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The NeXT introduced an unusual magneto-optical drive from Canon as its
primary input and storage medium. This was slower than a hard drive. Worse,
there was only one drive on the NeXT, so there was no way to transport files
from the NeXT to any other computer without a network, because the single drive
needed to run the software.
Because NeXT was aimed at being a high-end professional workstation, it is
technically and socially important that it was in fact used for several important in-
ventions. Tim Berners-Lee used a NeXT computer to build his first web browser
in 1991, so NeXT was instrumental in building the World Wide Web. Also, the
game designer John Carmack used a NeXT computer for two games whose real-
istic graphics were among the best of the era: Doom and Wolfenstein 3D .
The NeXT hardware was elegant and innovative, but it was the software that
persisted after the hardware manufacturing was closed down in 1993 (with layoffs
of several hundred personnel).
Steve Jobs had acquired the Objective-C language at Apple and it was used
at NeXT to create the NeXTStep operating system. A variant of this, called
OpenStep, was done with Sun.
While this was happening, Apple was considering a replacement for its aging
Mac operating system. After quite a lot of thought and due diligence, Apple con-
cluded that NeXTStep might be the best choice to create a new OS. Rather than
license the software, Apple decided to acquire NeXT. It is financially interesting
that while other NeXT shareholders received $429 million in cash, Steve Jobs re-
ceived 1.5 million shares of Apple stock.
The acquisition of NeXT by Apple took place in 1996. After a 12-year hiatus,
Steve Jobs returned to Apple originally as a consultant, then as interim CEO, and
then as formal CEO in 2000.
The NeXTStep operating system became the nucleus of the later generation of
Apple operating systems. Objective-C continued as the main programming lan-
guage, and the object-oriented concept flourished.
While NeXT was not a commercial success with its hardware products, it was
technically sophisticated and served as a model for other high-end workstations.
The software created by NeXT has persisted long after most of the NeXT work-
stations were moved to museums or recycled for their magnesium cases.
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