It has been suggested that Apple Newton Software be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

The Apple Newton MessagePad 100

The Apple Newton, or simply Newton, is an early line of personal digital assistants developed and marketed by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) from 1993 to 1998. The electronic engineering and manufacture of the Newton was done in Japan by Sharp.The original Newtons were based on the ARM 610 RISC processor and featured handwriting recognition software. Apple's official name for the device was "MessagePad"; the term "Newton" was Apple's name for the operating system it used (Newton OS), but popular usage of the word Newton has grown to include the device and its software together. The name is an allusion to Isaac Newton's apple. Image File history File links Mergefrom. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Apple Newton. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 491 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (866 × 1058 pixel, file size: 163 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 491 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (866 × 1058 pixel, file size: 163 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Look up Personal digital assistant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Apple Inc. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... It has been suggested that on-line handwriting recognition be merged into this article or section. ... Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ... Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist. ...

The Newton in development

The Newton project was not originally intended to produce a PDA. The PDA category did not exist for most of Newton's genesis, and the "personal digital assistant" term itself was coined relatively late in the development cycle by Apple's then-CEO John Sculley, the driving force behind the project. Newton was intended to be a complete reinvention of personal computing, similar to the modern tablet PC. For most of its design lifecycle Newton had a large-format screen, more internal memory, and a rich object-oriented graphics kernel. One of the original motivating use cases for the design was known as the "Architect Scenario," in which Newton's designers imagined a residential architect working quickly with a client to sketch, clean up, and interactively modify a simple two-dimensional home plan. Look up Personal digital assistant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... John Sculley (born April 6, 1939) was president of PepsiCo during the 1970s and early 1980s, until he became CEO of Apple on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving in 1993. ... A Tablet PC is a notebook- or slate-shaped mobile computer. ... A use case is a technique used in software and systems engineering to capture the functional requirements of a system. ... For other uses, see Architect (disambiguation). ...

For a portion of the Newton's development cycle (roughly the middle third), the project's intended programming language was Dylan though in fact the language and environment never matured enough for any applications to be successfully written. Dylan was a small, efficient object-oriented Lisp variant that still retains some interest. Although it was efficient (for its day, and considering its substantial run-time dynamism), Dylan never lived up to its developers' performance expectations and was a tough sell for a development team unaccustomed to Lisp programming. When the move was made to a smaller form factor (designed by Jonathan Ive), ^{[1] [2]} Dylan was relegated to experimental status in the "Bauhaus Project" and eventually canceled outright. Had it been retained, Dylan, with garbage collection and close OS integration, would have preceded Microsoft's managed code concept by over a decade. Its replacement, NewtonScript was quite advanced for its day. It had garbage collection, tight integration with the "soup" storage and user-interface toolkit, and was specifically designed to run in small RAM/large ROM environments. The Dylan programming language (pronounced , like the name) is functional, object-oriented, reflective and dynamic. ... Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a computer programming paradigm in which a software system is modeled as a set of objects that interact with each other. ... Lisp is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive fully-parenthesized syntax. ... Dynamic programming language is a term used broadly in computer science to describe a class of high level programming languages that execute at runtime many common behaviors that other languages might perform during compilation, if at all. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In computer science, garbage collection (GC) is a form of automatic memory management. ... In Microsoft Windows terminology, managed code is computer instructions — that is, code — executed by a CLI-compliant virtual machine, such as Microsofts . ...

The project missed by far its original goals to reinvent personal computing, and then to rewrite contemporary application programming. The Newton project's broad vision fell victim to project slippage, scope creep, and a growing fear that it would interfere with Macintosh sales. It was reinvented as a PDA which would be a complementary Macintosh peripheral instead of a stand-alone computer which might compete with the Macintosh. A rewrite in computer programming is the act or result of re-implementing a large portion of existing functionality without re-use of its source code. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Mission creep. ...

Product details

Application software

The Newton OS GUI

The Newton was pre-loaded with a variety of software to aid in personal data organization and management. This included such applications as Notes, Names, and Dates, as well as a variety of productivity tools such as a calculator, conversion calculators (metric conversions, currency conversions, etc), time-zone maps, etc. In later versions of the Newton OS these applications were refined, and new ones were added, such as the Works word processor and the Newton Internet Enabler, as well as the inclusion of bundled 3rd party applications, such as the QuickFigure Works spreadsheet (a "lite" version of Pelicanware's QuickFigure Pro), Pocket Quicken, the NetHopper web browser, and the EnRoute email client. Various Newton applications had full import/export capabilities with popular desktop office suite and PIM (Personal Information Manager) application file formats, primarily by making use of Apple's bundled Newton Connection Utilities. Image File history File links Controlpanelnewton. ... Image File history File links Controlpanelnewton. ... Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ... Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ... In the video game industry, a third-party developer is a developer that is not directly tied to the primary product the consumer is using. ... Intuit Logo Intuit, Inc. ... A personal information manager (PIM) is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Apple Newton. ...

Notes

The Notes application allowed users to create small documents that could contain text that had been typed, or that had been recognized from handwriting, as well as free-hand sketches, "Shapes", and "ink text". The Apple Newton MessagePad 100 The Apple Newton, or simply Newton, is an early line of personal digital assistants developed and marketed by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc. ...

Photograph of screen displaying Checklist, some bullet points checked and/or "collapsed"

In version 2 of the Newton OS, the Notes application (as well as Names) could accept what Apple termed "stationery", 3rd-party created plug-in modules that could extend the functionality of the basic applications. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... A tick (known as a checkmark or check in American English) is a mark () ( ) used to indicate the concept yes, for example yes, this has been verified or yes, I agree. Its opposite is the cross () ( ), although the cross can also be positive, for example in elections. ... Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ...

One of the new types of Notes stationery Apple added into Newton OS 2.0 was a hierarchical, bullet-ed, collapsible, multi-line "Checklist", an implementation of outliner software. This could be used for organizing thoughts, priorities, "to do" lists, planning steps and sub-tasks, etc. Each bullet point could contain as many lines of text as desired. A bullet point could be dragged and placed underneath another bullet point, thus forming a hierarchical outline/tree. When a bullet point was dragged, the entire sub-tree of child bullet points underneath it (if any) would be dragged along as well. If a bullet point had child bullet points, tapping the hollow parent bullet point once would "roll up" or collapse all the children ("windowshade" effect). The parent bullet point would become a solid black circle and all the children would disappear. Tapping the parent bullet point again would make the children re-appear. A hierarchy (in Greek: , derived from — hieros, sacred, and — arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is a subordinate to a single other element. ... In typography, a bullet is a typographical symbol or glyph used to introduce items in a list, like below, also known as the point of a bullet: This is the text of a list item. ... 1. ... An outliner is a special text editor that allows text to be structured as an outline. ... Time management is straightforwardly defined as the management of time in order to make the most out of it. ... An outline is a hierarchical way to display related items of text to graphically depict their relationships. ... A tree structure is a way of representing the hierarchical nature of a structure in a graphical form. ... A tree structure is a way of representing the hierarchical nature of a structure in a graphical form. ... WindowShade was a control panel for the Mac OS that allowed a user to double-click a windows title bar to roll up the window like a windowshade. ...

Names

The Names application was used for storing contacts. Contacts created either on the Newton or on a Windows or Macintosh desktop PIM could be synchronized to each other. ^{[3] [4]} There was no pre-defined limit for how many addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses a contact could have. Entering a date in Names for fields such as birthday or anniversary automatically created corresponding repeating events in the Dates application. Each contact had an attached free-form notes field available to it, that could contain any mix of interleaved text, ink text, Shapes, or Sketches. Like Notes, Names could be extended by developers, to create special new categories of contacts with specialized pre-defined fields. Names shipped with 3 types of contacts, "people", "companies", and "groups", but a developer could define new types, for instance "client", "patient", etc. A personal information manager (PIM) is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. ...

Dates

Dates supplied calendar, events, meeting, and alarms functions, including an integrated "to do" list manager. It offered many different display and navigation styles, including a list view, graphical day "time blocking" view, or a week, month, or year grid. As with Names, Dates items created either on the Newton or on a Windows or Macintosh desktop PIM could be synchronized to each other. Time management is straightforwardly defined as the management of time in order to make the most out of it. ... A personal information manager (PIM) is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. ...

Screen and input

With the 1xx series, an optional keyboard became available, which can also be used via the dongle on a 2x00.

The MessagePad can be used with the screen turned horizontally ("landscape") as well as vertically ("portrait"). A change of a setting instantly rotates the contents of the display by 90, 180 or 270 degrees. Handwriting recognition still works properly with the display rotated.

Handwriting recognition

In initial versions (Newton OS 1.x) the Newton's handwriting recognition gave extremely mixed results for users and could be fairly inaccurate. The original handwriting recognition engine was called Calligrapher, and was licensed from a Russian company called Paragraph International. It was actually quite sophisticated; unlike the later Palm Pilot's Graffiti, which made the user learn a new handwriting system and write each letter in an input area, Newton learned the user's natural handwriting, using a database of known words to make guesses as to what the user was writing, and could interpret writing anywhere on the screen, whether hand-printed, in cursive, or a mix of the two. Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ... An early model - the Pilot 5000 The Palm m130 was one of the first Palms with a colour screen Pilot was the name given to the first generation of personal digital assistants manufactured by Palm Computing in 1996 (then a division of U.S. Robotics and later 3Com). ... Cursive is any style of handwriting which is designed for writing down notes and letters by hand. ...

For editing text, Newton had an intuitive system for handwritten editing, such as scratching out words to be deleted, circling text to be selected, or using written carets to mark inserts. ^[5] Although the Calligrapher was more sophisticated than Palm's Graffiti system, Calligrapher was not nearly as accurate. A caret in the Arial font Caret is the name for the symbol ^ in ASCII and some other character sets. ...

Later releases of the Newton operating system retained the original recognizer for compatibility, but added a hand-printed-text-only (not cursive) recognizer, code-named "Rosetta," which was developed by Apple, included in version 2.0 of the Newton operating system, and refined in Newton 2.1. Rosetta is generally considered a significant improvement and many reviewers, testers, and users consider the Newton 2.1 handwriting recognition software better than any of the alternatives even 10 years after it was introduced. ^[6] Recognition and computation of handwritten horizontal and vertical formulas such as "1 + 2 =" was also under development but never released. Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ... Cursive is any style of handwriting which is designed for writing down notes and letters by hand. ... The Newton Logo. ... Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ...

A critical feature of the Newton handwriting recognition system is the modeless error correction. That is, correction done in situ without using a separate window or widget, using a minimum of gestures. If a word is recognized improperly, the user would simply double-tap the word and a list of alternatives would pop up in a menu under the stylus. Most of the time, the correct word will be in the list. If not, a button at the bottom of the list allows the user to edit individual characters in that word. Other pen gestures could do such things as transpose letters (also in situ). Error correction in many current handwriting systems provides such functionality but adds more steps to the process, greatly increasing the interruption to a user's workflow that a given correction requires. Modelessness is a property of computer User Interfaces. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with SEC-DED. (Discuss) In mathematics, computer science, telecommunication, and information theory, error detection and correction has great practical importance in maintaining data (information) integrity across noisy channels and less-than-reliable storage media. ... In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ... In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ...

User interface

Newton screen displaying a Note with text, "ink text", a sketch, & vectorized shapes

Newton could also accept free-hand "Sketches", "Shapes", and "ink text". Text could also be entered by tapping with the stylus on a small on-screen pop-up QWERTY keyboard. With "Shapes", Newton could recognize that the user was attempting to draw a circle, a line, a polygon, etc, and it would clean them up into "perfect" vector representations (with modifiable control points and defined vertices) of what the user was attempting to draw. "Shapes" and "Sketches" could be scaled or deformed once drawn. "Ink text" captured the user's free-hand writing but allowed it to be treated somewhat like recognized text when manipulating for later editing purposes ("ink text" supported word wrap, could be formatted to be bold, italic, etc). ^[7] At any time a user could also direct the Newton to recognize selected "ink text" and turn it into recognized text (deferred recognition). A Newton Note document (or the notes attached to each contact in Names and each calendar event) could contain any mix of interleaved text, ink text, Shapes, and Sketches. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... It has been suggested that Vector monitor be merged into this article or section. ... For the song by Linkin Park, see QWERTY (song). ... Look up polygon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that Vector monitor be merged into this article or section. ... In computer graphics, image scaling is the process of resizing a digital image. ... Word wrap refers to a feature supported by most text editors that allows them to insert soft returns (or hard returns for some text editors) at the right-side margins of a document. ...

Operating system and programming environment

The Newton OS consists of three layers. At the lowest level, a microkernel handles resources like tasks and memory. On top of the microkernel, the bulk of the operating system is implemented in C++, including the communications layer, handwriting recognition, and the NewtonScript environment. The top layer consists of built-in and user installed applications written in NewtonScript. Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ... Graphical overview of a microkernel A microkernel is a minimal computer operating system kernel providing only basic operating system services (system calls), while other services (commonly provided by kernels) are provided by user-space programs called servers. ... C++ (pronounced see plus plus, IPA: ) is a general-purpose programming language with high-level and low-level capabilities. ... NewtonScript is a prototype based programming language created to write programs for the Apple Newton. ...

NewtonScript is an advanced object-oriented programming language, developed by Apple employee Walter Smith ^[8]. Some programmers complained at the $1000 cost of the Toolbox programming environment (later in the life of the Newton, the programming environment was made available free of charge).^{[citation needed]} Additionally, it required learning a new way of programming. Despite this, many third party and shareware applications are available for Newton.^{[citation needed]} Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm that uses objects and their interactions to design applications and computer programs. ... Look up shareware in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Data storage

Data in Newton is stored in object-oriented databases known as soups One of the innovative aspects of Newton is that soups are available to all programs; and programs can operate cross-soup; meaning that the calendar can refer to names in the address book; a note in the notepad can be converted to an appointment, and so forth; and the soups can be programmer-extended — a new address book enhancement can be built on the data from the existing address book. Instead of a traditional File System, the Newton has a shallow database system, based on the concept of Soup. The Newton considers its internal storage, and each inserted card, as a separate store (a volume). ...

While the soup concept works remarkably well within the Newton system itself, it causes several issues. First, it makes it difficult to synchronize data with other systems, like a desktop Macintosh or PC since the data stored in soups does not correspond well with such file based systems. Apple's utility to perform this task, the Newton Connection Utility, is exceedingly complex and was never completed to perform to the satisfaction of most users. The realization that a handheld computer needs to work within the existing data environment of its users was key to the success of the later Palm Pilot platform, even though the Palm was technically inferior.^{[neutrality disputed]} This difficulty in working and sharing data with other systems was a key contributor to Newton's demise. The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. ... An early model - the Pilot 5000 The Palm m130 was one of the first Palms with a colour screen Pilot was the name given to the first generation of personal digital assistants manufactured by Palm Computing in 1996 (then a division of U.S. Robotics and later 3Com). ...

The second consequence of the data-object soup is that objects can extend built-in applications such as the address book so seamlessly that Newton users can not distinguish which program or add-on object is responsible for the various features on their own system. A user rebuilding their system after extended usage might find themselves unable to manually restore their system to the same functionality because some long-forgotten downloaded extension was missing. Data owned and used by applications and extensions themselves is tossed in the "Storage" area of the "Extras" drawer. There is no built-in distinction between types of data in that area. For example, an installed application's icon could be sitting right next to a database of addresses used by another installed extension further down the list.

Finally, the data soup concept works well for data like addresses, which benefit from being shared cross-functionally, but it works poorly for discrete data sets like files and documents. Later, the 2.0 release of the Newton OS introduced Virtual Binary Objects to alleviate the problem of handling large data objects. Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ...

Package Installation, Capacity Planning, & Disaster Recovery

Several software utilities which accommodate data transfer to and from a host system exist for the following platforms:

• Apple Macintosh
• Amiga OS
• UNIX
• Microsoft Windows 95/98/2000/2003/XP/Vista

See Apple Newton Software --> Backup for further details. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Apple Newton. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Apple Newton. ...

Hardware connectivity

Earlier MessagePads use Macintosh-standard serial ports — round Mini-DIN 8 connectors instead of the more common trapezoidal DE-9, commonly called DB-9. The 2000/2100 models have a proprietary small flat connector, called an InterConnect port, used with an adapter. In addition, all models have infrared connectivity, initially only the Sharp ASK protocol, later IrDA. Unlike the Palm, all MessagePad models are equipped with a standard PC Card expansion slot (two on the 2000/2100). This allows native modem and even Ethernet connectivity; Newton users have also written drivers for 802.11b wireless networking cards and ATA-type flash memory cards (including the popular CompactFlash format), as well as for Bluetooth cards. Newton can also dial a phone number through the MessagePad speaker by, simply holding a telephone handset up to the speaker, and fax support is built in at the operating system level, although it requires external cards or a small serial Apple modem powered by AA batteries. The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... A male DE-9 connector used for a serial port on a PC style computer. ... The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin Electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. ... It has been suggested that DE-9 be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Infrared (disambiguation). ... Sharp Corporation ) (TYO: 6753 , LuxSE: SRP) is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, founded in 1912. ... Look up ask in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The initials IRDA can refer to various things: In Information Technology and Communications, IrDA refers to Infrared Data Association, a standard for communication between devices (such as computers, PDAs and mobile phones) over short distances using infrared signals. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... Ethernet is a large, diverse family of frame-based computer networking technologies that operate at many speeds for local area networks (LANs). ... Windows XP loading drivers during a Safe Mode bootup A device driver, or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a computer hardware device. ... IEEE 802. ... A USB flash drive. ... A 32 MB High Speed CompactFlash Type I card CompactFlash (CF) was originally developed as a type of data storage device used in portable electronic devices. ... Bluetooth logo This article is about the electronic protocol named after Harald Bluetooth Gormson. ...

Power options

As with the contemporary early-model PI-series Sharp Zaurus PDAs in Japan, the MessagePad and MessagePad 100 used AAA batteries. The early Zaurus used 2x AAA batteries, whereas the MessagePad and MessagePad 100 used 4x AAA batteries. However, even with twice as many batteries, AAA batteries proved to be an inadequate power source for the consumption needs of the Newton. The word sharp or acronym SHARP has several uses: Look up sharp in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 running OpenZaurus and OPIE, with docking cradle and stylus The Sharp Zaurus is the name of a series of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) made by Sharp Corporation. ... An AAA battery is 44. ...

The use of 4x AA NiCd (MessagePad 110, 120 and 130) and 4x AA NiMH cells (2x00 series, eMate 300) give a runtime of up to 30 hours (MP 2100 w/ 2x 20 MB linear Flash memory PC Cards, no backlight usage) and up to 24 hours with backlight on. While adding more weight to the Newtons than AAA batteries or custom battery packs, the choice of an easily replaceable/rechargeable cell format gives the user a still unsurpassed runtime and flexibility of power supply. This, together with the Flash memory used as internal storage (if all cells lost their power, no data was lost due to the static character of this storage), gave birth to the slogan "Newton never dies, it only gets new batteries". ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a popular type of rechargeable battery for portable electronics and toys. ... NIMH or NiMH may refer to: National Institute of Mental Health, a part of the United States National Institutes of Health. ... Apple Newton eMate 300 open. ... A USB flash drive. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... A USB flash drive. ...

Later efforts and improvements

The MessagePad 2000 and 2100, with a vastly improved handwriting recognition system, 162 MHz StrongARM SA-110 RISC processor, Newton 2.1 OS, and a better, clearer, backlit screen, attracted critical plaudits. Although their size and expense were factors which kept them from being as popular as later Palm OS devices, the Newton still has a small but passionate user base. DEC StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor The StrongARM microprocessor is a faster version of the Advanced RISC Machines ARM design. ... Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC), is a microprocessor CPU design philosophy that favors a smaller and simpler set of instructions that all take about the same amount of time to execute. ... Palm OS is an embedded operating system initially developed by U.S. Robotics owned Palm Computing, Inc. ...

The eMate 300

The eMate 300, which used a laptop form factor, was derived from the Apple Newton, and was offered to schools in 1997 as an inexpensive ($799 US, originally sold to education markets only) and durable computer for classroom use. However, in order to achieve its low price, the eMate 300 did not have all the features of the contemporary Newton equivalent, the MessagePad 2000, and was cancelled along with the rest of the Newton line. Photograph of an Apple Newton eMate 300 File links The following pages link to this file: Apple Newton Categories: GFDL images ... Photograph of an Apple Newton eMate 300 File links The following pages link to this file: Apple Newton Categories: GFDL images ... Apple Newton eMate 300 open. ... Apple Newton eMate 300 open. ...

Many prototypes of additional Newton models were spotted. Most notable was a Newton tablet or "slate," a large, flat screen that could be written on. Others included a "Kids Newton" with side handgrips and buttons, "VideoPads" which would have incorporated a video camera and screen on their flip-top covers for two-way communications, the "Mini 2000" which would have been very similar to Palm Pilot, and the "NewtonPhone" (developed by Siemens AG) which incorporated a handset and a keyboard. “Siemens” redirects here. ...

Cases

Apple and third parties marketed several "wallets" (cases) for the MessagePads, which would hold them securely along with the owner's credit cards, driver's license, business cards, and cash. These wallets were even larger than the MessagePads and even less able to fit in a pocket, so they were most often used as a protective case for the unit to shield it from bumps and scratches. Some cases included a metal or plastic shield inside the fabric to protect the glass LCD screen. The MessagePad has a receiver in the middle back to accept a pin that was mounted on the case. This allowed the Newton to be held by the case without the use of adhesives or straps.

Market reception

Although the Apple Newton was produced for six years, it was never as successful in the marketplace as Apple had hoped. This has been attributed to two primary reasons: the Newton's high price (which went up to $1000 when models 2000 and 2100 were introduced), and its large size (it failed the "pocket test" by not fitting in an average coat, shirt, or trouser pocket).

The MessagePad and MessagePad 100 were also limited by the very short lifetime of their inadequate AAA batteries.

Critics also panned the handwriting recognition, trumpeted in the Newton's marketing campaign, available in the debut models, and it was this problem that was famously skewered in the Doonesbury comic strips^[9] and the animated television series The Simpsons. Although the handwriting recognition was greatly improved in later models, these initial problems marred Newton's reputation in the eyes of the public, and PDAs would remain a niche product until Palm, Inc.'s Palm Pilot, which emerged shortly before the Newton was discontinued. The Palm Pilot, with its smaller, thinner shape, lower cost, excellent PC synchronization, and more robust Graffiti handwriting recognition system — which had been available first as a software package for the Newton — managed to restore the viability of the PDA market after Newton's commercial failure. Palm Computing was co-founded by ex-Apple employee Donna Dubinsky. It has been suggested that on-line handwriting recognition be merged into this article or section. ... Doonesbury is a comic strip by Garry Trudeau, popular in the United States and other parts of the world. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Palm, Inc. ... An early model - the Pilot 5000 The Palm m130 was one of the first Palms with a colour screen Pilot was the name given to the first generation of personal digital assistants manufactured by Palm Computing in 1996 (then a division of U.S. Robotics and later 3Com). ... A chart of the Graffiti characters (full size) Graffiti is the handwriting recognition software used in PDAs based on the Palm OS. Graffiti was originally written by Palm as an alternate recognition system for the Apple Newton MessagePad, when NewtonOS 1 couldnt recognize handwriting very well at all. ... Donna Dubinsky (born July 4, 1955) has played an integral role in the development of personal digital assistants (PDAs) serving as CEO of Palm, Inc. ...

Another factor which limited the Newton's appeal was that desktop connectivity was not included in the basic retail package. Desktop computer synchronization hardware and software had to be purchased separately adding to the expense of the basic package.

Later versions (OS 2.x) offered excellent handwriting recognition and modeless access to error correction, quite possibly a leading reason for the continued popularity of the device among Newton users. Even given the age of the hardware and software, Newtons still demand a sale price on the used market far greater than that of comparatively aged PDAs produced by other companies. As of 2004 the Newton 2000 and 2100 could still fetch a price, without accessories, of over $100. In 2006 CNET compared a Newton Message Pad 2000 to a Samsung Q1, and the Newton was declared better [1] 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... CNET Networks, Inc. ...

Newton technology after cancellation

Before the Newton project was cancelled, it was "spun off" into an Apple wholly owned subsidiary company, Newton Inc., but was reabsorbed several months later when Steve Jobs ousted Apple CEO Gil Amelio and resumed control of Apple. Two ex-Apple Newton developers founded Pixo, the company that created the iPod's OS. Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is the co-founder and CEO of Apple and was the CEO of Pixar until its acquisition by Disney. ... Gil Amelio Gilbert F. Amelio (born March 1, 1943 in New York City) is an American technology executive. ... The Pixo 2. ... iPod is a brand of portable media player designed and marketed by Apple and launched in October 2001. ...

Speculation continued for several years that Apple might release a new PDA with some Newton technology or collaborate with Palm. Feeding a bit of speculation, Apple put the "Print Recognizer" part of the Newton 2.1 handwriting recognition system into Mac OS X version 10.2 (known as "Jaguar"). It can be used with graphics tablets to seamlessly input handwritten printed text anywhere there was an insertion point on the screen. This technology, known as "Inkwell", appears in the System Preferences whenever a tablet input device is plugged in. Whether Apple will ever utilize such technology again in a handheld device remains to be seen. An Easter egg in Print Recognizer on the Newton (write "ROSETTA! ROSETTA! ROSETTA!", and the Newton will insert "ROSETTA! ROSETTA! Hey, that's me!" instead) was present in Inkwell in Mac OS 10.2 and 10.3, but seems to have been removed in 10.4. This led to speculation that Inkwell was a direct port of Print Recognizer, but may have just been a programmer being nostalgic. Mac OS X (IPA: ) is a line of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. ... Inkwell, later renamed Ink, but still mostly referred to as Inkwell by Apple is the name of the handwriting recognition technology built into Apple Computers Mac OS X. It was introduced in version 10. ... This article or section reads like an advertisement. ... A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ...

The Apple iPhone, announced by Steve Jobs at Macworld on 9 January 2007, was described by one blogger as "surprisingly close to what a current-generation Newton might look like if Jobs hadn't killed the line in 1997" [2]. Many of the iPhone's icons are reminiscent of the Newton 2x00 soft icons at the bottom of the screen. The correct title of this article is . ... MacWorld magazine (April 2004) Macworld is a monthly computer magazine dedicated to Macintosh products. ... is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Newton Emulation

Since 2004, the Einstein Project[3] has been working on emulating the Newton for use as an alternate OS on other platforms. It is currently available for the Sharp Zaurus, Apple OS X, Nokia N770 and N800, and the PepperPad 3. The emulator is an open source project, but requires an original Newton ROM to be installed in order to function. Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 running OpenZaurus and OPIE, with docking cradle and stylus The Sharp Zaurus is the name of a series of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) made by Sharp Corporation. ... The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is a wireless Internet appliance from Nokia, originally announced at the LinuxWorld Summit in New York City on May 25, 2005. ... The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a wireless Internet appliance from Nokia, originally announced at the Las Vegas CES 2007 Summit in January 2007. ... The Pepper Pad is a mobile computer with Internet capability and doubles as a handheld game console. ...

Newton models

Note(*): The eMate 300 actually has ROM Chips silked screened with 2.2 on them. Stephanie Mak on her website discusses this. http://www.felesmagus.com/newton/otheremate.html Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... EIA-422 (formerly RS-422), now TIA-422, is a technical standard which specifies the electrical characteristics of the balanced voltage digital interface circuit[1]. It provides for data transmission, using balanced or differential signaling, with unidirectional/non-reversible, terminated or non-terminated transmission lines, point to point, or multi... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a popular type of rechargeable battery for portable electronics and toys. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... EIA-422 (formerly RS-422), now TIA-422, is a technical standard which specifies the electrical characteristics of the balanced voltage digital interface circuit[1]. It provides for data transmission, using balanced or differential signaling, with unidirectional/non-reversible, terminated or non-terminated transmission lines, point to point, or multi... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a popular type of rechargeable battery for portable electronics and toys. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... EIA-422 (formerly RS-422), now TIA-422, is a technical standard which specifies the electrical characteristics of the balanced voltage digital interface circuit[1]. It provides for data transmission, using balanced or differential signaling, with unidirectional/non-reversible, terminated or non-terminated transmission lines, point to point, or multi... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a popular type of rechargeable battery for portable electronics and toys. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... EIA-422 (formerly RS-422), now TIA-422, is a technical standard which specifies the electrical characteristics of the balanced voltage digital interface circuit[1]. It provides for data transmission, using balanced or differential signaling, with unidirectional/non-reversible, terminated or non-terminated transmission lines, point to point, or multi... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a popular type of rechargeable battery for portable electronics and toys. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... RS-232 (also referred to as EIA RS-232C or V.24) is a standard for serial binary data interchange between a DTE (Data terminal equipment) and a DCE (Data communication equipment). ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a popular type of rechargeable battery for portable electronics and toys. ... DEC StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor The StrongARM microprocessor is a faster version of the Advanced RISC Machines ARM design. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... The initials IRDA can refer to various things: In Information Technology and Communications, IrDA refers to Infrared Data Association, a standard for communication between devices (such as computers, PDAs and mobile phones) over short distances using infrared signals. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... NIMH or NiMH may refer to: National Institute of Mental Health, a part of the United States National Institutes of Health. ... DEC StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor The StrongARM microprocessor is a faster version of the Advanced RISC Machines ARM design. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... The initials IRDA can refer to various things: In Information Technology and Communications, IrDA refers to Infrared Data Association, a standard for communication between devices (such as computers, PDAs and mobile phones) over short distances using infrared signals. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... NIMH or NiMH may refer to: National Institute of Mental Health, a part of the United States National Institutes of Health. ... Apple Newton eMate 300 open. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... “RAM” redirects here. ... The initials IRDA can refer to various things: In Information Technology and Communications, IrDA refers to Infrared Data Association, a standard for communication between devices (such as computers, PDAs and mobile phones) over short distances using infrared signals. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ...

So if you remove ALL patches to the eMate 300 NOS you will end up with a NOS of 2.2.00-0 which is documented in photo located here. The Newton OS was also licensed to a number of third party developers including Sharp and Motorola who developed additional PDA devices that used the operating system. Motorola added wireless connectivity to the unit, and renamed it the Marco. ^[10] Newton OS is the operating system of the Apple Newton. ...

A possible Newton revival has been a common source of speculation among the Macintosh user base; when patents for a tablet based Macintosh were applied for ^[11], rumor sites jumped at the possibility of a new Tablet PC style Macintosh. Also, the Apple iPhone has PDA functions, and could be considered a successor to the Newton. A Tablet PC is a notebook- or slate-shaped mobile computer. ... The correct title of this article is . ...

Other uses

Petrosains uses Newton technology.

There were a number of projects that used the Newton as a portable information device in cultural settings such as museums. For example, Visible Interactive created a walking tour in San Francisco's Chinatown but the most significant effort took place in Malaysia at the Petronas Discovery Center, known as Petrosains. ^[12] Image File history File links PSAINS_InteractStation7. ... Image File history File links PSAINS_InteractStation7. ... Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian owned oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. ...

In 1995, an exhibit design firm, DMCD Inc., was awarded the contract to design a new 100,000 square foot (9300 m²) science museum in the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. A major factor in the award was the concept that visitors would use a Newton to access additional information, find out where they were in the museum, listen to audio, see animations, control robots and other media, and to bookmark information for printout at the end of the exhibit. The Petronas Towers The Petronas Towers (also known as the Petronas Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (, ), were once the worlds tallest buildings when measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural or architectural top. ...

The device became known as the ARIF, a Malay word for "wise man" or "seer" and it was also an acronym for A Resourceful Informative Friend. Some 400 ARIFS were installed and over 300 are still in use today. The development of the ARIF system was extremely complex and required a team of hardware and software engineers, designers, and writers. ARIF is an ancestor of the PDA systems used in museums today and it boasted features that have not been attempted since.

Appearances in popular culture

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The Newton was featured in the movie Under Siege 2, where the main character, played by Steven Seagal, uses it to fax a call for help from a phone on a passenger train.
• In early episodes of the series The X-Files, the FBI agents use Newtons. The Newton is also used as an in-game tool in The X-Files: The Game.
• In the end scene of Larry Laffer Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! the woman says "I even had a Newton".
• The character of Kate Libby in Hackers has a MessagePad which is seen in a number of scenes.
• Denis Nedry in the film Jurassic Park has a Newton on his desk.
• Gary Sinise uses one as the hostage taker in the 1996 film Ransom starring Mel Gibson.
• Daniel Brühl uses one in the German film The Edukators.
• A "Saturday Night Live" mock commercial featured a Newton/Post-it Note hybrid device.
• The Newton is still used to this day (summer 2006), as a survey taking device by Disneyland castmembers.
• A PADD appears several times in the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise which bears a strong resemblance to the 2x00 series Newton.^[13]
• In the movie Angels in the Outfield, the coach's personal assistant uses a Newton several times.
• A modified eMate 300 appears in the 1997 film Batman & Robin. ^[14]

The handwriting recognition software was ridiculed on several occasions: Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... In the 1995 action film Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, a sequel to Under Siege, Casey Ryback, a retired NAVY Seal, foils a mad scientists plot to hijack a satellite weapon. ... Steven Seagal (born April 10, 1952) is an American action movie actor, producer, writer, director, martial artist, singer-songwriter, and activist. ... The X-Files is a Peabody- and Emmy Award-winning science fiction television series created by Chris Carter, which first aired on September 10, 1993, and ended on May 19, 2002. ... Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail! Leisure Suit Larry is the title character of a series of adult adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra On-Line from the 1980s to the present. ... Hackers - Poster 1 Hackers - Poster 2 Hackers - German Poster Hackers is a movie released in 1995 that follows the misfortunes of young hacker Dade Murphy (aka Crash Override/Zero Cool, played by Jonny Lee Miller), Kate (aka Acid Burn, played by Angelina Jolie) and their friends. ... Wayne Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor, known for his roles as Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld, Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park, and as police officer Don Orville in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. ... Jurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. ... Gary Alan Sinise (born March 17, 1955) is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning, Golden Palm and Academy Award nominated American actor and film director. ... Ransom is a thriller film released in 1996, starring Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, and Gary Sinise and directed by Ron Howard. ... This article is about the actor. ... The Edukators (German: Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei; literally the fat years are past, translated within the film as the days of plenty are over) is a German-Austrian film made by the Austrian director Hans Weingartner and released in 2004. ... This article is about the American television series. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Collection of PADDs In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Personal Access Display Device (PADD) is a hand-held LCARS-based computer device that function as portable links to the ships main computer, other portable devices, or data stored on isolinear chips. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... link titleMedia:Example. ... Apple Newton eMate 300 open. ... For the 1949 serial Batman and Robin, see Batman and Robin (serial). ...

The Original Apple Newton's handwriting recognition was made light of in The Simpsons episode Lisa on Ice

• Garry Trudeau ridiculed it in a series of episodes of his popular comic, Doonesbury. The last panel of one strip, which shows a character reading the words "egg freckles?" from his Newton ^[9], became an Easter egg in the Newton operating system itself (version 2.0 and earlier). It can be seen by writing the words egg freckles then highlighting them and tapping the Assist button^[15].
• In an episode of The Simpsons titled "Lisa on Ice", which first aired November 13, 1994, school bully Kearney has his buddy Dolph take a memo on a Newton. When Dolph writes "Beat up Martin" on the screen, the handwriting recognition turns it into "Eat up Martha." Kearney throws the Newton at Martin instead. ^[16]
• In an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch titled "Geek Like Me" a character in the Science Club, Howard, relates an experience with his Newton to the rest of the club: "...And the handwriting recognition on my Newton turned it into ‘Are you afraid of the dork’!"
• In 2004, CNET elected the Apple Newton one of the "Top 10 tech we miss" ^[17], mentioning the device's amusing willingness to translate nearly any stroke on the screen to text, allowing the user to generate surreal Newton Poetry from random scribbles.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Lisa on Ice is the eighth episode of The Simpsons sixth season. ... Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948, in New York City) is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip. ... Doonesbury is a comic strip by Garry Trudeau, popular in the United States and other parts of the world. ... A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Lisa on Ice is the eighth episode of The Simpsons sixth season. ... is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Martin Prince, Jr. ... Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is an American sitcom based on the Archie comic book series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. ... Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a horror/drama-themed television series for children. ... CNET Networks, Inc. ...

See also

• ALON Project The ALON Project (ARM Linux on Newton Project)
• eMate 300
• Apple Newton Software
• NewtonScript
• iPhone
• Orphaned technology

Apple Newton eMate 300 open. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Apple Newton. ... NewtonScript is a prototype based programming language created to write programs for the Apple Newton. ... The correct title of this article is . ... Orphaned Technology is a descriptive term for computer products, programs, and platforms that have been abandoned by their original developers. ...

References

Bibliography

• Apple's MessagePad 2100 description
• Apple's MessagePad 2100 technical specs
• A selection of PDFs of Apple's Newton manuals
• Apple's press release on the debut of the MessagePad 2100
• Apple's overview of features & limitations of Newton Connection Utilities
• Newton overview at Newton Source archived from Apple
• Newton FAQ
• Pen Computing's First Look at Newton OS 2.0
• Newton Gallery
• Birth of the Newton
• The Newton Hall of Fame: People behind the Newton
• Pen Computing's Why did Apple kill the Newton?
• Pen Computing's Newton Notes column archive
• A.I. Magazine article by Yaeger on Newton HWR design, algorithms, & quality and associated slides
• Info on Newton HWR from Apple's HWR Technical Lead

External links

The external links in this article may not comply with Wikipedia's content policies. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Apple Newton

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

Additional Resources & Information

• Defying Gravity: The Making of Newton, by Kounalakis & Menuez (Hardcover)

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Beyond Words Publishing (October 1993)
• ISBN 0941831949
• ISBN 978-0941831949

• Newton FAQ & Detailed upgrade/repair information
• the Open Directory Project's Newton links
• NewtonTalk discussion email list
• United Network of Newton Archives
• Newton-based web server software
• Online Newton Error-Code Lookup
• Up next for Apple: the return of the Newton

Newton Technical Documents for Programmers

NewtonScript Programming: NewtonScript is the native programming language for all MessagePads NewtonScript is a prototype based programming language created to write programs for the Apple Newton. ...

• The Newton Application Architecture
• Newton Tool Kit (NTK) Integrated Development Environment Manual
• A quick introduction to programming in NewtonScript using NTK
• The NewtonScript Programming Language (Apple Manual).
• Newton Programmer's Guide, OS 2.0
• Newton Programmer's Guide, OS 2.1 Addendum
• Newton Programmer's Reference, OS 2.0
• Newton OS 2.1 Engineering Documents
• Explanation of NewtonScript Prototyping
• Newton User Interface Specification Guide

MessagePad 2100 & 2000 Assembly Language Programming:

• Complete Developer's manual for the StrongARM SA-110
• StrongARM SA-110 Technical Reference Manual for Programmers (by Intel)
• StrongARM SA-110 Technical Reference Manual for Programmers (by DEC).
• StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor Instruction Timing Technical Manual
• Memory Management on the StrongARM SA-110
• Paper describing porting Xen to the SA-110. Describes many points of interest regarding porting to the StrongARM platform from the X86 architecture, very useful for Newton programmers.
• StrongARM SA-110 Datasheet
• Very clear introductory overview of the StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor suitable for beginners.
• A Technical Overview of the Original Newton OS
• Newton Internals
• Newton Bytecode Specification

Xen is a free virtual machine monitor for IA-32, x86-64, IA-64 and PowerPC architectures. ...

Reviews

• My Newton: Why I won't buy an iPhone or iPod touch
• Interesting modern review comparing the MessagePad to the Samsung Q1
• MacTech's review of MessagePad 2000
• MessagePad 2000 review at "The History and Macintosh Society"
• TidBITS review of MessagePad 2000
• Prof. Wittmann's collection of Newton & MessagePad reviews