Why I Carry a Newton
eggfreckles.net
eggfreckles.net
Battery life - infinite
Handwriting recognition - I can recognize my own handwriting.
Document centric workflow - The document is definitely front and center.
Share Everything - in the paper notebook, everything is shareable, and shared in the same way. Either take a picture of the pages, type them in somewhere else (and edit while you do so), or make a photocopy. Optical Character Recognition may be possible but would arguably be adding unnecessary complexity.
Expandability - either purchase more notebooks, or use the 3-Ring Binder (tm) model to expand the capacity of your existing device.
Community - the paper notebook is no wonder device. The spiral notebook was patented in 1935 and has a large community of nearly all of western civilization.
;-)
It's not compatible with blind people or people who don't speak the language of the notebook.
One of the wonderful things that computers have done is to vastly improve the ability of people with disabilities and speakers of any language to access vastly more information than they could before.
I can't do that
Speaking as a huge fan of the Newton MP 2000 (which I kept using for years after the Newton was cancelled):
1) You can search your meeting notes. I had four or five years of meeting notes that could be instantly (well, by late 90s standards of "instantly") searched.
2) You could point it at any IRDA printer and just print stuff. (I was astonished by this when I discovered it worked, because the first IRDA printer I got was made long after the Newton was cancelled.)
In contrast to this, most of my paper notes (and I've gone back to paper) end up being lost, and those that aren't lost are horribly disorganized. Generally, the half life of paper notes -- for me -- is perhaps a month.
I agree that this happens, but it is your own decision. Until the 20th century, scientists had to maintain notes of everything they did in notebooks. They kept them organized and accessible, despite having to use handwritten notes.
Why use word processors? Quill and ink has served us for generations.
I never face this issue, very simply because after you use a real notebook for a while, you learn to organize information. Indexing information by date, topic etc is common for seasoned notebook users.
Conversely, I've had lots of PDAs through the years, and any notes I took on them were lost long ago.
This feature doesn't work for me so often...
Search - How do you grep or Ctrl-F your notebook to find out that one command you ran three weeks ago to fix your dev environment?
Copy/Paste - If I ask you for a copy of your notes, you have to retype it out. I can yank and paste into my e-mail client.
In addition, I have to quibble with expandability. Yes, I can buy additional notebooks, but I have finite desk and drawer space. Moreover, the cost of searching increases nonlinearly as the number of notebooks increases. Meanwile, grep runs approximately as quickly on 1kb of notes as it does on 100kb of notes.
Good luck fitting a dozen three ring binders into a single pocket.
Photographs of handwriting are good enough, millions of students use such method. It is so good that even Google Books uses it, no?
Sometimes a canvas is better than text, and sometimes text is better than a canvas. Paper is cheap, but it's not inherently better at these tasks. A computer can much more effectively organize your notes while being as compact as the situation calls for.
There is almost never one tool to use in every situation. Fluidity is key: Use the right tool for the job. Solo and need to take quick notes you can search on? Newton. Love a keyboard? PC/Mac w/ Evernote or OneNote. Want to stand up in front of a bunch of people and show them an idea in real-time? A white board.
I personally have a notebook I write in when taking notes on a computer would be just plain rude (in front of prospects and clients) and at other times, I organize my thoughts in Workflowy. Some of my meeting notes go directly into our CRM. The right tool, for the right job, at the right time.
At the end of the day it's whatever works for that particular person at a particular time. I wouldn't say that people shouldn't try different things for a week just to see how it works, because you don't know what you don't know, and don't know you don't know it until you see a blog post like this, but there is no one-size-fits all solution to transferring info from your brain to a medium.
I used to have a Newton, also long after they were "obsolete" (as in, years ago, but I sold my Playsation Portable to buy it.) It was a fantastic little device. I had a MessagePad 2100, which had two PCMCIA slots and an awesome green-backlit screen. WiFi worked. Handwriting input was not great, but it worked to a degree that was pretty impressive - I've tried text input on modern devices, and I can't really say that they're any better.
I wouldn't mind having a device like that again, if it were easily hackable (something that was my main issue with the Newton).
There is one aspect of the Newton that I feel is still unrivaled in all the pen-based systems: It has a little stylus caddy for when you're using the device on a flat surface. Not only can you store the stylus inside the device, when it's out, it's got a little place to put it in between siblings.
Another thing that is unique about the Newton is its heat dissipation. It never gets hot. When you pull the stylus out, it's frequently cold to the touch, even....
Such a great device.
Yeah, totally. It's a chunky device, but that's really not a problem... And you could have one hell of a device in that form factor now. Multi-day battery life, a pair of PCIe card slots, a nice screen, and lots of RAM and storage. That would be neat!
Some of us just don't get on with handwriting.
Having said that? If you have a smartphone but the list of benefits from the Newton appeal to you, you might want to try a Livescribe+ smartpen. Syncs with your phone or tablet, works like a pen on notepad or paper, the sync app takes care of handwriting recognition, and you can sync through it to Dropbox or Evernote. So you can leave your phone in your pocket and just use a pen and a notepad, and still have the benefits of everything being transcribed automagically and available online. (Yes, it needs special paper, but the dot pattern is available as a PDF if you want to print your own.)
Why do you think it took so long for decent tablets to get to market? A: "Pen windows"
Later on, Y might be brought up in relation to X. Write Y in the notebook, and draw a line to X, and so on.
I am not much of a note taker nowadays, but I highly recommend trying out the LiveScribe. I am considering buying a new one just to see how things have progressed.
The original model was positioned as an app platform -- the OLED screen, the downloadable extras. It was a bit clumsy and annoying (and had a steep learning curve).
I recently bought the Livescribe+. It cut back on features but made the core functionality work a lot better. Charges over micro-USB (like everything else these days), can run on generic pen refils. No apps, but realtime streaming to your phone (iOS or Android) over Bluetooth. It can still do pencasts/audio recording (but doesn't give you a headset so you can replay audio notes on the pen itself -- it's not a true dictation machine).
In other words, it does more by doing less (but doing it better).
I keep the Newton in my desk drawer. It still works great, but I am writing this on an iPad, sitting on a plane. I wouldn't go back.
http://www.myboogieboard.com/shop/store/original
Heavily writing focused and the newer ones actually sync your notes to an app as needed.
Having used it for a few weeks now, definitely one of my favorite devices of 2016 and I really appreciate the singular focus it has as a device.
These devices are at least 3 years old.
Honestly, the fact that I can only erase the whole board and not a small section is a deal breaker for me. As is the form factor.
Make them as big as a small whiteboard, add local erase features and they've got a winner.
While we're at that, they could manufacture boogie board whiteboard replacements. That would be a hit in all teaching institutions. Imagine: No more markers or chalk. One click erase.
Would love giant size Boogie boards for the office.
Where I work now we have one as well- except instead of a projector it's just a big LCD touchscreen.
I have a huge collection of print books and that is my preferred way to learn because I can step away from the computer and digest what I am trying to learn. An epaper reader would be a semi-acceptable compromise, but the tactile feedback of page flipping and bookmarks are also very gratifying. A physical book also has the tangible affect of being physically present; not something to just purchase and file away. Generally I don't want to search books as I'm trying to understand overall concepts, or perhaps quickly consult the ToC to zip to a specific concept. When I want to search I want to search a code base, API docs, or something like stackoverflow/mailing lists/newsgroups so I've never missed that from ebooks.
For note taking, I can use either pen/paper, or a laptop with a simple vim session. The paper is most useful if there are non-text things that need to be quickly noted, and can be turned into charts/graphs or whatever later on if needed.
Paper has different profile of use friction than computer or tablet.
You can't easily search it for words, and paper book forces you to use its index and table of contents, so you have to actually think about what you're looking for. This is stark contrast with how digital text works.
You can make notes in a book, you can put shims and bookmarks, you can bend a page corner. How it works in a computer is not as seamless as with paper; you have to spend some attention to make a mark, and the mark will be limited in one way or another.
And you can flick through a paper book. This is an important way of working with a textbook, and no software can render that.
> An epaper reader would be a semi-acceptable compromise, but the tactile feedback of page flipping and bookmarks are also very gratifying.
Page flipping is an unimportant detail, and you can have markers in digital text, too. What is important is how much and how cheaply (in terms of attention) can you put in your notes, and -- much less tangible thing -- how the medium inclines your mind for its content.
> For note taking, I can use either pen/paper, or a laptop with a simple vim session. The paper is most useful if there are non-text things that need to be quickly noted, and can be turned into charts/graphs or whatever later on if needed.
I actually design my code on paper. And I'm not talking about UML diagrams, which I hate. I'm talking about rough sketches on programming interfaces (which covers pretty much everything, since I build my systems out of libraries written specifically for the system I'm building). I'm taking advantage of the friction that paper gives. It forces me to think in different way than when I'm writing on a computer, and that different way works very well for me.
Please (mods) add it to the title.
The tablet has always had issues holding a charge even when turned off, and it's a bit bulky, so I might put it back into service as a wall-tethered calendar and planner.
The EEE I stopped using because the original SSD was painfully slow and the bigger/faster one I got as a replacement died within a month or so. I ordered a new 64GB SSD for the EEE and am typing on it right now off a USB boot - it could become my future writing and notetaking device. It doesn't have the battery life of the Newton, but I could invest in a few aftermarket batteries as backups. This would complement my existing paper workflows, which come into play for the cases where I want to switch between drawing and writing.
That said, I have a Pebble and it has reminded me of the simple effiency of black-and-white LCD and lightweight processors. The battery lasts all week.
Perhaps PalmOne had the better community, but Newton has had an incredible afterlife that has extended to this day. It somehow got the attention of lots and lots of hobbyists who have modernized it in unbelievable ways.
I wish there was a modern-ish Kindle that supported an SSH client. I'd definitely carry that around instead of a laptop some days.
[1] http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/09/02/photo-and-descripti...
[2] http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1220552
That technical description doesn't easily convey the benefits for those who have never seen data soups before, but this blog post [2] gives some idea.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_%28Apple%29
[2] https://blog.mozilla.org/faaborg/2007/06/29/why-the-iphone-i...
If the secret sauce is a user-accessible OODBMS written in a prototype-based scripting language, would it not be possible to build a Data Soup system in JavaScript? No need to bring the device back -- just replicate what people liked about it.
I guess the low power touchscreen would be the least accessible part.
You can select a difficult small amount of memory for code and storage with slow CPU and slow access to bulk storage with an arduino, or somewhat complicated I/O and software stacks with high power use on a RaspPi.
There's a hole in the market around many megs of storage and a tenth of a watt or so of power and 10 MIPS of non DSP or so. Below there's tons of offerings, and above there's tons of offerings, but in between theres not much. Probably because there's not many applications. The world's full of engine computers and toasters, and tablets and phones, but in between not so much.
Just combine an ARM Cortex-M (~50-100 MIPS) and SD card.
On a tangent, what's wrong with shaming people into conformity as a general concept. Is it wrong everytime and every circumstance?
rolls eyes
No. Not always. But often. If someone goes around doing things that might hurt others, shaming them into conformity may be a good idea. Example: smoking in a crowded movie theater deserves some shaming. (How could you do such a thing!? The person next to you might have asthma for all you know!)
But mocking someone for their fashion choices (clothing fashion, tech fashion, slang fashion, etc.) is not helpful.
And that's all I meant. It was just pedantry.
The norms around computers are funny. While we accept the enthusiast who might show off a 1959 El Camino or vintage Les Paul guitar, we needlessly question one who cherishes an Amiga 3000 [2]. Rather than espouse the technical merits of a piece of vintage computing (which will inevitably be obsolete), we should be able to articulate our appreciation for the aesthetic and historical qualities of that technology as well. As computers are judged almost entirely by utilitarian value, this is not easy to do without sounding pretentious.
[1] [redacted]
I figured, but in my defense, it's supposed to be a benign statement. We're a social species and being 'shamed' and 'pressured' into conforming is part of the contract (obviously within reason). Nobody runs around naked yelling obscenities partly because of social 'shaming'. That's all I meant, and I thought I qualified it sufficiently. Guess not.
>I find it futile to try to justify that interest to others.
I don't think you need to justify it. It's a quirky hobby but completely benign and seems fun and interesting. I don't have a problem with OP loving his Newton either, though if you put up a blog post extolling the virtues of the Newton over modern smartphones you HAVE to expect some eye-rolls.
>this is not easy to do without sounding pretentious.
Yeah, though that's subject to individual interpretation. For some, someone using certain words will be pretentious.
The universe is terribly lonely as is. I'm not going to fault anyone for their harmless attempts to reduce the loneliness.
Nothing.
Someone mentioned boogie boards on this thread, but I found that they broke a lot and obviously weren't as feature filled as they could be. Not to mention they were pretty expensive for what they were... which was a digital whiteboard, not quite a PDA or Newton by any means.
Unfortunately what I am seeing devices nowadays are racing towards thinner + bigger screen which to me is really missing the point. Who cares the device is 0.9mm thinner than the previous generation?
For the time and technology, their handwriting detection is extremely impressive - I have fond memories of doodling on them and watching it transcribe my (childish) handwriting into neat type. It's awesome to hear that someone is still (well, as of 2011) still using a Newton regularly.
It's true that you can't share and search handwritten stuff as easily, but I often find it better overall to sit down after and type up the notes into something. I have more time to get all of the details typed up while they're still fresh in my mind. It makes me reconsider things and think about them more carefully too.
Unfortunately Samsung stopped making the Note in a tablet -- the new Tab A or whatever that has a stylus is a bit underpowered.
Get a 10.1 on ebay while you still can!
The two main factors from my point of view are: 1) Modern phones are more capable and allow you to drain the battery faster. (better radios, larger/brighter screens, LED vs LCD, massively more powerful processors/GPUs). An iphone 5 has a standby battery life of ~9 days[0]. 2) Cell phone manufactures target 10-24 hours of battery life when they design phones (smaller is better). I've found that my e-reader runs out of battery more often than my phone. Remembering to plug it in once every week or two is harder to do than getting in the habit of plugging in my phone every night.
It kind of helps that the Newt doesn't have any kind of built-in wireless. No radio means no networky stuff that it has to periodically wake up for.
The number of threads the thing runs (20-30) also spend most of their time utterly asleep. (Back in the day, a threading, message-passing OS in a small form factor was considered pretty high tech).
Besides everyone seems to want to buy flat things... because... yeah I don't know why. "-Look! My MacBook Air is as thin as a piece of paper. -Ok cool, I guess..." Which means there isn't much space for a decent enough battery to power the 2 GHz octacore monster in there. So everyone is walking around like zombies looking for wall plugs all the time to charge their expensive $600 ultra high tech phones and tablets.
There's something fascinating about it's bio-mechanical translucency. It feels like a computer David Cronenberg would design. I kind of hope Apple drops the minimal glass and aluminium look and goes back to that organic weirdness.
This is the most interesting part of this article.
EDIT: okay yeah this looks a lot better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKHelCE9QAg
I knew a guy who used one regularly, at least up through the year 2000, primarily for testing serial port hardware he was hacking up.
If someone announced a new version with small updates(e.g. backlit screen) I'd be interested.
Edit: that said it would be competing with tablet + keyboard + battery pack combos now.
As I understand it, the Model 100 was a favorite among journalists. At the time, I was impressed with being able to just turn it on and go. That was also why I liked my Palm Pilot.
Time to go do some research.