operating systems and the World Wide Web. OpenStep is
- the first volume object standard for developing and deploying
- cross-platform three-tier client/server applications. And WebObjects
- is NeXT's revolutionary database independent development environment
- for quickly building interactive Web-based applications.
-
- NeXT is headquartered in Redwood City, California, and has offices
- in North America, London, Paris, Munich, and Tokyo.
-
- For more information please visit NeXT's web site at http://www.next.com.
-
- Trademark Info:
-
- NeXT, the NeXT logo, OpenStep, WebObjects, and NEXTSTEP are
- trademarks or registered trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc. OLE is a
- trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks
- mentioned belong to their respective owners.
-