NeXTcube

NeXTcube

NeXTcube

Workstation computer by NeXT

The NeXTcube is a high-end workstation computer developed, manufactured, and sold by NeXT from 1990 to 1993. It superseded the original NeXT Computer workstation and is housed in a similar cube-shaped magnesium enclosure, designed by frog design. The workstation runs the NeXTSTEP operating system and was launched with a $7,995 (equivalent to about $19,000 in 2023) list price.[1]

Quick Facts Developer, Manufacturer ...

Hardware

The NeXTcube is the successor to the original NeXT Computer, with a 68040 processor, a hard disk in place of the magneto-optical drive, and a floppy disk drive. NeXT offered a 68040 system board upgrade (and NeXTSTEP 2.0) for US$1,495 (equivalent to $3,490 in 2023). A 33 MHz NeXTcube Turbo was later produced.

NeXT released the NeXTdimension for the NeXTcube, a circuit board based on an Intel i860 processor, which offers 32-bit PostScript color display and video-sampling features.

The Pyro accelerator board replaces the standard 25 MHz processor with a 50 MHz one.[2][3]

Specifications

This NeXTcube has the original screen, keyboard, and mouse.
The motherboard of the NeXTcube has a Motorola 68040 at the lower edge. To the right are the interfaces, and to the left the system bus. Most chips and connectors are described in the image.

Legacy

Tim Berners-Lee used this NeXTcube to create and host the World Wide Web.

Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web at CERN in Switzerland on the NeXTcube workstation in 1990.[5]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Webster, Bruce F. "NeXT on the Agenda". MacWorld. No. January 1991.
  2. [2]
    "Spherical Solutions, Pyro Installation & Ordering" (PDF).
  3. [3]
    "Spherical Solutions, Pyro 50 mHz Accelerator Card" (PDF).
  4. [4]
    "NeXTcube brochure" (PDF).
  5. [5]
    "Original NeXT computer used by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to design the World Wide Web - NeXT". Google Arts & Culture.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article NeXTcube, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.