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NeXT-FAQ.upgrades:  Questions about Upgrades


*** Subject: U1. What comes with the NeXTcube 68040-25 MHz upgrade?

A disposable anti-static bracelet, installation guide, new OD cable, OD
filter (*very* important), 68040-25 MHz board, a SIMM extractor tool, Fed-Ex
return slip, and registration card.  

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*** Subject: U2. What comes with the 1.0 -> 2.n software upgrade?

The 2.0 upgrade comes with an optical disk with 2.0 extended, a bunch of
manuals, and keyboard tilt feet.

There is are registration cards to get Mathematica 2.0 and Sybase for
educational users.

The 68040-25MHz upgrade requires the NeXTstep 2.0 upgrade.

NeXT is now shipping "direct" 1.0->2.1 upgrades on OD as #N5507.  

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*** Subject: U3. What has happened in release 2.0 with the versions of Franz  
Allegro Common Lisp, the Sybase SQL Server, and Mathematica that were  
distributed with NeXTstep 1.0? 

These products are no longer bundled with the NeXTstep. Owners of old NeXT
Computers are, however, entitled to continue using them. 

Allegro Common Lisp: When upgrading from NeXTstep 1.0 to NeXTstep 2.0, the
upgrade program offers the opportunity to save your copy of Common Lisp. You
can do this, and it will still run on the 68030 NeXt Computer except that the
Foreign Function Interface no longer works. The hardware upgrade from the
68030 to the 68040-25 MHz, however, breaks this version of Common Lisp
completely and it will no longer run. With the NeXTstep 2.0 upgrade, there is a
postcard to return to NeXT requesting an updated version of Common Lisp which
(when released) will run on the 68040 under 2.0. Future enhancements to
Allegro Common Lisp (including the soon-to-be-released version with CLOS
support) will only be available directly from Franz Inc. Owners of old NeXT
Computers can obtain upgrade service as "maintenance/support" at a lower
cost than buying a new Allegro Common Lisp license (which is what owners of new
cubes and slabs must get). Contact Franz Inc. for details and prices. 

Sybase: The release 1.0 Sybase SQL Server is completely broken by release 2.0,
and the upgrade program will delete this from your disk (without asking
permission) in the course of upgrading. Release 2.0 contains an SQL client,
which can be used to connect to SQL servers on your network (perhaps older NeXT
Computers still running NeXTstep 1.0, for example). A new SQL server (with
some modified features) will be sent to owners of old cubes who request it by
means of the same postcard that gets you a new version of Common Lisp.

Mathematica: The upgrade program offers you the opportunity to save your old
version of this, and the old version still runs under 2.0 (on both 68030 and
68040 hardware). Sending in the postcard referred to above from the NeXTstep
2.0 upgrade kit will get you a new version of Mathematica, too. This version
will be available free to academic users with new cubes and slabs as well.

All of the upgraded programs referred to above will be provided on NeXT
floppies, not OD's. You will need either to buy an external floppy drive or to
have someone else transfer them from floppy to OD in order to make use of them. 
These upgrades are shipping.  

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*** Subject: U4. How do I get NeXTstep 2.1?

People running NeXTstep 2.0 can order an upgrade distribution from NeXT.  The
2.1 distribution does not include a 2.0->2.1 upgrade application.

NeXTstep 2.1 Upgrade kit is part #n7022 on floppies costs $50 call the NeXT 800
number for it.   

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*** Subject: U5. What does NeXTstep 2.2 offer?

Hardware support for the Turbo machines.  There are no software upgrades, and
no reason to upgrade a non-Turbo machine to this release.  In fact, there are
reasons not to upgrade a non-Turbo machine to 2.2. 

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*** Subject: U6. Will a 68030 NeXT Computer run NeXTstep 3.0?

Yes, but note that NeXTstep 3.0 will be optimized for the 68040 CPUs.  NeXTstep
1.0 and 2.x were optimized for the 68030 CPU, 68882 FPU machines.  

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*** Subject: U7. What happens to the OD drive in NeXTcubes under NeXTstep 3.0?

Release 3.0 will work fine with the OD that you have.  You cannot buy release  
3.0
on optical disk (you can only get it on CD-ROM.  Release 3.0 will not require  
that
you drop the optical, but if you want to upgrade to the latest 68040 board (the
33-MHz Turbo), then you lose hardware support for the optical.  There is a
company which plans to offer hardware (extra CPU boards) and software support
solutions for the OD with Turbo NeXTcubes.   

For more information:

	Sam Goldberger
	Spherical Solutions
	smg@sphersys.net.netcom.com
	415-383-7512

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*** Subject: U8.  What equipment do I need to load 3.0?

A CDrom drive and a means of getting an upgrade-prep app onto your disk.  This
means having your own floppy drive,  being on the net, having someone with a
floppy drive put it onto OD, kermitting it over with a serial line... you get  
the
idea.  You do not need a special boot ROM for 3.0. 

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NeXT-FAQ Editor:
Nathan Janette nathan@laplace.csb.yale.edu


--
Nathan Janette		"I'm a NeXTstep man,
Dept MB&B, Yale Univ	 I'm a NeXTcube guy"
New Haven, CT
nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (NeXT)