Solbourne Computer Inc, Longmont, Colorado, is this week expected to announce that it has formed a Software Business Unit to be hived off soon into a separate company. The unit, which became operational on the first day of the year, is focused on developing and distributing software for building X Window-based C++ applications. Initially, it will sell the company’s new User Interface Builder and Object Interface Library version 3, originally developed by Solbourne’s User Interface and Applications Group from which the business unit sprung. Previously, the products were available only bundled on Solbourne hardware or through Unix System Laboratories, which attempted to sell Object Interface source code. This relationship, which covered Object Interface 2.0, ended a few weeks ago. Unix Labs did not do particularly well selling source, perhaps distracted by its own C++ product with which it was paired, and was not a good fit, according to George Kakatsakis, who led the original Solbourne development work as engineering manager and now heads the business unit. It needs to be handled as a binary product, he says. Distribution will now extend to other third parties including Qualix Group Inc, San Mateo, California; ParcPlace Systems Inc, Mountain View, California and CenterLine Software, Dallas, Texas, the former Saber Software Corp, to start. CenterLine, an enthusiastic OEM customer that will initially put its own name onto the two pieces of software and offer them as is, has also committed to a licensing deal. It intends to integrate User Interface Builder with its own ObjectCenter environment for the next major release of ObjectCenter, expected to start delivering early in the autumn. CenterLine’s vice-president of marketing, Bob Cramer, is convinced the integration will result in software along the lines of the interface builder in NeXT Computer Inc’s NextStep environment, but hardened and more standardised, and fit for the professional developer, a path NeXT itself may not be treading. Companies like CenterLine, as well as Solbourne itself, will also move User Interface Builder and Object Interface on to other major Unix systems such as those from Hewlett-Packard Co, IBM Corp and Digital Equipment Corp. Solbourne points out that 200,000-line libraries based on C++ rather than C are scarce and notes that the what you see is what you get User Interface Builder, which uses drag-and-drop techniques to select Object Interface objects, is dynamically switchable between Open Look and Motif by the user at runtime. Once the Software Business Unit, which is currently telemarketing its stuff, proves its viability, it is expected to spin out as an independent company. Such a launch is envisioned in a short three to six months, preferably financed by the unit’s own revenue stream. If not, the venture capital community will be tapped. Plans call for the unit to go public eventually. User Interface Builder lists for $3,000 with the library; an Object Interface binary licence is also separately available for $1,000. Object Interface source costs $25,000. The unit will also sell C++ Release 3 from Unix Labs and a Process Debugger.
