Steve Jobs' NeXTdimension pushed the outermost boundaries of computers to become the Apple of today.
The World Wide Web [www] began on a NeXT computer.
Tim Berners-Lee, the credited creator of the World Wide Web, was inspired by NeXT's simple yet revolutionary TextEdit application. With TextEdit any word could be easily turned into a hypertext link and ANYTHING on your computer or the internet could immediately launch and open to use when such hyperlinks were clicked. All the World Wide Web's "click to view another page or item" originated on a NeXT computer.
Integration
What you like about the unified style of the current Apple products began with Steve Jobs' NeXT computer.
Whether it is the fact that Apple has chipsets made specifically for the iPhone and iPad to maximize battery life and processing power for it's iOS. Or creating beautiful minimalistic hardware to mate perfectly with its operating systems.
All NeXT systems only had two power switches, the main switch conveniently located on the keyboard and the one on the display monitor. The display was asleep unless the system was on. The printer was integrated into the system and only powered up to print and then powered off. There is no power switch on the cube or the printer.
Before the NeXT computer, a regular computer calculated in one computer language and then that data had to be translated into a display language to be seen on your monitor, the data had to be translated into a printer language to print out a hardcopy, your keyboard and mouse likewise had to be translated to interact with the "computer's" data.
NeXT eliminated all the wasted time and processing power by making their own hardware which all communicated with one language "Display Postscript". This NeXT era is when Jobs' began mating his operating system with specific hardware to maximize all aspects their functioning together in absolutely known ways, something that cannot be done by other manufacturers who may offer many choices of third party graphic or sound cards, different wifi chipsets, etc. or building in a legacy feature just so a decades old Windows dependency still functions on 5% of their mixed hardware. It is vastly improved these days, versus the NeXT era, but other makers still cannot be certain of interactions when a user begins mixing off the shelf parts.
NeXT is when Jobs began doing the previously impossible with hardware - insisting that the cube be made of one piece of cast magnesium and making circuit boards off-standard to fit it alone, instead of using the then industry standards. Such things are what have set Apple items apart from the rest of the industry since Jobs went back to Apple.
The first OS with truly useful pre-installed Apps
For the first time in an operating system, NeXT created a template for ALL applications to follow. By this I mean that EVERY application had the same menu format, you quickly learned what functions were where in that menu structure and similar functions were always in the same place on EVERY app. Other operating systems, including Apple's at that time, had application menus that were put out by various publishers who grouped their menus however THEY liked it and the user just got use to remembering where to look for the same menu item in different locations on various applications.
NeXT was also the first to include with the basic install a substantial suite of useful quality applications, not simply the most minimal examples of what you could optionally buy to be really functional. Again, the included TextEdit was advanced enough to spawn the World Wide Web. NeXT was also the first to include large reference apps like Digital Webster, Quotations and Shakespeare.
This inclusion of quality robust applications in the basic install still sets Jobs' Apple far apart from other hardware/Microsoft choices. You can buy a new Mac and within minutes of plugging it in you can realistically edit video, crop and enhance photos, rip a CD, purchase online media, send and receive email, generate text, access the computer through a terminal window, burn CDs or DVDs, and much more. Often of such quality that professionals don't feel the need to buy additional software and all included in the purchase price, no Windows install includes such truly useful apps, they are all additional costs and often require hardware upgrades that a buyer doesn't know when they make an initial (supposedly better buy) Windows purchase.
NeXTdimension
A 32-bit color board (24-bit color and 8-bit alpha transparency) that uses an Intel i860 64-bit RISC processor to produce color images faster than greyscale on a NeXTcube without it. Features various video and audio inputs and outputs not otherwise found on a NeXTcube. The NeXTdimension card sold for $3,995, plus the additional cost of a color NeXT MegaPixel Display, 17" or 21".
The video game that popularized the first person shooter, Doom, was created on NeXTdimension machines, even though it was only published for PCs.
An expensive Pixar rendering application was available on the NeXT before Jobs bought Pixar itself. Initially the NeXTdimension was the only computer powerful enough to run Renderman other than the extremely expensive "Pixar Imaging Computer". (Original Pixar Renderman brochures are included in the literature portion of this sale.)
________________________________
Mini-Timeline of Jobs' Apple-NeXT-Apple interaction
September 17, 1985 - Jobs resigns from Apple
September 23, 1985 - Apple sues Jobs claiming he knows "sensitive technology secrets" and may use them in his new computer company
January 1986 - Apple settles law suit against Jobs out of court. In the settlement Jobs agrees to always make computers that are more powerful than anything Apple has to offer.
February 1986 - Jobs begins NeXT, Inc.
December 1996 - Apple buys NeXT, Inc. for $430m
August 6, 1997 - Jobs becomes head of Apple
September 13, 2000 - the NeXT OpenStep-based operating system OS X Public Beta was released
________________________________
Articles and NeXT worship sites
Kevin Ford's Best of NeXT Computer System Collection
GREAT articles about the NeXTdimension card
Various reviews of the NeXT system, including a lengthy one from BYTE
The NeXT Computer Historical Site, one of his NeXT related books is included in the sale
OLD-COMPUTERS.COM Museum ~ Next Computers NeXT Cube
NeXT Computers site by NeXT fanatics
Archive.org's captures of the original NeXT website
Apple History Timeline (Jobs exiting, acquiring NeXT, Jobs returning)
Apple's 15 years of NeXT
The NeXT Cube was the Gutenberg Press of the Internet.
Wikipedia pages about the
NeXT Computer
,
NeXTcube
,
NeXTdimension
and
NeXT Laser Printer
Kevin Ford's Best of NeXT Computer System Collection
________________________________
Unique NeXTSTEP features and a brief description of a few of the applications included in this sale:
One of the nicest things for me about using NeXTSTEP/OpenStep is that each Workspace Manager (Finder) Window can be customized; you can launch a folder and bring up a unique window that is long, just two columns wide and with two shelves containing four file/folder icons; you can bring up another folder window for a report you are working on and have four shelves eight icons wide (32 icons) to sort out your chapters (and different versions) above a selection of columns of smaller components to easily bring everything together; unlike OSX's Finder these can have many (or no) shelves and the shelf items can be unique to that folder's window - you can have several applications on a shelf and drop files on them to quickly see what a file looks like in that app; you can have a correspondence folder and have apps on the shelves to drop onto them to email out a missive or edit it in TextEdit or encrypt it in PGP with Encipher or whatever. Individually customizable Finder windows are something I really wish was available with OSX.
Lotus Improv - like Quantrix and iWork's Numbers or Omni Groups's OmniOutliner (as an organizational tool).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Improv
The 1993 third party Engage! Desktop, among many other things, permitted groupings off the dock, which was included as part of OSX with Leopard (2007). $150 at the time; similar items had been freeware or shareware for OSX for many years prior Leopard.
http://simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/93.5/93.5.Sept.Engage_.html
http://www.kevra.org/TheBestOfNext/ThirdPartyProducts/ThirdPartySoftware/PersonalProductivity/EngageDesktop/EngageDesktop.html
Included are Diagram! 1.0 and 2.0 which are precursors to Omni Group's OmniGraffle
TaskMaster project management program
The later CD-ROMs include high quality professional applications like the Lighthouse Design's suite of Concurrence, Diagram, Equation Builder, General, OmniWeb, OpenWrite, Parasheet, Quantrix, TaskMaster, VarioData, WetPaint. (
http://download.ithinksw.com/lighthouse/
) These were given away free to the NeXT community once NeXT stopped supporting their software and were originally valued at several thousand dollars!!!!
[
25 August 2017 STATUS - As detailed below, both the original monitor and its replacement have dimmed to unusable states. After just trying the cube (w/ my 17" display) it did not start and a battery replacement did not prove to be a quick remedy. I have not had time to check for any other simple fixes and so it is unknown whether there is a simple customer fix or if a technician required fix is necessary (dead capacitor or other component). No repairs have ever been considered, as I don't know of a repairman who would consider these to be precious collectibles that they would use special care not to scratch or abuse to get working. If I have time this weekend I will see if I can start the cube again, and should that not work I will need to remove the 2GB hard drive as I don't know what business data may still be on it.
The pricing reflects that the 23 year old single owner cube (et al) and original display are in excellent physical condition - but currently not working. If a simple fix for the cube is found this weekend the price will be raised accordingly.
-- allen wrench to open it, otherwise no tools will be used, simply checking all connections and manuals for a remedy. ]
This is probably the closest a collector can get to a new NeXT system. I have the original NeXT boxes w/ all their plastic bags and foam packing as I received them in 1993. The NeXT component's serial numbers match the serial numbers printed on the boxes by NeXT and addressed to me at an old address. The keyboard has been covered by a protective membrane since it was first set up. The mouse was only used a few days in total, since I preferred to use a trackball. The original 21" monitor has no scratches on it or its stand except for the very minor dent at the top left of the front from when an object fell, dented it and lightly scratched the front of the original SoundBox as it hit the tabletop. Other than that no damage has been done to the exteriors. (The buyer can chose the SoundBox that was scratched on the front and which I know was never otherwise abused or they may chose the unscratched SoundBox I got with the NeXTstation I bought used in 1998 from Deep Space Technologies and which seems to work perfectly even though I don't know its history.)
The owner's manuals were not used except to connect the components together and I primarily used the NeXTSTEP Guide that I bought. I never used the white Applications or Setup and Tutorial manuals. I did also buy the white Sys Admin manual which was helpful.
Other than bringing the cube home to spin the hard drive every once in a while between 2000 and 2003, and bringing everything together to be photographed in 2003, my system has not been used for the last twelve years. That's twelve years more life than other units on the market. The collection of NeXT related literature that accompanies this system is quite substantial.
In the Beginning
I remember watching the PBS special on NeXT with Jobs and Perot before they put out a product and then sending for information. Eventually I got the NeXT introduction brochure at my home, liked it so much I had some sent to my office and POB. Received NeXT catalogs and began collecting information about the apps and hardware that I was interested in. Then subscribed to NeXTWORLD to help refine my selections, learn more about using the NeXT and collected information easier via it's reader service cards.
After a few years I worked on a project in 1993 where I got enough money to finally buy a high priced, but supposedly extraordinarily easy to use, NeXT system.
I chose the more expensive NeXTdimension because I had intended to use its features for remote imaging/sensing and set aside monies for that for several years but those NeXT apps never actually made it to the public, although they were described in the NeXT Software and Peripherals catalogs.
In preparation for the arrival of my NeXT I built a heavy-duty 16 foot by 37.5 inch cantilevered desk (w/ no supports legs between the ends), painted it flat black and topped it with a seamless grey drafting table cover. I then built and also painted flat black a strong redwood 2x4 frame to hold the cube so that it would have airflow everywhere, including the bottom. I bought a special air filter to minimize dust in the room and a black Oreck canister vacuum solely to use on and around the NeXT system.
Since they arrived late on a chilly day I opened the tops of the boxes and waited until the next day for them to be room temperature before plugging the cube into the surge protector and proceeding to connect everything. The cube was placed in the protective wooden frame and when I finished connecting things I used the white bubble level in the photos to make certain the cube was perfectly level, using quarters and cut up cards for shims. I rechecked the level after a few weeks, made minor adjustments and then didn't need to adjust it again. The cube's wooden frame was in the right most corner against the wall (a minimum of 5 inches of airspace at the back of the cube, much more on the other 5 sides), on this end of the desk I put the laser printer, since that would block anyone ever sitting near the cube - it was about two feet from the front and in a location that discouraged any legs being near the unit. The cube was always well ventilated and protected.
I put the monitor just to the right of center of the table and after a few days I wrapped two narrow cinder blocks (4x8x16) w/ black fabric and put the display on top to raise it four inches to a more comfortable level.
It was indeed easy to use and I have loved NeXT machines ever since.
The system was used in a private office writing reports, contracts and proposals; teleneting for research; sending and receiving faxes.
In 1995 I began using the internet, enjoying OmniWeb to gather more research and using NeXT mail.
When the NeXT system arrived I first tried a Logitech ADB trackball but don't remember why I returned it. Then I tried a Kennsington trackball and it worked well for a few minutes and then crashed the system every time I tried it. Kennsington said that it was a new version because Apple had upgraded ADB and NeXT was using an earlier version. Their tech department was kind enough to ship me a reference version of their prior trackball, which worked perfectly - but which I couldn't find for sale anywhere. I ordered the extremely expensive CH Products RollerMouse and was allowed to keep the Kennsington until it arrived. When I called CH Products to see what the delay was in getting my unit shipped to me overnight they stated that the black ADB NeXT RollerMouses were actually only put together after payment cleared. The RollerMouse worked wonderfully on the NeXT and after a couple months I thought that I should buy another, since used NeXT computers might come up from time to time on the market in the future but it seemed unlikely that many of these trackballs were ever made. I wanted to be sure I had a back-up for such a great device.
I have a fitted black cotton dustcovers for the HSD scanner and the display.
I got the replacement monitor in 1999 when my original went dark grey and was not near any trustworthy repair shops so I bought a very good condition replacement from Deep Space Technologies. If you live in a city, the original monitor could be repaired to it's perfect condition again.
Storage
I moved at the beginning of 2000 and all these things have been in storage because I still don't have (respectfully adequate) space for the cube and larger display. I did continue to use an ADB NeXTstation Turbo Color w/ a 17" display and a second laser printer that I bought in 1998 from Deep Space Technologies (it was at a low ebb in pricing for used NeXT equipment and I couldn't pass up the bargain). I always kept all my original "special" system together with its vacuum and stand. I moved on to Mac OSX, but did use OpenWrite for any serious writing and several other NeXT only apps probably until 2005. I long preferred the NeXTSTEP version of OmniWeb for its useful features that didn't make it to the OSX version.
Value
This section was written several years ago and TS no longer exists and BHI is still charging the same prices.
It would be nice if Deep Space Technologies and Spherical Solutions were still around to better define the value of NeXT hardware, but they aren't. Turbo Software (TS) and Black Hole Inc. (BHI) are now apparently the only ones with websites selling a wide variety of NeXT components and systems.
BHI has sales occasionally, so their prices may be negotiable. TS's systems page claims to be firm on its pricing for a high quality NeXTdimension system and I have not noticed any sales on their site.
They are selling what may be very nice ND systems, using the best parts that they've acquired from salvaging NeXT components. BHI does offer a 90 warranty, so if some part was at the end of its life they could replace it. However, TS and BHI cannot tell you what the components they put together for their current offerings have been used for the past 10 to 15 years. Whether those components were stored in adverse conditions, came from real "fire" sales, were abused in the colleges that NeXT targeted as its initial market or experimented with in recent years when the going rates on eBay made them cheap toys for people who just wanted to play with the rarities before reselling them again on eBay.
Since I paid a five figure sum for all this equipment and software I never risked plugging in experimental items into the DSP or other ports or tried using it with different cables or monitors, set things on any part of them, used them w/o surge protection or "anything" that would have put that very large investment at risk. Sure I had insurance, but it was a discontinued product.
The cube had ventilation on all six sides and was left on all the time to maintain a constant temperature and prevent the wear of thermal shock from switching the chips on and off.
When I added more RAM, installed a larger hard drive and replaced the battery it was always done on a grounded anti-static mat with a wrist strap. Additionally, as seen in the left front photo of cables on the Misc page is a special ground cable I made w/ 12ga solid copper wire to the ground pin of a new outlet plug which I plugged into a well grounded outlet. The other end I attached to a small bronze sculpture next to my keyboard. I developed the habit of touching this to discharge any static before using any of the components. Yes, it may have been obsessive, but that was a large investment in equipment that was no longer being manufactured.
When I bought the system I had eight 4-drawer legal size file cabinets, shelves and a large storage unit. It was no problem to store all the packing materials and neatly file away the brochures, and shelving the magazines.
TS's US$5,000 NeXTdimension based system has pictures of it's back and claims that the corners are flaking probably because of a design flaw and that most he has seen have this defect. Mine does not have that flaking, only a minor amount of paint around one of the plate screws holes is chipped or flaked. Mine does not have the minor surface scratches he shows. TS probably did buy a very good cube by the standards of used and reused NeXTcubes. The price for a full set of NeXTWORLD at TS is US$1,880 but they only have 14 of the 20 full used issues and don't mention the EXTRA issues. That's US$6,880 without the wide range of rarities - hardware and literature that is included in my collection.
BHI's Big Kahuna, a NeXTdimension based system is only US$2,995 but from the choice of options seems obvious to be pieced together. It is not an ADB system, but the older buss type. BHI appears to mainly sell used parts, which they will combine into whatever configuration you desire. BHI is oldest still existing NeXT seller - I believe that in the early '90s it were an authorized NeXT dealer. (
http://www.blackholeinc.com/specials/blackhardware.shtml
find "kahuna")
I have no idea if either seller has original NeXT boxes with matching serial numbers, intact SoundBox membrane boxes, or if they also have any perfect condition NeXT brochures. As parties who have bought several lot sales of used, and possibly abused, NeXT equipment I am certain they have a great many items that I don't offer here.
I am primarily offering the fact that I neatly stored away the brochures and other literature that I collected and no one else looked through, passed around or traded them, and that since I spent a lot of money for my NeXT equipment in 1993 I took great care of that investment, unlike many original users who casually used them at work or school and didn't spend a cent towards their cost or care.
Photos
Unfortunately in 2003 I just had two days alone to move out all furniture of a room and bring all these boxes over, unpack them and photograph everything before putting them back in storage because of lack of space. I borrowed a friend's digital camera, only to find that at lower resolutions the pictures looked like cartoons and at the highest resolution it would only store 6 images before I had to make a 12 mile round trip to download the images through their pc's serial port and upload them to the internet, drive back and take six shots........ That was not fun and they thought I only wanted to use it once and bring it back (me too) and evidently cartoons suited their purposes and couldn't understand why I didn't use the 24 shot mode. The benefit of the digital camera was that I could take closeups, but even w/ the higher resolution it seemed like I needed to bring a sun or two inside the house to have gotten good pictures. Then when I resorted to my seldom used cheap 35mm it seemed to short out every once in a while so days later when I got the pictures back at least five images that I expected to use weren't even there.
Location
These items are located in Logan, Utah; near the southeast corner of Idaho. About 90mi NNE of Salt Lake City, Utah. All the major shipping carriers serve the area, along w/ most freightlines. UHaul and Ryder have trailer/truck rentals here. A Buyer will have to pick all the boxes up and pay CASH for this sale.
