Hi! - I'm new!! :D
I'm Joshua, I'm 25 and I live in Texas.
I'm running GNUStep (The free version of the OpenStep API) on an older x86 Dell. (1.26Ghz, 1GB Ram)
The system is actually running GNUStep Live via USB, and all my source code I write on it is saved locally on the USB stick and sent via FTP to a networked cloud drive in another room where it is permanently stored.
I'd like to have a real NeXTCube, but when I went looking on e-Bay the only one I could find was 2,000-3,000 or so dollars. I can't afford that,
So I'm stuck x86. I did find a VGA-monochrome monitor from Office Depot for 93.00$ It'all make GNUStep / Window Maker look like a classic NeXTCube from 88. Then I'd like to build a plexiglas clone of the NeXTCube case for the actual computer. So i'll prob end up spending about 150$ on the whole conversion.
Anyway, does anyone run OpenStep? - and what are the major differences in OpenStep/GNUStep programming / API as opposed to the original NeXTStep OS / API?
I bought an old IBM Netfinity 3500 for super cheap which had virtually 100% compatibility with OpenStep 4.2. I had to buy a PCI Matrox Millenium II video card for cheap as well. Everything else was working fine. Check my post in the White Hardware section. Is spent less than $200 on the entire setup including a 17" LCD display.
As per programming, I am fooling around with OpenStep API but do not have much experience with NS and GS. Google the game Clue written in NS and OS and compare the code.
Josh,
Welcome to the forums. You might want to try getting a slab, NextStation. They show up on eBay or here from time to time and are much cheaper than cubes and are almost as cool. I got a mint-condition color slab for $300 when it was all said and done. It took a few months to track down all of the parts to make it work. But the effort was worth it. Cubes are semi-collectable. Slabs are not, but offer almost all of the same functionality. Since the slabs are licensed to run Next, you could probably get a friendly person here to set up the HD for you.
As for programing, I have never used GNU Step. I'm assuming it complies with the OpenStep specification so the source code will be portable with OpenStep 4.2. You will need to recompile your apps under OpenStep developer and you will probably have to redo your .nib files. The .nib format is undocumented and I do not know how closely GNU reverse engineered it, or if they just invented their own. If you run NextStep 3.3 or earlier (as I do), it will not be portable.
Brian
Hi, - Yeah actually I found a slab on e-Bay for 59.00 with HDD and 49.00 no HDD, but no monitor or mouse or keyboard for either. I have a Apple Powerbook G3 "Pismo" (The last of the "Wallstreet" style laptops with Firewire/USB) it runs GNUstep Live from CD, and then I mount the hard disk from the booted WM. I can work portable from there, which seems to work fine. When I got the PB it had OSx on it, but it was locked up and I coulden't get it to function.
Yea, it's kind of hard getting all the missing parts to make a slab work. Good, bright original NeXT monitors are very rare. It is possible to run a b&w slab with a modern LCD monitor if you make a custom y-cable and use a non-adb sound box from a color station. So at a minimum you would need the keyboard, mouse and a soundbox. The soundbox would probably be the most difficult thing to track down, but they do come up for sale from time to time.
I had a Wallstreet, bought it new in '98. I seem to remember it could run OS X server 1.x. I never tried it though. OS X server cost lots of $$$ back then.
Good luck,
Brian