I would like to purchase a legal (original) copy of Mathematica for my NeXT station if anyone has one they would be willing to part with and the disks still work.
Brian
I have a copy, but the problem you will run into is that the keycode is locked to each NeXT that the software was registered for. I think someone on here has a copy that will work on any machine but it won't be on original disks.
I can verify that mine are still good and sell them to you. Make me an offer, I do not remember what I paid for them :)
Helf,
So does the installer write the keycode to the floppy to prevent it from being installed on any other machine? If that's the case, I may be out of luck. Unless someone has a new copy or knows of a way to transfer the keycode. It seems a little draconian.
I actually have a good use for Mathematica. Even with academic discount, the current version is an expensive program and it is time-restricted. So I am hoping to find an older NeXT version that costs less $$$ and that doesn't turn into a pumpkin at some point in the future. For what I need to do, I don't need the latest versions anyway. Plus it gives me a good reason to use my NeXT.
:D
Brian
Is your version for 68k or Intel processors? I had a go with the version from the Archive DVD , but that one was for 68k only :-(
If your version is for Intel, would you mind to create a tarball from the disks files?
Quote from: "bkmoore"So does the installer write the keycode to the floppy to prevent it from being installed on any other machine?
The Installer doesn't write something back. Each package of Mathematica have an unique Code on package and Floppyset. You can install it without problems. After that Mathematica needs a second code build from the unique Code on floppy set and (i assume) the hostid of your NeXT.
You had to email these informations to Wolfram to get the second code back, but i assume, they don't do it anymore for such old software.
A solution might maybe to find someone with a registered version of Mathematica and copying this version to the own NeXT. After that you have to set the hostid to the same value from the rigistered machine. (if they use the hostid for that special code)
Andreas,
Thanks for the info. So the question is if Wolfram will still generate a serial code for these older versions. Has anyone contacted Wolfram and received a new code for versions 2, 3, or 4?
Brian
I found some older usenet posts on this topic. It seems that Wolfram is not giving out any old software packages and licenses :-(
But you should try to get into contact with them yourself, nevertheless. Maybe you will be lucky?
Quote from: "bkmoore"I actually have a good use for Mathematica. Even with academic discount, the current version is an expensive program and it is time-restricted.
Mathematica Home Edition is now available and costs less than the annual maintenance fee of the standard edition (I know that first hand :-(). It's a pretty attractive offering if you need MMA.
And with the economy as it is, you might be able to tempt Wolfram into giving you a 3.0 key with a license transfer fee. You'll still need a legal install on Black hardware, of course...
Thanks for the advice. I took a look at Home Edition, it would do what I need and then some, and it's not time-restricted. I don't care much for "renting" my software.
If I'm forced to shell out €€€ for a modern solution, I'd probably choose Maple
http://www.scientific.de/index.html over Mathematica. Maple has a good student discount, and it doesn't expire. It also plays nicely with MatLab for numerical computation.
I would be surprised if Wolfram honors an older license, even if legally purchased. They would be competing against themselves. But I think on the other side, I would be within the law if I purchased a used copy, providing the seller deleted it from his computer. So they may be legally required to send me a code. Who knows.
Brian
This may not help you, but I was able to port Maxima to NEXTSTEP some years ago. You just need a common lisp compiler -- I think that gcl will do -- and a more modern version should compile. Maxima has fallen behind Mathematica and Maple, but its main drawback for me is the lack of a notebook interface.
I've also been wondering if I can get Reduce to compile on NEXTSTEP. I think that it might have to be without the GUI, but it might be possible with a bit of work. Reduce is roughly as powerful as the versions of Mathematica that run on NEXTSTEP. If the GUI does compile eventually, it will require X11, but CubXWindows should handle it.
I bought a slab from the original owner with mathematica installed. He had all of the documentation to prove he bought it. After a whole lot of back and forth with the owner, who transfered ownership to me, and with Wolfram I was given a key to run it on that slab (I had upgraded to a newer version of Nextstep and had to reinstall). It was a BIG DEAL. It was an old version of Mathematica running on a non-turbo slab with an older version of Nextstep.
I then wanted to run the newest Nextstep version of Mathematica on my turbo cube. I bought the latest version from Black Hole. I got tired of the back and forth with Wolfram. Below is my last email from them. The final result for me is that I bought a Mathematica upgrade from Black Hole and Wolfram refused to send me any key that would make it work. I guess they fear loss of sales of their newest version of Mathematica.
Luke
E-mail below:
From: rseward@wolfram.com
Subject: Re: Mathematica L2071-8422 - Transfer of Ownership
Date: February 7, 2007 2:25:36 PM EST
To: [Luke]
Greetings,
Thank you for your recent email. The license L2071-8422 you are referring to is at version 2.0.2.0. This is not an upgradeable version and is no longer support. I was unable to open the, PDF file of the receipt for your purchase of a Mathematica 3.0 upgrade from Rob Blessin at Blackhole Inc, you sent. However, I believe the 3.02 upgrade would have a different license number. This license version is also no longer supported.
We are currently at version 5.2.0 for Mathematica. I have provided contact information below your Account Executive, Cyndi Girdler. You will need to contact Cyndi at cynthiag@wolfram.com or by phone at 800-965-3726 Ext# 3486.
Sincerely,
Robyn Seward
Customer Service
-------------------------
P.S.: If anybody can inform me of some proven way to get my Black Hole version of Mathematica to run on my turbo cube I would appreciate it.
Quote from: "Andreas"Quote from: "bkmoore"So does the installer write the keycode to the floppy to prevent it from being installed on any other machine?
The Installer doesn't write something back. Each package of Mathematica have an unique Code on package and Floppyset. You can install it without problems. After that Mathematica needs a second code build from the unique Code on floppy set and (i assume) the hostid of your NeXT.
You had to email these informations to Wolfram to get the second code back, but i assume, they don't do it anymore for such old software.
A solution might maybe to find someone with a registered version of Mathematica and copying this version to the own NeXT. After that you have to set the hostid to the same value from the rigistered machine. (if they use the hostid for that special code)
If I remember correctly from Usenet posts long ago, Wolfram tied their license key to the NeXT network mac address. I could be wrong though. :)
Luke,
Thans for the info. A forum member has been kind enough to send me his old Mathematica install disks and license. I'll try to get it activated and post the results.
Based on your post and some others, I don't expect Wolfram to be very helpful. They obviously have a vested business interest in not activating or supporting older copies still in circulation.
The nice thing about being a student is I get to choose my own software tools. I'm leaning towards purchasing Maple over Mathematica if I can't get an activation key. I think Maple is arguably the better product. But Maple never ran on NeXT, so a Maple vs. Mathematica debate would be outside the scope of this forum, and I'll leave it at that.
Thanks,
Brian
Look into a program that I believe was written by Howard Cole, called HostID.c. This program allows you to set the hostid so that Mathematica will correctly compute the MathID. You'll need to know the hostid of the machine that Mathematica used to run on, as well as the license number and the password for Mathematica. After editing and running HostID, Mathematica should run. The program was written to help those who had their logic boards replaced, which changed their hostid.
I installed Mathematica on my NeXT. It looks like Wolfram will send me an activation key after all !!! :D
I basically wrote Wolfram stating that I know version 2 of Mathematica on NeXT is no longer supported, but that I was interested in running it for historical, academic, non-commercial purposes and that I purchased it legally from the original owner.
So hopefully I'll get a code soon,
Brian
Dear Brian,
Thank you for your inquiry. In order to transfer ownership of your license, we will need a letter stating that the current registered
user is relinquishing their rights to the software. they will need to include the license number their name, as well as the new owner's name, address, phone number and email address.
Please send the letter to Customer Service via email or fax. If you do not have access to either, please mail to:
Customer Service
Wolfram Research, Inc.
100 Trade Center Drive
Champaign, IL 61820-7237
If you have any additional questions, please let me know.
Regards,
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