Slashdot Mirror

The first web browser was on NEXTSTEP...

No, it was on NeXTStep. Capitalisation is meaningful here, as NEXTSTEP was the name given to the system only after NeXT hardware was abandoned. Berners-Lee did all his work on NeXT hardware, in the NeXTStep days. See ObjectFarm's OpenStep Confusion.

IIRC, the original OS, NeXTstep, was based on 4.2 BSD, while the later OS, OpenStep, was based on 4.3 BSD.

The latter OS, NeXT's implementation of the OpenStep standard, was called OPENSTEP. There's a concise explanation of the capitalization confusion.

That is, of course, because GNUStep implements NEXTSTEP, and Apple bought Steve Jobs' NeXT and based Mac OS X on NEXTSTEP.

GNUstep doesn't "implement NEXTSTEP." There is no standard by that name. GNUstep does, however, implement OpenStep, a standard worked out mostly by Sun from the development environment created by NeXT. An excellent resource for understanding the terms and their cApItaliZATIONS is OpenStep Confusion

Interesting. Support for M68K, M88K, HP-PA, Sparc, PPC, i386, I860, M88110...

Just what else do you want? Apple have OSX ready for FAR more than just the PPC boxes they're shooting with now.

There's a difference between "there's a list of strings in the kernel that bears a startling resemblance to the list of processors that NeXT and Apple have ever ported to" and "Apple has Mac OS X ready for that list of processors".

Let's look at the list:

1. M68K - NeXT's original machines were 68030-based
2. M88K, M88110 - I think NeXT were looking at building 88k-based machines at one point
3. HP-PA - there was a PA-RISC port of NeXTStEP
4. SPARC - there was a SPARC port of NeXTStEP
5. PPC - Macs capable of running Mac OS X use PowerPC processors
6. i386 - there was an x86 port of NeXTStEP, and there's also Darwin/x86

The only surprise to me in that list is i860.

(Yes, I know, that posting, especially with the "Apple have OSX ready for FAR more than just the PPC boxes they're shooting with now." statement - right, Apple's got Mac OS X ready to run on shiny new Motorola 88K workstations - is so silly it was probably a troll, and I bit. Oh, well....)

Interesting. Support for M68K, M88K, HP-PA, Sparc, PPC, i386, I860, M88110...

Just what else do you want? Apple have OSX ready for FAR more than just the PPC boxes they're shooting with now.

There's a difference between "there's a list of strings in the kernel that bears a startling resemblance to the list of processors that NeXT and Apple have ever ported to" and "Apple has Mac OS X ready for that list of processors".

Let's look at the list:

1. M68K - NeXT's original machines were 68030-based
2. M88K, M88110 - I think NeXT were looking at building 88k-based machines at one point
3. HP-PA - there was a PA-RISC port of NeXTStEP
4. SPARC - there was a SPARC port of NeXTStEP
5. PPC - Macs capable of running Mac OS X use PowerPC processors
6. i386 - there was an x86 port of NeXTStEP, and there's also Darwin/x86

The only surprise to me in that list is i860.

(Yes, I know, that posting, especially with the "Apple have OSX ready for FAR more than just the PPC boxes they're shooting with now." statement - right, Apple's got Mac OS X ready to run on shiny new Motorola 88K workstations - is so silly it was probably a troll, and I bit. Oh, well....)

Interesting. Support for M68K, M88K, HP-PA, Sparc, PPC, i386, I860, M88110...

Just what else do you want? Apple have OSX ready for FAR more than just the PPC boxes they're shooting with now.

There's a difference between "there's a list of strings in the kernel that bears a startling resemblance to the list of processors that NeXT and Apple have ever ported to" and "Apple has Mac OS X ready for that list of processors".

Let's look at the list:

1. M68K - NeXT's original machines were 68030-based
2. M88K, M88110 - I think NeXT were looking at building 88k-based machines at one point
3. HP-PA - there was a PA-RISC port of NeXTStEP
4. SPARC - there was a SPARC port of NeXTStEP
5. PPC - Macs capable of running Mac OS X use PowerPC processors
6. i386 - there was an x86 port of NeXTStEP, and there's also Darwin/x86

The only surprise to me in that list is i860.

(Yes, I know, that posting, especially with the "Apple have OSX ready for FAR more than just the PPC boxes they're shooting with now." statement - right, Apple's got Mac OS X ready to run on shiny new Motorola 88K workstations - is so silly it was probably a troll, and I bit. Oh, well....)