From: ben mccorkle (mccorkle.12_at_osu.edu)
Date: Sun Apr 06 2003 - 13:07:57 PDT
all--
i know the thread died down about a week ago, but i felt compelled to plunk
down a couple of shiny pennies on the topic...
for the longest time, i've been making use of the newton in a way akin to
technological navel gazing: learning how to install packages, setting up
network connections, buying peripherals off of ebay, lurking on this list
and trying to glean knowledge about the ins and outs of various apps...all
of which was good fun in and of itself, but i wasn't really *using* my mp
2100 as much as i was just tinkering with it.
that changed 2 weeks ago, when i was able to fully road test the beast while
attending an academic conference in nyc, and i found it to be an
indispensable companion. among the exciting uses to which i put my newton:
* alarm clock: i woke up every morning @ seven to the sound of digital
birdies (and wakeup call even comes with a snooze button, of which i took
ample advantage);
* maps: i made my way around midtown, soho, and the village thanks to a
street map and subway map of manhattan (and didn't look like the total
backwoods yokel that i am by pulling out a paper flash map--folks thought i
was doing actual work);
* dates: for the stuff i definitely needed to attend (like the bedford/st.
martin's party @ the copacabana), i scheduled it in and set alarms so i
wouldn't forget;
* games: drawpoker, and esp. lunar lander (and a little mario action on the
NES emulator, right?:^)). some of the panels were a _little_ slow, so i
needed some sort of happy distraction, right?
* names: i made a few contacts while there;
* notes: i took notes @ all presentations i attended, even and especially
the guest keynote from steven johnson;
* works: i was also writing an article while there, and i found the newton
(with keyboard) to be as serviceable as my laptop, though a tad noisier;
* email: i sent a few out to colleagues/ friends back home, stealing an
ethernet connection from the conference hotel. i also fired up newtscape and
looked @ a couple of news sites as well as the onion (the war broke out
while i was there, and the hilton literally oozes only cnn--LCDs are in the
elevators);
* newtmirror: before giving my own presentation, i had to make sure every
hair was in place and my face was free of stray condiments...
...and last, but certainly not least,
* showing it off: people are _really_ drawn to this thing. i think it has
to do a lot w/ the form factor. it's bigger than most PDAs, smaller than
tablets, and since most regular folks have either forgotten about the newton
or were never really aware of it, they assume that it's some brand new,
state-of-the-art hybrid machine. well, they're half right in their
assumptions...it's not brand new.
all of which is to say that my time spent with the newton was not only
productive, but it was enjoyable as well. would that all my technological
interactions were such happy occasions.
ben mccorkle
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