Ten MOST WANTED

Page layout and MIDI support went in the bag thanks to PasteUp and Quest Technologies. Anticipation is high for use of 3.0 features; concern is high over NeXT management.

Rank Last Qtrs.     Item                       Comment
     Qtr. on List 
 1    2     3       JPEG compression           Readers' loudest complaint
 2   10     3       NeXT portable/notebook     Get a '486
 3    8     5       Full-featured CAD software Designers clamoring
 4   U&C*   2       Expanded marketing message Developers clamoring
 5    3     3       OD survival                Cube owners clamoring
 6    5     3       $99/MIPS workstation       Magic price/performance goal
 7    -     1       NeXT management stability  Late entry rising fast
 8    9     2       Better sysadmin support    Licensing, configuration management
 9    -     1       3-D modeling package       On top of 3DKit
10   U&C*   3       Choice of keyboards        UNIX users prefer the old one

Up and Coming

Item                                  Comment
Examples of Object Links              Proof of concept
Low-cost entry-level system           Can Canon make it cheap?
Extended text object                  Missed NeXTSTEP 3.0
Time-based media standard             Better than QuickTime
NeXTSTEP port to SPARCstations        Second step for software strategy

Still Active

  
Item                                  Comment
16-bit color upgrade path             Reward original buyers
End-user relational database          Custom apps not for everyone
World-class service/support           New pricing plan a mixed blessing
Reasonable RAM/storage                Pricing on configured Turbos a help
Multiuser project-management software Standard IPC application

In the Bag

   
Item                                Date Removed   Comment
NeXT marketing message              Nov. 1991      Custom apps
3-D graphics/animation**            Jan. 1992      3DKit 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      Ship date slips
NeXT support for Mac floppies**     Jan. 1992      NeXTSTEP 3.0
Services for linking applications** Jan. 1992      3.0's Object Links
Hypertext authoring system          Jan. 1992      CraftMan ships
Page-layout program                 July 1992      PasteUp ships
Built-in MIDI ports or card         May  1992      MIDI Link from Quest 

* On Up-and-Coming list last quarter

** Announced but not shipping