[  > Yes, I believe ADB is Apple Desktop Bus.
[  >
[  > ADB keyboards and mice work with _some_ NeXTs.  (I don't know whether
[  > they are supported by NetBSD - I know NetBSD supports adb on the mac68k
[  > port, but I don't know about next68k.)
[  >
[  > But some NeXTs don't do ADB, and those require idiosyncratic keyboards
[  > and mice.
[
[  I think that if a NeXT can support ADB is in the hardware, or i
[  am wrong ??

You always need a driver for software to talk to hardware.  The NeXTSTEP OS  
has drivers, of course, for NeXT hardware.  However, NetBSD needs its own  
drivers, and there isn't always enough documentation on the NeXT hardware to  
create all the needed drivers.

You're right about one thing, if the hardware does not support ADB, then you  
won't get anything to work.  But if the hardware does support ADB, you still  
may come up short if the NetBSD drivers don't understand.


[  > finding a cable - I have never seen anything but NeXT hardware use that
[  > connector.  I think I have some spares; if you need one and can't find
[  > any locally, send me a note off-list.
[
[  Well, i think a better and cheaper solution: use DB25 Conectors
[  and broke the pins that the NeXT dont use to fit well in the
[  connector behind the monitor and the case =). I tested it and it
[  seems to fit well (only fits, i haven't done the cable =P).

Cheaper, yet - but certainly not better.  These cables carry video signals,  
and have dedicated, shielded wires inside for RGB.  If you use cheaper wires,  
you'll get a really bad image, or none at all.  Are you talking about the mono  
monitor or the color monitor?  Maybe it would be easier to hand-build a mono  
cable.


[  > > If the keyboard of the apple dont work i will try to use it without
[  > > monitor and use it with a serial console cable to install NetBSD, the
[  > > NeXT BIOS automaticaly opens a consle on the serial ??? or what i
[  > > have to do ?.
[  >
[  > Well, calling it a BIOS is misleading: it implies peecee thought
[  > patterns that match up rather poorly with the reality of the NeXT (and
[  > indeed most other non-peecee machines).
[
[  Yea .. calling it BIOS is wrong, what could be the correct name
[  for it ? ;)

OS = Operating System.  Just because you can't see the GUI doesn't mean the  
full operating system isn't still all there.

BIOS = Basic Input Output System.  This is not an operating system at all, but  
a ROM with subroutines for I/O to disk, screen, keyboard (but not always  
mouse).

The NeXT does not really have a BIOS that is used.  There are ROM routines  
which allow the keyboard to operate, and there are simple screen scrolling  
functions, but these are not used unless you're changing the boot device or  
hardware password.  For NeXT hardware, it's more like a basic open firmware.


[  > In my experience, yes, if you power up the machine without a
[  > monitor/keyboard attached, it will use serial port A at 9600 baud as
[  > the console.  However, this experience is limited to the non-ADB NeXTs;
[  > I don't know about the ADB version.
[
[  And what NeXT's are non-ADB ??

The earlier NeXTs are non-ADB.  That includes 68030 NeXTcube, 68040 NeXTcube,  
NeXTdimension, NeXTstation, and NeXTstation Color.  There were even some very  
early Turbo NeXTcube and Turbo (Color) NeXTstations without ADB.  Eventually,  
though, NeXT was only making Turbo machines with ADB.  I think that all 25 MHz  
machines are non-ADB, and maybe 1% or 2% of Turbo machines are non-ADB.

Brian Willoughby
Sound Consulting