The NeXT computer ships with finished system software

Business Wire

September 18, 1989

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- NeXT Inc. Monday announced that release 1.0, the end-user version of its system software for the NeXT Computer, is complete.

Volume shipments of NeXT's advanced workstation begin Monday; all current owners of NeXT Computers will have their system software upgraded for free.

System software is the enabling technology for the computer, which provides the development environment upon which end-user applications are built. The NeXT Computer system software includes not only the operating system, but also the NextStep object-oriented programming environment and user interface, additional development tools and bundled applications.

(See attached sheet on ``What's Included in Release 1.0'' for a complete listing of the system and bundled software.)

``The NeXT Computer system software is extremely advanced in order to accomplish its combination of sophisticated workstation functionality and ease of use,'' said Steven P. Jobs, president and chairman of NeXT.

``This release 1.0 system software realizes NeXT's goal of bringing UNIX workstation computing to the mainstream -- to people whose computing demands have outgrown their personal computers, but who have been daunted by the complexity and price of traditional UNIX workstations.''

The 1.0 version of the NeXT Computer System makes the benefits of workstation computing -- true multitasking, dense storage capacity, large screen, built-in networking, rich development environment and fast processing power -- accessible to even non-technical users.

``Our computer is now finished and available to users throughout North America and Asia,'' Jobs said. ``In addition, because of NeXT's revolutionary system software, there are already a number of academic and commercial developers creating and shipping products for the computer.''

``Customer interest is strong in the NeXT Computer due to the computer's unprecedented combination of power and ease of use,'' said David A. Norman, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Businessland Inc. ``With the release of NeXT's 1.0 version of its system software, we look forward to making the computer's advanced capabilities available to an even wider customer base.

``We are convinced that the NeXT Computer will become a major workstation platform in the 1990s.''

Users can purchase NeXT Computer Systems now from Businessland in North America and from Canon Inc. in Asia. Higher education customers and registered developers can continue to buy systems directly from NeXT.

NeXT of Redwood City was founded in 1985 with the mission of collaborating with higher education to develop innovative, personal and affordable computer solutions for the 1990s and beyond. The privately held company introduced the developers' version of the NeXT Computer in October 1988, and has since signed major distribution agreements with Businessland, for North American distribution, and Canon, for distribution throughout Asia.

What's Included in Release 1.0

NeXT Computer System Mach/UNIX (4.3BSD-compatible) operating system
Networking NetInfo NFS (Network File System)
TCP/IP
Display PostScript
NextStep
NeXT Window Server Workspace Manager Interface Builder Application Kit Bundled Software Applications
Digital Librarian Digital Library
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary
Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford University Press Edition of William Shakespeare: The Complete Works Edit
Mathematica, from Wolfram Research Inc.
Preferences Preview Printmanager Shell Terminal TeX from Radical Eye Software TranScript WriteNow Bundled Programming Environment Allegro CL Common LISP, from Franz Inc. (initial release) ASM56000, from Motorola Inc.
BUG-56, from Ariel Corp.
Emacs GDB (GNU debugger)
NeXT Objective-C compiler and debugger
NeXT SQL Database Server, from Sybase Inc. (initial release)
Objective-C 4.0
Selected Berkeley 4.3 Libraries and Utilities
Sound Kit, Music Kit Demos and Examples
FrameMaker 2.0 from Frame Technology Corp. (full-featured demo version only; final version available from Businessland

Assorted demos and examples, including games, from NeXT On-line Documentation

Allegro CL Common LISP (Franz Inc.)
BUG-56 (Ariel Corp.)
Display PostScript (Adobe Systems Inc.) DSP56001 (Motorola Inc.)
Mathematica (Wolfram Research Inc.)
NeXT SQL Database Server (Sybase Inc.)
NFS UNIX Networking and System Administration Tools
BuildDisk
NetInfoManager
NetManager
UserManager
Mail Manager 1.0

Upgrade Package

Software Release 1.0 ROM upgrade, necessary due to changes in formatting the optical drive with the 1.0 system software
Product brochure

Guide to Upgrading (quick reference)

Upgrading to Release 1.0 (detailed instructions) Release Notes Network and System Administration Getting Started on the NeXT Computer The NeXT User's Reference Manual NeXT Computer System Pricing Fact Sheet September 1989 Item Businessland Higher Ed/Developers

NeXT Computer $9,995 $6,500 (Standard configuration: 8MB memory, 256MB Optical Drive, MegaPixel display, keyboard, mouse, 1.0 system and bundled software)
400 dpi Laser Printer $3,495 $2,000
330 MB Winchester drive $6,995 $4,000
4 MB memory modules $2,295 $1,500 (up to 16 MB total)

NeXT, Application Kit, Digital Librarian, Interface Builder, Sound Kit, Music Kit and Workspace Manager are trademarks of NeXT Inc.
NextStep is a registered trademark of NeXT.
Display PostScript and TransScript are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc.
TeX is a trademark of the American Mathematical Society.
UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T.
BUG-56 is a trademark of Ariel Corp.
FrameMaker is a registered trademark of Frame Technology Corp.
Allegro CL is a registered trademark of Franz Inc.
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary and Collegiate are registered trademarks of Merriam-Webster Inc. and are used herein pursuant to license.
DSP56001 and ASM56000 are trademarks of Motorola Inc.
Oxford and Oxford University Press are trademarks of Oxford Univeristy Press and are used herein pursuant to license.
Objective-C is a registered trademark of the Stepstone Corp.
Network File System (NFS) is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.
WriteNow is a trademark of T/Maker Co.
Mathematica is a trademark of Wolfram Research Inc.

CONTACT: Allison Thomas Associates, Sherman Oaks Allison Thomas, 818/981-1520 09:05 ET