NeXTSTEP (also written NeXTstep, NeXTStep, and NEXTSTEP) was the object-oriented, multitasking operating system developed by NeXT Computer to run on its range of proprietary workstation computers, such as the NeXTcube. It was later ported to several other computer architectures.

A preview release of NeXTSTEP (version 0.8) was shown at the launch of the NeXT Computer on October 12, 1988. The first full release, NeXTSTEP 1.0, shipped on September 18, 1989. The last version, 3.3, was released in early 1995, by which time it ran not only on the Motorola 68000 family processors used in NeXT computers, but also Intel x86, Sun SPARC, and HP PA-RISC-based systems.

NeXTSTEP was later modified to separate the underlying operating system from the higher-level object libraries. The result was OpenStep API, which ran on multiple underlying operating systems, including NeXT's own OPENSTEP. Apple's OS X and iOS are direct descendants of NeXTSTEP, through the OPENSTEP lineage.

NeXTSTEP was a combination of several parts:

Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (/ˈdʒɒbz/; February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, designer and inventor. He is best known as the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Through Apple, he was widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution and for his influential career in the computer and consumer electronics fields. Jobs also co-founded and served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, when Disney acquired Pixar.

In the late 1970s, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak engineered one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Apple Lisa and, one year later, the Macintosh. During this period he also led efforts that would begin the desktop publishing revolution, notably through the introduction of the LaserWriter and the associated PageMaker software.

Logan Phillip Henderson (born September 14, 1989) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his starring role as Logan Mitchell on the Nickelodeon series, Big Time Rush, as well as being a member of the Big Time Rush band itself. He, along with the band, have won and been nominated for multiple awards over the past few years.

Henderson was born and raised in North Richland Hills, Texas. He had a small role as a bully on the television program Friday Night Lights before moving to California at the age of 18, to pursue his acting career. Henderson's breakthrough role was Big Time Rush. He plays Logan Mitchell, the person who is always getting the group out of trouble. Henderson and the rest of Big Time Rush made an appearance at the 2010 and 2012 Kids' Choice Awards; and performed at the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards, too. He also appeared in an episode of BrainSurge during the week of April 18–22, 2011.

Henderson signed with Sony Music Entertainment and Columbia Records as a part of Big Time Rush in 2009. After releasing four promotional singles including "Big Time Rush", "City Is Ours", "Halfway There", and "Til I Forget About You" the group released their debut album, B.T.R. on October 11, 2010. Henderson co-wrote on the song "Oh Yeah" off of B.T.R.. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, and at #1 on the iTunes digital albums list. It was later certified Gold in the U.S. and Mexico. They released their second album, Elevate, on November 21, 2011. Henderson co-wrote "Time of Our Life" with Nicholas "Ras" Furlong. In addition, Henderson was able to co-write three songs off Elevate including "Music Sounds Better With U", "Love Me Love Me " and "Superstar".

Kendall Francis Schmidt (born November 2, 1990) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He is best known for playing Kendall Knight in Big Time Rush and has played small roles on several TV shows such as ER, Without a Trace, Phil of the Future, Ghost Whisperer, and Frasier.

Schmidt was born in Wichita, Kansas to Kent and Kathy Schmidt and raised in Andover, Kansas. He is the youngest of three boys. His two older brothers are Kevin Schmidt, an actor, and Kenneth, an entertainment lawyer. Schmidt began acting because his brothers wanted to act. His family moved to California, and Schmidt began acting at the age of ten and started singing at the age of three. Kendall has three tattoos. He got the two on his back when he was 18 years old. He recently got a new tattoo in the shape of a heart on his left shoulder. He is also Roman Catholic.

Schmidt began his acting career at age five, appearing in a Chex television commercial. When he was nine years old, he was one of two young actors who were hired to be Haley Joel Osment's stand-in and body double (they shared the same agent) in the Stephen Spielberg film, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He celebrated his birthday on the set, and Spielberg and the cast surprised him with a birthday cake decorated with Star Wars figures. Schmidt also appeared in Ghost Whisperer, Phil of the Future, ER, and Frasier. In 2009, Schmidt was cast as the fourth and final co-lead of the TV show Big Time Rush. Schmidt portrays Kendall Knight, the calm and relaxed leader of Big Time Rush.