A call to 800/TRY-NEXT found a friendly NeXT representative with a list of supposed local dealers in the Connecticut, New York, and Boston areas that ranged from specialized systems integrators to Canon corporate.
While the Sleuth hoped to find dealers that sold configured NEXTSTEP for Intel systems, what he discovered instead was that the small dealer channel has been completely gutted by NeXT's switch to a software-only manufacturing and marketing strategy.
Although the Sleuth was assured by NeXT that the list had been recently updated, the results of the random phone poll were disappointing. One of the numbers was no longer in service, another said it might have some black hardware in stock but would have to check, another said it no longer sold NeXT products, and another, who specializes in graphics, admitted to having reverted back to its bread-and-butter Mac business.
With the demise of this channel, graphic-design firms, architects, realtors, advertising agencies, recording studios, and other small businesses are far less likely to choose NEXTSTEP.
Each month, the Sleuth will look at a different aspect of NEXTSTEP distribution.