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Emulate Nintendo on Your MessagePad
Green and Geeky writes "That Marvel of a PDA, the Newton MessagePad, has always been a good product. It does a lot of things: plays MP3s, connects to the Internet wirelessly, can be used to bludgeon someone, fits in your pocket (if you're a giant), etc. Now, it plays Nintendo games. Strange, yes, but still pretty cool. I can't play Legend Zelda, Final Fantasy, or Dragon Warrior on my Palm V." And I don't need to waste money on a Game Boy Advance!
Newtendo has hit the big times! However, earthlink just let me know that if I get much more traffic this month, I'm gonna be shut down until next month.
Well, it was nice knowing you.
...install Newton OS on an iPaq?
The iPaq's with ARM chips are basically a Newton with a color screen and more memory. Then we really wouldn't need a GBA.
I smell a cease and desist letter on it's way, $5 bucks says the term DMCA will be used ATLEAST once!
Most Slashdotters are too young to remember the NES
it's not the same without the original gamepad
-- When did Ignorance Become a Point of View?
...of Apple products having a longer life.
I actually quite like the Newton, though I think it was a bit ahead of its time and tried to do too much. It's a cool hack to get it playing Nintendo games, but would you really walk around with a bag to hold the 'pad, to play games on ?
:-) so whatever floats your boat - the phone's easier to carry though :-)
It's useful when allied with a briefcase. I can't see it really as a games platform (on the other hand, my phone plays Doom quite well, (Nokia 9000
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
http://hnsg.net/~cpace/ninendo/ I'm only on a 512 line, but this should hold for a while, lets keep earthlink off his back!
Bored? Why not join a decent mess
Why doesn't Slashdot link to Google cached versions of pages instead of slamming webmasters using little Earthlink accounts with ~10 MB of bandwidth? Oh well. There's the google version.
If you've never actually seen the latest version of Newton handwring recognition in action, take a look here under Newton Usability. "Eat up Martha", my ass. Makes Graffiti look like the kludgy hack it is.
And did you know you can sync your Newton with iTunes wirelessly? Even the latest iPod can't do that.
Apple got everything right with the Newton except the size. What a foolish mistake they made cancelling it as a product instead of redesigning it in a slightly smaller form factor.
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
The're fun. And you can play a lot more than just 3 games on it. I don't know if advance wars works on the the Newton MessagePad, but considering that this is special, it probably doesn't.
Pocket PC and Windows CE devices have been emulating PS1, GBA / GB, NES, Genesis, MAME, and many other consoles for a number of years now. Even PS1 runs incredibly fast due to the coding talent and dedication put in by various developers.
While this may be news for this specific platform and OS, emulating NES is very old hat when it comes to the world of PDAs in general.
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
I used a MP2000 as my primary computer for almost two years. I was "commuting" between the US & UK and used it - along with a Ricochet (R.I.P.) in the US and Nokia cell PCMCIA card in the UK - for browsing, email, telnet (with PT100, killer app!), etc. So I was wireless when mobile, and on Ethernet when at a desk... All pre-802.11. This was circa 1997 BTW.
It was nice to carry virtually all my computing needs in a "daytimer" sized case. People bitch about the Newt's size, but compared to a circa-97 brick of a 7lb laptop? Is was VERY small.
To date the NewtOS was pobably the most elegant OS ever created... and I've run them all. The only thing it didn't do well, at least until now, was gaming. I played a lot of NewTRIS, and I seem to recall a snood, or snood-like game too but Newtgaming was limited to puzzles or very simple action games (like a sub depth-charging thing that I can't recall the name of)
I might have to charge it back up now and play some old NES game. =) Nice to see the Newt still breathing.
Sorry, I have a MP2100 and the famous Simpson's reference was not far from the truth at all. You had to be exceptionally careful with your handwriting, and still often had to correct it. It would misinterpret taps, and it was impossible to correct letters out of order(say, you forgot to cross your t- out of order scribbling got me 90% of the time).
Graffiti is not a "kludgy hack", its a system that is designed to quickly and accurately enter data, which is what a PDA needs; my Handspring was much better for most of the typical PDA usage- entering phone numbers or appointment times. Sure the Newton's natural system is faster for writing large amounts of text(assuming you have perfect handwriting) but people just didn't(and still don't) use PDAs for that sort of thing. They use- gasp- notebooks(and I don't mean the electronic kind)
Please help metamoderate.
I used to play Gameboy games on my visor deluxe, the lack of a color screen is probably all that kept a NES emulator from being developed. My PocketPC emulates NES, SNES, Genesis, MAME supported arcade machines, and probably a few others. I have a rom cart for my GBA that lets me play NES games on their as well. I applaud the author for writing an emulator for such an old platform, but it's nothing to get excited about.
I can't play Legend Zelda, Final Fantasy, or Dragon Warrior on my Palm V.
Um, actually you can. Gambit Studios has had a gameboy emulator out for the palm os for quite some time. Some of the older palms are a little sluggish, but it works.
You must be new.
Welcome to Slashdot.
Around here, people do things just to SEE if they're possible.
Progress isn't guaranteed. Innovation, once it hits the marketplace, is not destined to take root. The Newton was the first PDA platform, and going on six years after its demise, it's still the best. It had, essentially, one deficiency, and that was in its size. This was easily rectifiable, especially with the technology of the day. It's death was the result of ego rather than sound business, and perhaps the largest mistake Jobs made in turning Apple around.
Now, even though we have machines who's hardware is more than equal to the old newton, none have its ease of use, utility or ease of development enjoyed by the Newton. It's utility as an everyday computer in the modern age is a testament to Apple's software engineers, who Got It Right the first time out, and a condemnation of Palm, Microsoft, Symbian and Sharp, who still can't approach it so many years after its demise.
SoupIsGood Food
Here you go. PalmOS up to version 5.x is basically the equivalent of MacOS 6 before the Multi-Finder. It's no accident...the people who wrote the PalmOS were former MacOS developers. A Palm, to me, feels like a Compact Mac shrunk down to a handheld size and weight.
Now if only I could make my m125 chime when I turn it on and make the generic Mac system beep when it encounters an error...
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
The Apple Newton was discontinued in 1998.
h tm
p hp?products_id=29
The Newton browses the internet wirelessly via Airport (a.k.a. Wi-Fi or 802.11);
http://www.ff.iij4u.or.jp/~ngc/eng/newtwave.htm
syncs with nSync (OS X)
http://www.everchanging.com/newton/
syncs your MP3 collection with iTunes
http://www.pixell.net/newton/
runs a Java Virtual Machine (waba)
http://cs.gmu.edu/~sean/projects/newton/waba/
there's been a VNC client since... ever
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/saweyer/newton/vnc.
A processor accelerator is available
http://shop.pixsolution.com/catalog/product_info.
Apple was one of the original investors in the ARM technology, from way back before Intel ever dreamt of buying it. The Newton runs a RISC StrongARM at 162 Mhz (compare to a 2003/Tungsten T2 running OMAP/ARM at 140 Mhz !!!)
If anything, the major weakness of the system is its limited memory heap, but we are talking about a 1997 design here.
Can you say... Apple ahead of its time?
The next pasture is always greener
For me personally the best Pocket PC emulator is Pocket Nester. It runs nintendo games at full speed with perfect sound on my toshiba e350. Nintendo games are optimal because they are easy to find on kazaa (and I don't feel bad downloading them because back in the day I used to own almost everyone that came out) and they don't take up much space. Nothing like playing Dragon Warrior 4 in class.
Open Source Sushi
Now if only these brilliant hackers can get the handwriting recognition to work! Then I'll be impressed!
I hate spyware and spies
If you want to emulate nintendo games, there are native emulators for the iPaq and other PocketPC platforms. Just check out pocketNES for example. It runs at full speed, no frame skip, and even COLOR, something that the newton does not have.
So why'd they discontinue it?
...I swear this thing has the most loyal cult following ever. For a product that didn't sell well (or as well as it should have), I'm still amazed that people are still modding these things up. Great works folks!
-Valiss
I've been there several times myself over the past few months. The first time, it had the right region of the right country. I told it where I was, and every time after that it was perfect. I was using different computers on a dhcp network. I just tried it from an entiery different network, and it got the country right. I can try it out to prove it to you, but believe me: If I set the city name now, it'll be correct from now on, not just for me, but for everyone else on my local sever, if not better. It's a good site.
And I don't need to waste money on a Game Boy Advance!
Well you kinda sorta do - those Gameboy Advance cartridges tend only to fit into Gameboy Advances.
Sunday you're Thinking Different, Monday you're a huge tool, paying too much and waiting to think like everyone else.
Actually, doing things just to see if they're possible is kind of a geek thing to do in a general sense. And of course, this is the place that advertizes itself as "News for Nerds, Stuff that matters." So it kind of makes sense, doesn't it?
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
If you buy a GBA with the intention of playing NES games on it, you are wasting money (and probably need to be smacked in the head). I'd say it's still a good deal if you want to play GBA games, though. ;-)
Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
No NES on Palm?
BOO! - NES, SMS, GG and Turbografx16 - sure it's for PalmOS 5.x so it won't actually work on a Palm V... And it's not OSS.
But there was an OSS GB emulator for PalmOS 4 if i remember right.
Gamers Europe - Gaming News. Reviews.
I bought a GBA with the intention of playing NES games on it. Of course, I also intended to play GBA games on it.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
I want to play Xbox games @ my Palm m100. Would it be possible? =)
Hi:
I'm thinking of getting a PDA but have been spooked by the Palm decision to drop OSX syncing.
I already bring a Secure Digital stick with files to and from work every day (XP at the office and OSX at home) and so reading stored e-mails on the bus would be great, as would listening to AAC audio.
I can afford to wait a few months, but any suggestions would be appreciated.
...And I don't need to waste money on a Game Boy Advance!
So instead I'll waste money on a PDA to play copied games.. oh wait.
And also there's a shitload of emulators for the GBA. Want to play a gameboy game without buying it?? Buy a flash cart and load it up with 50 gameboy roms and the emulator Goomba. Or you can play PC Engine games (aka TG16) using PCEAdvance.
There's Sega, Nintendo, and somebody has already showcased how they managed to get the Gameboy to play SNES games by creating an alpha version of a SNES Emulator for the GBA ( http://pocketsnes.pocketheaven.com ). Also a Colecovision emulator is on the horizon of being released. So, definetly, the GBA scene is hot.
You wouldn't beleive the looks I get when I pull it out in public (my newton) but I still love it, and the NES emulator makes it so I can waste even more time in class.
I have been following the NES emulator and have been using it since version 0.12. Right now several people are working on getting a NES controler working on the newton so we can play with a contoler.
I wonder how many people are going to be storming the J&K Sales store to buy a newton now...
"I can't play Legend Zelda, Final Fantasy, or Dragon Warrior on my Palm V."
A quick google-search for palm nintendo emulator turns up this as the first result...
What apple needs to do is bring the newton back. It was way ahead of its time ( well, and expensive ) but now the public has caught up.. The time is right for the return of the only true PDA ever.. ( bastardized versions of windows or the clunky 'palm-OS' don't really count.. )
---- Booth was a patriot ----
While some may want a mini-newt.. Most of us that have used netwtons, miss the size in the smaller 'modern' pda's.
Such tiny modern screens make it pain in the butt to use. Sure it fits in a shirt pocket ( though the newt fits in a SUIT pocket.. its inital target market ) but still...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
And I don't need to waste money on a Game Boy Advance!
Or on a Palm V! I have a spiral notepad and a pencil stuck through the wire. The nub on the end of the wooden stylus acts as a special deleting function, and text is automatically saved into the new-age graphite-wood memory system. Guaranteed never to crash.
thehomeland(.org)
someone thinks this is not off-topic?
You don't want to waste your money on a GameBoy because you already wasted it on the Palm V.
Be careful what you wish for. I give Nintendo full props for inventing or popularizing the gamepad, but better designs now exist. The original NES gamepads were so square they hurt your hands after no more than a few hours of gameplay.
The Genesis pads were quite nice. I never did get the hang of the Playstation pads with their plethora of equally sized buttons, although they are pretty comfortable and they did come up with the dual analog stick paradigm. The N64 pads would have been nice if they didn't have two different left hand positions, and the DreamCast controllers were innovative but uncomfortable. The XBox controllers are OK, but the best gamepad is the one that comes with the GameCube. It has two analog sticks and a d-pad, differently sized buttons, and it just feels right in your hand.
There are some PC gamepads that don't suck as well. I am pretty happy with my WingMan RumblePad. Dual analog sticks + 6 right-thumb buttons = Robotron + Street Fighter with the same pad!
I've heard this before, and it just doesn't ring true for me. Graffiti requires you to be much more "exceptionally careful" with your handwriting. If you can make Graffiti work for you, you can certainly make the Newt's much more flexible handwriting recognition engine work with much less effort.
I think it's a conceptual problem, really. The Newton attempted to recognize all handwriting, and thus many users blamed the Newton when it couldn't decipher their illegible script. It was Apple's fault, not theirs.
But the Palms didn't even pretend that they'd recognize your handwriting. They simply forced users to learn a new way to write. If Graffiti failed to recognize what you wrote, well, then you must not be doing it right. So people blamed themselves instead of the device.
my Handspring was much better for most of the typical PDA usage- entering phone numbers or appointment times
I think entering phone numbers and appointment times became "typical PDA usage" because that's all you could conveniently do with Graffiti. That's my experience anyway, YMMV.
Sure the Newton's natural system is faster for writing large amounts of text(assuming you have perfect handwriting) but people just didn't(and still don't) use PDAs for that sort of thing.
I'd say that there's an amount of text between the size of a phone number and a "large amount of text" which is what the Newton was really designed for. Short notes, quick e-mails, reminders, that sort of thing. And lots of people have been very successful using it for just that.
Again, whatever works for you, works for you. But I personally really liked what the Newton did, and would've loved to see what a 2004 Newton OS and handheld would be like.
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
Can't find the 'on' button though.
thats why palm cobalt (aka palm os 6) is not mac friendly.
If you want gaming on the go buy a Pocket PC, it emulates games at full speed with sound, even super nintendo games work...if you want to play strategy games or rpg. However, one word of warning, the controls on a pocket pc are terrible, definitely not designed for gaming at all and playing any action game is like playing it on hard. I thought I could be content gaming on the go with a pocket PC, I was wrong...GBA SP is by far the coolest game gadget, nothing else compares. Play Advance Wars, that game is aboslutely brilliant when traveling.
"Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Warrior were all NES games. A Game Boy emulator does nothing to help you play those."
Nothing could be further from the truth. Nintendo made Final Fantasy Adventure, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Legend 2, Final Fantasy Legend 3, Legend of Zelda, Dragon Warrior I & II, and Dragon Warrior III all for the Gameboy & Gameboy Color.
So yes, actually you can play Legend of Zelda, 4 Final Fantasy games and 3 Dragon Warrior games on your Palm. However, having played Final Fantasy III on a m515 clocked at 45mhz I can tell you it's still no were near as fast as a real Gameboy and the sound sucks, so I recommend a PocketPC @ 200mhz or better running Morphgear for real GB framerates with good sound.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
"And I don't need to waste money on a Game Boy Advance!"
*sigh* Yeah, it's such a waste of money what with two original Metroid Games, Golden Sun, FFT Advance and all... Not to mention all the ports of SNES games. I'd just as soon play NES games in black & white on my Newton. Seriously... It's not like a GBA is *that* expensive. Especially when you consider that most of its games retail at $30 or below.
Now, don't get me wrong, I think being able to play NES games on a Newton is cool, but comparing it to a GBA seems rather ridiculous.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. --Will
Round here people are exceptionally up themselves.
I'm sorry, waste money on a GBA? The GBA is worth every penny you spend on it. It's practically a portable SNES, one of the best systems ever created.
Well aren't you mister clever.
There were two deficiencies: Size and synchronization.
Part of what made the Palm succeed was size, but just as much the one-button-sync to your desktop applications.
As usual, Apple ignored the Windows user, believed that the Newton was a computing platform all of its own and provided an exceptionally weak sync solution. If I remember right, there was no straighforward way to link your calendar on Win. Outlink and one other solution came along later, but it was too little, too late. That stuff needed to be in the box.
Size was an issue with day-to-day carrying, but from a business standpoint where you have a briefcase anyhow, it wasn't. The larger screen is what made the Newton versatile. I cannot enter lots of text into a PocketPC with transcriber or Calligrapher because you just run out of space. It's like tyring to write on a playing card.
To date, no PDA has risen to the usability level of the Newton. We all talk about "intuitive" and Apple really created an intuitive device. Show me a PDA where I can drag-n-drop text for copy/paste, or scrub text to erase it ( and see a Poof! animation to boot) and then we'll talk.
Sorry, but the parent post is just silly dumb. All you need to know is that Newton will allow you to write complete cursive sentences while translating them to typed text on the fly. The fact that this joker can't tweak his handwriting to make the interpreter more effective is entirely PEBKAC.
As you appear to be incapable of reading, let me point something out to you.
Final Fantasy Adventure != Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Legend (I, II, III) != Final Fantasy
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening != Legend of Zelda. (Though it is, IMHO, a much better game)
The Dragon Warrior remakes I'd forgotten about, but claiming that the above games are the classic NES games instead of later Game Boy games makes me wonder if you've ever played any of the above.
(Its also worth noting that Final Fantasy Adventure is actually a Seiken Densetsu, or Secret of Mana, game. And the Final Fantasy Legend games are, in fact, SAGA Frontier games. The only thing they have in common with the console line of Final Fantasy games is the title.)