Next Inc

By most standards, Wednesday's unveiling of Steven P. Jobs' new computer was a big hit. There were "oohs and aahs" for the new optical disk data storage system and sustained clapping for the $6,500 "bargain" price. Even the extra-long power cable got a round of applause. At the end of the show, Jobs and the sleek black machine that he predicts will set the pace for computing until the next century received a standing ovation. But not everyone is impressed.

Steven P. Jobs, the charismatic entrepreneur who all but invented the personal computer industry, made a triumphal return home Friday as Apple Computer Inc. announced that it will rehire its co-founder and one-time chairman as part of a bold turnaround plan. Bringing one of the most colorful dramas in American business history full-circle, Apple will also pay $400 million to acquire Next Inc.

Former Apple Computer Chairman Steven Jobs and his team at Next Inc. shattered the perceived limits of personal computers Wednesday, unveiling what they called a "personal mainframe" for university students, teachers and researchers. The Next machine, which won't be generally available until spring, is the long-awaited computer that former whiz kid Jobs has brashly promised will revolutionize higher education.

Apple Computer co-founder Steven P. Jobs unveiled this month the first computer from his new company, Next Inc. The $6,500 machine, which features a vast memory, stereo-quality sound and a high-resolution screen, is exclusively for the higher education market. For packaging several new wrinkles in technology in a single machine, the Next computer won raves from some analysts. But will the company be a commercial success? Will the computer sell?

In the wake of Apple Computer Inc.'s stunning acquisition of Next Software Inc., software executives expressed cautious optimism Monday that the return of Apple co-founder Steven P. Jobs and new technology from Next would pull the struggling personal computer maker out of its current slump. The Next acquisition brings to a conclusion Apple's exhaustive search for a new operating system, the brains of a personal computer, to replace its outdated Macintosh OS.

Two years after launching the first Next Computer model amid a frenzy of hype--only to see it fail in the marketplace--Steven P. Jobs returned to Symphony Hall here Tuesday with a new series of products and the future of his company hanging in the balance.

It's taken a few years, but Steve Jobs thinks that he has finally figured out how to define his sleek but slow-selling Next computer: It's a "professional workstation," combining the power of machines used by scientists and engineers with the convenience of personal computers. Conveniently, this niche is small enough for Next to be a major player yet is growing fast enough to be worthwhile.

Steven Jobs, the personal computer pioneer struggling to hit it big a second time, has landed his first major corporate deal, selling 250 of his Next workstations to the William Morris talent agency in Beverly Hills and New York. Although the $2.5-million deal isn't large by the standards of corporate America, it does represent an achievement that has proven elusive for the computer industry's most celebrated marketing whiz: acceptance of his latest computer.

The voice seems inescapable. In the middle of the night, it haunts TV screens. At rush hour, it beckons from the radio dial: "I'm Dr. Greg Cynaumon." For nearly two years, Cynaumon and his diet pill infomercials have saturated the airwaves, proclaiming CortiSlim's ability to slash weight by controlling stress. To some, the pitches have become as obnoxious as Sit 'n Sleep's "You're killing me, Larry" spots.