jellinghaus-robert@CS.Yale.EDU (Rob Jellinghaus) (09/24/88)
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...
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>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.
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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_land@hpccc.HP.COM (David M. Land) (09/29/88)
Howdy, NetLanders,
Just thought I'd thow my 2cents woth into the NeXT rumor mill.
I just talked to Nick Arnett about his article of "wild rumors."
Seems that some of what is in there is straight from Jobs' mouth -- and
raised eyebrows when Nick mentioned the optical disc drive. The drive
will hold 265Mbytes, as it turns out, and is completely optical, not
magneto-optical.
For each of the features mentioned in the story, there are three
independent sources (all quite secret, naturally.)
Finally, some more tidbits:
The machine will have a 56000 DSP chip on board -- a real serious
sound crunching machine that runs (I think) at 68 MIPs. At least it
does on the high-powered sound cards that use it.
If you want to SEE what the NeXT machine will look like, get
hold of the upcoming Info World issue. They have a picture.
So there.
Disclaimer: Mine, all mine.