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Newton OS (1993): http://www.unna.org/unna/apple... (page 589)

Sherlock on MacOS may even predate that, though.

If anyone pays attention to pen-based UI design, it would be Apple. Take a look at the Newton HIGs some time. They're absurdly detailed and offer in-depth reasoning for the majority of the decisions.

And then Microsoft goes and throws all of that research away when they make Windows Mobile. The single most fundamental point that Apple's people made was that controls should be at the bottom so that the user's hand doesn't need to cover the screen to get to them. Where does Microsoft put the single most used control in the entire interface? The upper-left, such that a right-handed user's hand will cover the entire screen when hitting it. Literally the worst place to put it. The only way to get it more wrong would be to make it hop around the screen.

It's like they took all of the good things from Windows and made them bad, then took all of the bad things and made them worse.

see Newton Newbie Guide.

• A Bluetooth Stack/driver: http://www.40hz.org/Blunt/
• a 802.11b Wi-Fi driver: http://www.ff.iij4u.or.jp/~ngc/eng/newtwave.htm
• an ATA Flash Card driver: http://www.kallisys.com/newton/ata/

How to get a Newton connected to a Linux machine.
http://newtonlink.sourceforge.net/Newton_and_Linux -mini-HOWTO.html


How to get a Newton connected to a Windows machine.
http://www.chuma.org/newton/ncage/
http://www.mug.jhmi.edu/mirrors/InfoAlley/0696/25/ newton.html
http://www.panix.com/~clay/newton/query.cgi?commun ications+comm_software
http://mirrors.unna.org/ftp.bitcon.no/pub/pdacentr al/newton/newtwindows_license.html

Hope some of this helps.

Can your friend write at all, or is that a no go as well?

Newtons sold here. Speech extensions here.

Bet you thought you were kidding.

The emate has a tendancy to eat its display/digitizer cable - but you can easily fix it: Here Or here

I'm not too sure where it's avalible anymore, you can try some of the NCU* files at apple's old mirror site. Or take a look around at UNNA.org.

He must be joking, the Newton is over 5 years old. but if anyone is interested in the Newton, check out www.unna.org, a large repository of stuff related to this near-ancient PDA.

First off, the handwriting recognition is fabulous. And the assistant is just too cool for words. Write "lunch next Wednesday with Connie" and it'll ask you to pick which Connie is in your address book if there's more than one, then schedule an appointment next Wednesday from noon to 1pm with her. Make a long to-do list of things like "Call Jim". As you're going through your list ticking things off, highlight "Call Jim" and activate the Assistant, which will ask which Jim you want to call from your address book and dial the number through the built-in speaker or PCMCIA modem card, then pull up a call log app with call timer and notepad. Speech synthesis. Audio recording and playback. I've got my Newt MP2100 synced to OS X's iCal and Address Book already. (My wife has her's synced to Outlook at work.) I can connect it into any network (via ethernet or WiFi) and print directly to any networked printer, surf the net, or send an email. I can swap the network card for a modem card and fax or dial in to an ISP. The only problem with the Newton is its size: too big when you're not using it but just right when you are. I have a Palm Vx that I carry with me so I have quick access to phone numbers and (most importantly) my checkbook. But if it wasn't for the checkbook software, I would have ditched the Palm completely in favor of the Newt.

If anyone out there is looking for the best in PDAs, look into getting a MP2100 off eBay... they're only about $100. Once you add a WiFi card, ethernet card, modem card, large-capacity storage card, and a couple pieces of shareware, you'll spend about $250 total, and you'll never regret it. Matter of fact, you'll be wondering why the Newt -- which the last model, the MessagePad 2100, came out in 1997 -- can do so many things that Palms and PocketPCs can't, even today.

FWIW the Newton community is very active and passionate, and there's a lot of support for OS X and iApps, as well as loads of software. Oh, and if you want developer tools, there's plenty to pick from.

True, it's not easy being green. But after using both a Palm Vx and a Newton MessagePad 2100, while it's a bigger thing to cary around, there's no comparison... the Newton rocks.

Check out the ads for the Newton here

And for real inside guff on Newton and Sculley.... here

Yeah - a bit off topic I know - but interesting... this is an alternative vision of the direction that Apple under Sculley was heading in - I think Jobs has a better strategy. I'm surprised that Sony hasn't tried to buy Apple before now.

Pixar = movies, Universal = Music, iPod = Hardware, OS X = OS .... looks like the picture is pretty much complete....

The Apple Newton is, in my opinion, a great example of technology living beyond its expected lifetime and abilities:

There's a very strong and active user community, plenty of help, and gobs of software. An incredibile amount of work has been poured into the device with addons like wireless networking, CompactFlash ATA support, Shoutcast and MP3 playing, web serving, and desktop synching. All this adds to the Newton's built in PIM, notetaking, and email support.

I use my Newton for a telnet client, guitar tuner, notepad/to-do lister, and MP3 player.

The first usable Newton was put out in 1996 and the most powerful and expandable Newton was released middle of 97. The thing's lived a long life and looks like its gonna keep on chugging for a long time more, expecially since they can be found for just over $100 on eBay and the continued support of the Newton community. I know I won't ever ditch it.

From the United Newton Network Archives:

Can I use my Newton as a Web Server?

Yes, there is software called Newton Personal Data Sharing (NPDS) that does that.

You can also use a NotesWeb by T. Kuwabara

Check this out: http://www.tow.com/photogallery/20010629_newton_we b_server/