My very first NeXTStation

eric

eric

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I was working on a NeXT BlueSCSI Toolbox app (via the Previous emulator) for a while but ran into issues where I couldn't tell if it was the emulator, me, or my code and it was getting a bit troublesome to debug further.

Luckily a kind soul @JdM74 reached out to me and offered to find and ship me all the parts I needed to get a NeXTStation up and running!

It's a NeXTStation with a NuBox to replace the soundbox for audio and adb, Y cable for VGA. 128MB of RAM.

I'm a noob at NeXT so this is just a thread to capture what I've learned on the way and maybe some info to help the next person who's thinking about getting a NeXT.

I Installed a BlueSCSI v2 of course and worked instantly, but the NeXTStation has an odd way to physically mount the HDD right on the motherboard. I found an existing model and remixed it to allow for any BlueSCSI v2 to work. https://www.printables.com/model/951896-nextstation-bluescsi-drive-bracket

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I had an issue with the mouse - kept drifting and moving by itself. Was reading and saw maybe resetting the PRAM battery would help, but in resetting the PRAM I had to boot into monitor mode to set the boot device to the drive instead of the (default) network. Everywhere online says to use Command + tilde right after the self test, but it's actually left alt, + command + tilde!

That didn't fix the issue so I opened the mouse up, cleaned it, hooked it back up and it worked! sometimes. After some fiddling it seems there is a broken wire in the cable and if i hold it just right it'll work. Luckily I have a Wombat that works (oddly no Mac ADB mice will work). I should be able to repair the ADB NeXT mouse.

My next steps are to:
Configure Networking
Transfer my files from my mac to my NeXT (hopefully via ftp)
 
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MacOfAllTrades

MacOfAllTrades

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Very cool!!!

Nexts are like Lisas in my mind - I want one badly, but then I wonder if I’d use it after the first hour of having it.
I’ve been looking up YouTube videos on next and nextstep and openstep because I’m befuddled by how on earth they got so much OS on a 68k machine. There isn’t much that I’ve found in this regard. Just plenty of history videos and demos new and old.
I may have to (gasp) read!
 
eric

eric

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Well I picked up a monochrome MegaPixel display at VCF-MW as i thought well that'll look nice on the next slab... but it's not an ADB MegaPixel. ugh. At least I got a good deal and can pass it on to someone who could use it or if I find a non-adb kb/mouse in the future.
 
jeffburg

jeffburg

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MacOfAllTrades said:
Nexts are like Lisas in my mind - I want one badly, but then I wonder if I’d use it after the first hour of having it.
Click to expand...
I agree with this sentiment, but NeXT machines are far more powerful than the Lisa and non-powerpc Macs and have all modern-ish connectivity. Meaning they are a far more useful machine. And because NeXTSTEP is the basis for modern OS X, it works in a way we expect with the same application and document model. So its very easy to set up the NFS server on your Mac and then mount it on the next machine and share files back and forth between the system.
Also, if you want to get into retro software development, the Objective-C Foundation and AppKit API's in OpenStep 4.2 are almost 100% compatible with modern Mac OS X, including macOS 26 Tahoe. So you can build an app in OpenStep and then use it on your Mac.

So I am not saying you will get a lot of use out of a NeXT machine. You can easily do tons of fun projects like turn it into a web server or develop software for it.

I gave a brief talk on this at Try Swift in Tokyo this year if you want to learn more Youtube Link ・ Github Repo
 
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JDW

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This thread caught my eye today, and it raised one big question in my mind...

How do you NeXT owners use the machines?

For example, I can tell you how I use my vintage Macs (which are mostly 68K machines): Gaming, HyperCard, Photoshop (believe it or not, yes), Benchmarking, Overlocking/Upgrading, Hardware Hacking, Distraction-free Word Processing, and with a Wifi-capable BlueSCSI I sometimes connect to the internet via FrogFind. I also enjoy finding old apps I used back in the day or apps I've never used before but sound interesting -- software that only runs on vintage Macs. I've never tried a web server because even though that's a practical use, the machine would be dedicated to that task, reducing my ability to play around with it.

I've seen people show off their NeXT machines from time to time, but most really don't show how they enjoy using them.

I'm a semi-practical Mac enthusiast who likes to keep all the machines in my collection in good usable condition, and I have things I like to do on them. I treat them sort of like a Tamagotchi -- I feel odd if I don't touch my machines for a long time. I find that more fun than just fixing up a machine and shelving it, or putting it behind glass merely for show.

Again, I'm just curious how people use the machines. @jeffburg mentions "software development," so I'm curious what kind of software? Or is it all "server related"?
 
jeffburg

jeffburg

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NeXTSTEP has a lot of great commercial software including Word Perfect and Adobe Illustrator for example. It also has OmniWeb which is a fantastic web browser, that was later used on Mac OS X until it was crushed when Apple introduced Safari.

And as I said with the software development, the API's for GUI apps are the same in Mac OS X. So, unlike with a classic Mac, when you make an app for OpenStep, you can use that app in Mac OS X app.

Basically, a NeXTSTATION is way way more related to a modern Mac than a classic Mac is because of the switch from classic Mac OS to Mac OS X that started in the year 2000.
 
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jeffburg

jeffburg

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ClassicHasClass said:
Actually, my favourite NeXTSTEP system is my SAIC Galaxy 1100, which is a PA-RISC HP 9000/712 in a MIL-SPEC portable workstation shell. It is very fast and runs 3.3 beautifully.
Click to expand...
I googled it and that looks like a pretty sick retro laptop. That said, I think it's hard to beat the original Black hardware.... it beautiful inside and out... I wish I still had mine.

And I never said a big congrats to @eric on getting his first black hardware set up and working! Big accomplishment. I hope you enjoy the machine!
 
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