Apple Newton: Hardware Tour

[Brandon Miniman]

http://www.youtube.com/v/RTydy5BsQGg&hl=en&fs=1

As a supplement to this video, be sure you check out Apple Newton: Some History and Interesting Facts (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=5775). This isn't just an old handheld device. It's a Newton, and as I'm starting to use the device more, plus get further insights from our readers on other capabilities of the Newton, I'm beginning to see the magic behind it. There is a very lively following behind the Newton today.

In this video, we take a tour of the hardware. We find that there is an inbuilt holder for the stylus, plus a smartly-placed stylus rest. We also find that of the two PCMCIA expansion slots, one is filled with 4MB of flash memory - and a quick comparison to the current flash memory standard for handheld device, microSD, lets use so how far we've come in the miniaturization of memory.

The next segmemt will cover a tour of the software on the Newton. As mentioned in the video, it has taken me a significant amount of time to learn how to use the Newton OS. Many aspects of it are intuitive, but the layout of everything is quite different than any modern mobile operating system. Interestingly, there are some similarities between OS X on the iPhone and Newton OS. More on that soon =D.

See also:
Apple Newton: Some History and Interesting Facts (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=5775)
Unboxing of the Newton MessagePad 2100 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=5766)
Apple Newton on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton)

[marty]

WOW!
What a lame attempt! Do some homework!

Yes, it's a microphone. The WIFI driver didn't come from "some user groups".

The "serial" port also has additional functions like audio in and out one it.

The IR port isn't IRDA per se.

That's as far as I could watch.

Very good idea to look at this hardware which is still far above many current mobile devices in both it's specs and expandability, but for pete sakes!

DO SOME HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU TURN ON YOUR VIDEO CAMERA!!!

[arb]

WOW!
What a lame attempt! Do some homework!

Yes, it's a microphone. The WIFI driver didn't come from "some user groups".

The "serial" port also has additional functions like audio in and out one it.

The IR port isn't IRDA per se.

That's as far as I could watch.

Very good idea to look at this hardware which is still far above many current mobile devices in both it's specs and expandability, but for pete sakes!

DO SOME HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU TURN ON YOUR VIDEO CAMERA!!!



Uh, Marty... word of advice shut up.

If you really have something to contribute to the tread then post it.

I actually never got to touch a Apple Newton but having had a Duaphin DTR-1 which basically was a Windows 3.1 with Pen function, I can see the nostaligic theme to as to where are current PDAs, Phone, etc all came from.

Brandon, once I am home I will be able to watch the video as to company policy they block all video....

Could you post pics?

Thanks

[rcecchino]

Okay Brandon,

The PCMCIA cards that we use include Modem, EthernetWiFi, Bluetooth in addition to memory cards as you noted.

Of interest it that there are now freeware ATA drivers that allow Newton 2000/2100 owners insert and utilize cards in the Gigabyte range. I myself use a 2 GB Sandisk Extreme III ATA CF memory card for storing all sorts of software, datafiles and limited-sized media files. My server-engineer son even has an IBM Microdrive in his Newton. This is in addition to linear flash cards in the 32 megabyte range for backups and basic storage that are used without special drivers.

The original battery pack that you showed probably had new rechargeables within it. There are battery holders available for AA batteries of any type including the rechargeable types.

The infrared port is for 'beaming' files and communicating between Newtons. Connectivity to the Internet is limited by the browsers we use and email configurations can be daunting.

FYI.

Regards,

Rob
surgeon__AT__mindspring.com

[Brandon Miniman]

Okay Brandon,

The PCMCIA cards that we use include Modem, EthernetWiFi, Bluetooth in addition to memory cards as you noted.

Of interest it that there are now freeware ATA drivers that allow Newton 2000/2100 owners insert and utilize cards in the Gigabyte range. I myself use a 2 GB Sandisk Extreme III ATA CF memory card for storing all sorts of software, datafiles and limited-sized media files. My server-engineer son even has an IBM Microdrive in his Newton. This is in addition to linear flash cards in the 32 megabyte range for backups and basic storage that are used without special drivers.

The original battery pack that you showed probably had new rechargeables within it. There are battery holders available for AA batteries of any type including the rechargeable types.

The infrared port is for 'beaming' files and communicating between Newtons. Connectivity to the Internet is limited by the browsers we use and email configurations can be daunting.

FYI.

Regards,

Rob
surgeon__AT__mindspring.com

Interesting stuff, Rob.

How long have you found the batteries to last on the Newton before they need to be recharged/replaced?

[rcecchino]

Brandon,

For the past three evenings (about six hours total), I have been using my Newton 2100 to troubleshoot and test emailI programs. My 2100 has a 16 mb Linear Flash card and a Farallon Ethernet Card in the PCMCIA slots and mostly the backlight has been kept on. Despite the heavy use, the batteries still have a fourth of a remaining charge left. These 4 AA batteries are rechargeable NiMH 2500 mA Kodak AA Digital Camera Batteries -- I have the 1 hour charger for them (Model K6200).

One of the positives about the Newton use of connectivity cards is that the card is activated only when needed so that once the mail or web page is fetched, the connection is usually closed and the card is powered down. This saves power but since each time the connection has to be reopened it takes a little longer to load a web site than my Mogul.

Regards,

Rob
surgeon__AT__mindspring.com

[JonGl]

Interesting stuff, Rob.

How long have you found the batteries to last on the Newton before they need to be recharged/replaced?

I can't speak for Rob, but my Newton, still using its original battery, can last for hours and hours unless I'm using wifi. If I'm just writing or playing games, probably 6-8 hours of non-stop use with the backlight. That is a far cry from when it was new, when I could go a week of heavy usage without charging it, and a month of light to middling usage. The earlier models, IMO, did slightly better. I used to use my 120 as my portable for up to 3 months on the road without a computer (doing email, writing and printing letters, etc.), and I never thought about battery life. I know I could go weeks of very heavy usage before recharging. In fact, I mostly used my charger then to power my Apple Newton external modem (commonly known as the cigarette pack modem).

BTW, your amazement over the Newton is amusing to me in a good way.... I wonder if you are discovering just how "far" we've really come since the Newton. I mean, yes, technology has come a long ways. Your 4 meg card is severely outstripped by a modern micro SD card (I have a couple 32 meg cards for my Newtons, as well as 4 meg, and 2 meg cards--every one of which would have cost more than several SD cards today) but the user interface and the OS in the Newton is just far and away ahead of everything else out there today.

Have you tried writing "Lunch with Brandon" and typing the Assist icon yet? (that's the lighbulb icon in the bottom right of the screen on a stock Newton.) And that's only a drop in the bucket. :-)

-Jon


In any case, many of the original battery packs are still going. Since they are NiMH, they seem to last forever if you don't charge them too frequently. :-)

[MacMan007]

How absolutely wonderful! A great tour. I had never seen an overview of one before or seen one in person and so this was really helpful.

Can't wait for your software, screen tour. What a fascinating device! Too bad Gary Trudeau mocked it so well.

[Brandon Miniman]

I can't speak for Rob, but my Newton, still using its original battery, can last for hours and hours unless I'm using wifi. If I'm just writing or playing games, probably 6-8 hours of non-stop use with the backlight. That is a far cry from when it was new, when I could go a week of heavy usage without charging it, and a month of light to middling usage. The earlier models, IMO, did slightly better. I used to use my 120 as my portable for up to 3 months on the road without a computer (doing email, writing and printing letters, etc.), and I never thought about battery life. I know I could go weeks of very heavy usage before recharging. In fact, I mostly used my charger then to power my Apple Newton external modem (commonly known as the cigarette pack modem).

BTW, your amazement over the Newton is amusing to me in a good way.... I wonder if you are discovering just how "far" we've really come since the Newton. I mean, yes, technology has come a long ways. Your 4 meg card is severely outstripped by a modern micro SD card (I have a couple 32 meg cards for my Newtons, as well as 4 meg, and 2 meg cards--every one of which would have cost more than several SD cards today) but the user interface and the OS in the Newton is just far and away ahead of everything else out there today.

Have you tried writing "Lunch with Brandon" and typing the Assist icon yet? (that's the lighbulb icon in the bottom right of the screen on a stock Newton.) And that's only a drop in the bucket. :-)

-Jon


In any case, many of the original battery packs are still going. Since they are NiMH, they seem to last forever if you don't charge them too frequently. :-)

Haha -- wow, just did "lunch with Brandon" and it created a meeting. Smart. Most of these little tricks aren't discoverable unless you use the device for a very long period. Is there a resource I can consult with a comprehensive list of such tricks? I want to be aware of all of the neat ones before the next video.