Will a NeXTstation be valuable in 20 years?

[sigamy]

I have a working NeXTstation Color with matching 21" monitor. I picked this up about 7 or 8 years ago just for the fun of it. I think I paid $300 for it. Now they go for under $100.

Will this machine ever be valuable? What are the chances that some day 30 years from now this thing will be considered rare and important?

Will I be able to sell it and retire?

 

[apple2991]

I have a working NeXTstation Color with matching 21" monitor. I picked this up about 7 or 8 years ago just for the fun of it. I think I paid $300 for it. Now they go for under $100.

Will this machine ever be valuable? What are the chances that some day 30 years from now this thing will be considered rare and important?

Will I be able to sell it and retire?

No.

That's not to say it will never be worth anything to anyone, but it is highly unlikely you will be able to retire on the money you might get. Although more "important" than your average Dell, the Next machines were most revolutionary for the software.

To me, Next has always sort of been the Delorean of the computer industry--a neat story and fun novelty items, but not at all practical or worthwhile in reality.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I can see myself paying a ton for old hardware 20 or 30 years from now if I don't start collecting them now.

I'll have to pick one up while they are that cheap. I bought an Amiga 3000 25Mhz with a 40 MB (Yes, MB) drive but only 2 MB of their special Commodore RAM for $100 bucks. The monitor came with it but it works with any normal monitor. I also still have my ZX81 with only 1K of memory. I wish I still had the 16K memory brick because it really made a difference in the size of the BASIC programs that you can run. It is amazing that a single icon from even a 15 year old computer takes up more memory than the entire memory of a 16K based ZX81.

I love old computer hardware except for IBM PC type hardware. TSR-80, MacPlus, Commodore 64/128, Lisa, Apple IIe/GS, Atari ST, Amiga, NeXT. It's all good.

 

[apple2991]

I can see myself paying a ton for old hardware 20 or 30 years from now if I don't start collecting them now.
.

Is anything you just posted relevant to the parent at all? He's not asking about collecting old hardware--in fact, just the opposite. It's not that he will want a Next station in 30 years, so buying one now will save time/money in the long run, he just wants to know if it's a sound financial investment.

Classic hardware is cool and I understand your affinity for it, but it doesn't seem much relevant. Oh well.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I would be the target market for old hardware. It will be worth a lot to the individuals of that time.

 

[blakespot]

I am the target market for old hardware as well. As for NeXT's value - one of the top 20 (or was it 100?) things that Time magazine (or was it Newsweek?) suggested people grab and save as we go into the new millenium was a NeXT Cube. NeXTStation is pretty close.

I love mine.



blakespot

 

[yellow]

It's clearly a significant piece in the evolution of modern computers. OS X owes quite a bit to Steve Jobs and his NeXT venture. Some P.O.S. Dell optiplex doesn't have quite the impact, or rareity that a NeXT box has.

Now, the NeXT box is only 10ish years old. In another 20, it'll be worth a lot more, as the number of functional / existing models declines. Can you retire on selling it? Hell no. But will you have troubles selling it? I wouldn't think so. There's always someone who collects that kinda stuff.

 

[blakespot]

It's clearly a significant piece in the evolution of modern computers. OS X owes quite a bit to Steve Jobs and his NeXT venture. Some P.O.S. Dell optiplex doesn't have quite the impact, or rareity that a NeXT box has.

Now, the NeXT box is only 10ish years old. In another 20, it'll be worth a lot more, as the number of functional / existing models declines. Can you retire on selling it? Hell no. But will you have troubles selling it? I wouldn't think so. There's always someone who collects that kinda stuff.

Yes, OS X basically is the latest version of NEXTSTEP/OpenStep with Mac Classic compatibility thrown in. Interestingly, Dell made a line of PC's that were particularly ideal for running NeXTSTEP for Intel back in the early 90's. They contained the Wingine VLB video slot for Chips & Techbologies blazingly fast framebuffer board that NEXTSTEP used. I had a JCIS motherboard with the Wingine slot back in '94. NEXTSTEP ran rather nicely on it.

My HP 9000 runs NEXTSTEP faster than that 486 PC or my NeXTStation.



blakespot

 

[sigamy]

blakespot,

Is it possible to get an adapter that would allow me to connect a normal VGA monitor to my NeXTstation?

My current 21" NeXT monitor is going just too big and heavy for my room and desk.

 

[cr2sh]

just too big and heavy for my room and desk.

Exactly! Too big, too old, too heavy. I can't imagine anyone ever collecting something that old, that far down the road.

A couple years ago we recieved a shipment of UNOPENED 386 Ibm's. Still in factory wrapping, manuals, mouse, software.. everything, MINT condition. Never opened, never run... just beautiful. I mean, it was funny and kind of interesting, but no where near collectible.

 

[Mechcozmo]

A couple years ago we recieved a shipment of UNOPENED 386 Ibm's. Still in factory wrapping, manuals, mouse, software.. everything, MINT condition. Never opened, never run... just beautiful. I mean, it was funny and kind of interesting, but no where near collectible.

Beowulf cluster?

 

[5300cs]

A couple years ago we recieved a shipment of UNOPENED 386 Ibm's. Still in factory wrapping, manuals, mouse, software.. everything, MINT condition. Never opened, never run... just beautiful.

The Hubble runs off a 486 from what I've heard...

 

[RacerX]

blakespot,

Is it possible to get an adapter that would allow me to connect a normal VGA monitor to my NeXTstation?

My current 21" NeXT monitor is going just too big and heavy for my room and desk.

Yes you can connect newer monitors to your system.

Have you thought about asking some of these questions in a NeXT forum of current NeXT users?

 

[blakespot]

blakespot,

Is it possible to get an adapter that would allow me to connect a normal VGA monitor to my NeXTstation?

My current 21" NeXT monitor is going just too big and heavy for my room and desk.

The proper cable to do so can be built and they do exist out there premade, but are hard to find. As I recall, you need a sync-on-green monitor to work successfully. I believe all of Sony's CRTs were sync-on-green. Not all are though.



blakespot

 

[RacerX]

The proper cable to do so can be built and they do exist out there premade, but are hard to find. As I recall, you need a sync-on-green monitor to work successfully. I believe all of Sony's CRTs were sync-on-green. Not all are though.

Or you could go with a nice LCD.

Asking this question in a Mac forum isn't going to get you nearly as much information as from a NeXT forum (one example).

 

[JeffTL]

A lot of times, collectability is determined at least partially by utility. That's why antique furniture is so popular -- an old table in new condition is as useful as a new table.

Same goes for vintage telephones too -- you can hook your rotary phone up, call your mother, and tell telemarketers to bugger off. Manual typewriters, too; they still stamp letters onto paper. For that matter, with a littl bit or less of repair, a lot of old fountain pens will write well.

A NeXTstation's values are primarily aesthetic (can be used as a work of art if that's your thing) and historical (thanks to Steve Jobs). Especially in 20 years I can't see one having extremely much value, but it's a keeper anyhow.

Computer collecting is still pretty obscure, compared to something like coins.

 

[Lacero]

The early computers will become extremely valuable in time. Perhaps not in your and my lifetime. The computer revolution is huge so I don't see how those early computers will not be worth something in the future.

Imagine how much you would pay for a pristine working Guttenberg printing press, or the last handwritten manual before it was superseded by such technology.