🚀 go-pugleaf

Brent McKinley (Unix Marketing at WordPerfect)left me voice mail last week,  
while I was out frolicking in the north woods.  Here are the salient points:

1)  WP has decided to release their next functional release (I will
    call WP6.0, although Brent did not name names) on the NeXT.  It
    has been deemed technically economical, demanded by the market,
    and consistent with their business plans.  I guess this is 
    marketing-speak for a 'possible-money maker'.   I guess I can
    thank the network for your response to my earlier postings about this.

    WP6.0 will be a superset of WP1.0.1 on the NeXT, and WP5.1 on DOS,
    VMS, et al.  6.0 will be object-oriented (no definition from
    Brent as how he means to use the term), will be based on a 
    portable 'engine' with system specific front-ends, and will be
    designed throughout for complete support of new UI technologies
    (Windows, Mac, X, NeXTstep, pen-based, etc.)

2)  The time frame for the NeXT release is 1993, not 1992.  Brent
    'is optimistic the release date will be earlier than orginally thought.'
    Brent has originally estimated a late 1993 release date for 6.0
    on the NeXT, if it were released at all.

    No deployment order was discussed.  In the past, WP has made it clear that
    WP6.0 will be deployed in a tight, but staggered release across platforms,
    with Windows being the first platform targetted, then Mac, and
    the others following after.  The staggered release is required
    to minimize the impact on logistics.  

3)  Brent is working hard to have his WP/Unix group get on the network.
    WP/VMS is now on the net (via DECUServe), and Brent wants to institute
    discussions with his marketplace in a more timely fashion, rather than
    phone tag, non-disclosures, and trade shows.

4)  Brent is off to Europe this month (September).  Gordon Mallah is manning
    the fort with regards to NeXT-related issues.  You can contact him
    via phone at (801) 228 7284.

With that said, it still appears WordPerfect is at least a year behind the  
market, both on Windows, and on the NeXT.   The question is, will WP6.0
leapfrog the technologies in place, without leaving it's former cashcows
(DOS on low-end PCs) stuck in the mud?  In the NeXT arena, will apps
like Pages and PasteUp provide rote word-processing support in an easy to use,  
stable, and supported fashion?  Is Word 5.0 still too Mac-like under Executor?

Should Jack Reynolds go consult with WP marketing on how to 'effectively market
to the Internet?'

later...

- Geoff
---------------------------------------------------------------
Geoffrey Brunkhorst, RCF                    brunkhorst@Mayo.edu
Guggenheim 10                                    (507) 284-1805
Mayo Foundation, Rochester MN, 55905 USA     fax (507) 284-5231