Other meanings of NeXT
Technology
NeXT, Inc. was a computer company founded in 1985 by Steve Jobs after his departure from Apple. It developed the NeXT Computer and NeXTcube workstations, the NeXTSTEP operating system, and the WebObjects application framework, and was acquired by Apple in 1997, providing the foundation for modern Apple operating systems.
NeXT was founded in 1985 by Steve Jobs, along with several former Apple employees, after his forced resignation from Apple. The company was initially named 'Next, Inc.' and later changed to 'NeXT Computer, Inc.' Jobs invested $7 million of his own money, and the company received additional funding from venture capitalist Ross Perot and other investors. The goal was to create a powerful workstation for the higher education market, with a focus on object-oriented programming and graphical user interfaces.
The first NeXT computer, the NeXT Computer, was introduced in 1988 and shipped in 1989. It featured a 25 MHz Motorola 68030 processor, a 17-inch monochrome display, and a magneto-optical drive, and was housed in a distinctive magnesium cube-shaped case. The machine was notable for its advanced hardware and software, but its high price (around $6,500) and limited software limited its market appeal.
NeXTSTEP was the operating system developed by NeXT, based on a Unix kernel (Mach) and a proprietary object-oriented framework called NeXTSTEP. It introduced several pioneering concepts, including the Dock, the use of Display PostScript for rendering, and a development environment called Interface Builder that allowed rapid application development.1 NeXTSTEP was later renamed OpenStep after a collaboration with Sun Microsystems to create an open standard.
One of the most significant software products from NeXT was WebObjects, a web application framework introduced in 1996. WebObjects was used to build dynamic websites and was adopted by major companies and government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the BBC. It was also used by Apple to run its online store, which contributed to its success.
Despite its technical achievements, NeXT struggled commercially. The high cost of its machines and the lack of software titles made it difficult to compete with established workstation vendors like Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. In 1990, NeXT discontinued the original NeXT Computer and introduced the NeXTcube and NeXTstation, which were more affordable but still expensive.
In 1993, NeXT announced that it would exit the hardware business and focus on software, releasing NeXTSTEP for Intel x86 processors and other platforms. The company also released a version of NeXTSTEP for the Sun SPARC architecture. Despite these efforts, NeXT remained a niche player, and by the mid-1990s, it was struggling to survive.
In December 1996, Apple announced its intention to acquire NeXT for $429 million, and the acquisition was completed in February 1997. The deal brought Steve Jobs back to Apple as an advisor, and he eventually became CEO. NeXTSTEP was used as the foundation for Mac OS X, which was released in 2001, and its object-oriented frameworks evolved into Cocoa, the development environment for macOS and iOS.
NeXT's influence extends beyond Apple. The WebObjects technology was used to build the iTunes Store and the Apple Online Store, and its concepts influenced many modern web frameworks. The NeXTSTEP interface elements, such as the Dock and the use of a unified menu bar, are still present in macOS today.
NeXT had several lesser-known aspects. For example, the NeXT Computer was used by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN to develop the first web browser and web server, making NeXT the platform on which the World Wide Web was born. Additionally, NeXT's object-oriented programming tools were used to create the video game 'Doom' by id Software, and the company's hardware was used in the production of the first Pixar films, including 'Toy Story'.
Another notable detail is that NeXT's logo, designed by Paul Rand, was a cube with the word 'NeXT' in a distinctive font. The cube was a reference to the computer's case design. NeXT also had a brief partnership with IBM to develop a version of NeXTSTEP for IBM's RS/6000 workstations, but this effort was abandoned.
NeXT's influence persists in modern Apple software and the web.
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