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, 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 $4,999 for department and branch servers and $9,999
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.
 
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