Ten MOST WANTED
Two more items Ð object linking and hypertext authoring Ð went in the bag on the strength of Expo announcements. The movement in rankings is based on reader input.
Rank Last Qtrs. Item Comment
Qtr. on List
1 1 4 Page-layout program Could be last quarter on list
2 5 2 JPEG compression Do it in software?
3 U&C* 2 SCSI OD Third-party solution?
4 4 4 World-class service/support New pricing plan a mixed blessing
5 U&C* 2 $99/MIPS workstation Magic price/performance barrier
6 8 2 Slab with slots Some are calling it a "brick"
7 6 3 Reasonable RAM/storage Pricing on configured Turbos a help
8 2 4 CAD software Movement from Axsys and Graphisoft
9 - 1 Better sysadmin support Licensing, configuration management
10 7 2 NeXT portable/notebook May be a long wait
Up and Coming
Item Comment
Low-cost, entry-level system But don't give up screen size
Multi-user project-management software Standard IPC application
Choice of keyboards UNIX users prefer the old one
Built-in MIDI ports or card Could be a great music box
Extended text object Custom apps need advanced features
Expanded marketing message Beyond custom apps
Time-based media standard Better than QuickTime
NeXTstep port to SPARCstations Great hardware needs great software
Still Active
Item Comment
On-line NeXT info system Huge opportunity
16-bit color upgrade path Reward original buyers
End-user relational database Custom apps not for everyone
In the Bag
Item Date Removed Comment
NeXT marketing message Nov. 1991 Custom apps
3-D graphics/animation Jan. 1992 3-DKit in NeXTstep 3.0
Inexpensive color printer Jan. 1992 NeXT Color Printer
NeXTWORLD Expo Jan. 1992 First of many
OS distribution via CD-ROM Jan. 1992 When 3.0 ships
NeXTstep port to Intel PCs Jan. 1992 Due in summer
NeXT support for Mac floppies Jan. 1992 NeXTstep 3.0
Services for linking applications Jan. 1992 3.0's object linking
Hypertext authoring system Jan. 1992 Craftman, HyperCube due
* On Up-and-Coming list last quarter