- Welcome to NeXTcommunity.
News:
The NeXT Computer is now 37 years old!
Recent posts
#1
Software / Re: UDCalc: a clone of macOS c...
Last post by wmlive - Feb 24, 2026, 11:00 AMUnfortunately, this promising tool relies on ARC and therefore can't be build with the current Debian variant of the GNUstep build environment. And it is not its developers fault, but rather the contrary.
It is yet another case where it becomes obvious that the GNUstep packages distributed by Debian (as included in wmlive) are rather problematic because they are not build with libobjc2/clang and thus don't support ARC.
As it stands, the GNUstep packages currently provided by Debian rather do a disservice to the GNUstep project's efforts. Instead of enabling potential new developers to just start working on GNUstep stuff by providing an up to date GNUstep environment that out of the box permits doing so, interested parties rightfully expecting support of libobjc2/clang and ARC need to go through the hassle of having to compile a suitable environment themselves.
While there are plans to package libobjc2 for Debian and then eventually switch to a clang based tool chain and thus enabling ARC also for these packages, with the next Debian release in about one and a half years as a goal in mind, so far those plans have not been translated into action. Supposedly, the package maintainers could need some help with this. Unfortunately, my own skill level is not nearly good enough to help in getting this done.
It is yet another case where it becomes obvious that the GNUstep packages distributed by Debian (as included in wmlive) are rather problematic because they are not build with libobjc2/clang and thus don't support ARC.
As it stands, the GNUstep packages currently provided by Debian rather do a disservice to the GNUstep project's efforts. Instead of enabling potential new developers to just start working on GNUstep stuff by providing an up to date GNUstep environment that out of the box permits doing so, interested parties rightfully expecting support of libobjc2/clang and ARC need to go through the hassle of having to compile a suitable environment themselves.
While there are plans to package libobjc2 for Debian and then eventually switch to a clang based tool chain and thus enabling ARC also for these packages, with the next Debian release in about one and a half years as a goal in mind, so far those plans have not been translated into action. Supposedly, the package maintainers could need some help with this. Unfortunately, my own skill level is not nearly good enough to help in getting this done.
#2
Software / UDCalc: a clone of macOS calc,...
Last post by Rhetorica - Feb 24, 2026, 09:43 AMThis was posted very briefly on HackerNews then vanished, so I can't vouch for the quality, but it might be of interest to @wmlive and the Gershwin people.
UDCalc is a very polished recreation of the macOS calculator app. It features basic, scientific, and programmer modes, all in the post-Braun, pre-Glass style of modern Macfulness:
UDCalc is a very polished recreation of the macOS calculator app. It features basic, scientific, and programmer modes, all in the post-Braun, pre-Glass style of modern Macfulness:
The GitHub repo is here: https://github.com/ashalkhakov/UDCalc
Post screenshots if you get it to compile! It should also run on Apple's stack.
#3
Off Topic / Re: NeXT Posterity and Discord...
Last post by ZombiePhysicist - Feb 22, 2026, 07:51 PMI wonder if can just make a macro that dumps each channel into a "today on discord..." running thread here.
#4
Off Topic / Re: NeXT Posterity and Discord...
Last post by Rhetorica - Feb 22, 2026, 12:45 PMSadly I have been aware of Discord's incumbent shittiness for a while. I really do want to get us an IRC channel, perhaps on altexxanet, which is a pretty suitable retro community (they even host some NeXT files on their FTP), though channel registration there requires administrative intervention.
Paradoxically, though—I'm not sure we can walk away entirely from Discord just yet. Not because of the data lock-in (though that is a problem too), but because there is a whole generation of younger retro nerds that we can recruit (and have been recruiting) through it—there are at least three fairly active chatters in the NeXT Posterity server that never had accounts on the old forums.
Maybe it's best to maximize—to maintain a nice complement of digital spaces that, combined, reach a wide audience, and to prioritize interop where possible (e.g. a Discord-IRC bridge bot that cross-posts messages.) That way we can keep our culture strong and united without missing out on opportunities to inculcate NeXT-curious people.
In terms of archiving material, as noted, it is indeed an issue; there is no first-party method for data exfiltration (the principles of enshittification tell us this is to be expected until a monopolistic incumbent gets so well established that a government or two demand such features be added.) I will look into downloader bots, though in the mean time, I'll make sure everything significant gets a thread here.
Paradoxically, though—I'm not sure we can walk away entirely from Discord just yet. Not because of the data lock-in (though that is a problem too), but because there is a whole generation of younger retro nerds that we can recruit (and have been recruiting) through it—there are at least three fairly active chatters in the NeXT Posterity server that never had accounts on the old forums.
Maybe it's best to maximize—to maintain a nice complement of digital spaces that, combined, reach a wide audience, and to prioritize interop where possible (e.g. a Discord-IRC bridge bot that cross-posts messages.) That way we can keep our culture strong and united without missing out on opportunities to inculcate NeXT-curious people.
In terms of archiving material, as noted, it is indeed an issue; there is no first-party method for data exfiltration (the principles of enshittification tell us this is to be expected until a monopolistic incumbent gets so well established that a government or two demand such features be added.) I will look into downloader bots, though in the mean time, I'll make sure everything significant gets a thread here.
#5
Software / NattyNarwhal's port of vnd to ...
Last post by Rhetorica - Feb 22, 2026, 12:33 PMThis came up on Discord recently—new member @calvincomma is working on a port of the Darwin vnd driver to NeXTSTEP 3.x, which is what allows mounting of files as disks.
GitHub repo: https://github.com/NattyNarwhal/vnd-nextstep
The project is not yet finished, and is not yet in a working state, but he is open to anyone interested in collaborating or contributing to the work. (He also notes he'll be away from his machine for the next week, so won't be able to reply to any inquiries until then.)
GitHub repo: https://github.com/NattyNarwhal/vnd-nextstep
The project is not yet finished, and is not yet in a working state, but he is open to anyone interested in collaborating or contributing to the work. (He also notes he'll be away from his machine for the next week, so won't be able to reply to any inquiries until then.)
#6
Software / Re: GNUstepOfficial meeting mi...
Last post by Rhetorica - Feb 22, 2026, 12:21 PMThe Gershwin demo reports that: Chromium now sends its menus to Gershwin using DBus, native apps now use GNUstep objects to send menus (more efficient), and an app menu now exists:
Also in this screenshot, file icons depict the associated application.
Next, a quick ItemFlow demo. This is super slick, animates smoothly, and will be immediately comforting to iTunes and iMovie users:
It is implemented using OpenGL and fully accelerated.
As you may notice in the above two images, they also switched away from OS X's 'traffic light' titlebar widget paradigm to an organization that (counterintuitively) is a compromise between classic Mac and CUA/Motif/OS2/Win≤3: top-left close, top right minimize and maximize (contrary to NeXT and classic Mac, which put minimize/roll-up rightmost.) Windows also snap to the edge of the desktop!
They also added this mighty slick alt-tab switcher. Very pragmatic and no-nonsense, reminiscent of the traditional Windows 9x switcher:
Theming is a bit hard-coded at present; Gershwin's WM can't yet swap them on the fly, as button positions may need to be recalculated. But that's something they'll still work on.
probono next mentions that .iso and other disk images can now be written to storage volumes like USB sticks directly in the UI, which helps when iterating on new bootable live media. No more fooling around with dd—just drag the .iso icon onto the disk icon.
A bare-bones processes manager window:
A drawer pops out with details when a process is selected, and a very helpful Force Quit button:
(At that point, the Gershwin demo machine fell over, and probono had to spend a little bit restarting everything.)
[to be continued...]
Also in this screenshot, file icons depict the associated application.
Next, a quick ItemFlow demo. This is super slick, animates smoothly, and will be immediately comforting to iTunes and iMovie users:
It is implemented using OpenGL and fully accelerated.
As you may notice in the above two images, they also switched away from OS X's 'traffic light' titlebar widget paradigm to an organization that (counterintuitively) is a compromise between classic Mac and CUA/Motif/OS2/Win≤3: top-left close, top right minimize and maximize (contrary to NeXT and classic Mac, which put minimize/roll-up rightmost.) Windows also snap to the edge of the desktop!
They also added this mighty slick alt-tab switcher. Very pragmatic and no-nonsense, reminiscent of the traditional Windows 9x switcher:
Theming is a bit hard-coded at present; Gershwin's WM can't yet swap them on the fly, as button positions may need to be recalculated. But that's something they'll still work on.
probono next mentions that .iso and other disk images can now be written to storage volumes like USB sticks directly in the UI, which helps when iterating on new bootable live media. No more fooling around with dd—just drag the .iso icon onto the disk icon.
A bare-bones processes manager window:
A drawer pops out with details when a process is selected, and a very helpful Force Quit button:
(At that point, the Gershwin demo machine fell over, and probono had to spend a little bit restarting everything.)
[to be continued...]
#7
Off Topic / NeXT Posterity and Discord age...
Last post by wmlive - Feb 22, 2026, 09:45 AMLooks like the Discord age verification attempt is all other than benevolent in these techno-authoritarian times:
More info about Persona: thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy and fortune.com/2026/02/24/discord-peter-thiel-backed-persona-identity-verification-breach
Anybody aware of technical solutions to mirror the content of the Discord NeXT Posterity threads into some forum threads, in order to save the accumulated contents from being hidden behind garden walls?
Information wants and needs to be free.
QuoteTogether with two other researchers, they set out to look into Persona, the San Francisco-based startup that's used by Discord for biometric identity verification – and found a Persona frontend exposed to the open internet on a US government authorized server.Source: www.therage.co/persona-age-verification
In 2,456 publicly accessible files, the code revealed the extensive surveillance Persona software performs on its users, bundled in an interface that pairs facial recognition with financial reporting – and a parallel implementation that appears designed to serve federal agencies. [...]
Persona Identity, Inc. is a Peter Thiel-backed venture [..]
More info about Persona: thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy and fortune.com/2026/02/24/discord-peter-thiel-backed-persona-identity-verification-breach
Anybody aware of technical solutions to mirror the content of the Discord NeXT Posterity threads into some forum threads, in order to save the accumulated contents from being hidden behind garden walls?
Information wants and needs to be free.
#8
Off Topic / Re: Inaugural off-topic thread
Last post by trixster - Feb 21, 2026, 03:52 PMHow's about this for off topic: I've just cleaned and re-greased my old DAT deck and it's running great again. The amount of gunk that came off the rollers for the tape guides was crazy. The heads on the drum were ok though. The grease on various parts of the mech hadn't hardened yet (which was a surprise) but I thought I'd apply fresh stuff anyway.
#9
Virtualization / Re: What Needs to be done for ...
Last post by andreas_g - Feb 21, 2026, 08:58 AMQuote from: ramalhais on Feb 19, 2026, 06:45 PMHow do i get to the serial console(s) in previous? Is there any branch that has this functionality?
Thanks!
Unfortunately I have not yet been able to add this. The problem is that I have no idea how to connect the simulated serial port to the console or some other text input/output interface of the host.
The appended patch demonstrates serial console output but does nothing useful.
alt_cons.diff
#10
Virtualization / Re: What Needs to be done for ...
Last post by ramalhais - Feb 20, 2026, 07:54 PMQuote from: ptek on Feb 20, 2026, 07:26 PMQuote from: ramalhais on Feb 19, 2026, 06:45 PMHi all, first post here.Is this the one where at the login screen you use username "console" and it boots to the terminal and asks for your username and password?
How do i get to the serial console(s) in previous? Is there any branch that has this functionality?
Thanks!
i mean the emulator equivalent of the serial port on the back of a next machine
