NeXT
Hard Drive Recovery - NeXT
NeXT, later known as NeXT Computer and NeXT Software, was a computer manufacturer. The company was founded in 1985 by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs.
Next released the first generation workstation, the NeXT Computer, in 1988. The NeXT Computer was based on the new 2.5 MHz Motorola 68030 CP. The first machines were tested in 1989, after which NeXT started selling them to universities with a beta version of the NeXTSTEP operating system.
NeXT introduced the second generation of workstations in 1990. The new range of products included the revised NeXT Computer, renamed the NeXTcube, and the NeXTstation, nicknamed ‘the slab.’ In these computers, NeXT utilized the CD-ROM drive, which later became the industry standard for storage. The new computers were cheaper and faster than their predecessors, with the new Motorola 68040 processor.
In 1992, NeXT launched ‘Turbo’ variants of the NeXTcube and NeXTstation with a 33 MHz 68040 processor and maximum RAM capacity increased to 128 MB. With this design, NeXT planned to migrate to the RISC architecture, a processor design strategy intended to increase performance. This project was known as NeXTRISC Workstation (NRW).
NeXT computers were used by several developers as the platforms for writing pioneering programs. In 1991, Tim Berners created the first Web browser and Web server using a NeXT Computer. NeXT later released much of the NeXTSTEP system as a programming environment standard called OpenStep.
Though the sales of NeXT computers were limited, their object-oriented NeXTSTEP operating system and development environment OpenStep were highly popular. In 1993, NeXT withdrew from the hardware business to concentrate on marketing OpenStep.
