NeXT Cube with Mac Mini inside

I came across this little organization that will put a Mac Mini inside a NeXT Cube, can it get any better than this! cool hardware with new insides.

the url is:

http://www.nextcomputer.co.nr

Are you connected to them?

No i'm from another NeXT organization in the UK that was a part of the old NeXT Computer company, called NeXT Computer Engineering Design but i didn't know the other NeXT was up and running again until recently.

I suspect Apple legal will shortly be nuking them from orbit, whoever they are.[/i]

I wonder how many cube cases or old NEXT hardware they have.

It may be worth e-mailing them too see, i am definitely going to buy one when they come out.

Quote from: "it68000"I wonder how many cube cases or old NEXT hardware they have.

I'm wondering what happened to the hardware inside those cases.  :(

Quote from: "un"I suspect Apple legal will shortly be nuking them from orbit, whoever they are.[/i]

Well I work for The Black Hardware Company (Also known as NeXT UK) and if you read the full merger agreement between NeXT and Apple, you will find that NeXT (UK) was omitted from the contract, and if you read the contract that NeXT UK made with Apple in the UK you will find that NeXT UK is allowed to use NeXT Logos, Names, AND some of the hardware components as long as none of the mentioned entities are sold for PROFIT. NeXT UK is a non-profit making organization.

If you want to see the NeXT UK - Apple contract I can email you a copy. Everything was recently run over by Apple Legal in England (when we proposed making "new" units) recently and everything is still OK.

Quote from: "NeXT BHC"
Well I work for The Black Hardware Company (Also known as NeXT UK) and if you read the full merger agreement between NeXT and Apple, you will find that NeXT (UK) was omitted from the contract, and if you read the contract that NeXT UK made with Apple in the UK you will find that NeXT UK is allowed to use NeXT Logos, Names, AND some of the hardware components as long as none of the mentioned entities are sold for PROFIT. NeXT UK is a non-profit making organization.

If you want to see the NeXT UK - Apple contract I can email you a copy. Everything was recently run over by Apple Legal in England (when we proposed making "new" units) recently and everything is still OK.

Whoa, so this NeXT UK has full rights to all NeXT IP?!

What about NeXTSTEP?  OPENSTEP?

Do you have source licenses to either? all?

This sounds MAJOR!..

What do you guys have, exactly?!

I'm not the person to ask, but you can email the boss he has all of the original contracts and stuff and is always open to people asking quesions.

- go to - http://www.nextcomputer.co.nr

- and try the contact section.

Sounds very interesting :)

QuoteI'm wondering what happened to the hardware inside those cases.

In the store section there is written that they will sell also "...NeXT Computer hardware components...".

Moreover they found 100!! :? boxes of NEXT stuff.  

Hope the prices will be good.

Looks/sounds very hollow to me.

Not to be a pessimist, or anything, but this smacks of a lack of credibility.

System7?  XzantecK? Terrible artwork, and Zeebly (web creation made easy)?

Design by Salted Sugar - whose portfolio lists two American (Virginia) ministries as clients (and little else), not to mention that the NR domain whois does not have a "co.nr" - just a "com.nr", and "co.nr" comes back from whois as being registered to an "Oxwell Consolidated" out of St. Petersburg, Russia.

This would make nextcomputer.co.nr just a subdomain.

If someone bought the NeXT (UK) IP, and a bunch of backstock, I expect this to play out to a tragic end, something along the lines of the Amiga scene - if the indicators above are valid.

Not to be a pessimist, or anything.. ;)

All of these things that you have addressed can be very simply answered:

- The website is run from a free service called Weebly because NeXT UK is a non-profit organization that has NO MONEY and is run by a few guys (me included)

- System7 was an application project that was under dev but was scrapped due to extreme lack of time and funds

- XzantecK were a distribution agent for optical media based in Scotland that went broke

- The .co.nr domains are free redirection domains, and are to act as an easy to remember name so that people do not have to try and remember ridiculously long addresses.

- There was no NeXT UK IP, as it was a sub division not a standalone company

- The back stock is legitimate and has only recently been explored

Quote from: "NeXT BHC"All of these things that you have addressed can be very simply answered:

- The website is run from a free service called Weebly because NeXT UK is a non-profit organization that has NO MONEY and is run by a few guys (me included)

- System7 was an application project that was under dev but was scrapped due to extreme lack of time and funds

- XzantecK were a distribution agent for optical media based in Scotland that went broke

- The .co.nr domains are free redirection domains, and are to act as an easy to remember name so that people do not have to try and remember ridiculously long addresses.

- There was no NeXT UK IP, as it was a sub division not a standalone company

- The back stock is legitimate and has only recently been explored

That's too bad it's just logo's.... Oh well, I wonder if NeXT of Japan was just as kneecapped in the same fashion.

I remeber System7 quite well. Sad to say it has gone.

J

Quote from: "Jenne"I remeber System7 quite well. Sad to say it has gone.

J

What the heck was it?!  The only System 7 I know is MacOS System 7...

The contents of their webpages were removed. Strange behaviour. Not a good start.

However I don't think many people would be interested in a mac mini inside a NEXTcube case.

Different story if they have some old stock or original hardware that they want just sell.

WTF?!

"DUE TO EXCESSIVE AND CONTINUING ABUSE NeXT UK WILL SUSPEND ALL SERVICE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."

"UNFORTUNATELY SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SENDING E-MAIL TO US THAT IS ABUSIVE. NeXT UK DOES NOT HAVE TO TOLERATE SUCH BEHAVIOR AND WILL NOT SELL ANY HARDWARE TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE."


How very odd.  I know it wasn't me since I haven't contacted anyone from there via e-mail.

Does anyone know what this is all about?

It's very strange when a business gets razzed in some fashion and suddenly shutters up, letting whomever was harassing them get the better up.

Very odd indeed.

Quote from: "it68000"
However I don't think many people would be interested in a mac mini inside a NEXTcube case.

Yeah, the remaining NeXT users is most likely under 30.  I'm pretty sure AROS has more users....  Not to mention, I'd rather have a cube running NS or OS, then a mac mini inside a gutted classic.  

But then considering they didn't get any NeXT IP, they just have boxes of unsold kit... Good news for UK enthusiasts, but nothing much otherwise.

QuoteJenne wrote:
I remeber System7 quite well. Sad to say it has gone.  

Yeah I loved apple's system 7 too.  Like Neozeed i'm not sure what they were exactly refering too.

Someone's got some pretty soft skin to remove their entire company just because of some abusive emails.

Something doesn't add up here.

Alan Caldwell's name, along with many other details have also been removed from the (recently added?) Wikipedia article on NeXT UK.

Current:

QuoteNeXT (UK)

NeXT (UK) was the British branch of the American company NeXT. The company has remained independent since the Apple takeover.

Cached version:

QuoteOrigins

NeXT (UK) was originally part of the American company NeXT. NeXT was extremely successful, inventing many things that computer users take for granted today such as the internet, the Dock and website creation. NeXT (UK) was simply the UK branch of the American company and distributed the same products as NeXT in America such as OPENSTEP and NEXTSTEP.

[edit] The Deal-1996

When NeXT was bought by Apple in 1996 NeXT (UK) was not included in the deal, as NeXT executives had planned to simply close down the UK division. However the CEO at the time, Zaine McDonnell took on the NeXT name and all of the logos and UK trademarks. meaning that McDonnell had control of NeXT (UK). This was cleared by Apple in 1997 and they deemed it suitable to have NeXT (UK) continue as a separate company as long as no interference was caused by NeXT (UK) to Apple and no loss of funds was created by any competing products.

[edit] Collapse

NeXT (UK) remained dormant from 1998 as McDonnell's plans to expand and re-develop NeXT (UK) were never successful, as Apple had taken all of the products away that NeXT (UK) could sell the only way forward was to make new software titles. Unfortunately McDonnell could not afford to employ and NeXT (UK) workers and in 1998 the NeXT (UK) offices were closed and the staff made redundant. NeXT (UK) ceased trading on the 17th September 1998 with no debts leaving McDonnell and a few other software technicians with nothing to do. McDonnell finally made his remaining 5 employees redundant in 1999 as NeXT (UK) could no longer afford to function even from McDonnell's own home, which was sold to cover the wages of the remaining employees.

[edit] NeXT (UK) Revival

In December 2007 talks began between McDonnell and the internet businessman Alan Caldwell-Jones. Alan Caldwell-Jones (a huge NeXT fan) had run a handful of unsuccessful web based publishing and media companies including the now deduct TotalKandy. Caldwell-Jones offered £1 to McDonnell for the rights to NeXT (UK), including 100% of the shares, the logos, trademarks and the name NeXT (UK).

As McDonnell had not been perusing the NeXT brand since the collapse in 1999 surprisingly McDonnell agreed and the transaction was completed in March 2008/ NeXT (UK) is now owned and run solely by Alan Caldwell-Jones. Caldwell-Jones said in a NeXT SPACE Blog in March 2008, "I don't see that NeXT (UK) has the need for more than 1 employee, the company doesn't make money and cannot possibly warrant any further investment in such matters". Caldwell-Jones also said in the same blog At the moment NeXT (UK) cannot warrant any investment, it's a small scale company that barley handles money for the moment NeXT (UK) has to stay small for it's own good".

[edit] The Future

NeXT (UK) is currently developing a small business tool that aims to help users store and organize staff information. NeXT (UK) are also working on a system for Cub Scout groups that is designed to store data on members, leaders, and equipment. Caldwell-Jones named it System 7 after the old Apple operating system. System7 will be Mac and PC compatible. The release date is unclear however the release date is changed frequently on the NeXT (UK) website.

I'm not advocating or condoning a witch hunt, but WTF is going on here?

Souns like NeXT UK wasn't the only Euro division...

http://www.paullynch.org/NeXTSTEP/NeXT.UK.Overview.htmld/

From here it looks like there could be dozens of these NeXT companies out there...

Seeing that he bought his for 1 GBP maybe we should track down the remaining NeXTS?!

LOL the ultimate NeXT collecters item, the euro divisions!?

Quote from: "Thrax"Yeah I loved apple's system 7 too.  Like Neozeed i'm not sure what they were exactly refering too.

Obviously it does not refer to the "System7 Project" I am refering to. For a short period of time there were quite a bunch of "System 7 Projects" with very different aims or contents.
The one NeXT UK is refereing to is some sort of database system / application that seemed to be developed with one of the OpenStep / Rhapsody releases in order to be compatible with Macs and PCs but I'm not sure about this.

The "System7 Project" I'm refering to was something international. Several developers from France, UK, US, Germany, Switzerland and else wanted to keep the user interface design and concept of the late OS 7 / early OS 8 in order to get that OS for PCs and Macs (sounds a bit like the Pink OS / Star Trek Apple story) with all the benefits from the Copland and early Rhapsody thing. This one was rumouring around for a short period of time in user groups and some magazines and soon got lost while OS 9 came up (as I remember).

Another "System7" thing was a group of hackers - as far as I know located in the US and UK. I've seen some stuff from that group, mainly networking hacks / cracks but also some security related topics regarding the Apple OS. Dunno what became of them.

So, maybe that NeXT UK just shut down the page because of too many e-mails with the topic "Are You going to sell the old NeXT hardware You sacrificed for that Mini transfer to me?". Maybe that mail server couldn't cope with more than 20 e-mails per hour?  :twisted:

J

Also this very recent site http://www.tapemodern.co.nr/ is owned by this Al Caldwell (all the sites opened in the same period).
They seem to do "music" :roll: but there are only some links to an urban DJ site and to the NEXT (UK) website.

Is it possible that it is just a joke? a fake?

Or maybe Apple legal have written to them.

They state that they are a non-profit organization, so how can they open a store?

However is pity if the NEXT Computer logo comes in bad hands.

Nobody know if it is real the story about the NEXT UK subsidiary not included in the deal with Apple?

Yep, it looks like Apple legal didn't take to it afterall:

DUE TO A CONFLICT OF INTEREST BETWEEN NeXT UK AND APPLE WITH REGARDS
TO CERTAIN ACTIONS HIGHLIGHTED WITHIN CERTAIN CONTRACTS THAT WE ADMIT
WE SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE, NeXT UK WILL NO LONGER BE OPERATIONAL. ALL
DEALINGS WITH NeXT UK AND OR THE BLACK HARDWARE COMPANY SHOULD
BE CONSIDERED NULL AND VOID. ALL NeXTUK OPERATIONS HAVE BEEN
INDEFINITELY SUSPENDED AND IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT NeXT UK WILL RETURN.

FOR ANY ENQUIRES RELATING TO THE FOUND NeXT HARDWARE, PLASE CONTACT
nextcomputer@gmx.com AS THE HARDWARE WILL BE PASSED ONTO OUR FELLOW
NeXT ENTHUSIASTS IN FRANCE. ANY CONTACT WE RECEIVE WITH REGARDS TO THIS
ISSUE WILL BE PASSED ONTO NeXT FRANCE.

IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED WITH THE
NeXT FRANCHISE AND TRY OUT SOME GREAT IDEAS.


Now the questions are:

Is NeXT UK possibly up for sale again?  And what is the deal with NeXT France?!

I'd *LOVE* a NeXT franchise!

Heck, Alan I'll give you 20GBP for NeXT UK!

I feel as if I've just been rick-rolled. :lol:

The link at the root of this thread: http://www.nextcomputer.co.nr take you to a Duran Duran site.

So ummm...  WTF???

Additionally and oddly that URL ended with co.nr NOT co.uk -- if the company would have been NeXT Computer UK one would expect that the URL would have been one for the UK.

co.nr is a company in Nauru

From Wikipedia:

Nauru [nɑːˈuːruː] (help·info), officially the Republic of Nauru, is an island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. The nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in the Republic of Kiribati, 300 km due east. Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 21 km² (8.1 sq. mi), the smallest independent republic, and the only republican state in the world without an official capital.[1] It is the least populous member of the United Nations.

On and one more note on this -- Clearly BS

The "site" is still around: http://quicksilver7.weebly.com/index.html

AFIK there never was a CEO of NeXT anything other than NeXT Computer, Inc. and Later NeXT, Inc. and that guy was the one-and-only Steve Jobs.

Likewise I can find no record of a "Zaine McDonnell" ever existed at all and definitely not one associated with NeXT.

"Alan Caldwell-Jones" (by the google's account) is just some failure of a wanna-be photographer -- I would guess this is the same person that's been posting the BS here.  Real name?

Pardon me for going on and on but this sort of crap really pisses me off -- kind of reminds me of the counterfeit Atari 1400XLs selling on eBay years ago that turned out to be 1200XLs with the name plates pulled off.

Bah!  You can't even fool most of the people these days with "the google" around.

Tell us how you really feel. ;-)  No need to hold back.  8)

Back when this thread was first started, the website didn't have "Duran Duran" crap on it.  There was some NeXT info posted.  But I agree,  google can be extremely useful.  Take care.

Sorry. :oops:

Perhaps a bit too much caffeine today?

Cheers.

Quote from: "ErikTheHack"Sorry. :oops:

Perhaps a bit too much caffeine today?

Cheers.

No need to be sorry.  You were right.  It was something that never turned out! It'd been cool to see, but oh well.  I'd hate seeing Cube cases be trashed just to throw a Mac Mini it it.  Take care.

Hmmm...

http://www.freewebs.com/nextcomputer/about.html
http://www.freewebs.com/nextcomputer/partnercompanies.html
http://www.nextcomputer.co.nr/

I like this one...

http://www.freewebs.com/nextcomputer/download.html

all the documents are actually HERE.

Christ, you would hope that whomever has NeXT UK could at least buy a ********ing web server.

What a bunch of amateurs.

It would be better to give it over the enthusiasts that will DO something with it.

:roll: