Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!mit-eddie!media-lab!lacsap From: lacsap@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Viet Anh) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: FAQ Message-ID: <5276@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> Date: 18 Feb 91 23:17:03 GMT Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA Lines: 419 (since we updated a lot of it, I thought it would be best to post it with the corrections. Next posting beginning of March - pasc) FAQ 910218c: Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to the NeXT computer. The information contained in this post is a compilation of answers posted by participants in the comp.sys.next USENET group. No guarantees are made regarding the correctness of these responses. This will get posted to comp.sys.next about every other week. There is currently no particular order to this list, items get added and removed over time. Note: We are not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this posting. If you have any corrections, additions, questions, or answers to add to this list, please send email to next-faq@media.mit.edu 0. Where can I find additional questions and answers regarding the NeXT computer? (this question is really never asked but really should be :-) Readers of comp.sys.next should be aware that not everyone has the complete on-line manuals on their systems. So responses like RTFM are inappropriate. Get NextAnswers for Digital Librarian from one of the many ftp sites (see below) that have NeXT software. NextAnswers is a series of questions and answers that the NeXT technical support has compiled. They tend to clarify issues not covered or poorly covered in the on-line documentation. If you have a question that is not covered in NextAnswers you can submit it to ask_next@next.com. They may not answer the question immediately. Another good source of information is the archives of previously posted notes from the comp.sys.next newsgroup. All articles sent to comp.sys.next are archived on brownvm.brown.edu. Send a note to listserv@brownvm.brown.edu containing the command "INFO ?" on a single line (by itself). The list of articles is called NEXT-L. 1. How may I contact NeXT Computer, Inc.? NeXT Computer, Inc. 900 Chesapeake Drive Redwood City, CA 94063 Phone: 1-800-848-NeXT (Redwood City #) 1-408-437-0400 (BusinessLand) 1-800-800-NeXT (NeXT Connection-software and peripherals) 44-81-565-0005 (U.K. #) 44-81-565-0016 (U.K. fax #) 044-549-5295 (NeXT marketing div. of Canon - Japan) 044-549-5462 (NeXT Japan fax #) +41-22-788-2890 (NeXT Europe - Geneva, Suisse) 2. Is there a mail order company that sells NeXT-related peripherals? Yes, its called NeXTconnection. Address: 9 Mill Street, Marlow, NH 03456 Phone: 1-800-800-NeXT 3. Is there a NeXT specific magazine? Yes. There are also many NeXT specific newsletters, many of which are available via ftp from the NeXT specific ftp sites. The Boston Computer Society NeXT User group also produces a NeXT newsletter called "What's NeXT?". BCS may be reached at 1 Center Plaza, Boston, MA 02108. The first magazine is called NeXUS and is published bi-monthly for $36/year. Contact Alfonso Guerra at {emory|gatech}!nanovx!nexus. The second is called NeXTworld and is published six times a year ($23.95). NeXTWORLD, 501 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 415 978 3182 (phone), 415 978 3196 (fax) NeXTworld email address: nextwrld!ddinucci@uunet.uu.net Letters to the Editor should be sent to the above address with: attn: Letters to the Editor Or electronically to: nextwrld!dlavin@uunet.uu.net, with a subject field of "Letters to the Editor" There is a third called NeXT on Campus which deals with NeXT developments in academia. Call NeXT at 1-800-848-NeXT for subscription info. 4a. What are the names of some of the ftp sites that have NeXT-related files? There are too many to list them all, so are here are just a few: NeXT: cs.orst.edu, nova.cc.purdue.edu, sonata.cc.purdue.edu, umd5.umd.edu, and eesun1.arl.utexas.edu MIT GNU: aeneas.mit.edu music: princeton.edu See NextAnswers for more sitenames. 4b. If I am not on the internet, how can I get to the ftp sites via email? nova.cc.purdue.edu is configured as an email archive server. This means you can upload and download files via email. Send mail to: archive-server@nova.cc.purdue with the subject line help and you will get a complete description of this service. If you submit material, you may want to send mail to lindley@cc.purdue.edu with a description of the material you are submitting. 5. Why does my 030 NeXT system using Release 1.0 hang a few seconds after attempting to boot from the optical disk? Release 1.0 contains a bug that can corrupt the kernel /odmach if a user attempts to launch /odmach from the browser. The solution is to copy a clean /odmach from another NeXT system. Be sure to change the permissions of the newly installed /odmach to remove execute permissions to prevent future occurrences of the same problem. Release 2.0 does not have this problem. 6. What is the claimed performance of the new 040 NeXT machines? NeXT advertizes the new 040 machines at 15 MIPS and 2 MFLOPS. [industry accepted benchmarks will be posted here... anyone?] 7. Where can I get the most recent version of Kermit? The source for the latest version is available via ftp from watsun.cc.columbia.edu in the directory named kermit/sw. Get the file ckaaaa.hlp to get started and see what files are required. Note that this version of Kermit does have a NeXT specific compile option. A binary only version is available via ftp from cs.orst.edu as kermit5a.tar.Z. This file is currently stored in the /pub/next/sources directory but may be moved to /pub/next/binaries at some point in the future. 8. How much free space is available on the NeXTstation and NeXTcube? As shipped, the 105MB NeXTstation has approximately 25.2 MB free. Note: The swap space is by default configured to 16MB with a low water mark of 20MB (the system does not attempt to reduce the size of the swapfile space until the swapfile grows past the low water mark). The extended release takes 179M, including a 16M swapfile, and not including Mathematica or Sybase (this is from a virgin install of 2.0 extended from an optical). 9. What software is bundled with the new 040 NeXT machines? Both the 105MB and 200MB systems come with Release 2.0 preinstalled. The systems with larger hard disks have Release 2.0 Extended preinstalled. The price of all of the new systems includes the cost of the software license. Note that the price of the 040 upgrade for 030 machines does not include the cost of the software license. RELEASE 2.0 includes *End User Applications Workspace Mgr(tm), NeXT Mail(tm), WriteNow(r) Word Processor, Digital Webster(tm) (9th Collegiate Dictionary(r) and Collegiate Thesaurus(r)), Digital Librarian(tm), Edit, Mathematica(r)-for higher education customers only, DataViz/Bridge(tm), Installer, FaxReader, Preferences, Preview for Post Script, PrintManager *Developer Tools VT100(tm) Terminal Emulator [based on Stuart] *System Administration Applications BuildDisk, InstallTablet, Mail Manager, NetInfo Manager, NetManager, Printer Tester, User Manager, Installer RELEASE 2.0 (extended) adds.... *End User Applications Oxford(r) Dictionary of Quotations, William Shakespeare-The Complete Works (for Digital Librarian), TEX(tm) Document Processing System (Radical Eye Software), Improv (Improv is only free if 040 NeXT machine or upgrade ordered before end of March 1991) *Developer Tools Interface Builder(tm), Objective-C(r) Language Compiler, C++ Language Compiler, Objective-C Class Definitions, 56001 DSP Tools, GNU Emacs, GNU Debugger, BUG-56(tm) Debugger (Ariel), Malloc Debugger, AppInspector(tm), PostScript Tools, Application Kit(tm), Music Kit(tm), Sound Kit(tm), On-line technical documentation You are allowed to copy software from the extended release from a friend if you are licensed to run 2.0. 10. What type of microphones work with the NeXT? Some NeXT owners use the RadioShack (Realistic) Tie Clip Microphone ($19.95) cat 33-1052. Others have successfully used WalMart (~ $6) and Sony brands (~ $60). [please send us model numbers and more exact prices for the Walmart and Sony brands...] 11. How do I connect a modem to the NeXT? In short, for the 030 NeXT you need a Mac II serial modem cable. Note that some Mac II cables will not allow successful dial-in (because of incompatible pin wiring). Any Mac II cable should work for dial-out. The Businessland part number for a NeXT modem cable is reportedly 235739. Note that no Mac cable will allow hardware flow control. For those 040 owners wishing flow-control, you may buy a cable from NeXTconnection or NeXT or make one yourself using the information in the zs(4) man page. Most use tip or kermit to control the modem. SLIP and/or UUCP may also be used (but are more complicated to set up and require the remote machine to also have SLIP and/or UUCP (respectively)). For more information, its highly recommended that you obtain and read the documentation from NeXT in their TechSupportNotes series called SerialPortDoc.wn. This document is available from most FTP sites that carry NextAnswers. Also, try to obtain the comp.sys.next note by Mark Adler entitled "How to connect a modem" (reposted 5 Jan 91) [Adler's note does contain info on the changes required to connect a modem to the 040 NeXTs] 12. Where can I obtain a NeXT version of X-Windows? There is a X11R3 version named XNeXT developed by MIT. This version is available in binary only and does not work under Release 2.0 of the NeXT OS. XNeXT is a 1-bit black and white server. XNeXT is available from most ftp sites that have NeXT software. McGill University (der Mouse) has produced a beta version of an X11R4 server named mouse-X available via ftp from 132.206.1.1. cd to X/XNeXT and fetch one of the files with names beginning with "distribution". This version only uses NeXTstep for keyboard and mouse events. This version does not work under 2.0 Pencom Software of Austin, TX has announced and has a working beta version of X11R4 called "co-Xist". A release version is scheduled for March 1991. Color is planned in a future release. Cost has been announced at $149 educational, $249 commercial. Co-Xist runs inside of a NeXTstep window. The Motif window manager and libraries are also available from Pencom. Contact Pam O'Neal at pensoft!pam@cs.utexas.edu. 13. Where can I obtain a NeXT version of SLIP? There is no publically available version of SLIP for the NeXT; however, versions are under development by several sources. 14. What type of memory may be installed in a NeXT? Use Mac II-style SIMMS, 100ns or faster. SIMMS must be installed in groups of four. The NeXT can use either 1MB or 4MB SIMMS. Most people are buying 80ns SIMMS in order to be more sure of future compatibility. Also, note that the low-profile vertically mounted 4MB SIMMS are easier to install than the horizontally mounted 4MB SIMMS because of the small height clearance above the SIMM slots. It is possible to install the horizontally mounted 4MB SIMMS but you will be required to slide the CPU board and the hard drive in simultaneously. Note that parity (9-bit) RAMS can be used in both the 030 NeXT and the 040 NeXT. Parity and non-parity SIMMS can be mixed in both the 030 and the 040 (however, the boot on 040 boxes will generate a warning). Only the 040 NeXT can use the parity memory to detect parity errors (parity and non-parity may not be mixed if you wish to have parity errors detected). Color NeXTstations, and the NeXTdimensions will be using a different packaging for memory. They will be in a 72pin housing, are organized 256kx32 or 1Mx32 for non-parity systems, and 256kx36 and 1Mx36 for parity. They must be 80ns or faster. We are presently not aware of of other manufacturers that make such memory configuration [impediment, clearpoint, and others have stated they are investigated the question] Given how dynamic the prices are in the memory market we can not provide an accurate compilation of suppliers and prices. [any volunteers?] 15. What can be done about older 030 NeXTs that have a fan that turns in the "wrong" direction? The fan on older 030 NeXTs sucks air out of the back of the cube which means that it draws unfiltered air in through the optical disk on the front of the cube. This causes optical disks to succumb to dust must sooner than cubes with the new-style fan which turns in the opposite direction. NeXT has apparently reversed their decision regarding fan reversal. It is now considered okay to reverse the direction of fans on older cubes. If you have many third-party cards installed in your cube, you may wish to consider not reversing fan direction (overheating could become a problem). In any case, do not reverse the fan's polarity, only reverse the fan assembly itself. Perhaps the best solution is obtain the cleaning kit and OD filter from NeXT. 16. Are there any alternative sources for the SCSI-II to SCSI-I cable required to attach external SCSI devices to the 040 NeXTs? Yes. This cable is the same as the one used by Sun SparcStations and DecStation 5000's (but not DecStation 3100's which use 68-pin micro rather than the 50pin micro connector used on NeXT 040, Suns and DecStation 5000). 17. What disk drives will work with the NeXT? Most scsi disk drives will work with 2.0 without modifying disktab. You should read the Systems Adminstrator manual provided with all new systems. There have been problems with the installation of boot blocks and badly formed fstab generated by BuildDisk. [If someone is keeping a list of drives that work with the NeXT we would like to know about it. Also there was talk about Mac drives *not* working on the NeXT due to their implementation of the SCSI standard.] 18. What fax modems will work with the NeXT? There are many suppliers of fax modems for the NeXT. It is best to call NeXT and ask for their Software and Peripherals catalog that lists third party hardware and software suppliers. [Does anyone know what features are needed for a fax modem to work on a NeXT 2.0?] 19. Can I run DOS software on the NeXT? Yes, there is a product called Soft-PC that has been announced for the NeXT and publicly demonstrated on the NeXT. Contact Insignia Solutions Inc 408-522-7600 In addition NeXT machines equipped with 2.88Mbyte floppy drives are able to read and write DOS diskettes (3-1/2" variety!) at 1.44Mb or 720Kb. 20. What comes with the 040 Upgrade? An anti-static disposable bracelet, installation guide, new OD cable, OD filter, 040 board, a simm extractor tool, Fed-Ex return slip and registration card. There are two mail back cards--one for Lotus Improv and NeXTworld, and the other to get Mathematica 2.0 and Sybase (eventually). This may change, of course, and may be different for non-educational users. The 040 upgrade requires the 2.0 upgrade. 21. What comes with the 2.0 upgrade? The 2.0 upgrade comes with an optical disk with 2.0 extended, a bunch of manuals, and keyboard tilt feet. 22. What alternative printers (laser or otherwise) may be used with the NeXT? Are there limitations or other considerations of which I should I be aware. 23. How may I attach more than two serial ports to the NeXT? Neil Gorsuch (neil@uninet.cpd.com) reports in comp.sys that his company is working on a port of their SCSI-based serial/parallel box to the NeXT. For more information call Uninet (800)433-6784. 24. Can I run MacIntosh Programs on my NeXT? No. There is a third party company working on reading and writing of Mac diskettes. 25. Can I run tcsh on my NeXT? If you are simply looking for emacs-like command editing you can do this with the csh distributed by NeXT by typing: set editmode=emacs In addition it is possible to bind control keys to commands with a .bindings file. Users should seek the csh(1) man page for more information. People have ported tcsh and bash to the NeXT. [Are they available via anonymous ftp?] 26. What are some good references on Objective C? 27. What fonts can I use on my NeXT? Properly packaged Type 1 or 3 postscript fonts will work on the NeXT, certain conversions may be necessary to get them to work. Freeware and shareware fonts are available on sonata.cc.purdue.edu. There are utilities on the next to download fonts into postscript printers. Purdue (nova and sonata) have freeware and shareware type 1 and 3 fonts in pub/next/misc Each file unpacks into it's own directory. Within each directory is a ReadMe.rtf and a Makefile. See the ReadMe.rtf for more font descriptions and installation instructions. (You may also find comments in the Makefile of interest.) These packages were prepared by Doug Brenner 28. How much does the NeXT cost? A retail price list may be obtained by contacting NeXT at the number or address mentioned in a previous question. Educational prices vary depending upon the university. The typical educational discount is between twenty and thirty percent. NeXT offers registered developers a significant discount. 29. Where can I buy a NeXT? From NeXT, Businessland, Computer Attic (in California), and possibly from your university if you are a student. If your university does not offer the NeXT, you may be able to buy from a "hub" university if the hub program is available in your state (contact NeXT for more info). 30. How can I save my WriteNow [or other printable] documents to a postscript file? Its easy. Just select PRINT from the main WriteNow menu, then select SAVE from the resulting print panel. 31. What is the best and/or cheapest way to connect a NeXT to a thick Ethernet? [an answer is in the works for this] Editors: Pascal Chesnais lacsap@media.mit.edu John Garnett garnett@cs.utexas.edu Erik Kay erikkay@athena.mit.edu -- Pascal Chesnais, Research Specialist, Electronic Publishing Group Media Laboratory, E15-351, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139 (617) 253-0311 email: lacsap@plethora.media.mit.edu (NeXT)