Re: [NTLK] Newton reclassification

As the owner of two [working] Nikon SPs, I understand your analogy. I
personally think of the Newton as a small tablet hand-top (as opposed
to laptop) computer. It was too far ahead of its time, One can always
tell the pioneers, they're the ones with arrows in their backs. ;-)
  Still trying to figure the messagepad 2000 I just picked out, but I
like what I see. Cheers. WES

> > Hi there.
>>
>> I've been giving some thought as to what the Newton really is.
>>
>> Most say it's a PDA but it does more than that, a lot more.
>>
>> So I say that it is a pen/tablet computer. Esp. with the keyboard.
>>
>> What do others think?
>
>To me, more than anything, the Newton is an aging piece of good technology.
>I love great old stuff. If cost were no object and I wanted to purchase a
>camera, I'd have a hard time choosing between a brand new Nikon digital SLR
>and a thirty year old Nikon F. Make it a working Nikon SP rangefinder
><http://www.cameraquest.com/nikonsp.htm> and it would be a no-brainer.
>
>Both Apple and Nikon have had success pushing the technology envelope while
>following the market. The Newton was a commercial failure because it failed
>to give enough people what they wanted. The Palm Pilot was a success
>because it was small, inexpensive, and provided the critical PDA
>applications. Its HWR was odd, but it worked, while the Newton would not
>get its HWR working until too late. In the commercial world, follow the
>market or die. Perhaps I should say "stay in touch" with the market,
>because "follow" implies a lack of invention and I do not mean that.
>
>Here is what I mean by following the market. Nikon noticed a lot of
>professionals switching from large format to 35MM, especially to cover
>sports. The reason was less time between shots. The early Nikon
>rangefinders followed the designs set down by market leader Leica, using a
>modest sized knurled knob to advance the film and cock the shutter. Nikon
>introduced a larger knob, geared so that the winding action could be done
>in a single twist. In the S2 they introduced the advance lever and a crank
>operated rewind. In the SP they added an optional motor drive, the first in
>a professional grade camera. These advances, and many more like them,
>demonstrate Nikon's uncanny ability to follow their market while staying
>out in front. This is no easy trick.
>
>Nikon has played to its fans with limited editions of some of its most
>successful old cameras. Here is a long page describing a 2005 remake of a
>1957 Nikon SP. <http://www.cameraquest.com/nrfblsp2005.htm> I think we
>would all love to see Apple do this with the Newton. I doubt that it will
>ever happen because the original Nikon SP was a fabulous success, and the
>Newton was a flop.
>
>Even so, I love my Newton.

-- 
Michael Wescott Loder
Campus Librarian
Ciletti Memorial Library, Penn State Schuylkill
E-mail: MWL2@psu.edu
570-385-6238
Fax: 570-385-6232
240 University Drive
Schuylkill Haven PA 17972
"Cave id esse fas"
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