Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!husc6!yale!jellinghaus-robert From: jellinghaus-robert@CS.Yale.EDU (Rob Jellinghaus) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: NeXT rumor, please? Keywords: rumor, no-flames-please, yow Message-ID: <38661@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Date: 23 Sep 88 19:05:20 GMT Sender: root@yale.UUCP Reply-To: jellinghaus-robert@CS.Yale.EDU (Rob Jellinghaus) Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept, New Haven CT 06520-2158 Lines: 128 Someone else at Yale passed this little gem along to me. Take it or leave it. I have no idea whether there even *is* a Sept. 19 issue of Infoworld. It does look as though Apple may be in a run for its money, though, if this is even *close* to true... Enjoy! And don't flame me! But do pass this on! Ah, I do so love the rumor mill... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >From 'Info World News' Sept 19,1988 Next Machine to Feature 300MB Erasable Optical Disc Drive --------------------------------------------------------- By Nick Arnett The long-awaited Next Inc. computer system, scheduled to debut next month, will include a 300-megabyte erasable optical disc drive developed jointly by Next and Sony Corp., sources close to Next said last week. Other firms have announced but not yet delivered erasable optical discs. Sony officials could not be reached for comment. Next founder Steve Jobs declined to comment on the computer's features last week. Next has scheduled a press conference for October 12 in San Francisco, to be followed the next day by a technical briefing for developers. COMPUTER FOR THE '90s. At last week's Seybold Conference on Desktop Publishing, Jobs alluded to some of the machine's features without describing them. He urged personal computer users to "get on board for the '90s" by buying a computer that supports the Unix operating system and Display Postscript, a screen version of the popular page description language developed by Next and Adobe Systems Corp. "The penalty, if you don't, is that you will throw away your computer and software in 24 months," Jobs said. Jobs is expected to deliver one of the first such computers. He said the additional memory and processing power necessary for Unix and Display Postscript will add about $2000 to the cost of a typical personal computer. The Next system, including the optical drive, will have a list price of $5,995, with a 40 percent discount for educational institutions, sources said. ------------------------------------------------------- THE MACH OPERATING SYSTEM. As previously reported, the Next system will use the Mach operating system, a Unix variant with enhanced support for multiple processors. Mach also allows a system to make use of processors on other networked machines, a technique Jobs said should be invisible to users. "It should work as if the whole computer network were one computer," Jobs said. On top of the Mach kernel, Next will use the X Window windowing protocols, Display Postscript, and a new user interface developed by Next. Jobs is developing a version of the user interface for IBM Corp. for use with IBM's Unix variant, AIX (See "IBM Asks Next to Develop Graphic Front End for AIX," July 4 INFO WORLD) The licensing deal also is expected to be announced October 12. Next developed controller circuitry for the Sony erasable optical disc, including a large-scale integrated circuit, sources close to Next said. INCLUDED FEATURES. Other features of the new machines, according to sources, include: o A 25-MHZ Motorola 68030 microprocessor. o A monochrome, 17-inch gray-scale monitor with 1,280-by-960 pixel resolution. o A 3.5 inch, 1.44 MB floppy disk drive. o 4 MB of RAM, with 1.25 dedicated to video. o The Mach kernel, Display Postscript, and X Windows in read-only memory. o Floating point and array coprocessor chips. o Several communications ports, including Ethernet, SCSI, serial, and MIDI. o A built-in, 9,600-bps modem. o Four 32-bit bus slots. o The Objective C compiler from Stepstone Inc. of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. o A programmers' toolkit that includes functions similar to the Mac toolbox plus sophisticated graphics, animation, and sound handling in read-only memory. o A copy of Mathematica, a program that simplifies the processing of advanced mathematics. o An optional compact laser printer. o An optional color graphics card that is still under development by Pixar, the graphics computer firm Jobs purchased from filmmaker George Lucas. Developers who have seen the Next system said its built-in development software is one of the company's greatest breakthroughs. "That's where they really have a chance," one developer said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remember, you heard it here first! Or not... Rob Jellinghaus | "SINGAPORE?!? You're supposed to be a jellinghaus-robert@CS.Yale.EDU | COWBOY! What kind of cowboy song is ROBERTJ@{yalecs,yalevm}.BITNET | THAT??!! Singapore, I oughta--" {everyone}!decvax!yale!robertj | -- Eddie Foy, _The Cowboy Wally Story_