Lmst

This was a fast one. Last night I designed a small 2 layer #GPIO stacking header board for the #RaspberryPi that will be used in my #NeXTcube mini to provide a power and activity LED. It's in production at #JLCPCB already.

#DIY #PCBDesign #RetroComputer #VintageComputer #Miniatures

Here is a demo showing how such software produces a human voice.

#NeXT #NEXTSTEP #NeXTstation #NeXTCube #OS #OpenStep #DisplayPostScript #PostScript #GUI #UNIX#apple #macos #mac

@13pt8plus Something for the background:

I'm building a #NeXTcube mini (1:2). NeXT had these sound boxes (see image). So, I want install a HiFiBerry AMP into this box. This amp normally should be plugged onto the GPIO port. You get it? So, the plugs and sockets shout be not too big and ideally round shaped.

Thinking of NEXTSTEP this morning...I'd guess many aren't aware of the unusual color display arrangement.

The NeXTstation, which was the first "affordable" color solution for NEXTSTEP, has a 16-bit framebuffer, but instead of rendering the desktop in 65,536 colors (as per Windows or Mac hardware, say), it rendered in 12-bit color with 4-bits of alpha channel (transparency).

That means it had a palette of 4096 colors, with all colors available at once on the display (not like, say, the Amiga or Apple IIgs with a 4096 color palette, but video modes with a small subset of those colors available (yes, yes, HAM mode excluded). Additionally, anything on the screen had 16 levels of opacity available.

It's interesting to see in person, on the actual hardware (especially on a good LCD display). With dithering, it looks very close to 24-bit truecolor.

(The NeXT Dimension color board for the Cube allowed 24-bit color with 8-bits alpha, but that was not so frequently used -- less so than most NeXT hardware even...)

But that's not nearly the weirdest that NEXTSTEP-capable hardware got, when it came to color video display...

#NeXT #NEXTSTEP #NeXTstation #NeXTCube #OS #OpenStep #DisplayPostScript #PostScript #GUI #UNIX #MC68K #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #computinghistory #SteveJobs #tech

Today I did some research on possible legal aspects regarding the sale of products that contain electrical/electronic components. To my regret, there are a lot of requirements and regulations here in the EU that have to be met and complied with in order for a sale to be permitted at all (CE & RoHS conformity etc.).

It looks like I won't be able to sell my #NeXTcube mini as a whole. That could cause me huge problems. So I think I will sell just the case itself. That is a great pity.

Oh wow! I had a similar concept in mind for my #NeXTcube mini to replicate a 1:2 MO drive. Interesting to see that others are thinking along the same lines. 😃

#RetroComputing #VintageComputing #RetroComputer #VintageComputer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=END_PVp3Eds

The very first test prints of three parts of my #NeXT #MegaPixel display. And oh boy… the middle part (that one with the ribs) is a nightmare for #FDM printing! Horrible post processing getting rid of the support material! This is wh. y I'm thinking of buying a resin printer. The customers will appreciate it too. Because the parts will have WAY BETTER surface quality!

#3DPrint #3DPrinting #RetroComputer #RetroComputing #VintageComputing #NeXTcube #NeXT #Miniature

Oh wow! You wake up on Saturday morning to a full inbox of new #NeXTcube mini interested parties and lots of boosts and favs here on Mastodon. What happened? 😃

#NeXTComputer #RetroComputer #VintageComputer

For those interested in my #NeXTcube mini and the #MegaPixel Display: I invite you to join me in my Slack workspace. Here, questions are answered or things discussed more quickly. So if you like, come in and spread the word...
😁

https://join.slack.com/t/layeredwork/shared_invite/zt-2w7fwk22b-_KGgYX1NamCrvUyCFiwb5Q

#RetroComputing #VintageComputing #NeXTHardware #NeXTComputer

:BoostOK:

Oh wow! I was curious, so I uploaded all parts of the #NeXT #MegaPixel Display for #SLA printing to #JLC3DP. Just to see how much the resin print would cost. All parts, printed with black resin including surface treatment, add up to about 225 EUR! For one(!) display!

It's funny that #FDM printing is even more expensive, with poorer surface quality.

The parts for the #NeXTcube mini cost a similar amount. I'm starting to have my doubts as to whether anyone will even buy it

#3DPrint #3DPrinting

Oh wow! 30 potential buyers for my #NeXTcube mini! I should slowly pick up speed and start production... 🙈

#3DPrint #3DPrinting #Miniatures #RetroComputing #VintageComputing #Procrastination

The hell!

This NeXTdimension card actually works! Apparently my main error after all this RAM swapping was to enable parity checking, since main RAM was now parity-enabled (but SIMMs in the NeXTdimension are not). Also moved the four modules towards the edge of the dimension board.

I have no idea why we didn't get it up and running back in the 1990s and we always assumed the card was faulty.

System log sais:
NeXTdimension Board in Slot 2:
ROM Version 43, Memory Controller step 1, i860 step C.1
32 MBytes of DRAM installed, PAL video configured
NeXTdimension server running

(Attached photo is slightly weird, the phone cam could not be convinced to use a sane brightness, and gamma correction messed it up.)

#retrocomputing #nextcomputers #nextcube #nextdimension

NeXTcube with monitor on top, to the right is a LCD screen showing a NeXT desktop in colour, with the multi-screen control selected in system settings, and a terminal with messages log output identifying the NeXTdimension card

Oh. The system does power on with the NeXTdimension card plugged in, and I do get ROM Monitor output on a VGA screen. But either the system doesn’t boot, or I missed installing some required component and don’t get to see anything from the OS?

#retrocomputing #nextcomputers #nextcube #nextdimension

photo showing the back side of a NeXTcube, there’s a LCD screen connected to the 13W3 connector of a NeXTdimension card, showing output from the ROM Monitor

Oh, the new stickers for the back plate of my #NeXTcube mini have just arrived. And I think they turned out pretty well. Nice matte surface. 😍

#3DPrint #3DPrinting #RetroComputer #RetroComputing #VintageComputing #NeXT

#Tech #Computer #RetroTech #Retro #RetroTechnology #RetroComputers #VintageComputer #RetroComputing #Magazine #VintageAds #NeXTComputer #NeXT #NeXTCube

An advertisement for the NeXT Computer System, highlighting seven key breakthroughs in computer technology expected in the 1990s. The advertisement features a detailed description of each breakthrough, accompanied by images of the NeXT computer and its components. The text emphasizes the unique features and capabilities of the NeXT Computer System, such as its use of UNIX, advanced graphics, and electronic communications

To bring the light from the LEDs on the #RaspberryPi baseboard to the front of my #NeXTcube, I printed my own small “TOS-Link” connectors. A piece of optical fiber cable is simply plugged into these. One end is attached to the board and the other to the back of the front grill. And the Cube is already lit. 🤓

#NeXT #RetroComputing #VintageComputing #Miniture #Model

While assembling my #NeXTcube I designed another little project. A #filament box for my storage shelf with a little desiccant chamber inside. The lid is lockable with a boyonet lock.