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Date: Sun 16-Jun-1991 07:28:10 From: lacsap@media.mit.edu (Pascal Chesnais) Subject: FAQ 2/3 - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions FAQ-2/3 910616: Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to the NeXT computer. The information contained in this post is a compilation of answers to questions posted by participants in the comp.sys.next USENET group. No guarantees are made regarding the correctness of these responses. This will get posted to comp.sys.next about every other week. There is currently no particular order to this list, items get added and removed over time. We are not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this posting. If you have any corrections, additions, questions, or answers to add to this list, please send email to next-faq@media-lab.media.mit.edu A copy of the FAQ can be found on sonata.cc.purdue.edu in pub/next/FAQ as well as other useful information (diskdrive and simm sources). Peripherals ----------- P1. What type of microphones will work with the NeXT? Some NeXT owners use the RadioShack (Realistic) Tie Clip Microphone ($19.95) cat 33-1052. NeXT Computer, Inc. uses the "Sony Electret Condenser Microphone ECM-K7" in-house (available for ~$60). Some use Sony Tie-Clip microphone, #ECM-144, which costs around $40. Others have successfully used a WalMart brand microphone (available for ~$6). P2. How do I connect a modem to the NeXT? Previously, we suggested that people use Mac modem cables; however, it has come to our attention that there is no one standard Mac modem cable. Since correct modem operation on a NeXT depends upon a correctly wired modem cable, buying a Mac cable is not a good idea. Some Mac cables do not allow dial-in and no Mac cable allows the use of hardware flow control. For these reasons, we are recommending that only cables that meet NeXT specifications be used. [however, if you have a Mac modem cable lying around and don't care about dial-in or hardware flow control, then by all means....] These cables are available commercially from NextConnection, and from Computer Cables and Devices, or can be custom built. Note that no off- the-shelf Mac cable will allow hardware flow control. It is however possible to make a such a cable from an Imagewriter II cable by replacing one of the mini-8 ends with a DB-25 connector. Most people use tip or kermit to control the modem. SLIP and/or UUCP may also be used (but are more complicated to set up and require the remote machine to also have SLIP and/or UUCP (respectively)). The 2.0 Network and System Administration Manual, which is available in hard-copy (shipped with each machine) contains an extensive description of how to use modems with the NeXT machine. Additionally NeXT in their TechSupportNotes series called SerialPortDoc.wn and UUCP for 1.0/1.0a systems . This document is available from most FTP sites that carry NextAnswers. Also, try to obtain the comp.sys.next note by Mark Adler entitled "How to connect a modem" (reposted 5 Jan 91) [Adler's note does contain info on the changes required to connect a modem to the 040 NeXTs] P3. Are there any alternative sources for the SCSI-II to SCSI-I cable required to attach external SCSI devices to the 040 NeXTs? Yes. This cable is the same as the one used by Sun SparcStations and DecStation 5000's (but not DecStation 3100's which use 68-pin micro rather than the 50pin micro connector used on NeXT 040, Suns and DecStation 5000). P4. What fax modems will work with the NeXT? The following fax modems are currently available for the NeXT Computer: Manufacturer/Model Supplier/Phone Avail. Type ------------------ -------------- ------ ---- Abaton Interfax 24/96 NX Abaton 800-444-5321 Now Class 2* DoveFax for NeXT Dove Computer 800-622-7627 Now Class 1 Ricoh DX-1 VISUS 412-687-3800 Now Proprietary In order to use a fax modem with the NeXT Computer, a NeXT compatible fax driver must be available to operate the modem. Modem control procedures may be proprietary or conform to one of the following EIA/TIA standards: Class 1: CCITT T.30 session management and CCITT T.4 image data handling are controlled by the driver. Class 2*: CCITT T.30 session management and image data transport are handled by the modem. CCITT T.4 image data preparation and interpretation are controlled by the driver. Release 2.0 of the NeXT system software includes a Class 2 modem driver which will work with any fax modem which meets the EIA/TIA Asynchronous Facsimile Control standard. Other fax modems must supply a NeXT compatible driver. The following are notes by Alan Marcum of NeXT Tech Support concerning the Class 2 modem driver: --- Note that there's a small bug in 2.0 (fixed in 2.1): a symbolic link is missing for the file Class2_Fax_Modem_Driver in /usr/lib/NextPrinter. The simple fix: create the link; it should reference Interfax_Fax_Modem_Driver, also in the /usr/lib/NextPrinter directory. An alternative workaround for Class 2, especially useful for novices: just use InterFax as the modem type in PrintManager, rather than Class 2*. Additionally Alan tells us: - After installing a fax modem using PrintManager one must repeat setting things in the Fax Options panel in order for them to be stored correctly. In particular, these include the Rings to Answer and Number of Times to Retry. This affects all fax modems being installed. - If one uses illegal characters in the Modems Number field in the Fax Options when configuring an InterFax modem then the modem will not answer the phone. Legal characters are digits, spaces, and plus signs (+). This does not affect the Dove modem. (*)Note that the Class 2 is not yet approved; it is still out for ballot, after having failed in an October 1990 round. The Abaton InterFax 24/96 NX driver supports Class 2 as it was in that draft; there are expected to be very few changes prior to approval. P5. How may I attach more than two serial ports to the NeXT? Unitnet has a device that will connect to the scsi bus. For more information email sales@cpd.com or call 714 546 1100 Jacob Gore adds: Also, one can use an IP terminal server. In a non-Internet environment, inexpensive terminal servers, which don't control access to the network securely, can be used. If your network is an Internet subnet, you must use a terminal server that controls either: (1) who can log into the terminal server, or (2) which machines the terminal server will access. These tend to be more expensive (around $250/port, but in 8-port increments), but it may be quite economical means of sharing ports among many NeXTs (or other computers) on the network. Eric P. Scott adds: Particularly if one has a NeXT network, an Ethernet terminal server may be the way to go. One that supports Linemode Telnet (such as the Xylogics Annex III) will offer the best performance. P6. What is the best and/or cheapest way to connect a NeXT to a thick Ethernet? There are many possible solutions. For example, here are two: A) The University of Waterloo [Audio Research Group] uses an old door-stop PC XT clone with two Western Digital cards (WD8003E Ethercard Plus, $250 CDN each; you should be able to get them for under $200 (US$)) running Vance Morrison's PCRoute (available from accuvax.nwu.edu). You will also need a thickwire transceiver and a drop cable (about $300). In addition, you will need Internet addresses for the NeXT and both PC Ethernet cards (and a subnet address). The documentation for PCRoute contains quite a bit of information on the performance of this setup. This solution requires two subnets. There is another program called PCbridge that allows the machines on the thin and thick wires to be part of the same subnet. This product also does packet filtering, so that packets destined to machines on the same side of the net do not cross over. B) Cabletron sells a MR-2000C Singleport Repeater for $695 that does exactly what you need minus drop cable and transceiver. Their number is (408) 441-9900. P7. How can I connect my NeXT to the telephone line and use it like an answering Machine? There is one company that is selling both hardware and software to allow you to do this: Software Engineering Solutions, 11160 Jollyville Road, Austin, Texas 78759 (512)343-2828, mbrown@math.utexas.edu Pricing has been set at $695.00. P8. What color monitors can I use with the Color NeXT machines? Sony GDM-1601 were demonstrated with the NeXT color products. NeXT is not shipping these monitors. Sony no longer makes them, however there is a replacement GDM-1606 which has a long lead time on delivery [2-3 week delivery on a sample point of one monitor:-)] It does require alignment to adjust for the different scan rate... The important specs for the color monitor are: Horz Scan Rate: 61 KHz Vertical Scan Rate: 68 Hz NON-INTERLACED P9. Where can I get 13W3 to BNC adapters to connect third party color monitors? NuData in New Jersey carries 13W3 female to 4 BNC male connectors. 908-842-5757, the price is about $100 call for details. Utilities --------- T1. Where can I obtain the most recent version of Kermit? The source for the latest version is available via ftp from watsun.cc.columbia.edu in the directory named kermit/sw. Get the file ckaaaa.hlp to get started and see what files are required. Note that this version of Kermit does have a NeXT specific compile option. A binary only version is available via ftp from cs.orst.edu as kermit5a.165.bin20.tar.Z, source is kermit5a.165.tar.Z T2. Where can I obtain a NeXT version of SLIP or PPP? There is no publically available version of SLIP or PPP for the NeXT; however, versions are under development by several sources. For example, Marble Associates has announced plans to produce a commercial version of SLIP for the NeXT. For more information send mail to slip@marble.com. T3. Where can I obtain a version of Larry Wall's patch for the NeXT? A patch binary that will run on 1.x and 2.x systems is available from sutro.sfsu.edu [130.212.15.230] as pub/patch.Z T4. Where can I get a NeXTstep netnews reader? By far the most versitile newsreader for the NeXT is NeXTgrazer by Jayson Adams of NeXT. It is on the archive servers and is extremely useful for coping with volume of news we are faced with. T5. Where can I get plotting software? nxyplot by Tom Pulliam is available from cs.orst.edu graph is availble in source form from 4.3BSD systems. It is useful for dealing with pairs of numbers that need to be viewed. psplot comes with the NeXT, it takes the output of the graph program and generates a .ps file that can be previewed with Preview or Yap. gnuplot is availabel from prep.ai.mit.edu jsplot clone of graph that generates ps files directly. plplot is a library of c routines that generate 2D, 3D and contour plots. It is available on purdue archive, plplot.tar.Z contains the source, and NXplplot.tar.Z contains the library, example programs and documentation. Mathematica The ReadList command will bring in files containing sample values and produces a plot on the fly. T6. Where can I get objective-c mode for emacs? You can get ObjC mode for Emacs, by Douglas Worthington and Kenneth Persson from cs.orst.edu Compatibility ------------- C1. Where can I obtain a NeXT version of X-Windows? There is a X11R3 version named XNeXT developed by MIT. This version is available in binary only, works only on monochrome machines and does not work under Release 2.0 of the NeXT OS. XNeXT is a 1-bit black and white server. XNeXT is available from most ftp sites that have NeXT software. McGill University (der Mouse) has produced a beta version of an X11R4 server named mouse-X available via ftp from 132.206.1.1. cd to X/XNeXT and fetch one of the files with names beginning with "distribution". This version only uses NeXTstep for keyboard and mouse events. This version will only work with monochrome NeXT machines, it will not work with color products. This version initially did not work under 2.0, however Howie Kaye fixed it to work again, diffs will be incorporated soon on the McGill server sources. In the meantime you can get binaries off of cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (11.5Mbytes) in the Xnext directory. A color server is available from:mfriedel@Mines.Colorado.EDU or mfriedel@basalt.Mines.Colorado.EDU it should work on color NeXTstations. ***MODIFIED*** (new address for color Mouse-X) Pencom Software of Austin, TX is distributing an X11R4 server called "co-Xist". It is a monochrome two-bit server which is displayed inside a NeXTstep window. This server will work with 2.0 and higher, and will run on all of NeXT's current hardware platforms and display options. A color server is in the works. Cost for server $249/commercial $149/educational, motif $100, digital librarian documentation $50. Contact Pam O'Neal at pensoft!pam@cs.utexas.edu. Pencom will accept orders for their product now. MIT maintains a ftp server for X distribution: export.lcs.mit.edu It currently does not have any NeXT specific servers. If you compile software make sure the libraries are install in the ld path, and that you use the X provided C pre-processor. C2. Can I run DOS software on the NeXT? Yes, there is a product called Soft-PC that has been announced for the NeXT and publicly demonstrated on the NeXT. Contact Insignia Solutions Inc 408-522-7600 In addition NeXT machines equipped with 2.88Mbyte floppy drives are able to read and write DOS diskettes (3-1/2" variety!) at 1.44MB or 720Kb in addition to having UNIX filesystems. Consult the User Manual on initializing disk for DOS or Unix applications. C3. Can I run Macintosh Programs on my NeXT? No. However, there is a third party company working on reading and writing of Mac diskettes. C4. Can I run tcsh or bash on my NeXT? If you are simply looking for emacs-like command editing you can do this with the csh distributed by NeXT by typing: set editmode=emacs or set editmode=vi Note that file completion will conflict with vi's use of esc to leave insert mode, so you may want to map file completion to tab by adding the following to your ~/.bindings: bind-to-key FilenameExpansion "\^I" In addition it is possible to bind control keys to commands with a .bindings file. Users should seek the csh(1) man page for more information. ***MODIFIED*** current bash is 1.08 and makes cleanly on NeXT People have ported tcsh and bash to the NeXT. bash is available from prep.ai.mit.edu, the current version 1.08 makes correctly on the NeXT. tcsh binaries for all kinds of machines are available on tesla.ee.cornell.edu , including binaries for NeXT. If you install your own shell on a NeXT, you need to add it to the file /etc/shells so that FTP will work. C5. Can sound files be used on the Suns and NeXT interchangeably? Sun OS 4.0.3 stored only raw mulaw files without any extensions, this format is obsolete, however to convert it to a NeXT snd format you can: sndconvert -o nextified.snd -f 1 -s 8012.8210513 -c 1 -r sun-sound Starting with Sun OS release 4.1 they adopted a file format like NeXT's: A comparison of <multimedia/audio_filehdr.h> on the Sun and <sound/soundstruct.h> on the NeXT shows the formats to be compatible-- just rename *.au to *.snd for the NeXT. Sun only implements a subset of NeXT's sound file formats. Currently these seven are interchangeable: SND_FORMAT_MULAW_8 SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_8 SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_16 SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_24 SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_32 SND_FORMAT_FLOAT SND_FORMAT_DOUBLE While they are all _meaningful_ to the Sun, the standard SPARCstation hardware only directly supports 8-bit mu-Law at the CODEC sampling rate. If you have raw soundfiles (e.g. from SunOS 4.0.3 systems, or converted from the Macintosh), you can use raw2audio on the Sun or sndconvert -r on the NeXT to add a sound header. Languages --------- L1. What Fortrans compilers are available for the NeXT? There is a fortran to c translator called f2c available via anonymous ftp from research.att.com in dist/f2c There is a guide to installing and using it on sonata.cc.purdue.edu in pub/next/FAQ/how-to-install-f2c L2. What Lisps are there for the NeXT? - Scheme is available from altdorf.ai.mit.edu. A quick tutorial on how to install it on the NeXTs is in the works. - Xlisp is available from bikini.cis.ufl.edu. To make it work on the NeXT changes in unixstuf.c : #define BSD in function init_tty: declare extern char xltoplevel() in function read_keybd: change char buf[1] to char buf[100] change sizeof(buf) to sizeof(char) L3. What Pascal compilers are available for the NeXT? There is a pascal to c translator called p2c available via anonymous ftp from sonata.cc.purdue.edu pub/next/2.0-release/source/p2c.tar.Z L4. What should I know about c++ shipped with the NeXT? cc++ shipped with the NeXT 2.0 is actually: NeXT Release 2.0 (v31.1) -- GNU version 1.36.4 (based on GCC 1.36) libg++ is not provided, you need to compile it (GNU software is available from prep.ai.mit.edu). Two things to note about the cc++ on NeXT. Any C include files have to be specified as below: extern "C" { #include <libc.h> #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <math.h> } This tells that the code is C++, so you won't have problems with the standard libraries thinking your program is Objective C. Also the /usr/include/stdio.h in line 75 has a variable "new" that conflicts with a g++ keyword. You can redefine it using #define new __new__ #include "stdio.h" #undef new After the above two fixes, g++ programs that do not use the g++ class library (and therefore do not need libg++ to be available) work. Pascal Chesnais lacsap@media.mit.edu John Garnett garnett@cs.utexas.edu Erik Kay erikkay@athena.mit.edu Copyright 1991 Massachusetts Institute of Technology This compilation is meant primarily as a service to the comp.sys.next community. Newsletter editors wishing to excerpt from this work for publication should consider using local electronic bulletin boards to disseminate this information rather than preparing hardcopies. This allows for readers to access the most recent information, and perhaps save a couple of trees.
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Marcel Waldvogel and Netfuture.ch.