Tech : NeXT Cube Demo
http://www.Alfred.TV
READ ME FIRST: In this video, with a run time of 53 minutes, I give a cursory overview of the hardware and operating system centric to the NeXT Computer.
When Steve Jobs was stripped of all managerial rights at Apple in 1985, he resigned and started NeXT.
In the mid 90’s, when Apple was in dire straights for a modern, multitasking operating system, they looked to purchase Be for their BeOS. When that deal fell through, they negotiated with NeXT.
With the purchase, which was for about $500 million, not only did they get the NextStep/OpenStep OS, they also got back Steve Jobs.
The acquisition of NeXT, which was orchestrated by the current Apple CEO, Gil Amelio, saved the company from pending disaster.
So, join me for a some time-travel to 1990, where I will give you a peek at the roots of the modern Mac OS X operating system which many of us enjoy and use today.
Make sure to stay through the credits for the post video bonus scene featuring a Power Mac 7500, an Apple ][, and my nephews, Mike and Chris.
Note: The REASON why this was filmed early on Thanksgiving more was due to my personal and business schedule. It was the only time I could do it in order to fulfill my promise of ‘booting the NeXT Cube’ prior to 2009.
If you’d like to see the raw, archival uStream broadcast, which is a bit light-hearted as I interact with the live audience, please visit the URL below and click on the link for ‘archived videos.’ The broadcast is broken up into multiple parts for easier consumption.
http://www.ustream.tv/adiblasi
Please note that I did indeed film and edit this video for YOU, my regular and loyal YouTube and uStream subscribers and viewers. I hope you enjoy it.
Bad jokes were kept to a bare minimum to keep the focus on the NeXT Cube. Overall, the performance of the machine was really quite amazing, especially considering that the CPU was a 68040 at 25 mhz with 16 megabytes of RAM!
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Alfred
http://www.Alfred.TV
Duration : 0:53:52
I remember having a …
I remember having a NeXT cube, and i LOVED IT!!! and yes, i do believe they had CD drives, and definately had floppy drives. lol the screen saver amazed me
does it have any …
does it have any type of optical drive or floppy?
that thing on the …
that thing on the desk made the internet dudes i think, i still can’t believe neXt isn’t around today even designed the net from Tim Berners-Lee….. jesus doesn’t Times changed alot
FCK! The only …
FCK! The only thing missing is U!
I’d say the NeXT …
I’d say the NeXT Cube is more like the PowerMac G4 Cube released in 2000
Quote from Space …
Quote from Space Quest IV that’s relevant to my point (if you think about it):
“The change machine looks more like a time machine then the time machine looks like a time machine!”
It’s kind of funny …
It’s kind of funny how this is closer to the iMac then the Macintosh SE. OS X’s common ancestor didn’t even run on macs!
openstep/nextstep …
openstep/nextstep have intel versions so u could use sun’s virtual box i think
Anyone know if …
Anyone know if there are emulators out there for OS’s like the NeXT (or anything thats old-ish, really)?
that thing is older …
that thing is older then me lol
I used one of these …
I used one of these back in 1991 or so, in university. It was MILES ahead of its time. Ours was a colour version, which did 24-bit colour with no speed penalty. Native PostScript! Objective C API, BSD networking, fast laser printer, too bad Steve overpriced it but he was a stickler for quality.
Steve is neither a …
Steve is neither a Programmer, Engineer nor a Designer. He is just the ultimate end user and i think this is the reason behind his success, because the resulting designs aren’t targeted at engineers which is what engineers tend to do.
Plus he seems to have a real talent to pick out the right people who have a vision – thats the only explanation i can think of for how great the development tools, libraries and philosophies are.
tru
tru
yaaa i know! even …
yaaa i know! even the Mac OS was behind back then..
PowerPC: 7.5.5 to …
PowerPC: 7.5.5 to 10.5.8
if u did that the …
if u did that the apple logo wud probably hav 2 spin round at start up for at least an hour!!!!!
Are you kidding it …
Are you kidding it even blows away Win 3.1 and 95.
true. Amiga had the …
true. Amiga had the best blend of advanced multitasking OS+command line+GUI, and did it all first… in a games-machine.
shame they took a wrong turn with the AGA chipset (losing original designs requiring reverse engineer) sealing it’s fate.
might sound like a …
might sound like a little thing but several examples show mainstream gui’s took the wrong path on the menu issue.
Much more elegant to only show the menu from the current focussed app. only. Hence the clean look.. it’s great.
such a shame most apps the world over have a stupid menu permanently visible.
When something isn’t focussed, you only want it visible to refer to info inside it, not to directly interact with.
Extremely advanced …
Extremely advanced for its time and clearly you can see the roots of os X. Apple has “borrowed” a lot from Steve’s NeXT and yes Apple is Steve Jobs since everything seems to have come from his mind.
I really like the case for the cube. I would like to have one to mod up by putting the guts of a mac pro in it.
Wonderful …
Wonderful demonstration – After reading the view of the NextCube in Byte magazine, I always thought it would be a cool machine to have – though the price (15K pounds) for a monochrome screen put me off
Check out my Museum …
Check out my Museum Section. I have a NeXT Cube, and Slab, both in working order. Still wanting to get a Turbo Color Slab, ah the first UNIX machine I ever used.
I Still use …
I Still use windowmaker quite a bit. WindowMaker is a GUI recreation of NeXTStep, give it a try some time in Linux.
you are a cool dude …
you are a cool dude and i wish i knew someone like you in my area. I’d work for you in a heartbeat.
I really enjoyed …
I really enjoyed that. Excellent work.