NeXT Brings Powerful Objects to Windows Users; Ports Product Suite, Enables distributed...

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 1995--NeXT Computer, Inc. today unveiled its entire suite of object-oriented software for Microsoft Windows, bringing faster application development and increased performance to the Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 95 platforms.

NeXT previewed and

- OpenStep for Windows is NeXT's application development environment that uniquely combines the OpenStep dynamic object model with a proven and powerful suite of tools. OpenStep for Windows allows customers to rapidly build and deploy scalable enterprise-wide mission-critical applications.

- Distributed OLE for Windows (D'OLE), allows developers to use popular tools such as Microsoft's Visual Basic and Powersoft's PowerBuilder to build and deploy true cross-platform three-tier client/server applications.

- Enterprise Objects Framework for Windows, NeXT's database framework, brings the power of object-oriented programming to database application development by facilitating the integration of object-oriented applications with persistent data stored in relational databases.

"While popular Windows tools and the OLE object model can partially satisfy departmental needs," said Steven P. Jobs, chairman and CEO of NeXT Computer, "access to the power of NeXT's object software should now prove an irresistible option to the thousands of Windows developers who need to deploy true, enterprise-wide, distributed applications."

"The products being announced by NeXT will allow us to continue to develop large-scale, mission-critical applications that really, really work, and integrate those with great off-the-shelf apps built for the Windows environment," said Ingvar Petursson, vice president and CIO of McCaw Cellular. "We will no longer have to support two different environments: one for the front-line worker, and one for the knowledge worker. NeXT has been the best development environment for years - now it will fit on the most ubiquitous desktop environment in the business."

OpenStep for Windows

Using NeXT's proven object technology, OpenStep for Windows allows developers to adapt to the changing and growing needs of the enterprise by creating and deploying flexible and highly scalable three-tier client/server applications under Windows 95 and Windows NT. OpenStep's object framework brings a dynamic and distributed object architecture to Windows. Integration with Windows 95 and Windows NT is seamless and transparent to the end user - OpenStep applications running under Windows will look and feel like any Win32 application.

Because OpenStep applications are portable across all implementations, current NEXTSTEP customers can build applications today that can be deployed on OpenStep for Windows in the future. For the same reason, OpenStep applications can be deployed across any OpenStep platform.

OpenStep for Windows delivers NeXT's award-winning technology to Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT. Using NeXT's development environment, Windows developers can now rapidly build and deploy highly scalable applications that can be distributed to a network of clients and powerful servers. This allows organizations to build mission critical applications that can be easily modified to adapt quickly to changing business rules, while working in the native Windows environment.

Distributed OLE for Windows

Distributed OLE for Windows (D'OLE) extends NeXT's industry standard object model to the Windows environment allowing customers to use their existing Windows development tools to design and deploy three-tier client/server applications.

To provide a high degree of integration with Windows, NeXT has augmented its Universal Object Request Broker (ORB) to allow Distributed OLE for Windows to support Microsoft's OLE object model, providing developers with seamless communication between PDO and OLE objects. Using standard tools such as Microsoft's Visual Basic, Visual C++, or Powersoft's PowerBuilder, programmers can develop Windows applications which message OpenStep objects that reside on servers running Digital UNIX, SunOS, Solaris, HP-UX, or Windows NT through the standard OLE Automation protocol.

With Distributed OLE for Windows, developers can transparently build distributed OLE applications. Developers can easily create an application that messages remote OLE objects across a network with any Windows development tool that supports OLE Automation. Distributed OLE for Windows uniquely allows application developers to develop scalable, distributed applications using popular Windows development tools.

Enterprise Objects Framework for Windows

The Enterprise Objects Framework builds on NeXT's leadership in object-oriented software development by dramatically reducing the costs of building and maintaining database applications. The Enterprise Objects Framework brings the power of object-oriented programming to database application development, enabling Windows and OpenStep developers to create reusable objects that couple business logic with business information.

Using the Enterprise Objects Framework and Distributed OLE for Windows, organizations can develop a three-tier client/server architecture that exploits a network of clients, database servers, and compute servers. Distributed OLE for Windows allows business objects developed with the Enterprise Objects Framework to be distributed anywhere on the network, including across the Internet.

Product Availability

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.

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. -0- Note to Editors: NeXT, the NeXT logo, OpenStep, WebObjects, and NEXTSTEP are trademarks or registered trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc. OLE is a trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners.

CONTACT: NeXT Computer, Inc.

Kindle DiGiusto, 415/780-3781

Copithorne & Bellows

Charlotte Penner, 415/975-2280