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#81
Virtualization / Re: What Needs to be done for ...
Last post by andreas_g - Jan 01, 2026, 01:45 PMHello all,
I am happy to announce the release of Previous v4.0! This release comes with an improved version of the command line utility "ditool" (disk image tool). ditool is now able to read a wider range of disk images and has improved error handling.
Previous itself has also improved: It is now possible to hide the title bar using shortcut-T and Previous identifies SCSI CD-ROM and floppy drives as known real devices instead of PreviousCD-ROM and PreviousFLOPPY. There are also some bug fixes and under the hood improvements included.
Please note that with the release of Previous v4.0 I have updated trunk to SDL3. If for some reason you cannot use SDL3 please compile branch_softfloat instead of trunk.
As usual I have compiled a binary for macOS v10.13 and later (Intel and Apple Silicon). You can load the binary here.
Have fun and feel free to report any issues.
I am happy to announce the release of Previous v4.0! This release comes with an improved version of the command line utility "ditool" (disk image tool). ditool is now able to read a wider range of disk images and has improved error handling.
Previous itself has also improved: It is now possible to hide the title bar using shortcut-T and Previous identifies SCSI CD-ROM and floppy drives as known real devices instead of PreviousCD-ROM and PreviousFLOPPY. There are also some bug fixes and under the hood improvements included.
Please note that with the release of Previous v4.0 I have updated trunk to SDL3. If for some reason you cannot use SDL3 please compile branch_softfloat instead of trunk.
As usual I have compiled a binary for macOS v10.13 and later (Intel and Apple Silicon). You can load the binary here.
Have fun and feel free to report any issues.
#82
Software / Re: QuakeEd 2.0 on archive.org
Last post by marvin - Dec 25, 2025, 11:20 AMThis recent post https://rome.ro/quakes-player-speed-1 features the QuakeEd screenshot, and on the same site you can download the Quake map sources: https://rome.ro/resources
EDIT: Just found that we had John Romero's dump of QuakeEd (source) from 5/18/96 on the Peanuts archive NeXTSTEP/Games/action/
EDIT: Just found that we had John Romero's dump of QuakeEd (source) from 5/18/96 on the Peanuts archive NeXTSTEP/Games/action/
Code Select
2232 Aug 24 1996 QuakeEd.README
394767 Aug 24 1996 QuakeEd.s.tar.gz #83
Software / Re: QuakeEd 2.0 on archive.org
Last post by jeffburg - Dec 25, 2025, 04:26 AMMan, I miss Omniweb so much. I loved that browser when I use it on OS X... before Safari existed. But this is really cool! I never knew about these editors... let alone that they existed for NeXT
#84
Software / QuakeEd 2.0 on archive.org
Last post by Rhetorica - Dec 25, 2025, 02:13 AMIf I'm not mistaken this flew under the radar for us at the old forums, despite the reverence we always show DoomEd:
https://archive.org/details/QuakeEd
An actual screenshot from Romero, with a jumpscare by OmniWeb 1.x in the dock:
The release is source-code-only, so you'll need to get some elbow grease ready before it'll work. The uploader says they tested it on emulated white hardware.
https://archive.org/details/QuakeEd
An actual screenshot from Romero, with a jumpscare by OmniWeb 1.x in the dock:
The release is source-code-only, so you'll need to get some elbow grease ready before it'll work. The uploader says they tested it on emulated white hardware.
#85
Software / Re: Window Maker Live (Linux d...
Last post by wmlive - Dec 24, 2025, 11:35 AMInstead of waiting until the end of the year for the disclosure of the passphrase to unpack the encrypted 7z archives of the amd64 and arm64 variants of wmlive, the Christmas holidays are probably the best time to enjoy playing with it already.
So here is the passphrase: ThanksForYourSupport
Downloads are available from https://wmlive.sourceforge.net
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!
So here is the passphrase: ThanksForYourSupport
Downloads are available from https://wmlive.sourceforge.net
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!
#86
Software / UNIX V4 tape from University o...
Last post by wmlive - Dec 20, 2025, 12:51 PMThis is not exactly NeXTSTEP related, but still of historic importance:
https://archive.org/details/utah_unix_v4_raw
Related mastodon discussion providing context and further details:
https://discuss.systems/@ricci/115504720054699983
https://archive.org/details/utah_unix_v4_raw
Related mastodon discussion providing context and further details:
https://discuss.systems/@ricci/115504720054699983
#87
General Discussion / Re: The Definitive Guide to sp...
Last post by ZombiePhysicist - Dec 19, 2025, 03:55 PMAnother thread on this:
nextcommunity.net/forums/index.php?topic=74.msg410;topicseen#msg410
That links to another guide:
https://layered.work/nextstep-naming/
nextcommunity.net/forums/index.php?topic=74.msg410;topicseen#msg410
That links to another guide:
https://layered.work/nextstep-naming/
#88
General Discussion / Re: Origins of the names "Blue...
Last post by jeffburg - Dec 18, 2025, 01:26 AMI always love how much they try to squeeze Java into everything during this period. Java was so popular that an OS not having it was seemed as a death wish... so they shoved it in everywhere... and then it basically got no use and was later silently abandoned.
It's even how Cocoa got its name. Because Java was such a top priority, they decided to rename the yellow box to Cocoa so it fit with the hot drink theme that is Java.
It's even how Cocoa got its name. Because Java was such a top priority, they decided to rename the yellow box to Cocoa so it fit with the hot drink theme that is Java.
#89
General Discussion / Re: Layered.work NeXTSTEP Nami...
Last post by jeffburg - Dec 18, 2025, 01:24 AMYeah, it's quite a confusing mess. My guess is that it was just not that strictly controlled within the company until OpenStep the API was released in which case they had to interact with other companies and be clear.
I also think that they probably consider the logo type NEXTSTEP to be a sufficiently different context from plain text meaning the caps could be different.
But in the OpenStep developer tutorial guide, they do at least give us this one tiny clarification.
I also think that they probably consider the logo type NEXTSTEP to be a sufficiently different context from plain text meaning the caps could be different.
But in the OpenStep developer tutorial guide, they do at least give us this one tiny clarification.
QuoteWhats in a Name?https://bitsavers.org/pdf/next/OpenSTEP_Developers_Tutorial_4.0_Mach_1996.pdf
"0PENSTEP" refers to the software product. "0penStep" refers to the standard or specification on which the product is based, and by extension to the
concepts expressed by the specification.
The OpenStep specification is available via anonymous ftp at ftp.next.com.
#90
General Discussion / Origins of the names "Blue Box...
Last post by Rhetorica - Dec 17, 2025, 10:55 PMHere's an oldie but a goodie.
The names "Blue Box" and "Yellow Box" come from this architectural diagram of Rhapsody, hammered out hastily in January of 1997 by the merger team:
So when you hear of these colored boxes, remember that they're literally just orthogonal polygons on this chart, and don't refer to packages or virtual machines.
Within Apple, there was a tradition of referring to the current API with the color blue, dating back to the Blue/Pink brainstorming session of 1988 that defined System 7 ("blue") and Taligent ("pink"). It also helped that blue was established as the color of the Finder logo in the mid-90s.
Why did NeXT get saddled with yellow, a color not usually associated with their products? Perhaps it was an attempt to color-coordinate along CMYK or RBY primaries, assigning the new technology with the color least similar to Taligent or the incumbent Mac API. When the term was first used I can only assume it sounded like it had something to do with Sun hardware, which is occasionally called both "blue hardware" and "yellow hardware" (on account of the Sun logo and the color of sunlight, respectively.)
As far as I know, though, no one ever spoke of Java on OS X as the "Purple Box;" it was just Java for OpenStep and/or Rhapsody.
The above image is a screenshot of /NeueHorizonte/Rhapsody/archdiagram.html from this CD, which is a valuable time capsule of what the NeXT ecosystem was like at the time of the merger, and highly worth perusing.
The names "Blue Box" and "Yellow Box" come from this architectural diagram of Rhapsody, hammered out hastily in January of 1997 by the merger team:
So when you hear of these colored boxes, remember that they're literally just orthogonal polygons on this chart, and don't refer to packages or virtual machines.
Within Apple, there was a tradition of referring to the current API with the color blue, dating back to the Blue/Pink brainstorming session of 1988 that defined System 7 ("blue") and Taligent ("pink"). It also helped that blue was established as the color of the Finder logo in the mid-90s.
Why did NeXT get saddled with yellow, a color not usually associated with their products? Perhaps it was an attempt to color-coordinate along CMYK or RBY primaries, assigning the new technology with the color least similar to Taligent or the incumbent Mac API. When the term was first used I can only assume it sounded like it had something to do with Sun hardware, which is occasionally called both "blue hardware" and "yellow hardware" (on account of the Sun logo and the color of sunlight, respectively.)
As far as I know, though, no one ever spoke of Java on OS X as the "Purple Box;" it was just Java for OpenStep and/or Rhapsody.
The above image is a screenshot of /NeueHorizonte/Rhapsody/archdiagram.html from this CD, which is a valuable time capsule of what the NeXT ecosystem was like at the time of the merger, and highly worth perusing.