All,
The perfect computer for a child?
A NeXT Station, complete with Developer software if you can get it.
NeXTStep Version 3.3 is fine (minor Y2K fixes needed), Openstep 4.2 would
be better. A monochrome slab, 16M RAM/400M Disk ought to be about $200
(Hmm... <surf, surf> Deepspace Technologies
(
http://www.deepspacetech.com/)is selling them for $135, but no Developer
software).
There are Spreadsheets, Word Processors, Web Browsers, and
Presentation Packages available for it for *free* (download from a web
site, no-cost license for single users). The Development environment runs
Objective-C, a completely OO system which is carried right through the
entire operating system. Regular C supported too (but I don't think C++ or
Pascal.)
The experience starts with an easy, gui interface and progresses
easily right up to Mach UNIX. Networking is built-in ethernet, with GUI
configuration tools (work great with other NeXTs) and Unix command-line
accessibility if you want more complicated stuff.
Mathematica will run on it, though that costs a *lot* unless you
are lucky enough to get it included on your machine. There's also a fair
amount of music software as well, which I can't really comment on because I
don't know much about it.
It's big, rugged (well, the mouse cable and kb cable are a bit
vulnerable) and impressive.
Best of all, there are not very many games that run on it. :-)
- Mark
Received on Wed Jan 13 1999 - 15:32:24 GMT