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{{Short description|Workstation computer}}
{{About|the desktop computer|the company|NeXT}}
{{Infobox information appliance
| name = NeXT Computer
| logo = 
| image = 
| caption = 
| developer = 
| manufacturer = [[NeXT]], [[Redwood City, California]]
| carrier = 
| family = 
| type = [[Workstation]]
| generation = 
| releasedate = {{start date and age|1988|10|12}}
| lifespan = 
| price = {{USD|6500|1988||round=-2|link=yes}}<!-- this is price at initial release, not the current price. -->
| discontinued = {{end date|1991}}
| unitssold = 
| unitsshipped = 
| media = 
| os = [[NeXTSTEP]], [[OpenStep|OPENSTEP]]<!-- operating system -->
| power = 300 Watts, 3 Amperes
| cpu = [[Motorola 68030]] @ 25 [[MHz]], [[Motorola 68882|68882]] [[floating-point unit|FPU]] @ 25 MHz, [[Motorola 56000|56001]] [[digital signal processor|DSP]] @ 25 MHz
| storage = 256 MB [[magneto-optical drive]], optional 330 MB or 660 MB [[hard disk drive|hard disk]]
| memory = Shipped with 8 [[Megabyte|MB]], expandable to 64 MB using 4 MB [[SIMM]]s
| display = [[NeXT MegaPixel Display|MegaPixel 17"]] [[computer monitor|monitor]]
| graphics = 1120×832, four-level [[grayscale]]
| sound = Built-in [[Computer speakers|speaker]]
| input = 85-key keyboard, 2-button mouse
| location = <!-- GPS or Wi-Fi based -->
| controllers = 
| camera = 
| touchpad = 
| connectivity = [[Ethernet]]
| service = <!-- online service/s offered -->
| dimensions = 1-foot (305 mm) [[die-casting|die-cast]] [[magnesium]] cube-shaped case
| weight = 
| topgame = 
| compatibility = 
| predecessor = 
| successor = [[NeXTcube]]
| related = 
| website = 
}}

'''NeXT Computer''' (also called the '''NeXT Computer System''') is a [[workstation]] computer that was developed, marketed, and sold by [[NeXT|NeXT Inc.]] It was introduced in October 1988 as the company's first and flagship product, at a price of {{USD|6500|1988|link=yes|round=-2}}, aimed at the higher-education market.<ref name="smgc">{{Cite web |title=NeXT Computer {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection |url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8094437/next-computer-personal-computer |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> It was designed around the [[Motorola]] [[Motorola 68030|68030]] [[Central processing unit|CPU]] and [[Motorola 68882|68882]] [[Floating-point arithmetic|floating-point]] [[coprocessor]],<ref name="smgc" /> with a clock speed of {{nowrap|25 MHz}}. Its [[NeXTSTEP]] operating system is based on the [[Mach (kernel)|Mach]] microkernel and [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]]-derived [[Unix]], with a proprietary GUI using a [[Display PostScript]]-based back end. According to the Science Museum Group, "The enclosure consists of a 1-foot ({{nowrap|304.8 mm}}) [[die-casting|die-cast]] [[magnesium]] cube-shaped black case, which led to the machine being informally referred to as 'The Cube'."<ref name="smgc" />

The NeXT Computer was renamed [[NeXTcube]] in a later upgrade. The [[NeXTstation]], a more affordable version of the NeXTcube, was released in 1990.

==Launch==
{{Main article|NeXT Introduction}}
The NeXT Computer was launched in October 1988 at a lavish invitation-only event, "[[NeXT Introduction]] – the Introduction to the NeXT Generation of Computers for Education" at the [[Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall]] in [[San Francisco]], California. The next day, selected educators and software developers were invited to attend—for a $100 registration fee—the first public technical overview of the NeXT computer at an event called "The NeXT Day" at the San Francisco Hilton. It gave those interested in developing NeXT software an insight into the system's software architecture and [[object-oriented programming]]. [[Steve Jobs]] was the luncheon's speaker.

==Reception==
{{expand section|da=July 2014|date=July 2025}}
In 1989, ''[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]]'' magazine listed the NeXT Computer among the "Excellence" winners of the BYTE Awards, stating that it showed "what can be done when a personal computer is designed as a system, and not a collection of hardware elements". Citing as "truly innovative" the optical drive, DSP and object-oriented programming environment, it concluded that "the NeXT Computer is worth every penny of its $6,500 market price".<ref name="byte198901">{{Cite magazine |date=January 1989 |title=The BYTE Awards |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1989-01/1989_01_BYTE_14-01_PC_Communications_and_Annual_Awards_and_Digitizing_Tablets#page/n371/mode/2up |magazine=BYTE |page=327}}</ref> The [[workstation]] was not a significant commercial success, failing to reach the high-volume sales of the [[Apple II]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Mac (computer)|Mac]], or [[IBM PC compatible]]s. This was mainly blamed on the computer's substantial price, and the fact that there was not a great demand for the system outside of the higher-education market. Next Computers were mainly sold to universities, financial institutions, and government agencies.<ref name="smgc" />

==Legacy==
[[Image:First Web Server.jpg|thumb|This [[NeXTcube]] was used by [[Tim Berners-Lee]] as the first server on the [[World Wide Web]].]]

A NeXT Computer and its [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]] development tools and libraries were used by [[Tim Berners-Lee]] and [[Robert Cailliau]] at [[CERN]] to develop the world's first [[web server]] ([[CERN httpd]]) and [[web browser]] ([[WorldWideWeb]]).

The NeXT platform was used by Jesse Tayler at Paget Press to develop the first electronic [[app store]], called the Electronic AppWrapper, in the early 1990s. Issue #3 was first demonstrated to [[Steve Jobs]] at NeXTWorld Expo 1993.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndZnF555USI |title=Electronic App Wrapper Sept 93 NeXT CD 1st App Store Jesse Tayler, Yes Black Holes Exist Rob Blessin |date=2024-05-19 |last=Rob Blessin |access-date=2025-04-22 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

Pioneering PC games ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'', ''[[Doom II]]'', and ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'' (with respective level editors) were [[Development of Doom#Programming|developed]] by [[id Software]] on NeXT machines. [[Doom engine|''Doom'' engine]] games such as ''[[Heretic (video game)|Heretic]]'', ''[[Hexen: Beyond Heretic|Hexen]]'', and ''[[Strife (1996 video game)|Strife]]'' were also developed on NeXT hardware using id's tools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rome.ro/2006/12/apple-next-merger-birthday.html|title=Apple-NeXT Merger Birthday!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305165006/http://rome.ro/2006/12/apple-next-merger-birthday.html|archive-date=March 5, 2007}}</ref>

NeXT technology provisioned the first online food delivery system called [[CyberSlice]], using GIS based geolocation, on which Steve Jobs performed the first online order of pizza with tomato and basil.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} CyberSlice was curated into the Inventions of the 20th Century, Computer Science<ref>{{cite web | title=CyberSlice, Incorporated | url=http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=Cyberslice | website=Smithsonian Institution | access-date=2019-06-21 | archive-date=2021-03-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325162012/https://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=Cyberslice | url-status=live }}</ref> at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://appstorey.com/2019/06/06/appstorey-talks-with-steve-green/|title=AppStorey talks with Steve Green about Steve Jobs, The Smithsonian and how a pizza with basil became the first food delivered via the web|date=June 6, 2019|website=AppStorey|language=en|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607195248/https://appstorey.com/2019/06/06/appstorey-talks-with-steve-green/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=PMQ Pizza Magazine|title=How Steve Jobs Made Pizza History|date=June 3, 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxR6I-KRAug |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/oxR6I-KRAug| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=June 7, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Previous (software)|Previous]], emulator of NeXT hardware
* [[NeXTstation]]
* [[NeXTcube]]
* [[NeXTcube Turbo]]
* [[NeXT character set]]
* [[Power Mac G4 Cube]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|NeXT}}
* Byte Magazine, November 1988: The NeXT Computer [https://archive.org/details/byte-1988-11-next Facsimile], [https://archive.org/details/byte-1988-11-next  Full text]
* [https://simson.net/ref/NeXT/index.html Simson Garfinkel's NeXT pages] including [http://simson.net/ref/NeXT/nextworld/ NeXTWorld Magazine]
* [http://www.kevra.org/TheBestOfNext/index.html The Best of NeXT Collection]
* [https://www.simson.net/ref/NeXT/brochure_index.htm NeXT Computer brochure (page 7 contains a full size image of the circuit board)]
* [https://old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=277 old-computers.com — NeXTcube] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430210346/https://old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=277 |date=2023-04-30 }}
* [http://www.johnmiranda.com/next.htm Photos of black hardware]

{{NeXT Computer}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Next Computer}}
[[Category:Computer workstations]]
[[Category:History of the Internet]]
[[Category:NeXT]]
[[Category:Steve Jobs]]
[[Category:68k-based computers]]
[[Category:32-bit computers]]