Re: [NTLK] No New Newt, epaper witn pen

From: Lord Groundhog <LordGroundhog_at_gmail.com>
Date: Tue Jan 29 2008 - 14:38:55 EST

~~~ On 2008/01/29 18:49, Jon Glass at jonglass@usa.net wrote ~~~

> Maybe Apple with Rosetta! Rosetta! Rosetta!
>

We can dream. :)

A sudden nasty angle to any revival of the Newton came to my mind as I was
thinking about how incredibly fortunate we are. The Newton that we know and
love has survived the cruel rejection by its parent, Apple, because its
construction is such that it's relatively straightforward to dismantle and
otherwise tinker with it. Even if such hardware tinkering isn't to all our
tastes, it's doable for enough of us that all of us can benefit, and the
results are a thriving user base a decade after Apple stopped supporting it,
and a machine that's stable even if it's no longer cutting edge.

This is a good time to stop and thank all the Newtonians who comprise that
hard-core of hardware (and software) fixers, modders and hackers, who help
us all fight off Newton-entropy. I hope some day I get a chance to buy all
you guys a drink -- though perhaps I'll need to do that a little at a time.

Anyway, the next time Apple (or somebody?) make a true equivalent to the
Newton (and not just some almost-Newton) I'd guess it's likely to be one of
these sealed, non-serviceable-by-the-user units that will require serious
burgling simply to get into it. Will it be possible for a user to do any
repairs or maintenance on such a black-box, 10 years down the road? I have
some doubts. And then there's the battery: is it likely to be a case that
can be opened and rebuilt using reasonably standard components, or will it
be some proprietary battery that could well become unavailable once the new
version of the Newton is discontinued? I'd bet the latter.

All in all, my feeling is, if they do give us a Newton Reprise®, we'd have
to hope they don't cut it off again, because I don't think it'll be as easy
next time round to keep it going without official Apple support.

If we do get a Newton Mark II, I guess I'll have to find a way to buy a
couple of extras to stash away, along with any backup parts, for that rainy
day.

And now that I've thoroughly depressed myself, I think I'll sit in the
corner and contemplate global warming, the destruction of the ecosystem, and
the end of the world ...

 
Shalom.
Christian

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

łAny sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from a Newton.˛
            -- what Arthur C. Clarke meant

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1ZzpdPJ7Zr4
(With thanks to Chod Lang)
http://tinyurl.com/29y2dl

~~~ ~~~ ~~~
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Received on Tue Jan 29 14:39:18 2008

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