NeXT Computer

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This article is about the desktop computer. For the company, see NeXT.
NeXT Computer
Manufacturer
die-cast magnesium cube-shaped case
SuccessorNeXTcube

NeXT Computer (also called the NeXT Computer System) is a workstation computer that was developed, marketed, and sold by

die-cast magnesium cube-shaped black case, which led to the machine being informally referred to as 'The Cube.'"[3]

The NeXT Computer was renamed NeXTcube in a later upgrade. The NeXTstation, a more affordable version of the NeXTcube, was released in 1990.

Launch

Main article: NeXT Introduction

The NeXT Computer was launched in October 1988 at a lavish invitation-only event, "NeXT Introduction – the Introduction to the NeXT Generation of Computers for Education" at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, California. The next day, selected educators and software developers were invited to attend—for a $100 registration fee—the first public technical overview of the NeXT computer at an event called "The NeXT Day" at the San Francisco Hilton. It gave those interested in developing NeXT software an insight into the system's software architecture and object-oriented programming. Steve Jobs was the luncheon's speaker.

Reception

In 1989, BYTE magazine listed the NeXT Computer among the "Excellence" winners of the BYTE Awards, stating that it showed "what can be done when a personal computer is designed as a system, and not a collection of hardware elements". Citing as "truly innovative" the optical drive, DSP and object-oriented programming environment, it concluded that "the NeXT Computer is worth every penny of its $6,500 market price".[4] It was, however, not a significant commercial success, failing to reach the level of high-volume sales like the Apple II, Commodore 64, Macintosh, or Microsoft Windows PCs. This failure was mainly blamed on the computer's substantial price, and the fact that there was not a great demand for the system outside of the higher-education market. The workstations were mainly sold to universities, financial institutions, and government agencies.[5]

Legacy

This NeXTcube was used by Tim Berners-Lee as the first server on the World Wide Web.

A NeXT Computer and its

object-oriented development tools and libraries were used by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau at CERN to develop the world's first web server (CERN httpd) and web browser (WorldWideWeb
).

The NeXT platform was used by Jesse Tayler at Paget Press to develop the first electronic app store, called the Electronic AppWrapper, in the early 1990s. Issue #3 was first demonstrated to Steve Jobs at NeXTWorld Expo 1993.

Pioneering PC games Doom, Doom II, and Quake (with respective level editors) were developed by id Software on NeXT machines. Doom engine games such as Heretic, Hexen, and Strife were also developed on NeXT hardware using id's tools.[6]

NeXT technology provisioned the first online food delivery system called CyberSlice, using GIS based geolocation, on which Steve Jobs performed the first online order of pizza with tomato and basil. CyberSlice was curated into the Inventions of the 20th Century, Computer Science[7] at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "NeXT Computer | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  2. ^ "NeXT Computer | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  3. ^ "NeXT Computer | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  4. ^ "The BYTE Awards". BYTE. January 1989. p. 327.
  5. ^ "NeXT Computer | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  6. ^ "Apple-NeXT Merger Birthday!". Archived from the original on March 5, 2007.
  7. ^ "CyberSlice, Incorporated". Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  8. ^ "AppStorey talks with Steve Green about Steve Jobs, The Smithsonian and how a pizza with basil became the first food delivered via the web". AppStorey. June 6, 2019. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  9. ^ PMQ Pizza Magazine (June 3, 2019), How Steve Jobs Made Pizza History, archived from the original on 2021-12-11, retrieved June 7, 2019

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NeXT.
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