Editing NeXT (section)

===1987–1993: NeXT Computer===
====First generation====
[[File:First Web Server.jpg|thumb|This NeXT Computer was used by computer scientist [[Tim Berners-Lee|Sir Tim Berners-Lee]] at the European Organization for Nuclear Research ([[CERN]]) to create the world's first [[web server]] and [[web browser]]/[[web editor|editor]]. |alt=A NeXT Computer workstation has a black monitor, system box, keyboard, and mouse.]]
{{quote box | width=25% | align=right | text=I want some kid at Stanford to be able to cure cancer in his dorm room. | author=Steve Jobs, on the purpose of the NeXT Computer<ref name="Fearless Genius">{{Cite book |last=Menuez |first=Doug |date=June 3, 2014 |title=Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 |isbn=978-1476752693 |publisher=Atria Books |page=4 |oclc=852226582 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lat8AQAAQBAJ&q=cure+cancer&pg=PR20 |access-date=February 10, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124043946/https://books.google.com/books?id=Lat8AQAAQBAJ&q=cure+cancer&pg=PR20}}</ref>
}}

In mid-1986, NeXT changed its business plan to develop both hardware and software, rather than just workstations. [[Rich Page]], a NeXT cofounder who formerly directed Apple's Lisa team, led a team to develop the hardware, while [[Mach (kernel)|Mach kernel]] engineer [[Avie Tevanian]] led the development of NeXT's operating system, [[NeXTSTEP]]. NeXT's first factory was established in [[Fremont, California]] in 1987, capable of manufacturing about 150,000 machines per year.<ref name="The NeXT Big Thing"/>{{rp|72}} NeXT's first workstation is the [[NeXT Computer]], nicknamed "the cube"<ref name="byte"/> due to its distinctive magnesium {{convert|1|ft|cm|adj=on|spell=in}} cubic case. The case was designed by [[Hartmut Esslinger]] and his team at [[Frog Design]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Brownlee|first=John|date=February 16, 2016|title=Remembering The Design Legacy Of Steve Jobs's Other Great Computer Company|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3056684/remembering-the-design-legacy-of-steve-jobss-other-great-computer-company|access-date=February 24, 2022|website=[[Fast Company]]|language=en-US|archive-date=January 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113001026/https://www.fastcompany.com/3056684/remembering-the-design-legacy-of-steve-jobss-other-great-computer-company|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
| last = Bonnera
| first = Paul
| title = The heart of a new machine (frogdesign for NeXT computer)
| work = PC/Computing Magazine
| page = 144
| date = February 1989}}</ref>

In 1987, [[Ross Perot]] became NeXT's first major outside investor. He invested $20 million for 16% of NeXT's stock after seeing a segment about NeXT on the 1986 [[PBS]] documentary ''Entrepreneurs''.<ref name=":0" /> In 1988, he joined the company's board of directors.<ref name="RP iPhone">{{Cite web|last=McCracken|first=Harry|date=July 9, 2019|title=How Ross Perot befriended Steve Jobs and helped bring us the iPhone|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90374043/how-ross-perot-helped-bring-us-the-iphone|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201175217/https://www.fastcompany.com/90374043/how-ross-perot-helped-bring-us-the-iphone|archive-date=December 1, 2019|access-date=March 30, 2020|website=Fast Company|language=en-US}}</ref>{{sfn|Young|Simon|2005|p=134}}

NeXT and [[Adobe Inc.|Adobe]] collaborated on [[Display PostScript]] (DPS), a [[2D computer graphics|2D graphics]] engine that was released in 1987. NeXT engineers wrote an alternative [[Windowing system|windowing]] engine edition to take full advantage of NeXTSTEP. NeXT engineers used DPS for on-screen graphics such as title bar and scroller for the [[User space|user-space]] windowing [[Library (computing)|library]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40543937|title=PostScript language reference|publisher=[[Addison-Wesley]]|others=[[Adobe Systems]]|year=1999|isbn=0-201-37922-8|edition=3rd|location=Reading, Mass.|oclc=40543937|access-date=January 4, 2022|archive-date=February 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224014050/https://www.worldcat.org/title/postscript-language-reference/oclc/40543937|url-status=live}}</ref>

The original design team anticipated completing the computer in early 1987 and launching it for {{US$|3000|1987|long=no|round=-2}} by mid-year.<ref>{{YouTube|title=Steve Jobs building NeXT|id=WHsHKzYOV2E}}</ref> On October 12, 1988, the NeXT Computer received standing ovations when it was revealed at a private gala event, "[[NeXT Introduction]]" in [[San Francisco]], California. The following day, selected educators and software engineers were invited to attend the first public technical overview of the NeXT computer at the event "The NeXT Day" held at the San Francisco Hilton. The event gave developers interested in NeXT software an insight into their [[Software architecture|architecture]], [[object-oriented programming]], and the NeXT Computer. The luncheon speaker was Steve Jobs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schlender|first=Brenton R|date=October 13, 1988|title=Next Project: Apple Era Behind Him, Steve Jobs Tries Again, Using a New System|url=https://www.tech-insider.org/unix/research/1988/1013.html|url-status=live|access-date=December 23, 2021|website=|publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|archive-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228131557/http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1988/1013.html}}</ref>

The first NeXT Computers were test launched in 1989, and then NeXT sold a limited number to universities with NeXTSTEP 0.9 [[Software testing#Beta testing|beta]] pre-installed.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.kevra.org/TheBestOfNext/Timeline/TImeline.html | title=NeXT Timeline }}</ref> Initially, this targeted the United States [[higher-education]] institutions only, with a base price of {{US$|6500|1989|long=no|round=-3}}.<ref name="byte">{{Cite magazine|last1=Thompson|first1=Tom|last2=Baran|first2=Nick|date=November 1988|title=The NeXT Computer|url=http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/byte_article.htm|magazine=[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]|volume=13|issue=12|pages=158–175|access-date=May 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405161616/http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/byte_article.htm|archive-date=April 5, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> The computer was widely reviewed in magazines, primarily the hardware portion. When asked if he was upset that the computer's debut was delayed by several months, Jobs responded, "Late? This computer is five years ahead of its time!"<ref>{{Cite book|title=Macintosh Switcher's Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/macintoshswitche00stan|url-access=limited|last=Standefer|first=Robert|publisher=Wordware Publishing|year=2004|isbn=1-55622-045-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/macintoshswitche00stan/page/n49 33]|chapter=Evolution of Mac OS X}}</ref>

The NeXT Computer has the 25&nbsp;MHz [[Motorola 68030]] [[central processing unit]] (CPU). The [[Motorola 88000]] [[Reduced instruction set computer|RISC]] chip was originally considered, but it was not available in sufficient quantities.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Takahashi |first = Ken | title = Motorola making chips in Japan | work = Newsbytes | date = August 29, 1989}}</ref> The computer has between 8 and 64 [[Megabyte|MB]] of [[random-access memory]] (RAM), a 256&nbsp;MB [[magneto-optical drive|magneto-optical]] (MO) drive, a 40&nbsp;MB ([[Paging|swap]]-only), 330&nbsp;MB, or 660&nbsp;MB [[hard disk drive]], [[10BASE2]] [[Ethernet]], [[NuBus]], and a 17-inch [[NeXT MegaPixel Display|MegaPixel]] grayscale display with 1120×832 [[pixel]]s. In 1989, a typical new PC, [[Macintosh]], or [[Amiga]] computer included a few megabytes of RAM, a 640×480 16-color or 320x240 4,096-color display, a 10- to 20-megabyte hard drive, and few [[Computer network|networking]] capabilities.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = White
| first = David W.
| title = Dell System 325 (Hardware Review)
| work = The Local Area Network Magazine
| page = 132
| date = December 1989}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Buyer's guide: benchmarks|last=Krasnoff|first=Barbara|date=December 1989|work=Personal Computing|page=170}}</ref> It is the first computer to ship with a general-purpose DSP chip (Motorola 56001) on the motherboard. This supports sophisticated music and sound processing, including the [[Music Kit]] software.<ref>{{Cite book|author=NeXT Computer, Inc.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irZQAAAAMAAJ|title=Sound, Music, and Signal Processing on a NeXT Computer: Concepts|date=1991|publisher=Addison-Wesley Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-201-58137-9|language=en|access-date=December 23, 2021|archive-date=December 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223213114/https://books.google.com/books?id=irZQAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

The magneto-optical (MO) drive manufactured by [[Canon Inc.]] is the primary [[mass storage]] device. This drive technology was relatively new to the market, and the NeXT is the first computer to use it.<ref name="magneto-optical">{{Cite news|title=Developers split over optical drive (NeXT Inc's 256Mbyte erasable magneto-optical drive)|last=Rawles|first=Richard|date=September 19, 1989|work=[[MacWEEK]]|page=3.n33}}</ref> MO drives were cheaper but much slower than hard drives, with an average [[Hard disk drive performance characteristics#SEEKTIME|seek time]] of 96 ms; Jobs negotiated Canon's initial price of $150 per blank MO disk so that they could sell at retail for only $50. The drive's design made it impossible to move files between computers without a network, because each NeXT Computer has only one MO drive and the disk can not be removed without shutting down the system.<ref name="magneto-optical" /> The drive's limited speed and capacity makes it insufficient as NeXTSTEP's primary medium.<ref name="magneto-optical" />

In 1989, NeXT started a deal for former [[Compaq]] reseller Businessland to sell the NeXT Computer in international markets. Selling through a retailer was a major change from NeXT's original business model of only selling directly to students and educational institutions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/25/business/company-news-businessland-deal-seen-for-next-inc.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; Businessland Deal Seen for Next Inc.|date=March 25, 1989|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 20, 2020|url-status=live|agency=Reuters|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701024345/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/25/business/company-news-businessland-deal-seen-for-next-inc.html|archive-date=July 1, 2017}}</ref> Businessland founder David Norman predicted that sales of the NeXT Computer would surpass sales of Compaq computers after 12 months.<ref>{{Cite news | author=Shaffer, Richard | title=NeXT means business now. | work=Personal Computing | date=July 1989 | publisher=[[InfoTrac|General Reference Center Gold]]}}</ref>

That year, Canon invested {{US$|100 million|long=no}} in NeXT, for a 16.67% stake,<ref name="canon">{{Cite news | last=McCarthy | first=Vance | title=Steve Jobs just says no. | work=Fortune | date=July 17, 1993 | publisher=[[InfoTrac|General Reference Center Gold]]}}</ref> making NeXT worth almost $600 million. This had the condition of installing NeXTSTEP on its own workstations, greatly expanding NeXTSTEP's market. After NeXT exited the hardware business, Canon produced a PC line called ''object.station''—including models 31, 41, 50, and 52—specifically designed to run NeXTSTEP on Intel.<ref name="object">{{Cite web|url=http://www.kevra.org/TheBestOfNext/ThirdPartyProducts/ThirdPartyHardware/NeXTSTEPonNonNeXTComputers/IntelHardwareForNeXTStep/Canon-object-station41/Canon-object-station41/Canon-object-station41.html|title=Canon object.station 41|last=Ford|first=Kevin|website=The Best of NeXT Computers|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114182612/http://www.kevra.org/TheBestOfNext/ThirdPartyProducts/ThirdPartyHardware/NeXTSTEPonNonNeXTComputers/IntelHardwareForNeXTStep/Canon-object-station41/Canon-object-station41/Canon-object-station41.html|archive-date=January 14, 2012|access-date=September 18, 2011}}</ref> Canon was NeXT's distributor in Japan.<ref>{{Cite news | last =Garfinkel | first =Simon L | title =Open Door Policy | publisher =NeXTWORLD | date =April 1994 | url =http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/94.4/94.4.Apr.Japan1.html | access-date =May 11, 2008 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090208170326/http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/94.4/94.4.Apr.Japan1.html | archive-date =February 8, 2009 | url-status =live }}</ref>

The NeXT Computer was released in 1990 for {{US$|9999|1990|long=no|round=-3}}. In June 1991, Perot resigned from the board of directors to concentrate on his company, [[Perot Systems]], a [[Plano, Texas]]–based software system integrator.<ref>{{Cite news | title = NeXT may expand two-man board | work = PC Week | page = 125 | date = December 9, 1991}}</ref>

====Second generation====
[[File:NEXT Cube-IMG 7151.jpg|thumb|alt=A black NeXTstation computer and a black NeXTcube workstation; the latter is housed in a cube-shaped magnesium enclosure|A NeXTcube has a NeXT monitor.]]
[[File:NeXTcube motherboard.jpg|thumb|The [[mainboard]] of the NeXTcube (1990) has a Motorola 68040 at the lower edge. To the right are the interfaces, to the left the [[system bus]]. The enlarged view of the image has annotations for most of the components.|alt=The mainboard of the NeXTcube (1990) has the Motorola 68040 and other computer components.]]
In 1990, NeXT released a second generation of workstations, a revised NeXT Computer called [[NeXTcube]] and the [[NeXTstation]]. The NeXTstation's nickname is "the slab" for its low-rise box form-factor. Jobs ensured that NeXT staffers did not nickname the NeXTstation "[[Pizza-box form factor|pizza box]]" to avoid inadvertent comparison with competitor Sun workstations, which already had that nickname.

The machines were initially planned to use the 2.88&nbsp;MB floppy drive, but its floppy disks were expensive and had failed to supplant the 1.44&nbsp;MB floppy. NeXT used the [[CD-ROM]] drive instead, which eventually became the industry standard for [[Computer data storage|storage]]. Color graphics were available on the NeXTstation Color and [[NeXTdimension]] [[Video card|graphics processor]] hardware for the NeXTcube. The new computers, with the new [[Motorola 68040]] processor, were cheaper and faster than their predecessors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pyro 50 Mhz Accelerator Board |url=http://www.nextcomputers.org/NeXTfiles/Docs/Rare_NeXT_Hardware/pyro_installation.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=December 23, 2021 |website=NeXT |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329064138/http://www.nextcomputers.org/NeXTfiles/Docs/Rare_NeXT_Hardware/pyro_installation.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=16A_AQAAIAAJ|title=Byte|date=1993|publisher=[[McGraw Hill Education|McGraw-Hill]]|language=en|page=35-36}}</ref>

In 1992, NeXT launched "Turbo" variants of the NeXTcube and NeXTstation, with a 33&nbsp;MHz 68040 processor and the maximum RAM capacity increased to 128&nbsp;MB. In 1992, NeXT sold 20,000 computers, counting upgraded motherboards on back order as system sales. This was a small number compared with competitors, but the company reported sales of $140 million for the year, which encouraged Canon to invest a further $30 million to keep the company afloat.{{sfn|Young|Simon|2005|p=200}}

{{quote box | width=25% | align=right | text=In its existence, Next has sold a total of 50,000 copies of Nextstep, says Jobs. It's not much of an installed base, so he predicts the company will ship 50,000 Nextstep packages in 1993. But Next needs to increase its volume three-fold in order to build enough momentum to forestall Microsoft and Taligent in the object-oriented software business. | source=''UnixWorld'', April 1993<ref name="Unixworld April 1993"/>}}

In total, 50,000 NeXT machines were sold,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/2005/12/next-fans-give-up-the-ghost/|title=NeXT Fans Give Up the Ghost|last=Mortensen|first=Pete|date=December 21, 2005|work=[[Wired (website)|Wired]]|access-date=March 3, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629034820/http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2005/12/69888?currentPage=1|archive-date=June 29, 2011|issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref name="Unixworld April 1993">{{Cite magazine | magazine=UnixWorld | publisher=McGraw-Hill | date=April 1993 | page=44 | title=Steve's Gone Soft }}</ref> including thousands to the then super-secret [[National Reconnaissance Office]] located in Chantilly, Virginia. NeXT's long-term plan was to migrate to one of the emerging high-performance [[Reduced instruction set computer|Reduced Instruction Set Computing]] (RISC) architectures, with the NeXT RISC Workstation (NRW). Initially, the NRW was to be based on the [[Motorola 88110]] processor, but it was later redesigned around dual PowerPC 601s, due to a lack of confidence in Motorola's commitment to the 88000-series architecture in the time leading up to the [[AIM alliance]]'s transition to [[PowerPC]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/NextWorld_Extra/93.03.Mar.NWE/93.03.Mar.NWExtra21.html|title=Hardware was great while it lasted|last=Garfinkel|first=Simson L.|date=March 1993|website=NeXTWORLD|access-date=June 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614201019/http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/NextWorld_Extra/93.03.Mar.NWE/93.03.Mar.NWExtra21.html|archive-date=June 14, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/NextWorld_Extra/93.03.Mar.NWE/93.03.Mar.NWExtra07.html|title=Canon to buy NeXT factory, design center|last=Lavin|first=Dan|date=March 1993|website=NeXTWORLD|url-status=live|access-date=June 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614200658/http://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/NextWorld_Extra/93.03.Mar.NWE/93.03.Mar.NWExtra07.html|archive-date=June 14, 2008}}</ref>