Classics long overdue a Boot.

[Austin Pass]

> 
> Here's my best story along these lines. I've had a NeXT Cube for quite a while and it sat for some time in my parent's basement while I went off to school and got my adult life together.
> 
> A few years ago, I made a pass through the town where I grew up with a box truck (on the way to Indiana to grab my ROLM CBX) and picked up all the remaining stuff I had in storage there and brought it home with me.
> 
> I connected the monitor, keyboard and mouse and plugged the Cube in. Hit the power button on the keyboard and it powered up and booted right into NeXTstep as if it had just run a few days ago. I think the system must have been sitting idle for almost fifteen years before I got back to it. I even managed to remember the password ;)
> 
> Since then, I've restored pretty much everything I was able to bring back to running condition. I try to fire them all up a few times a year, at a minimum. In general, things have held up pretty well. Drives tend to be the greatest challenge - but can sometimes present the greatest surprises as well :O
> 
> Best,
> 
> Sean
> 

NeXT cubes are amongst the "most coveted" systems I don't currently have in my collection.

Whilst being devoid of value in market terms, I agree that the old data on some of these systems is a real period treasure trove.  Take the Colour Classic in my original post.  It came from a school (since demolished) and has lots of old, crude work on it - seemingly from a Geography department. I actually learned something about glaciers by reading some tonight!!

-Austin.