NeXT Ships NEXTSTEP 3.3 for Sun and HP Workstations and NEXTSTEP Developer 3.3; NeXT products now available on Intel PCs, Sun and HP Workstations.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 1995--NeXT Computer, Inc. today announced that it is shipping NEXTSTEP Release 3.3 for SPARC and PA-RISC workstations and NEXTSTEP Developer Release 3.3 for Intel, SPARC, PA-RISC and Motorola 68k workstations. The release of these products marks the first time corporate customers can simultaneously develop and deploy robust object-oriented, client/server applications on Intel PCs, Sun and HP workstations.

NEXTSTEP Release 3.3, shipping since December for Intel PCs and now for Sun and Hewlett-Packard workstations, provides greater support for corporate enterprise environments by addressing critical deployment issues.

"With NEXTSTEP for SPARC workstations, Sun and NeXT are providing customers with proven object software technology today," said Edward Zander, president of Sun Microsystems Computer Company. "We encourage Sun customers to get started today with NEXTSTEP in preparation for our OpenStep on Solaris implementation."

NEXTSTEP Developer 3.3 provides a stepping-stone to the industry-standard OpenStep object-oriented application framework. It is a tool developers, who are planning to use a cross-platform implementation of OpenStep, can use today to prepare for OpenStep on Windows NT, Windows 95, Solaris and OSF/1. Applications developed with these tools can be converted to OpenStep applications in the future. Specifically, NEXTSTEP Developer Release 3.3 includes improved C++ support; multiple architecture binary support for four platforms; improved visual development tools; and feature enhancements.

"These products are important milestones for NeXT because they solidify our commitment to our partners Sun and Hewlett-Packard," said Steven P. Jobs, chairman and CEO of NeXT Computer, Inc. "This release is also significant for our Fortune 1000 customers because the products we are shipping today provide developers with a stepping-stone to the industry object standard-OpenStep."

NEXTSTEP Release 3.3 Now Available On RISC Platforms

With this release, customers with Sun and HP workstations can now gain the benefits of object-oriented NEXTSTEP for the enterprise-wide deployment of object-oriented custom applications that those with Intel PCs already enjoy.

NEXTSTEP Release 3.3 provides greater support for large-scale environments typical of NeXT's corporate customers. Specifically, it addresses issues such as interoperability, scalability and ease of use that are critical to application deployment. For example, the task of system administration is reduced by the capability provided to system administrators to do a network installation. Today, NEXTSTEP can be fully installed and configured to a corporate network in less than one hour.

Customers will see enhancements to NeXTmail, such as MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) support, which give them greater flexibility in how electronic mail is delivered, accessed, managed and stored. Additionally, NEXTSTEP for PA-RISC and SPARC supports multiple monitors for a virtual desktop, enabling users to drag windows from one monitor to another.

New Developer Product Provides Stepping-Stone To OpenStep

NEXTSTEP Developer Release 3.3 is designed to aid customers who need to rapidly develop robust and easy-to-maintain client/server applications. It is also a stepping-stone for developers planning to deploy OpenStep on Windows NT, Windows 95, Solaris and OSF/1 applications in the future.

The visual development tools, including NeXT's industry-acclaimed Interface Builder, have been improved in this release to ease development and promote greater object re-use. For example, new tools enable developers to navigate the Foundation class clusters more easily and developers can now build complete palettes containing precompiled objects for rapid re-use without writing code.

NEXTSTEP Developer Release 3.3 also includes improved C++ support. The new C++ compiler, which supports multiple inheritance and templates, allows developers to create C++ objects as well as Objective C objects. NEXTSTEP Developer 3.3 continues to support Objective C++, NeXT's integrated Objective C & C++ compiler.

For those operating in heterogeneous computing environments, NEXTSTEP Developer Release 3.3 enables customers to build enterprise-wide, client/server applications to run on any of four hardware platforms - Intel PCs, PA-RISC and SPARC workstations and NeXT Computers. For example, developers can create a single executable, install the application on a network and run the application on any of the four architectures.

NEXTSTEP Developer 3.3's extended Driver Kit provides fully object-oriented class libraries that allow developers to develop drivers for new PC technologies, including portables. It supports PCI, PCMCIA and Advanced Power Management. Additionally, open application APIs, such as IP Multicast, provide support for broadcast messaging and the framework for multimedia networking and live information feeds.

Pricing and availability

NEXTSTEP Developer Release 3.3 is available now for $4,999, with upgrades priced at $1,249. NEXTSTEP Release 3.3 is available for $799, with upgrades priced at $199.

Those interested in obtaining more information about these products can access datasheets and hardware compatibility guides via the World Wide Web at http://www.next.com/ or via NeXTanswers (NeXT's technical support free information retrieval system) at nextanswers@next.com, 415-780-3990 (fax) or ftp.next.com.

NeXT Computer, Inc.

NeXT develops and markets OpenStep, the industry's first and most advanced object environment. OpenStep versions have been announced which will run on several operating systems, including NeXT's own MachOS, Sun's Solaris, Digital's OSF/1 and Microsoft's Windows NT and Windows 95. OpenStep's object-oriented technology allows corporate customers to rapidly create and deploy three-tier, client-server, mission critical custom applications. NeXT is headquartered in Redwood City, California, and has offices in North America, London, Paris, Munich and Tokyo.

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Note: NeXT, the NeXT logo, OpenStep and NEXTSTEP are trademarks or registered trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners.

CONTACT: NeXT Computer, Inc.

Karen Logsdon, 415/780-3786

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Copithorne & Bellows

Lisa Hahn, 415/975-2226