NeXT Inc has been muttering about implementing its NeXTStep operating environment, which builds an object-oriented environment and graphical user interface on top of Unix, and now the company is reportedly ready to launch a version for the Intel Corp 80486 microprocessor. NeXT has already said that it had NeXTStep running on four different architectures, and the company plans to launch the 80486 version at the NeXTWorld Expo show in San Francisco on January 22. It does not plan to offer any 80486 machines of its own – it uses the Motorola 68000 family – it will seek to license it to companies building high-end MS-DOS boxes. Ironically IBM Corp, which made the Intel architecture the dominant success that it is, took a licence to NeXTStep two years ago, but has since done nothing with it. Said to be called NeXTPC, the implementation is believed to be functionally equivalent to the forthcoming NeXTStep release 3.0. NextStep 3.0 is to include Novell Inc NetWare support, Macintosh EtherTalk and SQL Server. SQL support is part of a database kit now in testing. Machines will need 4Mb memory and a high-resolution graphics board to run it, and it will be up to the individual manufacturer whether hardware is added to support other features of NeXTStep, such as integrated audio.
