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Lateralus · 08:28 PM

A close to mint NeXT Cube System

25MHz 68040 Cube.
MegaPixel Monitor.
NeXT Laser Printer.
Two copies of NeXTSTEP, one shrink wrapped.
Bunch of other goodies, including a NeXT sweatshirt and books.
Everything shipped in original boxes.
--------------------------
eBay total with shipping? $870
--------------------------

Did I spend too much? Probably.
Was it justified? Probably not.
Did I need a Cube at all? Nope.
Will I regret buying it? Probably... maybe.

But I've developed quite a fascination with NeXT in the past few months and have been scouring the world for a NeXTstation or Cube in good and complete condition for a while. After having seen Cube systems that looked like they fell off of cliffs bring in $500+ on eBay, and never seeing a Cube in anywhere near mint condition as this one appears to be, I decided "What the hell? It's not like this will bankrupt me... totally."

So, there you have it. I just sank nearly $900 with shipping into a nearly 15 year old, 25MHz computer. I'll justify it by calling it a 2-day late birthday gift. And if anybody asks me how I sank that much into such a thing, I'll just say I was drunk.

Kerrigan · Sep 15, 2005, 08:06 PM

pix plz

budster101 · Sep 15, 2005, 08:21 PM

Pictures! Damn you.

Donate it to the Smithsonian in DC.

Lateralus · Sep 15, 2005, 08:26 PM

Just purchased it a few hours ago. Sent an e-mail to the seller asking for an all-inclusive shot that I can salivate over between now and the time it all gets here.

Kerrigan · Sep 15, 2005, 08:28 PM

mmm cube shape

johnnyJihad · Sep 15, 2005, 09:21 PM

nevermind.

dcmacdaddy · Sep 15, 2005, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by johnnyJihad

nevermind.

Hey Ca$h. Welcome Back!

DeathMan · Sep 16, 2005, 01:27 AM

I want to spend $900 on headphones, but they're so small compared to that cube.

screamingFit · Sep 16, 2005, 05:15 AM

That box is dead sexy. I think you made a wise decision!

You now need to purchase a BeBox!

wdlove · Sep 16, 2005, 10:01 AM

Congratulations Lateralus, nice purchase. An awesome belated B-Day gift.

olePigeon · Sep 16, 2005, 04:21 PM

Now you just need one of these .

OreoCookie · Sep 16, 2005, 05:17 PM

Wow, nice.
I once ran into a NeXT ColorStation at university. Quite funny, it had a RJ45 nic with a ridiculously small MAC address (00:00:00:xy:xy) …

Nice collector's item

Tyler McAdams · Sep 16, 2005, 05:20 PM

mmmm.... windowmaker....

Paco500 · Sep 16, 2005, 05:54 PM

I used to have a Next Station Turbo Color and I have regretted selling it ever since.

It's not practical but it's very, very cool. I applaud your purchase and I hope you appreciate it.

But if not, email me, we'll talk.

JustAnOl'Broad · Sep 16, 2005, 06:03 PM

OK, I give up; what's it good for? and what makes it so special?
BTW: Happy belated B'day!
P~

davesimondotcom · Sep 16, 2005, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by screamingFit

That box is dead sexy. I think you made a wise decision!

You now need to purchase a BeBox!

I've got an original BeBox, Dual 603/66 in my closet. All the docs and software. Want to buy it?

As far as the NeXT Cube, I don't think it's a useful purchase, but it's fun. Nice to have some magnesium around.

I've only seen one running, and that was in 1993 or 1994.

My NeXT lust item should be cheaper, but is difficult to find: the presentation book from Paul Rand to Steve Jobs that sold him on the logo.

Lateralus · 07:07 PM

Shipping was only $93, rather than the $170 that I paid so I got a refund of about $80, making my total cost around $790. I guess that's a little more digestible... not really.

My second guessing of my purchase has been smothered by joyful anticipation. The seller has been great through the transaction and even shipped everything out early this morning via UPS, quite quick. Five boxes. Delivery estimate is for next Wednesday, and luckily I'll be home Wednesday and Thursday so I'm gonna have a few days to play with my new toys.

I'm trying to think how I want to present the Cube. Thinking about buying a nice table to arrange everything on.

Getting the Cube now is kind cool since I bought the Cube Brochure last week on eBay, which arrived yesterday. It will be accompanying the Cube in whatever masterful arrangement I end up coming up with.

And here's a link to the auction for the Cube, for those curious.

And yes guys, expect pictures.

Salty · Sep 17, 2005, 12:47 AM

Nice... can't say it's responsible but nice.

cpt kangarooski · Sep 17, 2005, 01:24 AM

Yeah, they're pretty heavy. Too bad I hadn't known you were looking for one. Sometimes I think I can't get rid of mine at all.

effgee · Sep 17, 2005, 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

... And yes guys, expect pictures.

Originally Posted by ebay acution

... Gray Sweatshirt with sewn-on NeXT logo ...

Yes please!

Cool purchase

Lateralus · Sep 17, 2005, 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by Salty

Nice... can't say it's responsible but nice.

Eh, being responsible is what got me in the position to be able to drop that much on a whim. Time for some fun!

Eug Wanker · Sep 17, 2005, 06:44 AM

Wow, $870 is a lot of coin for that. And I thought my $500ish for Power Mac Cube G4 450 was too much.

And forty bux for the brochure too?!?

I find it kinda interesting that you were the only person to bid on both auctions.

So, what are you going to do with that 25 MHz speed demon?

euphras · Sep 17, 2005, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by JustAnOl'Broad

OK, I give up; what's it good for? and what makes it so special?
BTW: Happy belated B'day!
P~

You never read about the NeXT story, riiight?!? Minor tip: it´s Steve Jobs related. And NeXTstep is the predecessor of OS X.

And yes: good purchase Lateralus. Hope, you´ll post plenty of screen shots.

production_coordinator · Sep 17, 2005, 10:32 AM

I would be VERY interested in seeing on in person... but would be tempted to buy a mini and throwing it in there just for kicks.

I would also like a BeBox.

Lateralus · Sep 21, 2005, 03:43 PM

Well, it all just got here. Quite a load.

I'm pretty sure the original seller included quite a few things that weren't in the original listing as there is a trainload of NeXT software, papers, books... etc.

The Cube was indeed in good shape but it is rather dirty. I'm pretty sure the inside has never seen an air dusting as everything inside has a thick coat of animal hair and dust.

And being anal retentive as I am, I've done something I'm sure most Cube owners would never risk; I've dismantled the Cube down to the bare skeleton. I have the case components soaking in a warm bath and I'll be going at the innard components later on with air and a soft cloth.

Once I have everything looking all mint and pretty, I'll break the internet with a bunch of pictures.

*Glee*

davesimondotcom · Sep 21, 2005, 04:08 PM

All these people saying they want a BeBox... anyone want to make an offer I can't refuse on mine?

Can't wait to see the pics, Lateralus!

angelmb · Sep 22, 2005, 03:18 AM

Pure beautiful !!

Couple of links you could find useful…

Rhapsody Resource Page

Open STEP boards

I was David B. · Sep 22, 2005, 04:00 AM

Originally Posted by Tyler McAdams

mmmm.... windowmaker....

Well yes, Windowmaker (or TWM sometimes

). Thats the way I can live with linux .

It is fun to explore the past a little. At the university lab we used Ataris as terminal computers for a long time. Since they had a useful job to do, it was a lot of fun to have them around. But booting into TOS (for nostalgic reasons) showed that it simply sucks to work with this old stuff (still remember 1st word or signum? The printing, that was famous for its quality once, is now incredibly slow. Imagine: 5 seconds for a line

).

My last purchase was an old TiBook (867). Once you had a quicker machine, you just play around with the old one and then realize that is makes no sense to use it (even a TiBook feels slow and loud compared to my 12inch powerbook).

I doubt that there is a use for an old next cube. Maybe a web- or mailserver? But are they up to date firwall-wise? Or a terminal for your macs

. This would mean you bought a 870$ Keyboard.

Well, this is what curiosity is about. In the end you have spent only the shipping costs. If you don't like the cube, sell it again.
My TiBook brought me 50€/$ profit when I sold it. The cube will also sell very well. So have fun with the cube. It was really not sinking money.

Oh, I forgot: congrats to your birthday.

JoshuaZ · Sep 22, 2005, 04:29 AM

mmm... I would love a G4 Cube... upgrade the heck out of it... so cool...

Lateralus · Sep 22, 2005, 12:53 PM

***Time For Pictures***

Lateralus · Sep 22, 2005, 12:53 PM

residentEvil · Sep 22, 2005, 12:56 PM

Good ol' BNC ethernet connections. Ah, I miss the days of stripping coax and putting ends on. :sigh:

King Bob On The Cob · Sep 22, 2005, 01:52 PM

You can get
TEH LAUNCBAR!!!1
http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/download.html
and
TEH OMNIWEB!1!
(Surf around a bit at Omni's FTP, it's not too hard to find)

Cubeoid · Sep 22, 2005, 02:12 PM

Nerd!

DarwinX · Sep 22, 2005, 03:09 PM

Useful? No

Freakin awesome? Hell yes!

Nice work Lat!

Don Pickett · Sep 22, 2005, 03:22 PM

One of my best friend's in college (89-93) was a NeXT developer, so I have fond memories of those machines. Funny thing is, I was just checking out a NeXT slab on eBay. . .

alligator · Sep 22, 2005, 03:46 PM

I have fond memories of using those to correspond with my then friend, now wife. If only I could retrieve those e-mail messages.

Kevin · Sep 22, 2005, 03:46 PM

That is really really cool lat.

Screenshots next.

OreoCookie · Sep 22, 2005, 03:55 PM

Damn nice. Congrats

What are those dual cpus (I know it's not the cpu, but they have a larger case than the CPU itself

) on the mobo?

Lateralus · Sep 22, 2005, 04:37 PM

They're custom LSI chips. From what I read, one controls the Magneto-Optical drive (which I don't have installed) and the other handles the I/O functions.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Sep 22, 2005, 04:41 PM

All you need is a new desk.

Tyler McAdams · Sep 22, 2005, 05:13 PM

Behold! the Lament Configuration!

The Placid Casual · Sep 22, 2005, 05:32 PM

Oh man, those pics are awesome. Looks like the cube scrubed up great too!

That is a seriously cool purchase, and looking at the condition, a great price too... Grats!!

Makes me miss NeXTStep, and my old Turbo Station.... was never as cool as the cube though!

TPC

Agasthya · Sep 22, 2005, 06:15 PM

What do you plan on doing with it? I wish I had 800 bucks to blow on a paper weight.

davesimondotcom · Sep 22, 2005, 06:27 PM

What a nice looking box that is...

I actually have that very same NeXTSTEP PROGRAMMING book. Step One: Object Oriented Applications. Not sure why, just bought it when it was $2 at the book store in one of their bins.

ink · Sep 22, 2005, 06:48 PM

Nice! I've always wanted one of those. I used to sneak into the university math lab back in highschool so that I could play on the Cube. By the time I was an undergrad, they only had the newer pizza-box NeXT systems. The next best thing was to get OS X when it first came out and make a custom wallpaper for it.

nredman · Sep 22, 2005, 06:51 PM

cool man - thanks for sharing

Ratm · Sep 23, 2005, 01:07 AM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

***Time For Pictures***

You have a serious problem there buddy. Has anyone ever confronted you about this? Maybe there is a support group or a twelve step program for this kind of addiction.

Oh and thanks for the pics.

I was David B. · Sep 23, 2005, 07:35 AM

Very cool pics.

Please tell us what you do with the cube. Maybe this helps to find a couple of good excuses to buy a cool old mac (I'd like to find useful jobs for a clamshell iBook...

, or a Lombard)