Hello folks,
I have finally started to document my (rather extensive) NeXT collection of hardware, software, documentation and marketing materials. The first step is to photograph everything and put it up on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gctwnl/sets/72157622973369487/Most photos come with some sort of description. 96 images so far. When all images have been uploaded, I will add a spreadsheet with all the items. Some of these:
- NeXTdimension (PAL) Turbo Cube (working)
- Spare 25MHz 030 Motherboard (working afaik)
- 2 Megapixel Displays (slightly dim but working)
- 1 21" NeXT colour display (broken power unit)
- NeXTprinter with spares (working afaik)
- NeXT CD-ROM drive (working afaik)
- Singular Solutions AD64x professional A/D converter that connects to the DSP port of a NeXT (working afaik)
- Books, NeXTWorld magazine and other magazines, marketing materials, and much, much more.
Except for the 21" colour monitor which has a broken power source, al of it was working when I stored it. Recently, I have revivied the cube and have been running it successfully on a LaCie LCD monitor.
I'll add posts here when more information becomes available.
Quote from: "gctwnl"Hello folks,
I have finally started to document my (rather extensive) NeXT collection of hardware, software, documentation and marketing materials. The first step is to photograph everything and put it up on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gctwnl/sets/72157622973369487/
Most photos come with some sort of description. 96 images so far. When all images have been uploaded, I will add a spreadsheet with all the items. Some of these:
- NeXTdimension (PAL) Turbo Cube (working)
- Spare 25MHz 030 Motherboard (working afaik)
- 2 Megapixel Displays (slightly dim but working)
- 1 21" NeXT colour display (broken power unit)
- NeXTprinter with spares (working afaik)
- NeXT CD-ROM drive (working afaik)
- Singular Solutions AD64x professional A/D converter that connects to the DSP port of a NeXT (working afaik)
- Books, NeXTWorld magazine and other magazines, marketing materials, and much, much more.
Except for the 21" colour monitor which has a broken power source, al of it was working when I stored it. Recently, I have revivied the cube and have been running it successfully on a LaCie LCD monitor.
I'll add posts here when more information becomes available.
wow very good collection, how did you modify the login panel, can be done on NS 3.3?
Thanks
Quote from: "NeXTnewbe"
wow very good collection, how did you modify the login panel, can be done on NS 3.3?
Thanks
From my good friend Tom Hageman:
Quote
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/NeXT-FAQ/ [4.9 Manipulating the loginwindow]:
(As root):
dwrite loginwindow ImageFile <path/to/a/suitable.tiff>
man loginwindow:
-ImageFile filename
provides an alternate file to use as the background of
the window used by loginwindow. Normally, it loads the
file /usr/lib/NextStep/loginwindow.app/LoginPanel.tiff
and displays that as the background for loginwindow.
The file used should contain an image 462 pixels wide
by 260 pixels high. White rectangles for the user name
and password will be drawn by loginwindow at coordi-
nates (124, 102) and (123, 136), with the text "Name:"
and "Password:" before each (these may appear in a
language other than English). Both rectangles are 310
pixels wide and 22 pixels high. Subject to these res-
trictions, the image may contain whatever is desired.
Note that though the image will be centered on the
screen if it is larger than the default size, the name
and password fields are still drawn relative to the
bottom left of the image itself.
Happy New Year.
The counter of images is now at 230 pictures. Some 90 more to go. This is a trip along memory lane. NeXTWORLD EXPO 92 and 94 stuff. Back to the age that NeXT was special because a 'math coprocessor' was included. Back also to a time where SJ told us that he wanted to create a new common denominator but it was OK to market this exclusively to higher ed. (forced by Apple). The beginning of the marketing roller coaster that ended when Apple bought NeXT.
I guess at the end there will be around 300 items photographed. NeXT step: a spreadsheet or list of all items.
Now the counter is at 333 pictures. I have added several rare items, like textiles (remember the off-white cotton cable-pattern sweater with the very small subtle white embroidered NeXT logo?). Only a few more items to go. Then it is time to set up a small web site with links to the flickr images of the rarest items.
I have two Adamation "Who's Calling" mugs. One of these slipped my fingers when I took it out of protective wrappings for photographing it and the handle broke :( Pictures later.
Some of this is really interesting form an historical perspective. Think comparisons and reviews from 1989-1990, a time when a mathematical processor on a PC was not standard and neither was ethernet, let alone 9 separate I/O processors on the motherboard to increase data throughput. NeXT tried to raise the bar, or as Jobs said: raise the common denominator but then they combined that with targeting only a very small group (higher ed) because Apple threatened to sue them into bankruptcy. It was a recipe for failure in a marketing sense. But the fact that this still provided the basis of the iPhone (and iSlate to be) of today is telling about how good this tech all was.
Nice collection :) Thanks for all the pics. My collection of NeXT stuff is still teeny. I really should work on enlarging it a bit, if for no other reason than to have spare parts for the inevitable hardware failures.
hey, gctwnl, check the PM :)
Some people have sent PM's inquiring for stuff for sale. Two answers to that:
- This collection is not actively for sale, but I will take serious offers for the entire collection seriously. I might offer it actively for sale in the future, I just haven't made my mind up entirely. Note that it definitely won't go cheap. The NeXTdimension (PAL) Turbo Cube itself is extremely rare, no more than a few may exist in the world. The Singular Solutions AD64x is likewise very rare. Some other items may be rarer still.
- Parts of the collection are not for sale separately, again, depending on the quality of the offer and excluding a few items that I will not sell separately, like the NeXTdimension Turbo Cube itself. But if someone wants the AD64x desperately and offers $2000 for it, it may be sold separately :wink:
Quote from: "gctwnl"The NeXTdimension (PAL) Turbo Cube itself is extremely rare, no more than a few may exist in the world.
wow, seems that I'm lucky as I got my TurboCube with a ND (PAL)
Thanks for the tip about the Loginwindow, I have sent you a pm
Thanks
Quote from: "NeXTnewbe"Quote from: "gctwnl"The NeXTdimension (PAL) Turbo Cube itself is extremely rare, no more than a few may exist in the world.
wow, seems that I'm lucky as I got my TurboCube with a ND (PAL)
I have no idea how rare they are, actually. I read this somewhere else and copied it but I have no idea how true it really is. So I probably shoul dnot have written it like that.
It is also likely that existing Turbo motherboards have found their way into originally non-Turbo ND cubes. Original Turbo-ND systems may be very rare. Upgraded (like mine) maybe be more common. We just do not know.
Does anybody know how many ND (PAL) boards were sold and how many Turbo Cubes and motherboard upgrades were sold? That would give us an upper limit.
Mainly software floppy's (e.g. Pages and other software titles), but also a few books.
Quote from: "gctwnl"- NeXTdimension (PAL) Turbo Cube .
how to recognize a NeXTdimension (PAL), inside and/or outside ?
Another batch. Now up to 419 photo's and that roughly equates to 400 items as some photo's have multiple items and some items have multiple photo's.
I still have a batch of floppies to do, which for safe keeping I had stored in a safer environment.
I also have the Fall 1990 Software and Peripherals catalog. In real life, has anyone ever seen the monitor that is pictured on the cover of that catalog? Was it an existing product or even a prototype, or did someone just get creative with an image editing program?
Here is a link to the OP's picture:
Strange Color Monitor (
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gctwnl/4231069724/in/set-72157622973369487)
could it be a model N4006 17" Mega Pixel Color Monitor (Sony Trinitron) ?
It's a different model N4006... I have 3 of them, but without the base!
Quote from: "mikeboss"could it be a model N4006 17" Mega Pixel Color Monitor (Sony Trinitron) ?
I don't think so. I have a Trinitron 17" Mega Pixel Color Monitor and it has a different base (standard issue tilt-swivel type base) and no color NeXT logo on it.
I remember we had a similar looking Sony Trinitron monitor on our SparcStation 1. Some pictures of such a screen can be found at
http://www.obsolyte.com/sunPICS/sun3/sun3-470a.jpg and
http://www.monitor.at/ausgaben/2003_06/sun.jpg.I have no idea if this ever turned into a real NeXT product. At least the 1990 timeframe seems correct, the Sparcstation 1 was introduced in Aril 1989. The only NeXT color screen I ever owned was a Fimi/Philips which has long since failed and is now replaced by nice 18" Eizo L66 TFTs (which also work on my Suns, SGIs and the Apollo and can be found used for about 40€). However,
