NeXTstation Computer Processor
date: label: Date made
content: 1992
name: label: maker
content: NeXT Computer
notes: label: Description
content: In 1985, Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple Computer Corporation, was forced out of Apple by its CEO, John Scully. Jobs soon decided to form a new company, NeXT. Its goal was to create the next generation of high-end personal computers. Critical to the venture was creation of a new operating system, NeXT Step. The first hardware NeXT released to run the new operating system was a cube computer based on a magneto-optical disk. The first of these shipped in 1989. The computers sold reasonably well to universities and government agencies, but had many limitations, including their large size.
label: Description
content: This example is a second generation machine from the company, a NeXTstation. It supported color and had more networking protocols than the first generation. The machine featured a Motorola 25MHz 68040 processor (the original NeXT used a 68030). It had a 400 MB hard drive and used a 2.88 MB 3 ½" floppy drive. The machine was designed to work effectively on computer networks, to be the foundation of "interpersonal" computing. It used a windows environment. Ethernet network was built in, and so was NeXTmail, for email messaging. A built-in word processor, WriteNow, provided basic text editing capability. The machine also came with a digital library, including dictionary and thesaurus. Although some software companies released application programs for the NeXTstation, it was never successful enough to attract broad-ranging software development.
label: Description
content: James Keith, who donated this machine to the Smithsonian, was first attracted to the NeXT when he attended a NeXT convention in January 1992. He was highly impressed by Steve Jobs and by presentations on the new NeXTstation, and decided to order one of the machines for himself. Previously the only personal computer he had owned was a Commodore Amiga. He bought the NeXT because he believed that when he retired, he would want to do consulting and UNIX programming at home. He paid $11,843 for the new machine.
label: Description
content: For related documentation, see 2005.3064.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: James Keith
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0138.01
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0138.01
label: accession number
content: 2005.0138
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Microcomputer
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 3/4 in x 15 1/2 in x 14 1/4 in; 6.985 cm x 39.37 cm x 36.195 cm