NeXT

NeXT was a computer company that developed and manufactured a series of workstations and servers, known for their innovative graphical user interface and object-oriented programming capabilities, which were influenced by Xerox PARC, IBM PC, and Unix. The company was founded in 1985 by Steve Jobs, who had been forced out of Apple Inc. after a power struggle with John Sculley, and was joined by other notable figures such as Dan'l Lewin and Rich Page, who had previously worked at IBM and Xerox. NeXT's products were designed to be used in the higher education and business markets, and were known for their high-performance capabilities, which were comparable to those of Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. The company's technology was also influenced by the work of Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg at Xerox PARC, and was used by companies such as NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Dow Jones.

● History

NeXT was founded in 1985 by Steve Jobs, who had a vision to create a computer company that would revolutionize the way people interacted with technology, inspired by the work of Douglas Engelbart and Ted Nelson. The company's early days were marked by a series of challenges, including a lawsuit filed by Apple Inc. alleging that NeXT had stolen Apple Inc.'s trade secrets, which was later settled out of court with the help of Larry Ellison and Oracle Corporation. Despite these challenges, NeXT was able to secure funding from investors such as Ross Perot and Canon Inc., and was able to develop a range of innovative products, including the NeXTcube and NeXTstation, which were used by companies such as NASA, IBM, and Microsoft. The company's products were also influenced by the work of John Warnock and Charles Geschke at Adobe Systems, and were used by universities such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University.

● Hardware

NeXT's hardware products were known for their innovative design and high-performance capabilities, which were comparable to those of Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. The company's first product, the NeXTcube, was a workstation that was designed to be used in the higher education and business markets, and was influenced by the work of Xerox PARC and IBM PC. The NeXTcube was followed by the NeXTstation, which was a more affordable version of the NeXTcube, and was used by companies such as Dow Jones and The New York Times. NeXT's hardware products were also used by Tim Berners-Lee to develop the World Wide Web, and were influenced by the work of Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn at ARPANET.

● Software

NeXT's software products were known for their innovative graphical user interface and object-oriented programming capabilities, which were influenced by the work of Xerox PARC and Smalltalk. The company's NeXTSTEP operating system was a Unix-based system that was designed to be used on NeXT's hardware products, and was influenced by the work of Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs. NeXTSTEP was known for its high-performance capabilities and its ability to run object-oriented programming applications, which were developed by companies such as Adobe Systems and Macromedia. The company's software products were also used by John Carmack to develop the Doom video game, and were influenced by the work of Id Software and Apogee Software.

● Impact

NeXT's products had a significant impact on the development of the computer industry, and were used by a range of companies and organizations, including NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Dow Jones. The company's innovative graphical user interface and object-oriented programming capabilities influenced the development of Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system, and were used by companies such as IBM and Microsoft to develop their own graphical user interface products. NeXT's products were also used by Tim Berners-Lee to develop the World Wide Web, and were influenced by the work of Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn at ARPANET. The company's technology was also used by Larry Wall to develop the Perl programming language, and was influenced by the work of Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike at Bell Labs.

● Legacy

NeXT's legacy can be seen in the many companies and products that were influenced by its innovative technology, including Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system and iPhone smartphone, which were developed by Scott Forstall and Jonathan Ive. The company's graphical user interface and object-oriented programming capabilities have become standard features of modern computer operating systems, and are used by companies such as Google and Facebook to develop their own graphical user interface products. NeXT's technology was also used by John Carmack to develop the Doom video game, and was influenced by the work of Id Software and Apogee Software. The company's legacy continues to be felt in the computer industry today, with many companies and organizations still using NeXT's technology to develop innovative products and applications, including NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Dow Jones. Category:Defunct computer companies