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| Author | Newton - anyone ever had one? (Read 77241 times) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bolkonskij
Administrator 1024 MB  Posts: 2023 
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on: September 07, 2023, 15:59
So I've recently watched the "Love Notes to Newton" documentary that has since been uploaded freely on YouTube. A good 120 minutes to invest, definitely worth it. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend watching it! Do we have any Newton owners around here on System 7 Today? Or previous Newton owners? Needless to say, as someone who never had one, I feel very much like I need a MessagePad to go along with my System 7 Macs :-D |
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Last Edit: September 07, 2023, 16:02 by Bolkonskij
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wove
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1024 MB  Posts: 1363
Reply #1 on: September 07, 2023, 17:07
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I absolutely loved my Newtons. Not so much for the devices themselves as for the wonderful OS and software. My first Newton was the 120. Later I got a 2000 and It was in regular but diminishing use until ~2015. I picked up and eMate at a school auction. I sold the 2000 and not long after I came across the OMP at a thrift store. The capacitors had leaked on it and it was a mess. I got it working although the screen was glitchy due to a badly corroded screen cable. I eventually passed it along to a fellow that said he was sure he could fix the cable and I do not know how that went for him. Newton software was very tightly integrated, with pieces being used and reused.Much of its operation was very similar to OpenDoc. The notepad function served to read and create documents, while email and fax were just transport agents. After you created a document it was automatically save, from there you could select to email it, fax it, or print it. Incoming emails, or faxes were just saved as files. Syncing with the computer was very flexible. It worked with Claris Organizer and Now and probably others as well. The syncing software worked up through OS 9 and it also worked in “classic” on OS X. I still have the serial to USB I used for syncing on OS X. Handwriting recognition was pathetic and I typically just left my notes as handwritten. It had a shape feature that made squiggly squares and circles and lines into real squares and circles line, which made it very useful for making nice sketches and layouts when working on projects. It was pretty sharp at figuring things out. Meet John Tuesday at 5pm was something that would automatically end up in your calendar. At a library sale I found “Defying Gravity”, a coffee table type book that dives into the creation of the Newton. Lots of pictures and anecdotes from behind the scenes. I will definitely have to check out "Love Notes to Newton". Overall I think it was one of the best devices that Apple created. Not really a “killer” device at anything specific, but very handy and versatile at so many tasks. It was rugged and while not small it was easy to carry around and very nice to have close at hand. It was a cult favorite and if you owned one, it was very easy to see why that was so.
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mac-cellar
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128 MB Posts: 176 Gotta love System 7
Reply #2 on: September 09, 2023, 01:22
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I had a Newton Messagepad 2000 way back when...2001 or so. It loved it - wish I still had it, really. The handwriting recognition left a lot to be desired - spent too much time fighting with it - but I had the keyboard attachment as well (and the nifty little zippered case) so entering text was a bit easier. I also liked that the software tended to all fit together as a whole. A device ahead of its time.
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Old Mac Geezer
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64 MB Posts: 112
Reply #3 on: September 09, 2023, 11:59
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I never used one when they were new, but I did buy an eMate, for the collection a while ago.
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Bolkonskij
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Administrator 1024 MB Posts: 2023
Reply #4 on: September 09, 2023, 13:25
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Very cool! But too bad neither of you has them anymore. Wasn't the handwriting software supposed to "learn" your hand-writing over the first weeks of use? And yes @wove, the Newton had this interesting data centered approach vs. the application centered approach. Even though that sounds like a nightmare from an IT security standpoint :-D I'm looking at getting a Newton 130 to go along with my Mac IIci / PowerMac 8600.
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scouter
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64 MB Posts: 81 Retired IT Administraor
Reply #5 on: September 09, 2023, 15:39
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Never used a newton but I do have a Emate 300 which I ran a web-server on it at one point. if anyone is interested in doing this take a look at this site https://applenewton.co.uk/npds/ Christopher.
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wove
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1024 MB Posts: 1363
Reply #6 on: September 09, 2023, 16:47
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Local schools in my area of the world were heavy into Apples in schools and that included the emate. Around the turn of the century the school districts were dumping them at auctions and emates could be had for ~$10. I think everyone I know had an emate to play around with. From a hardware standpoint I think the emate and the Newton 130 had very similar capabilities. I was a bit disappointed in the emate. The form factor lead one to believe it would be far more capable than it actually was. The web was coming on gang busters and ethernet was largely supplanting local talk connectors. There was only the one card slot, and had to choose between faster networking or more storage, both of which were really lacking on the emate and generally on the Newtons overall.
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joshc
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8 MB Posts: 9 System 7 Newcomer!
Reply #7 on: October 05, 2023, 15:29
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I have a MessagePad 2000, with the keyboard, leather case, other accessories. I don't use it much at all, but it's a neat device. It was ahead of its time. Some of the UI/UX in the software is really cool, small portions of it made their way to iOS but there are neat things in there that still can't be found in iOS or macOS. The software is what makes Newtons charming, in my opinion. They are a neat companion for old and new Macs. You can still sync Newtons with newer Macs with a serial to USB adapter, I haven't tried that yet but the software for it exists.
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MTT
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256 MB Posts: 394 SSW7 Oldtimer
Reply #8 on: October 06, 2023, 04:17
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Quote "Do we have any Newton owners around here on System 7 Today?"Nope, but I do have a "Palm IIIe Special Edition", if that counts ? Well, it does have a MC68328 "DragonBall" CPU, putting in the 68K class, so maybe that accounts for something  p.s; I haven't started it up in over 5 years, I can only assume it will still work. [Edit] Thought I should check, and yep, 2 x AAA batteries later and it wants to know what TZ and time of day it is Cool.
Last Edit: October 06, 2023, 05:46 by MTT
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Knezzen
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Administrator 512 MB Posts: 608 Village idiot
Reply #9 on: October 06, 2023, 07:57
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Cool! Always loved the Palm's 
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Bolkonskij
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Administrator 1024 MB Posts: 2023
Reply #10 on: October 11, 2023, 16:20
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No, Palms don't count. ;-) (well, they're cool too. Pretty sad things went the way went the way they did) Anyway, back to Newton! I'm expecting my first Newton to arrive by the end of the week. I'll keep you updated
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joshc
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8 MB Posts: 9 System 7 Newcomer!
Reply #11 on: October 12, 2023, 12:16
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Bolkonskij, which one did you buy?
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68040
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512 MB Posts: 950 68k - thy kingdom come, thy will be done !
Reply #12 on: October 13, 2023, 10:14
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Steven Seagal had a Newton, well he "owned" it at least one movie long.
Last Edit: October 13, 2023, 10:19 by 68040
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Knezzen
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Administrator 512 MB Posts: 608 Village idiot
Reply #13 on: October 13, 2023, 13:38
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I got a picture sent to me on Telegram of a Newton Someone might want to elaborate on what he got and what the plan is?
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Bolkonskij
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Administrator 1024 MB Posts: 2023
Reply #14 on: October 13, 2023, 13:45
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Quote from: joshc Bolkonskij, which one did you buy? I got my MessagePad 130 today in the mail. Actually, in a pretty beat up package ... luckily stuff inside looks like it didn't mind, but makes you wonder what the postal service is doing to the parcels entrusted onto them ... Anyway, I got the Newton MessagePad 130. The model with Newton OS 2.0 and backlight. At least that is what the red sticker on the lid promises. It came with a serial cable (to hook it up to my IIci) and the pen. It's a bit more bulky than I expected, but not too much and overall feels quite sturdy compared to a simple modern smartphone. The Unit is overall in a good state given the age - there's some smaller scratches here and there and a few smirks on the display but both the display protection as well as the battery compartment lid is still there. Speaking of batteries, it's fun to receive a mobile device that doesn't come with a built-in battery! That is so 90's :-) The Newton takes 4x AA batteries to work - if one is going to use it regularly, rechargable ones are certainly a good investment. That said, I don't have enough of them at home and need to grab a pack at the store this afternoon to boot up Newton. Pretty excited. This is my first Newton and I never thought I'd manage to get one. It was too expensive when it was new (and me being a poor teen) and after that prices never really seemed to go down enough to justify an investment.
Last Edit: October 13, 2023, 13:50 by Bolkonskij
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