The following is cross-posted from comp.os.geos:
From : GWREPMARK
To   : ALL
Subj : Re: When will NEXT version be released?
Numb : 660 of 673                            Date      : 08/10/96 1:00pm
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p From: gwrepmark@aol.com (GWRepMark) Newsgroups: comp.os.geos
Subject: Re: When will NEXT version be released?
Date: 10 Aug 1996 12:06:52 -0400
In article , Dean Dancey 
writes:
>As far a the information that I got from USI, there is supposed to
>be a new release sometime this month.  Apparently, it is not going to
>be the full 3.0 version, but still an update from 2.01  Maybe the folks
>as USI can clarify this, as I am hoping that they are not going to pull
>a "Bill Gates" and sell us a version now and have one in the wings
>waiting... -Dean Dancey
As I understand it, the new release is an update, not an upgrade.
Meaning it is basically the same as the current Ensemble 2.01.
Differences will mainly be in the product and brand names (according to
the August Geoworks Forum News, the brand name will be New Deal, and
Ensemble is likely to become New Deal Office), the underlying operating
system will be GEOS 2.1, not 2.01 (2.1 is the version on the Omnigo
too), all the bug fixes and Geoworks updates available as separate
uploads in the forum should be included, plus a few other minor fixes.
I am not aware of any applications to be included that are not already
part of Ensemble 2.01, except for the inclusion of Book Reader 2.0. And
*manuals*. The installation and setup programs will be compatible with
Windows 95 and fast CPU's, so the special setup instructions will no
longer be needed.
If you already have Ensemble 2.01, there is really no reason to buy the
new product, it is substantially the same -unless you want to support
New Deal and its efforts in writing new applications and developing a
real upgrade based on 3.0. I plan to buy at least one or two as gifts.
Some of the above is guesswork on my part, some details may be wrong,
and some might be right at the moment, but subject to change. After next
week's Rotunda conference we should have more definite answers.
When will they begin shipping? I hope the people at USI were right that
it will be this month.  Everything in this effort has taken longer than
expected, and I'm not going to start MSing you by promising a date and
having it slip. But all of us either have Ensemble already, or can order
it now from USI. I'd prefer to see a well executed retail and mail-order
product launch and an aggressive marketing campaign done right, even if
it means more wait, than a hurried slipshod effort right now. Better
done right than right now. Still, I think we really are getting close.
-Mark
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