Greetings, folks,
I've been reading the various iPod comments with interest, since I had hoped
that (well, you know) there'd be something more Newton-like coming out. As
is, the iPod looks interesting, and about $320 too expensive for my cheap
ass (sorry about the language, but that's the only way to describe how I am
on things like this).
But, to bring this back to a Newton topic, what IS the digital hub? It's
what we always wish for with the connectivity and synchronization between
Newton and desktop. It's the ability to share info seamlessly, carry around
the elements in ways that are useful and helpful WHEN WE NEED THEM and WANT
THEM. Admittedly, being Newton users, many of us have gotten used to
machinery that doesn't really TALK to anything else too well and has to be
treated mostly as data master (with downloads to desktops to keep things
"synched"), but still, there's a point to a hub.
Seriously, there are five phases of my computing life that are worth
pointing out:
1. 1981 or so, I've forgotten when, BASIC programming on (ahem) DOS 1.0,
writing a "Donkey Kong" thing with my brother when I was 10 or so... The
code is laughably bad, but we were 10 and 12, so leave me alone!
2. late 80's/early 90's, finding email, starting to write with my friends at
other colleges, a moment that coincided with finding the NeXT, which was SO
MUCH better than a Mac or DOS that I couldn't figure out why it didn't
succeed...
3. January, 1994, when I used Mosaic and was given a floppy with Netscape
0.72 on it. Holy cow, the web was astounding, and I recall my first
confusion about hyperlinks - you mean that information is located on
DIFFERENT drives? How?!?!
4. In 1998, when I started using the Tandy Model 102, shortly to be replaced
by my Newton MP2000, as an instant-on, always with me, always available
machine. It was a piece of digital paper, a writing block where the contents
changed "underneath" the screen depending on what I tapped. Who cares about
OS? It just worked, made sense instantly, wow...
Note that throughout this sequence, I used IBMs, Macs, NeXTs, UNIX, Windows
3.0, 3.1, 95, and so on... But the newest moment of "oh, so you can do THIS
with a computer" comes from ...
5. ...using MP3s on my machine. I walk around with my music on my laptop, I
carry it from my radio station to my work to my house to review it (then
delete it, thank you very much, legal hounds), plug it into my stereo, never
see the spinning media again... A computer is no longer words to me, it's
media. The web is media, music is media, I want to carry around my
newspapers, my music, my information at all times.
In other words, with #5, the Newton has become "nice," but less powerful.
That did NOT stop me from upgrading it with Dr. Newton, though!
But, I want more, I want an iPod that has a Newton UI and usability, I want
to have all that talk seamlessly to my desktop, to use THAT to walk my
information between home and office, change my calendar along the way and
have my laptop seamlessly integrate the information, and so on.
Digital hub? Isn't that what we all wanted with the Newton, already? I don't
doubt that some company will do this for me at some point, but not
yesterday. I'm not crying, but I am waiting.
Michael
-- Michael wittmannmichael_at_mac.com =============================== The five percent nation of PER The people's republic of HWR 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50... ===============================-- This is the Newtontalk mailinglist - http://www.newtontalk.net To unsubscribe or manage: visit the above link or mailto:newtontalk-request_at_newtontalk.net?Subject=unsubscribe
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