Firm predictions that Steve Jobs’ NeXT Inc would launch its workstation in mid-June again proved to be a false alarm: Time magazine attributed the delays to problems with the speed of the display graphics. But the Newsbytes newswire, amongst other sources, is now predicting a July launch, saying it would be good timing for autumn purchasing decisions by universities and colleges, although it sounds a bit late for the new school year, which starts in September. But an additional factor could further delay the introduction of the NeXT machines, according to published reports, and that is a possible dispute between Apple Computer and NeXT over copyrights. The attorneys from both sides are still said to be haggling over details regarding the similarity of each firm’s offerings. Meanwhile, Steve Jobs got something of a blow from one of his biggest fans. Carnegie Mellon University, an investor in NeXT, announced that it will develop versions of the Mach operating system for the Macintosh II. That’s the operating system which the NeXT workstation is rumoured to be running, and if it’s implemented on the Macintosh, the NeXT machine will lose some of its individuality. To make matters worse, the university announced that the preferred machines for incoming students this autumn will not be from the Palo Alto company, but from Apple and IBM – the Macintosh and PS/2.
