Sponsored by PCBWay: In 1988, Steve Jobs unveiled the NeXT Computer with a bold promise: magneto-optical storage would revolutionize mass storage. Entire operating systems and user data — all on rugged, removable 256 MB disks. It sounded futuristic. But… it didn’t last. Why? In this episode, I take a deep dive into how MO technology actually worked — from lasers and magnetic fields to the harsh reality of boot performance and hardware quirks. And because I don’t own a NeXT Cube, I recreate the experience using a third-party MO drive on a NeXTstation Color — comparing it head-to-head with a mid-1990s Iomega Jaz drive. In this episode: 00:00 Intro 01:33 Retrospective: Magneto-Optical Technology 02:51 How Magneto-Optical Drives Work 04:19 NeXT & MO: Design Flaws and Drawbacks 06:13 Building A NeXTSTEP MO Boot Disk 10:07 Iomega Jaz: Building A NeXTSTEP Bootdisk 10:11 Going Back In Time: Trying NeXTSTEP 2.0 12:13 Conclusion 12:32 NeXT On THE PHINTAGE COLLECTOR 🔔 Subscribe for more retro hardware adventures! Want to join THE PHINTAGE SUPPORTERS or THE PHINTAGE ENTHUSIASTS community and get a mention in an upcoming video? Learn more here: @THEPHINTAGECOLLECTOR/join This video was made possible with support by: THE PHINTAGE ENTHUSIASTS: Alisha Manuela Stutz Christian Zerrahn David Schell Ernesto Leonardo Bertola Waseem al sammane ZyeByteVT THE PHINTAGE SUPPORTERS: Balint Szikszay Brian Repinski CaffeinePizza Cecil Chip Smith Cinemint Music Clank Elinars GrayT! ihartmacz Jack Beckman Jack Rosenthal Luke Granger-Brown Matthew Veety Mlok Karel MS-DOS Manfred nadrazhul Steven Glogger Wobinu Films xcalibur839 Z098 Visit also THE PHINTAGE COLLECTOR website at for insights into my retro computer collection. This presentation, Copyright @ 2025 THE PHINTAGE COLLECTOR, Gianpaolo Del Matto. All rights reserved. Individual Copyrights apply for referenced material (see sources). Music composed by 🎶 Abdallah El-Ghannam @ | 🎶 rootkitty | ℹ️ Sources: NeXT Hardware & Service Docs: Forum Threads & Community Discussions: Byte Magazine, NeXT Review, 1988 MO Drive Technology (How It Works, Reliability, History): NeXT MO Drive Usage, Repair, and History: Booting, Installation & OS Compatibility on NeXT: &